Download Word

Geol 101: Physical Geology
PAST EXAM QUESTIONS
LECTURE 37: PLANETARY GEOLOGY
37. The two belts of small icy bodies at the very outer edges of the solar system are:
A. the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt
B. the asteroid belt and the Oort Cloud
C. the Kuiper belt and the Oort Cloud
D. the Kuiper belt and the Milky Way
E. the Oort Cloud and the Milky Way
37. Which of the following is a Kuiper Belt object that was recently determined to be bigger than Pluto and is now
classified as a dwarf planet, similar to Pluto?
A. Sedna
B. Eris
C. Quaoar
D. Dysnomia
E. Oort
37. Which solar system body does NOT revolve around the sun in the plane of the ecliptic?
A. Pluto
B. Jupiter
C. Saturn
D. Neptune
E. Mars
37. Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. all 8 planets revolve around the Sun in the plane of the ecliptic
B. all planets rotate in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above
C. the asteroid belt occurs between the planets Mars and Jupiter
D. Uranus is the only planet with a rotational axis pointing towards the Sun
E. the terrestrial planets consist of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
37. Which of the planets does NOT revolve in a counterclockwise direction around the sun?
A. Venus
B. Earth
C. Mars
D. Jupiter
E. all planets revolve around the sun counterclockwise
37. Which planet rotates counter-clockwise about a rotational axis that always points towards the sun, resulting in
one half of the planet being constantly in day and the other half being perpetually in night?
A. Earth
B. Jupiter
C. Uranus
D. Neptune
E. Mercury
37. Which of the following planets is NOT considered to be one of the Jovian planets?:
A. Neptune
B. Saturn
C. Jupiter
D. Uranus
E. Venus
37. A piece of space debris that enters the Earth's atmosphere is called a (1) _______ but if it hits the ground it is
called a (2) _________.
A. (1) asteroid (2) meteorite
B. (1) comet
(2) meteorite
C. (1) meteor
(2) fireball
D. (1) meteor
(2) meteorite
E. (1) meteorite (2) meteor
37. The meteorite impact that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs was the Chicxulub meteorite that hit the
(1) ___________ about (2) ____________ years ago.
A. (1) Arizona desert, USA
(2) 49,000
B. (1) Arizona desert, USA
(2) 66 million
C. (1) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (2) 66 million
D. (1) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (2) 49,000
E. (1) Tunguska region, Siberia
(2) 66 million
37. We see evidence for the Chicxulub impact event in a thin layer of sediment at the K-T boundary that is enriched
in the element ___________, which is known to be common in meteorites.
A. calcium
B. nickel
C. iridium
D. uranium
E. einsteinium
37. The most common type of meteorite:
A. stony
B. stony-iron
C. iron
D. carbonaceous chondrites
E. all meteorite types are equally common
37. Chondrites, carbonaceous chondrites, and achondrites are all types of:
A. stony meteorites
B. stony-iron meteorites
C. iron meteorites
D. fragments from Mars
E. moon rocks
37. The planet that is similar in size to Earth, but which has a surface temperature of 475ºC and an atmosphere that
is about 95% CO2 is:
A. Mercury
B. Venus
C. Earth
D. Mars
E. Jupiter
37. The largest meteorite impact crater, the largest volcano, and the largest rift valley in the solar system can all be
found on:
A. Mercury
B. Mars
C. Venus
D. Europa
E. Earth
37. The Hellas meteorite impact site, Olympus Mons volcano, and the Valles Marineris rift valley are all features on
the surface of:
A. Mercury
B. Europa
C. Venus
D. Moon
E. Mars
37. Other than Earth, the planet most likely to have had water flowing across its surface is:
A. Mercury
B. Europa
C. Venus
D.
E.
Moon
Mars
37. Which of the following planetary bodies is NOT currently volcanically active?
A. Earth
B. Enceladus
C. Venus
D. Triton
E. Io
37. It would be difficult to have manned missions to Venus and Mars because:
A. neither planet has a magnetic field so it would be too easy to get lost
B. both planets are so small that there is only a small amount of gravity
C. both planets are extremely tectonically active, making it very dangerous
D. there is absolutely no indication of water being present on either planet
E. the surface of Venus is extremely hot and the surface of Mars is extremely cold
37. The most volcanically active body in the solar system is:
A. Earth
B. Triton
C. the Moon
D. Io
E. Mars
37. The low-lying dark plains on the Moon are called maria and are made up of:
A. anorthosite
B. meteorites
C. granite
D. basalt
E. peridotite