Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 11e (Tarbuck)
Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System
24.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) ________ is the study of the formation and evolution of the bodies in our solar system.
A) Astrology
B) Astronomy
C) Cosmology
D) Planetary Geology
2) Where is 99.85% of the mass in the solar system concentrated?
A) Jupiter
B) Sun
C) Kuiper Belt
D) The terrestrial planets
3) What is a planetesimal?
A) A rotating cloud of interstellar gases
B) A celestial body that orbits the Sun, but cannot clear its own neighborhood
C) Rocky material accreted through repeated collisions
D) The core of a start that has gone through a nova
4) What substance makes up the mantle of large Jovian planets like Saturn?
A) Mercury
B) Hydrogen
C) Iron
D) Ice
5) How many manned space missions have successfully landed on the surface of the Moon?
A) 6
B) 2
C) 10
D) 5
6) Which of the following processes created the lunar maria?
A) Solar winds eroded wide, shallow basins, which were later filled with ejecta
B) Large impact basins filled with basaltic lava flows
C) Impact craters filled with liquid water, which later froze
D) Mafic batholiths were exposed through meteorite impact
7) What is the age of the Moon?
A) 4.6 billion years
B) 5.025 million years
C) 3.14 million years
D) 4.527 million years
8) What kinds of rocks were most commonly retrieved from the lunar highlands?
A) Flood basalts
B) Granite
C) Impact breccias
D) Frozen hydrogen
9) During what period did the Moon experience the Heavy Bombardment?
A) 5.2-5.0 billion years ago
B) 4.1-3.8 billion years ago
C) 2.72-2.2 billion years ago
D) 786-767 million years ago
10) Which of the following choices most closely approximates a “double planet,” where two
bodies of roughly equal mass are in close enough proximity to revolve around each other as they
orbit the Sun?
A) Pluto and Neptune
B) Mercury and Venus
C) Venus and Earth
D) Uranus and Jupiter
11) Which statement best explains why the atmosphere on Venus has significantly more carbon
dioxide than Earth’s atmosphere does?
A) Venus had a higher impact rate from stony chondrites, which carried more carbon
B) Carbon dioxide-rich, icy asteroids orbit Venus and occasionally are pulled into the
atmosphere
C) Limestone deposition is more common on Earth rather than Venus, which pulls more carbon
dioxide out of the atmosphere
D) Earth’s gravitational pull is not strong enough to retain large volumes of carbon dioxide
12) Which planet displays retrograde rotation?
A) Venus
B) Mars
C) Neptune
D) Saturn
13) Compared to Earth’s atmosphere, the Martian atmosphere has surface pressures that are
________.
A) 50 times those on Earth
B) 32.1 times those on Earth
C) 1.5 times those on Earth
D) 0.1 times those on Earth
14) The largest shield volcano in the solar system is ________ and is located on ________.
A) Maat Mons; Venus
B) Olympus Mons; Mars
C) Mauna Kea; Earth
D) Sif Mons; Venus
15) Which of the following best describes the process that resulted in the Valles Marineris on
Mars?
A) Stream erosion carved a deep central valley
B) A comet skimmed across the surface of the planet
C) Tectonic rifting created graben-life valleys
D) A violent volcanic eruption blasted out a long caldera
16) Which of the following physical features has not yet been found on Mars?
A) Polar ice caps
B) H2O-rich atmosphere
C) Extinct volcanoes
D) Sand dunes
17) Which of the following physical features are found on both Mars as well as Earth?
A) Active volcanoes
B) Heavily cratered landscape preserved from early planetary histories
C) Oceans with liquid water
D) Erosional features related to flowing water
18) Which planet has the most moons in orbit around it?
A) Neptune
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Jupiter
19) The reason the planet mentioned in #16 has so many moons around it is because ________.
A) These small moons are in the process of accreting to become one larger moon
B) This planet has the strongest magnetic field in the solar system
C) The moons are an asteroid field from a planet that failed to form
D) The moons are the result of massive volcanic eruptions on the planet
20) During the formation of the solar system, which planet came the closest to starting the
process of nuclear fusion, which would have resulted in a second sun?
