EAPS Exam 2 questions with verified
solutions passed
It deforms, its atoms vibrate more, and its temperature rises - correct answer ✔✔The
consequences of suddenly stopping a moving object
When iron within a melted interior of a new planetfalls toward the center, a core forms. The
process of core formation creates more heat as falling iron impacts (though slowly) with the
growing core. - correct answer ✔✔The state of the interiors of new terrestrial planets
Accretion and core formation are known as primordial heating, since they only occurred during
planet formation - correct answer ✔✔The meaning of primordial heating
Radioactive decay - correct answer ✔✔What Lord Kelvin neglected in his calculation of the age
of the Earth.
occurs when unstable atomic nuclei decay into a more stable nuclei, emitting particles that
cause collisions that produce heat. - correct answer ✔✔Why radioactive decay produces heat
Today the main elements with unstable forms that decay and lead to the generation of heat
within a planet are uranium and thorium
-Earth's internal heat today is about half from ongoing radioactive decay and half from leftover
heat from accretion and core formation (primordial heating) - correct answer ✔✔Why the
interior of the Earth is hot today
Though tidally locked, Io has an elliptical orbit around Jupiter(from resonance with Europa and
Ganymede), causing it to be continuously deformed (like an accordion), generating heat
,-there is no continuous (accordion) deformation - correct answer ✔✔Why tidal heating is so
intense on Io, but not the Moon
The immense gravities of giant planets cause their interiors to compress, causing them to heat
up (same energy in less space). - correct answer ✔✔The additional source of internal heating of
the interiors of the giant planets.
Radiative heat transfer only takes place at the surface of a
body, as the interior is not transparent, and is the only
means for any body to shed its heat into space - correct answer ✔✔The only means by which a
body can shed its heat to space
Less primordial heat (less impacts, smaller core)
• Less radioactive elements to keep them hot
• Smaller bodies have larger surface areas to volume
ratios, enabling them more efficiently get rid of heat - correct answer ✔✔Why smaller planets
cool faster than larger ones
Conduction is
the transfer of heat
through a solid by the
spread of vibrations to
surrounding regions - correct answer ✔✔How heat is transferred with conduction
Convection is the transfer of heat through the upward
motion of buoyant (hot) fluids, which then cool and
descend causing convection cells. - correct answer ✔✔How heat is transferred with convection
, Yes; if the solid flows like a fluid
-It's called solid state convection - correct answer ✔✔How convection can occur within a solid
Convection - correct answer ✔✔How heat transfer occurs within the Earth's mantle.
Lithosphere is the
cold strong outer
shell of the Earth
consisting of the
crust and
uppermost mantle - correct answer ✔✔What a lithosphere is
Asthenosphere is the hot
and very weak layer that
underlies lithosphere. It
flows as a viscous fluid - correct answer ✔✔What asthenosphere is
Plate tectonics is driven by mantle convection - correct answer ✔✔What drives plate tectonics.
Mid-ocean ridges are spreading centers where
new ocean crust forms then spreads out. - correct answer ✔✔What a mid-ocean ridge is
where
oceanic plates dive (subduct) back into the Earth's interior. - correct answer ✔✔What is
subduction zone is
solutions passed
It deforms, its atoms vibrate more, and its temperature rises - correct answer ✔✔The
consequences of suddenly stopping a moving object
When iron within a melted interior of a new planetfalls toward the center, a core forms. The
process of core formation creates more heat as falling iron impacts (though slowly) with the
growing core. - correct answer ✔✔The state of the interiors of new terrestrial planets
Accretion and core formation are known as primordial heating, since they only occurred during
planet formation - correct answer ✔✔The meaning of primordial heating
Radioactive decay - correct answer ✔✔What Lord Kelvin neglected in his calculation of the age
of the Earth.
occurs when unstable atomic nuclei decay into a more stable nuclei, emitting particles that
cause collisions that produce heat. - correct answer ✔✔Why radioactive decay produces heat
Today the main elements with unstable forms that decay and lead to the generation of heat
within a planet are uranium and thorium
-Earth's internal heat today is about half from ongoing radioactive decay and half from leftover
heat from accretion and core formation (primordial heating) - correct answer ✔✔Why the
interior of the Earth is hot today
Though tidally locked, Io has an elliptical orbit around Jupiter(from resonance with Europa and
Ganymede), causing it to be continuously deformed (like an accordion), generating heat
,-there is no continuous (accordion) deformation - correct answer ✔✔Why tidal heating is so
intense on Io, but not the Moon
The immense gravities of giant planets cause their interiors to compress, causing them to heat
up (same energy in less space). - correct answer ✔✔The additional source of internal heating of
the interiors of the giant planets.
Radiative heat transfer only takes place at the surface of a
body, as the interior is not transparent, and is the only
means for any body to shed its heat into space - correct answer ✔✔The only means by which a
body can shed its heat to space
Less primordial heat (less impacts, smaller core)
• Less radioactive elements to keep them hot
• Smaller bodies have larger surface areas to volume
ratios, enabling them more efficiently get rid of heat - correct answer ✔✔Why smaller planets
cool faster than larger ones
Conduction is
the transfer of heat
through a solid by the
spread of vibrations to
surrounding regions - correct answer ✔✔How heat is transferred with conduction
Convection is the transfer of heat through the upward
motion of buoyant (hot) fluids, which then cool and
descend causing convection cells. - correct answer ✔✔How heat is transferred with convection
, Yes; if the solid flows like a fluid
-It's called solid state convection - correct answer ✔✔How convection can occur within a solid
Convection - correct answer ✔✔How heat transfer occurs within the Earth's mantle.
Lithosphere is the
cold strong outer
shell of the Earth
consisting of the
crust and
uppermost mantle - correct answer ✔✔What a lithosphere is
Asthenosphere is the hot
and very weak layer that
underlies lithosphere. It
flows as a viscous fluid - correct answer ✔✔What asthenosphere is
Plate tectonics is driven by mantle convection - correct answer ✔✔What drives plate tectonics.
Mid-ocean ridges are spreading centers where
new ocean crust forms then spreads out. - correct answer ✔✔What a mid-ocean ridge is
where
oceanic plates dive (subduct) back into the Earth's interior. - correct answer ✔✔What is
subduction zone is
