Terrestrial Worlds Quiz

Suppose we use a baseball to represent Earth. On this scale, the other terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) would range in size approximately from that of _______.

• a dust speck to a golf ball

• a dust speck to a basketball

• a golf ball to a baseball

• a golf ball to a beach ball

From center to surface, which of the following correctly lists the interior layers of a terrestrial world?

• core, crust, lithosphere

• core, mantle, crust

• mantle, crust, core

• mantle, core, crust

What do we mean when we say that the terrestrial worlds underwent differentiation?

• Their surfaces show a variety of different geological features resulting from different geological processes.

• They lost interior heat to outer space.

• When their interiors were molten, denser materials sank toward their centers and lighter materials rose toward their surfaces.

• The five terrestrial worlds all started similarly but ended up looking quite different.

A terrestrial world's lithosphere is _______.

• the interior region in which the planet's magnetic field is generated

• a layer of relatively strong, rigid rock, encompassing the crust and part of the mantle

• a thin layer of rock that lies between the mantle and crust

• a layer of hot, molten rock encompassing the core and part of the mantle

The two most important processes in heating the interiors of the terrestrial worlds are:

• (1) Heat deposited by the process of formation; (2) heat that came from the gravitational potential energy of incoming planetesimals.

• (1) Heat deposited by the process of formation; (2) heat released by radioactive decay.

• (1) Heat from convection; (2) heat from thermal radiation.

• (1) Volcanism; (2) tectonics.

Which of the following is an example of convection?

• Gas bubbling upward through a liquid.

• Rocks sinking in water.

• Different kinds of material separating by density, like oil and water.

• Warm air expanding and rising while cooler air contracts and fall.

In general, which things below are affected by a magnetic field?

• Charged particles or magnetized materials (such as iron).

• Iron-bearing minerals only.

• Rocks of all types.

• Gases and liquids.

What is a magnetosphere?

• a region of space around a planet in which the planet's magnetic field can trap charged particles

• the region in a planet's atmosphere in which auroras occur

• the outermost layer of a planet's atmosphere

• a type of magnetic storm on the sun

What processes are responsible for virtually all surface geology?

• impact cratering, volcanisms, tectonics, and erosion

• erosion, sedimentation, and biological activity

• chemical weathering, biological processes, and volcanic eruptions

• glaciation, asteroid impacts, and solar radiation

What does outgassing refer to in the context of planetary geology?

• The release by volcanism of gases that had been trapped in a planetary interior

• The evaporation of water that adds water vapor to an atmosphere

• The formation of a volcanic eruption

• The loss of atmospheric gas to outer space