GEOL 109 Final Exam Questions With Guaranteed Correct Answers

Saturn is most similar in structure and internal composition to which of the planets below? Mercury Mars Jupiter Sun - correct answers Jupiter Saturn's rings - correct answers have a high brightness or albedo What is the most important source of energy that drives the circulation of Saturn's atmosphere? - correct answers heat released from the interior The only satellite of Jupiter or Saturn to have a substantial atmosphere is - correct answers Titan Why does Titan have an atmosphere rich in nitrogen and methane while the Galilean satellites of Jupiter lack atmospheres? - correct answers Titan from farther from the Sun where ammonia and methane were stable in the ancient accretion disk Which landforms have not been seen on Saturn's moon Titan? - correct answers glaciers formed by moving ice Why is it surprising that Enceladus has the long wrinkle line features? - correct answers Because it is so small, young surfaces were not expected. It should have cooled a long time ago A common feature of many of the icy satellites of Saturn is - correct answers global rifts apparently caused by expansion Why are many of Saturn's moons shaped like Phoebe (non-spherical) instead of being essentially spherical? - correct answers The size, and hence the gravity field, are not large enough to deform the irregular bodies into near spherical shapes The magnetic field of Uranus - correct answers has an unexpected orientation, is tilted compared to the spin axis, may be experiencing a reversal The particles in the rings of Uranus are - correct answers dark and probably composed of darkened methane ice A common process that occurred during the evolution of the satellites of Uranus was - correct answers cracking as they expanded later in their histories The uniform blue color of Uranus compared with bands and storms in other other giant planets probably results from - correct answers the unique rotation of Uranus on its side Both Neptune and Uranus have magnetic fields that - correct answers are tilted with respect to the axis of rotation In the early 1980s, some planetary scientists suggested that Triton currently has a sea of liquid nitrogen. Voyager 2 showed that - correct answers Triton is too cold for liquid nitrogen Triton has a density of over 2 times that of water. The density of the satellites of Saturn are only about 1.2 times that of water ice. This suggests that - correct answers Triton has more silicate rock than the satellites of Saturn and Triton was formed in a part of the solar nebula where carbon monoxide (CO) was important The deep blue color of Neptune's atmosphere is because - correct answers of what volatiles were present at that location in the solar nebula Why are comets thought to have originated in a different part of the solar nebula than asteroids? - correct answers Because they are composed mostly of ices The nucleus of a comet - correct answers is small and dark The tail of a comet - correct answers develops temporarily when the comet enters the inner solar system What is the origin of the light-colored streaks extending from the surface of comet C-G? - correct answers The streaks are plumes of dust and gas ejected from the interior as the sun heats it The Rosetta mission found that the comet C-G, small and with two big lobes, - correct answers has a very low density and hard crust, like deep fried ice cream The Oort Cloud - correct answers is a spherical cloud of icy objects 1/4 the distance to the nearest star Comets come from - correct answers the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud In which ways is the Oort cloud different than the Kuiper Belt? - correct answers The Oort cloud is spherical, not disk-shaped and most long period comets come from the Oort cloud Which of the following is most important in keeping water a liquid on Earth? - correct answers the distance from the sun Why are the planetary bodies of the inner solar system different in composition from those of the outer solar system? - correct answers The planets formed in a thermal gradient around the ancient sun; high-temperature solids could form near the ancient Sun; large cores with a lot of water attracted hydrogen and helium from the nebula; low-temperature solids are found beyond the snow line, near Jupiter The atmosphere of which planet is most like Titan in composition? - correct answers Earth The atmosphere of which planet is most like that of Titan in surface pressure? - correct answers Earth The atmosphere of which planet is most like that of Titan in origin? - correct answers Jupiter Which planetary bodies have or had a hydrologic system involving liquids? - correct answers Mars, Earth, Titan Why aren't atmospheric liquids and erosion important geologic agents on all planets? - correct answers some planets do not have solid surfaces, are too cold for the right liquids to be present, to hot for the right liquids to be present, do not have atmospheres to enable clouds and rain to form The absence of large folded mountain systems on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury is evidence that the lithospheres of these planets - correct answers are immobile and may have been so throughout each planet's history What is the most important control on a planet's present level of geologic activity (especially volcanism and tectonism)? - correct answers the thickness of the lithosphere Suppose that a new planet has been discovered between Venus and Earth. It is about the size of Earth's Moon. Which of the following statements about it is probably true? - correct answers It should be intensely cratered and lack a thick atmosphere Based on what we known today, which of the following is most like Pluto, in its size, composition, and density? - correct answers Triton Pluto - correct answers has the largest satellite compared to its size Pluto's atmosphere is tenuous and temporary, but what are its major constituents? - correct answers Mainly nitrogen with some methane and carbon monoxide that sublimate from the volatile ices on its surface Which statement is NOT true for the Kuiper Belt? - correct answers It is semi-spherical cloud of orbiting bodies with highly inclined orbits (TRUE statement: it contains many small icy objects in orbit around the Sun, the orbits formed a flattened disk in the outer solar system, Pluto is one of the bodies in the Kuiper Belt How did Pluto's Sputnik Planitia form? - correct answers A large impact basin was filled with weak nitrogen ice Tall mountains on Pluto are formed in what kind of ice? - correct answers water Which of the following landforms are seen on Pluto? - correct answers glaciers, icy mountains, sand dunes, an atmosphere The dark reddish regions on Charon's north pole result from what process? - correct answers Organics from Pluto condenses at Charon's po