a. heavy elements are pushed outward by an outward flow of heat
b. heavy elements are pushed inward by an inward flow of heat
c. light elements are pushed outward by an outward flow of heat
* d. heavy elements sink because the interior is molten
e. light elements sink because the interior is molten
2. The surface features on Mercury were formed predominantly by
a. plate tectonics
b. weatherization
* c. impacts
d. volcanism
3. The interior of the young Earth was heated by
a. solar energy and the solar wind
b. the energy released in its formation
c. the decay of radioactive isotopes
d. a and b
* e. b and c
4. The light-colored regions on the Moon are known as the
a. highlands and are thought to be the youngest features on the Moon
* b. highlands and are heavily cratered
c. maria and are thought to be old; ages up to 4.6 billion years
d. maria and are thought to be around 3.2 - 3.8 billion years old
e. weird terrain
5. The study of the Moon's surface has revealed that
a. the rate of impacts has been roughly constant since the Solar System was born
b. the rate of impacts has been slowly declining since the Solar System was born
* c. the rate of impacts was very high 4 billion years ago but then dropped
d. the Moon has had an anomalously low impact rate over its lifetime probably because it has been shielded by the Earth
6. The lunar maria
* a. are the result of the flooding of large impact basins
b. have much higher crater densities than the surrounding regions
c. are spread uniformly over the surface of the Moon
d. are unique to the Moon; they have no counterparts on other planets
e. All of the above are correct statements about the lunar maria
7. The relative ages of the regions on Mars can be inferred from
a. the sizes of their volcanos
b. the lengths of their run-off channels
* c. the number of craters
d. the sizes of their mountain chains
e. the number of run-off channels
8. Which of the following Terrestrial planets shows strong evidence for plate tectonics?
a. Venus
* b. Earth
c. Mars
d. the Earth and Venus show plate tectonics
e. Venus, Earth, and Mars all show plate tectonics
9. Active geology on a planet
a. is due to the existence of a lithosphere
b. is due to the existence of a differentiated interior
* c. requires an outward flow of heat
d. requires that the planet have a moon
e. occurs in smaller planets, in general
10. On the Earth, the oceanic plates
* a. are denser than the continental plates
b. are re-cycled roughly every 2 billion years
c. make up less than half of the surface of the Earth
d. contain the oldest rocks found on the Earth
e. play the crucial role of providing the energy to move around the continental plates
11. Convective motions in the
a. lithosphere are thought to drive plate tectonics
* b. asthenosphere are thought to drive plate tectonics
c. mesosphere are thought to lead to differentiation
d. Earth's outer core are thought to drive plate tectonics
e. lithosphere are thought to produce differentiation
12. Which of the following describes the least likely planet to have an atmosphere?
a. large mass, small radius, low temperature
b. low mass, small radius, low temperature
c. large mass, large radius, high temperature
* d. low mass, large radius, high temperature
e. large mass, large radius, low temperature
13. The life detection experiments on Viking found
a. life
b. absolutely no indication of life or chemical processes similar to that of life
* c. no organic molecules
d. indications of silicon based micro-organisms
14. Why is the surface of Venus so hot today?
* a. atmospheric carbon dioxide transmits visible light and absorbs infrared light
b. atmospheric water transmits visible light and absorbs infrared light
c. atmospheric water transmits infrared light and absorbs visible light
d. atmospheric carbon dioxide transmits infrared light and absorbs visible light
15. Which of the following Martian features is not evidence for a permafrost layer?
a. splosh craters
b. outflow channels
* c. run-off channels
d. early morning fog
16. The Gaia hypothesis postulates that
a. the oceans on the Earth will evaporate within the next 2 billion years
b. the reason Venus has no life is because Venus contains no silicon
* c. the reason the Earth is habitable is because of the existence of life
d. the reason that Mars has no life is due to a lack of plate tectonics
e. Mercury may once have harbored an advanced technological civilization
17. When the Sun was born, it was only 70 % as bright as it is today. This piece of information and the inferred ages of the oldest sedimentary rocks found on the Earth suggests
a. that the Earth was an ice planet until around 1 billion years ago
* b. that the Earth had an enhanced Greenhouse effect in the past
c. that life must have developed within a million years after the Earth formed
d. that our understanding of the evolution of the atmospheres of the Terrestrial planets and the Sun is poor
18. That part of the northern Martian polar cap which remains in the summer is composed of _____ while the seasonably variable cap is composed of _____.
a. water ice, water ice
b. carbon dioxide ice, carbon dioxide ice
* c. water ice, carbon dioxide ice
d. carbon dioxide ice, water ice
19. The Martian plains are plentiful in the _____ hemisphere; crater are plentiful in the _____ hemisphere,
a. northern, northern
b. southern, southern
c. southern, northern
* d. northern, southern
20. The Tharsis region on Mars
a. is strong evidence for plate tectonic activity
* b. was probably formed by an uplift of the Martian surface
c. is the oldest region on the surface of Mars
d. shows many run-off channels
e. shows no evidence of past volcanic activity
21. The Martian surface shows a striking asymmetry between its northern and sourthern hemispheres. The asymmetry shows up
