Study Questions Week 7

The Moon

1) Describe the different types of surface features of the Moon. What are the relative ages of each?

2) Why do we think the crater Tycho is one of the youngest large craters on the Moon?

3) Discuss the theories of the formation of the Moon. What is the evidence that supports each? Which theory is currently favored, and why?

4) Describe the relationship between impact basins and mare.

5) What is thought to be the origin of sinuous rilles? Of linear rilles?

6) Describe erosion on the Moon. 

7) Describe the geologic history of the Moon.

8) Be able to locate and identify the following features on the Moon:

• Mare Imbrium
• Mare Tranquilitatis
• Mare Serenitatis
• Mare Crisium
• Sinis Iridium
• Oceanus Procellarum
• Craters:
• Tycho
• Copernicus
• Appenine Mountains
• Also, know the locations of the six Apollo landing sites.

Apollo Missions

1) Be able to summarize two of the six Apollo landing missions: one from Apollo 11,12, or, 14, and one from Apollo 15, 16, or 17. Know: where they landed, what they did, what were some of the keystone accomplishments of the mission, and what were the major scientific or technical objectives of the mission. Also know one numerical fact from each of the two missions (e.g. pounds of lunar material returned, hours spent in EVA, miles traveled in the rover, etc.)

Lunar Prospector Study Questions (answered by the articles "Lunar Prospector: Overview" and "NASA's New Moon") 

 1. What are the goals of the LP mission?

2. What instrument does LP use to measure the composition of the Moons surface? How does it work?

3. What are the KREEP rich rocks?

4. Where are the KREEP rocks found?

5. Why are the KREEP rocks significant?

6. What elements are mapped by the gamma ray spectrometer?

7. How does the neutron spectrometer work? What does it measure?

8. Why is finding water on the moon significant?

9. What do learn from studying the Moon’s gravity?

10. How is LP mapping the Moon’s gravity?

11. What data from LP was used to estimate the size and mass of the lunar core? What are the results?

12. What is the theory of how the Moon’s magnetic field formed?

13. Describe the magnetic field of the moon.

14. What is the alpha  particle spectrometer going to study?

15. Why is there so little data from the  alpha particle spectrometer so far?

16. What is the favored theory of formation of the Moon?

Study questions from other weeks:

week 1 | week2 | week 3 | week 4 | week 5 | week 6 | week 7 | week 8 | week 9 | week 10 | week 11 | week 12 | week 13 | week 14