Dr. Charles Merguerian Hofstra University
Astrogeology 03 Practice Exam 02
Sample Exam Questions for Exam #2
I. True/False
1. _____The crust of the Earth is thinner than the Moon.
2. _____The lunar highlands are composed of brecciated anorthosite and granite.
3. _____Rocks on the moon and the Earth are roughly the same age (coeval).
4. _____The lunar crust is enriched in volatile siderophilic elements.
5. _____The lunar highlands are old, heavily cratered regions with relatively high (9% to 12%) albedo.
6. _____Massive bombardment of the lunar surface occurred roughly 3.0 billion years ago.
7. _____The Earth's mantle, though larger, appears to be chemically similar to the moon's.
8. _____The moon's heatflow is greater than that of the earth due to the lack of clouds.
9. _____The moon's magnetic field is roughly 1000 times weaker than the earth's.
10. _____Rocks filling the mares are known to be volcanic.
11. _____Rocks filling the mares are 3.0 to 3.8 billion years old.
12. _____Mascons occur beneath the lunar highlands.
13. _____Lunar basalts are similar to terrestrial basalts, except for the absence of hydrous mineral phases like mica, clay and zeolites and their titanium enrichment.
14. _____The Helmholtz contraction, in which the sun gradually shrinks due to gravity, is generally considered to be the primary source for the release of heat from the sun.
15. _____Regolith is loose, unconsolidated material on the surface of the moon and some of the planets.
16. _____The planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars, and the earth's moon are all extensively cratered.
17. _____Planetary atmospheres are commonly studied to arrive at conclusions concerning the degree of geologic activity of a planet.
18. _____The early meteorite bombardment period appears to have affected all of the terrestrial planets.
19. _____On Mercury, cratering occurred after and during the formation of the plains.
20. _____Rifts and possible shield volcanoes exist on Mars, Venus, and the Earth.
21. _____The surface of Mars is red due to ancient oxydation of iron-bearing minerals.
22. _____Venus and Mars have compositionally similar atmospheres.
23. _____The ice caps of Mars and the Earth are composed of frozen carbon dioxide.
24. _____Venus and Mercury rotate in retrograde motion and therefore display phases when viewed from the earth.
25. _____The terrestrial planet with the longest revolution period is Venus.
26. _____Radar mapping of the Venusian surface was accomplished by spacecraft plus earth-based radar-antennae systems.
27. _____The Venusian sky appears orange due to refraction of sunlight through its unusually dense atmosphere.
28. _____The Viking missions, which landed on Mars, demonstrated that microbial life existed there.
29. _____The Mariner and Viking missions to Mars verified the existence of linear canals first observed in 1877.
30. _____Many geomorphic features on Mercury are interpreted to be of volcanic origin.
31. _____Olympus
32. _____Mars is the only terrestrial planet with a moon.
33. _____Fissure-type eruptions yield flood basalts on Mars but not on Earth.
34. _____About 1/5 of the Mercurian surface is smooth plains material.
35. _____SNC meteorites have been recently found associated
with tektites in
36. _____Concentrations of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Venusian surface rocks are strongly similar to the earth's continental crustal rocks.
38. _____Total mixing of the Venusian atmosphere occurs due to equatorial thermal upwelling.
39. _____The gravity of Mercury, though similar in size, is roughly equal to the gravity on Mars.
40. _____The Martian sky is reddish from Earth but appears blue when viewed from its surface.
41. _____The Amazonian is the youngest system of rock-stratigraphic units found on the fourth planet from the sun.
42. _____Folded mountains and compressional tectonics are unique to the Earth and Mercury.
43. _____Martian polar terrains are 'dry ice' caps composed of frozen carbon dioxide.
44. _____Both physical and chemical weathering are likely to occur on Venus.
45. _____The Copernican period marks the youngest episode of geologic development for the moon.
46. _____The earth's lithosphere extends about 100 km from the surface and encompasses the crust and upper mantle.
47. _____The lunar mares are most similar to the earth's oceanic crust in terms of lithology.