a. in the ages of the regions
b. in the elevations of the regions
c. in the number of craters in the regions
d. in the number of run-off channels in the regions
* e. All of the above are examples of the asymmetry between the two hemispheres
22. Which of the following statements about the surface of Venus is correct?
a. The surface of Venus is thought to be ancient; 4.6 billion years old
b. There is an overabundance of craters with diameters less than 30 km on Venus
* c. The surface of Venus is fairly young; less 1 billion years
d. The surface of Venus is primarily highland regions
e. The largest volcanos in the Solar System are found on Venus
23. The current atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars are thought
a. to be their primary (initial) atmospheres
b. to be composed of basically the same elements
c. to have roughly the same masses
* d. to be due to outgassing or to have been carried in by comet-like objects
e. All of the above are correct statements about the atmospheres of the Terrestrial planets
24. The surface of Venus is best characterized as
* a. rolling plains, covering 65 % of the planet
b. rugged, highland-type regions covering over 75 % of the planet
c. maria (lowland) regions covering about 95 % of the planet
d. rolling plains covering less than 10 % of the planet
25. The atmospheric pressure of the Earth is determined primarily by
a. the strength of gravity around the Earth
b. the total amount of mass contained in the atmosphere of the Earth
c. the temperature of the gas around the Earth
* d. a and b
e. a, b, and c
26. The principal reason that the atmosphere of Venus has evolved so that its current temperature is 850 - 900 F while the current temperature of the Earth is only 50 - 60 F, is
a. Venus started with a pure carbon dioxide atmosphere while the Earth started with significant amounts of nitrogen and oxygen in addition to carbon dioxide in its atmosphere
* b. Venus is slightly closer to the Sun than is the Earth
c. that the Earth shows vigorous plate tectonic activity
d. that life on Venus was never able to advance beyond simple microorganisms
27. If the Ozone layer around the Earth were to disappear, then
a. the stratosphere would also likely disappear
b. the amount of ultraviolet radiation at the surface of the Earth would likely increase
c. the water vapor in our atmosphere would be slowly lost
* d. All of the above would occur
e. None of the above would occur
28. Which of the following statements is not a true statement about the troposphere of the Earth?
a. It is where weather is produced
b. It contains the bulk of the mass of the atmosphere
c. The temperature in the troposphere is highest near the surface of the Earth and decreases as one moves up in altitude
* d. It is the layer in which atoms are ionized producing the ionosphere
e. All of the above are true statements about the troposphere
29. The bulk of the carbon dioxide initially present in the atmosphere of the young Earth a. has been lost into space
b. is currently trapped in the high-altitude clouds around the Earth
* c. is tied up in the crust of the Earth
d. is contained in the oceans of the Earth
e. is still contained in the atmosphere
30. The conditions in the current atmosphere of Mars are
a. such that water cannot exist in any form on the surface of Mars
b. such that one expects a substantial stratosphere to form
* c. such that liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars
d. such that one expects that life could exist near the equator on Mars during the summer months
31. On Venus, most of the water
a. is tied up in large polar caps on the night side of the planet
b. is tied up in the dense clouds which surround the planet
* c. has been lost to space after being broken apart by solar radiation
d. has risen to high altitudes and forms a tenuous cloud around Venus
e. is trapped in the oceans and crust of Venus
32. When Mars first formed, its climate was believed to be similar to the current climate of the Earth. Its atmosphere then evolved rapidly to what it is today. The current wisdom says that this was due to
a. the impact of a large object which caused the atmosphere to boil-off
* b. the lack of large-scale plate tectonics
c. a stage of intense volcanism, as has also been postulated for the Moon
d. the event which led to the formation of the Tharsis region
e. a runaway Greenhouse effect
33. Why is it believed that Mars's atmosphere was thicker in the past?
a. Viking detected that in the analysis of rock samples
b. We have seen it in Earth-based studies
* c. It is needed to account for the presence of major water erosion features on the Martian surface
d. its atmosphere is identical to that of the Earth which has oceans
The figure below represents a seismic event occurring at point Z inside of a body having a liquid core and a rocky mantle.
34. At which point would one detect only P waves?
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. P, S, and L waves can be detected at all points
35. If I receive both S and P seismic waves at one station then
* a. I expect to see the P waves first
b. I expect to see the S waves first
c. I expect that the S and P waves will arrive at the same time
d. I cannot predict which type of wave will arrive first
36. The lithosphere is
a. a lithium-rich region of the Earth's crust
b. a region of the atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere
c. the region above the thermosphere
* d. the crust and upper mantle
37. There is no dense atmosphere on the Moon because
a. it simply never had one to begin with
* b. its high daytime temperature and low mass allowed it to escape
c. the gravitational tidal forces from the Earth stripped it away
d. when it formed by breaking away from the Earth the powerful forces involved stripped all of its gases away
38. Compared with the side of the Moon facing the Earth, the lunar backside has a. more maria
b. substantially fewer craters
c. substantially fewer mountain ranges
* d. a thicker crust
e. one active volcano while the nearby side has none
39. Below are statments concerning lunar formation. Synthesize your knowledge of lunar and planetary formation to place them in chronological order starting from the time of formation
I. coalesced from orbiting debris
II. cooling of interior
III. maria formed
IV. surface melted by heavy bombardment and decay of radioactive nuclei
a. II, III, IV, I
b. III, II, IV, I
c. I, II, III, IV
d. IV, III, II, I
* e. I, IV, III, II
40. If the Earth has the same total amount of carbon dioxide as Venus, why is such a small amount of carbon dioxide currently found in the atmosphere of the Earth?
a. the statement is false -- Venus and the Earth do not have the same total amount of carbon dioxide
b. the statement is false -- the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the Earth is the same as for Venus's atmosphere
c. the high temperature of Venus excites the carbon dioxide more than does the lower temperature of the Earth
d. the plants on the Earth have decreased the amount of carbon dioxide to where it is today
* e. the Earth's lower temperature allows the carbon dioxide to be held in the oceans and the crust