|
What is the longest-lasting internal heat source responsible for geological activity? |
radioactive decay |
|
In general, what kind of planet would you expect to have the thickest lithosphere? |
a small planet |
|
Which of a planet’s fundamental properties has the greatest effect on its level of volcanic and tectonic activity? |
size |
|
What do we conclude if a planet has few impact craters of any size? |
other geological processes have wiped out craters |
|
Which describes our understanding of flowing water on Mars? |
it was once important, but no longer |
|
How many of the five terrestrial worlds have surfaces being constantly reshaped by plate tectonics? |
one |
|
On how many of the five terrestrial worlds has erosion been an important process? (Be sure that you explain why erosion is important on this many worlds and not more.) |
two |
|
How many of the five terrestrial worlds are considered "geologically dead"? |
two |
|
What is the name of the outer rigid layer of a planet? |
lithosphere |
|
How many of the terrestrial worlds have lava plains or shield volcanoes? |
five |
|
Ridges in the middle of the ocean are places where |
hot mantle material rises upward and spreads sideways, pushing the plates apart. |
|
What drives the motion of the tectonic plates on Earth? |
convection cells in the mantel |
|
Olympus Mons is a |
shield volcano on Mars |
|
impact cratering |
the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet’s surface |
|
tectonics |
the disruption of a planet’s surface by internal stresses |
|
erosion |
the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather |
|
The energy that warms Earth’s surface comes primarily in the form of |
visible light from the sun |
|
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, make Earth warmer than it would be otherwise because these gases |
absorb infrared light emitted by the surface |
|
Venus |
has a higher average temperature than Mercury. |
|
The greenhouse effect occurs in the |
troposphere |
|
What kind of light warms the stratosphere? |
ultraviolet |
|
Which of the following is a strong greenhouse gas? |
water vapor |
|
In which direction do hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere rotate? |
clockwise |
|
What is the leading hypothesis for Venus’s lack of water? |
Its water molecules were broken apart, and hydrogen was lost to space. |
|
What kind of gas is most affected by thermal escape? |
light gases |
|
What causes the release of oxygen into Earth’s atmosphere? |
photosynthesis |
|
Where is most of the CO2 that has outgassed from Earth’s volcanoes? |
locked up rocks |
|
If Earth had as much carbon dioxide in its atmosphere as Venus, our planet would not have oceans. |
true |
|
About what fraction of Earth’s atmosphere is CO2? |
less then .01% |
|
Which of the following worlds has the most substantial atmosphere? |
Venus |
|
Which planet experiences the greatest change between its actual day temperature and actual night temperature? |
Mercury |
|
greenhouse gases |
gases that absorb infrared light |
|
Which of the following gases absorbs ultraviolet light best? |
oxygen |
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