48. _____The moon has highland areas which approach the relief of mountains on earth.
49. _____The process of chemical weathering is almost nonexistent on the moon.
50. _____The surface temperature of Venus is largely caused by the presence of ammonia.
51. _____All of the planets in the solar system orbit in the same ecliptic plane.
52. _____Primitive meteorites are chondritic and younger than differentiated meteorites.
53. _____The earth's orbit is nearly circular.
54. _____Only one side of the moon is visible from earth.
55. _____The maria are younger than the Moon's cratered areas.
56. _____Glass is present in lunar rocks.
57. _____Mars has seasons.
II. Multiple Choice
1. _____During differentiation, uranium and thorium were concentrated in the Earth's crust because these elements
A. form light, stable oxides.
B. are radioactive.
C. are very rare.
D. are less dense than the average earth.
E. were unhappy with living conditions in the mantle.
2. _____Which of the following statements about planetary magnetism is false?
A. the Moon has a strong dipole field similar to Earth's
B. the Earth has a strong dipole field
C. Venus has virtually no magnetic field
D. Mars has no field because its core may be solid
E. Mercury has a weak global field
3. _____The oldest rocks on the Moon would most likely be found
A. in the highlands.
B. in the mares.
C. in the walls of sinuous rilles in the mare.
D. in shallow meteorite craters in the mare.
E. none of the other answers
4. _____Which of the following statements about lunar rocks is false?
A. the oldest rocks are from the mares
B. water is absent in the rocks
C. most highland rocks are impact breccias
D. plutonic rocks found as fragments in breccias may be very old
E. mare rocks are the product of ancient lava flows
5. _____The sinuous rilles on the lunar mare are believed to be
A. collapsed lava tubes.
B. fossil stream channels.
C. complex faults.
D. ancient stream channels modified by valley glaciers.
E. answers A and C only
6. _____Which of the following has probably been the most important in sculpting and eroding the moon's surface?
A. meteorite impact
B. wind
C. solar heat
D. solar wind
E. water
7. _____Most of the radiometric data from igneous rocks found on the moon fall in the range of _____ billion years old.
A. 4.2 to 3.2
B. 4.6 to 7.2
C. 1.1 to 0.6
D. 1.7 to 2.3
E. 4.5 to 3.1
8. _____The most common rock type of the lunar maria is
A. basalt.
B. anorthosite.
C. granite.
D. breccia.
E. conglomerate.
9. _____Volcanic features on the moon include
A. large flows from fissure eruptions.
B. large shield volcanoes.
C. calderas with ring dikes.
D. all of the other answers
E. none of the other answers
10. _____The lunar maria are believed to be composed of basalt. The evidence for this is
A. the sequence of flow units apparent on the walls of rilles.
B. the type of rock brought back by Apollo astronauts.
C. the flow front features observed on the surface of lava flows.
D. the stratigraphic relationship of the maria to older craters.
E. all of the other answers
11. _____The development of a lunar time scale is based on the principle of
A. superposition.
B. uniformitarianism.
C. evolution of landforms.
D. least astonishment.
E. inertia.
12. _____Which of the following rock types was NOT collected from the moon?
A. granite
B. basalt
C. gabbroic anorthosite
D. glass
E. KREEP basalt
13. _____The most recent event in lunar history was
A. a period of intense bombardment of meteors.
B. impact which produced rayless craters.
C. impact which produced multi-ringed basins.
D. impact which produced rayed craters.
E. planetary differentiation.
14. _____Rocks sampled from the lunar highlands are similar to terrestrial rocks known as
A. andesite.
B. mylonites.
C. basalt.
D. kimberlite.
E. gabbroic anorthosite.
15. _____Which of the following does NOT play any part in the erosion of Mercury's surface?
A. cosmic rays
B. gravity
C. meteorites
D. windblown sand
E. solar heat
16. _____Which of the following minerals would you NOT expect in a sample of Mercurian basalt?
A. plagioclase
B. olivine
C. amphibole
D. pyroxene
E. spinel
17. _____Which of the following does NOT have carbon dioxide in its atmosphere?
