Geology Exam 1 (Quiz #1)

Questions from quiz 1

Age of Universe

13.77 billion years

Evidence for Big Bang

redshift in galaxies and cosmic background radiation

Why Pluto not planet

Located in Kuiper Belt

how much radioactive decay in half a lifetime of a nuclei

50%

What elements dominate Jupiter and Saturn

Hydrogen & Helium

how do heavy elements form? (Gold, Uranium)

Supernova

What element dominates composition of the sun?

Hydrogen

What is a planet outside our solar system called?

Exoplanet

biggest member of our solar system

Sun

true or false - all planets revolve in same direction around sun?

true

Nebular Hypothesis

Explains formation of our solar system

Giant outer planets mostly composed of…

Hydrogen & helium

Differentiation

how homogeneous earth developed a dense core and light crust

cause for the heat that melted earth

large impact and radioactivity

true or false - Earth and moon roughly same age

true

what created magma ocean to form on surface, increased speed of rotation and tilted axis?

collision with mars sized body

evidence mars had water

dry river beds and valleys

Mars Lacks…

Liquid water and corrosive atmosphere

Least likely to have water ice

venus

Where is the asteroid belt?

between mars and Jupiter

Daytime temp on mercury

425C or 800F

Mercury’s atmosphere is…

Thin and mostly oxygen

Venus’s atmosphere is…

Hot, composed of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulfuric acid

Planet closest to size to earth

Venus

Mar’s atmosphere

Carbon Dioxide

What was the Heavy bombardment

Numerous crater forming impacts

Lunar Highlands

Light colored regions on moons surface

Lunar Maria

Dark regions of moon

What type of rock is lunar maria

Basalt

Planets that had shield volcanoes

Mars, earth, & venus

What type of tectonics does venus have

Flake tectonics

Flake tectonics

vigorous mantle convection, volcanic activity, and crustal stretching

Where is the tallest volcano in space?

Mars

What is the deepest canyon in space called

Velles Marineris

What is Present on mars as…

Polar Ice caps

Nuclear Fission

High pressure and temp cause hydrogen atoms to combine and form helium

the only other tectonically active planet

Venus

Collision theory / Moon formation

mars sized object collided

Earths atmosphere

Significant amount of oxygen

What planet has oceans of water

Earth

Vital ingredient for life

Water

true or false - all planets have moons

false

Nebular Hypothesis

inner planets are dense & rocky because lighter gasses blown away by sun radiation

how does dust and condensing material become planetesimals

Gravitational attraction & collisions

Describe inner planets

small, rocky, relatively lacking in volatile elements

true or false - pluto is a giant outer planet

false