A) Saturn
B) Mercury
C) Jupiter
D) Uranus
21) What process produces the alternating dark-colored belts and light-colored zones visible on
Jupiter?
A) Convective flow in the atmosphere
B) Dust storms on the surface
C) Volcanic eruptions along tectonic boundaries
D) Precipitation from storm clouds
22) The appropriate range in average terrestrial planet densities is ________.
A) 2-3 g/cm3
B) 4-6 g/cm3
C) 5-8 g/cm3
D) 10-12 g/cm3
23) The most volcanically active body in the solar system is ________.
A) Mars
B) Io
C) Ganymede
D) Earth
24) Outside of Earth, which other body is the solar system is likely to have liquid water at this
time?
A) Mars
B) Neptune
C) Rhea
D) Europa
25) ________ is a moon of Saturn.
A) Io
B) Tethys
C) Phobos
D) Europa
26) Which scientist first observed the rings of Saturn in 1610?
A) Copernicus
B) Isaac Newton
C) Galileo Galilei
D) Johannes Kepler
27) Which moon in the solar system has atmospheric pressures at its surface that are comparable
to those at the surface of Earth?
A) Neptune’s moon Triton
B) Saturn’s moon Titan
C) Uranus’ moon Miranda
D) Jupiter’s moon Io
28) What is the definition of cryovolcanism?
A) Eruption of magmas derived from impact of meteorites
B) Cessation of volcanism because of increasing atmospheric pressures
C) Increase in rate of tectonic motion due to lubrication of ice
D) Eruption of magmas derived from partial melting of ice
29) ________ are small (<100 m) extraterrestrial particles that will burn and glow when passing
through Earth’s atmosphere.
A) Comets
B) Asteroids
C) Meteorites
D) Mesocoronas
30) What is the term that describes the bright head of a comet?
A) Coma
B) Comma
C) Corona
D) Cosmos
31) Which of the following is the likely cause of the Tunguska Event of 1908?
A) Explosive volcanic eruption triggered by solar radiation
B) Explosive disintegration of a meteorite or small comet high in the atmosphere
C) Indirect impact from an iron-rich meteorite
D) Impact of a spy satellite that lost orbit around the planet
24.2 True/False Questions
1) Planetary geology focuses only on those planets with a rocky surface.
2) Meteorite bombardment of the rocky planets occurred after their formation as protoplanets.
3) There is a correlation between the small size of the inner planets and their close proximity to
the sun.
4) The maria are the light, highly cratered highlands visible on the Moon.
5) Seismic events called moonquakes occur in the Moon.
6) Water erosional features are commonly found on the Moon, particularly in the highland areas.
7) A year on Venus is longer than a day on Venus.
8) The atmospheric pressures on Venus are approximately 90 times greater than those on Earth,
which had the ability to crush spacecraft sent their in the 1970s.
9) Liquid water currently exists on Mars and is found in the canals observed by Percival Lowell.
10) There are no plate tectonic forces that shape the surface of the planet of Mars.
11) The largest of the planets in the solar system is Jupiter; the smallest of the planets is Pluto.
12) Because of its immense gravity, the planet Jupiter shrinks by a few centimeters each year.
13) Saturn is the only planet in the solar system, with rings composed of particle of water ice and
rocky debris.
14) Uranus is famous for its large red circle called the Great Red Spot.
15) Because Pluto’s inclined orbital plane, it appears to cross paths with Neptune and will
occasionally be closer to the Sun than Neptune.
16) Neptune has only one satellite named Triton.
24.3 Short Answer Questions
1) How many planets are in our solar system?
2) Put the planets in order from the Sun outward.
3) Provide three examples of planetesimals.
4) Compare the composition of planetesimals that would have resulted in the terrestrial planets
and the Jovian planets.
5) ________ is the speed required for an object escape a planet’s gravitational force.
6) What is the most common igneous rock found on the lunar highlands?
7) Why doesn’t the Moon have an atmosphere?
8) What exactly was happening during the Transit of Venus in 2012?
9) What gas makes up 97% of Venus’ atmosphere?
10) What visual evidence do scientists have to support the fact that Jupiter is the fastest-rotating
planet in the solar system?
11) What process is responsible for the extreme volcanic activity on Io?