A. the inside of an ice-cream truck
B. Earth
C. Venus
D. Mars
E. Mercury
18. _____On which of the following would a fragment, ejected at the same acceleration and velocity from a volcano or meteorite crater, travel the farthest?
A. Earth's moon
B. Venus
C. Mars
D. the sun
E. Earth
19. _____Which of the following moons or planets certainly lacks permanent ice sheets?
A. Earth's moon
B. Earth
C. Mars
D. Pluto
E. Mercury
20. _____On which of the following moons or planets is chemical weathering most likely to play a significant role?
A. Venus
B. Mercury
C. Mars
D. Earth's moon
E. none of the other answers
21. _____All of the following features are found on the Moon except
A. highlands
B. mares
C. laminated terrain
D. rayless craters
E. rilles
22. _____Mars exhibits all of the following except
A. fretted terrain
B. chaotic terrain
C. laminated terrain
D. karst terrain
E. etch-pitted terrain
23. _____Olympus
A. Mars
B. Mercury
C. the Earth
D. Venus
E. Deimos
24. _____There is evidence of past volcanic activity on:
A. Jupiter
B. Mars
C. the Earth's Moon
D. Mars and the Moon only
E. Mercury
25. _____The polar ice caps of Mars are composed of:
A. water and carbon diodide
B. water
C. ammonia
D. nitrogen
E. carbon dioxide
26. _____Which of the following has been most important in sculpting and eroding the Venusian surface?
A. meteorites
B. wind
C. water
D. solar wind
E. none of the other answers are significant
27. _____In the upper part of the Venusian atmosphere droplets of ________ are forming
A. sulphuric acid
B. carbon dioxide
C. water
D. hydrochloric acid
E. perspiration
28. _____On Mercury, lobate scarps are probably due to
A. isostatic downwarps leading to grabens.
B. lateral crustal compression leading to thrust faults.
C. meteorites.
D. crustal expansion.
E. isostatic uplift.
29. _____All of the following represent similar tectonic features except
A. Tharsis area
B. Caloris area
C. Imbrium area
D.
E. Orientale area
30. _____Ishtar and Aphrodite Terra are landforms that occupy
A. the southern hemisphere on Mars
B. circular lowland areas on Venus
C. upraised 'continental' platforms on Venus
D. ejecta-strewn regions on Mercury
E. upland areas in
31. _____Of the terrestrial planets or moons, the two oldest bodies (in terms of visible surface units) are
A. Mars and the Earth's Moon.
B. Mercury and Mars.
C. Earth and Venus.
D. Mercury and the Earth's Moon.
E. none of the other answers
32. _____Of the erosional processes known to operate on Earth, only one has operated on the Moon. Which one?
A. stream erosion
B. chemical weathering
C. wind erosion by other than solar wind
D. gravity movements
E. glaciation
33. _____Which of the following has been recognized on both the Earth and the Moon?
A. fossils of primitive organisms
B. granites containing albitic plagioclase
C. rock over 4.0 billion years old
D. a liquid iron core
E. basaltic rocks bearing remnant magnetism
34. _____The ages of basaltic lavas on the Moon indicate that
A. it condensed as a cold body and was never extensively molten.
B. extensive volcanism has occurred throughout its history.
C. the Moon has a unique proportion of radioactive elements.
D. the interior of the Moon was partly molten early in its history.
E. volcanism on the Moon lasted for only 100 million years.
35. _____Mars has a specific gravity of 3.9, compared to 5.5 for Earth, but the two planets are thought to have generally similar bulk compositions. This is possible because
A. Mars’s core is substantially smaller than the Earth’s core.
B. Mars probably has a liquid outer core.
C. Mars is probably not chemically differentiated into layers.
D. Mars is substantially more massive than the Earth.
E. the Earth is pulled by greater force from the Sun.
36. _____Which of these lunar features is the oldest?
A. rayed craters like Copernicus
B. maria basins
C. lunar highlands
D. lunar soil
E. all lunar features are about the same age
37. _____Which of the following features is NOT found on Mars?
A. vast chasms
B. polar ice caps
C. volcanos
D. sand dunes
E. all of these features occur on Mars
38. _____When viewed from the Earth, the dark areas on the Moon are called:
A. reggios
B. mares or maria
C. highlands terrain
D. rays
E. fretted terrain
39. _____Which of the following planets has the densest atmosphere?
A. Earth
B. Mars
C. Mercury
D. The Daily Planet
E. Venus
40. _____Which of the following planetary features is not very likely?
A. glacial activity on Mars
B. intense cratering on Mercury
C. stream piracy and erosion on Venus
D. greenhouse effect on Venus
E. volcanic eruptions on Earth
41. _____The Moon rocks
A. are similar to but not identical to Earth rocks.
B. are older than the earth's oldest rocks.
C. contain no glass.
D. are similar in texture and composition to meteorites.
E. contain very little feldspar.
42. _____The Moon has
A. a strong magnetic field.
B. both impact and volcanic features.
C. only impact features.
D. always been the same distance from the Earth.
E. pedestal craters.
43. _____Because of interactions between the Earth and the Moon
A. the length of the earth day is increasing.
B. the length of the earth year is increasing.
C. the rotational energy of the system is decreasing.
D. all of the above answers
E. the length of a light year is increasing.
44. _____Which of the following explanations for the fact that the Earth has so few meteorite craters, compared to the Moon, is illogical?
A. the Earth is larger, so meteors are spread over a larger surface.
B. the Earth's crust is mobile, traces of craters have been obliterated.
C. Meteorite bombardment was intense during the Earth's molten stage.
D. most meteorites burn up in the earth's atmosphere.
E. none of the other answers
45. _____Most of the craters on the Moon were formed
A. between 1 and 2 billion years ago.
B. less than 1 billion years ago.
C. less than 1 million years ago.
D. more than 3 billion years ago.
E. by giant swamp rats.
46. _____After an impact crater is formed it may be modified by
A. gravity.
B. subsequent impact.
C. burial by ejecta from other craters.
D. burial by lava flows.
E. all of the above answers.
47. _____The Valles Marineris of Mars is believed to have been enlarged by
A. marsquakes
B. slumping (mass movement)
C. headward erosion by tributaries
D. wind action
E. all of the other answers
48. _____The most common rock type in the outermost layers of the lunar surface is
A. breccia.
B. ash flow tuffs.
C. glass.
D. basalt.
E. periodotite.
49. _____ The sequence of events in lunar history was established by
A. fossil evidence and radioactive dating.
B. applying the principle of superposition.
C. correlation with similar events on Mercury and Mars.
D. using the principle of faunal succession.
E. using Murphy's Law.
50. _____Which of the following structural features have been observed on the Moon?
A. grabens and wrinkle ridges only
B. grabens
C. wrinkle ridges
D. folded mountain belts
E. all of the other answers
51. _____The surface features of Mercury suggest that its geologic history
A. is similar to that of the Moon.
B. is similar to that of Mars.
C. is unique among the known planets.
D. is similar to that of Earth.
E. is identical to what we know about Venus.
52. _____The surface features on the Moon are most similar to
A. Mercury.
B. Venus.
C. Earth.
D. Mars.
E. Jupiter.
53. _____Which of the following appear to be unique to Mercury?
A. giant volcanos
B. craters with clusters of central peaks
C. intercrater plains units
D. rift valleys
E. eolian features
54. _____The interior of the moon
A. has a layered structure with core, mantle, and crust.
B. is essentially homogeneous.
C. is liquid below a depth of 70 km.
D. gradually increases its density but is not layered.
E. is much denser than the surface rocks.
55. _____Weathering processes on the Moon include all except
A. wind action.
B. meteorite impact.
C. temperature change.
D. gravity.
E. cosmic radiation.
56. _____Lunar regolith has been formed by
A. action of wind and sunlight on minerals.
B. solidification of basaltic magma.
C. compaction of volcanic dust.
D. repeated impacts of meteorites.
E. mechanical and chemical weathering.
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