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STUDY QUESTIONS PART 2

 

 

Study Questions Week 5

Ch. 9 Venus

  1. Describe the general characteristics of Venus. Be able to recognize a visual (as opposed to radar) image of Venus.
  2. How did Magellan map the surface of Venus.
  3. Describe the surface features of Venus.
  4. What is the evidence for active volcanoes on Venus?
  5. What is a "runaway greenhouse" effect?
  6. Is there evidence for major tectonics on Venus? Is there evidence for major current volcanic activity on Venus?
  7. Explain "catastrophism" versus "uniformitarianism".
  8. Describe the overall picture of Venus’s geologic history that is presented in the video. Is this model universally accepted?
  9. What mechanisms are responsible for how planets loose heat? Which is most important on Venus? Which is most important on Earth?  Mars is smaller, and probably cooled much more quickly than Earth or Venus. Based on this, what do you predict about these processes on Mars?
  10. Describe the observations of impact craters on Venus. What are the implications of these observations?
  11. Why does Venus have phases? Be able to describe the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Venus for  its major phases.
  12. Define the terms: inferior conjunction, superior conjunction, greatest elongation with respect to the orbit of Venus.

Study Questions Week 6

Chapter 14:

  1. What are the differences between asteroids and comets?
  2. What are the different classes of asteroids as based on composition? How abundant are each kind?
  3. Compare and contrast the orbital properties of the different groups of asteroids.
  4. Explain the terms: meteor, meteorite, and meteoroid.
  5. What is the connection between comets and meteors?
  6. Discuss the composition of meteorites. What does this tell us about their origins?
  7. Compare and contrast the places where comets originate. (Oort cloud and Kuiper belt)
  8. Describe the structure and composition of a comet. What happens as a comet approaches the Sun?
  9. Compare and contrast the orbits of comets and asteroids.
  10. How many asteroids are known? What is the total mass of all the known asteroids?
  11. What are the composition and physical properties of a typical asteroid?

Earth impacts by asteroids and comets

Video " The Doomsday Asteroid"

  1. Discuss the evidence that a major impact 65 million years ago was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
  2. Describe the Tungaska event.
  3. What is significant about iridium?
  4. What type and size of object is thought to have caused Meteor Crater in Arizona?
  5. Where is the is the crater Chicxulub and why is it significant?.

 

  1. What do you need to know in order to calculate the energy of an impact event?
  2. Be able to do problems similar to the energy of impacts worksheet.

Study Questions Week 7 and 8

Phases of the Moon

  1. Know the phases of the Moon.
  2. Know the relationship between the phase of the Moon, the time of observation, and where the Moon is seen in the sky.
  3. Know the relationship between the phase of the Moon and the angle form the Sun to Earth to Moon.
  4. Know the definition of "elongation".
  5. Be able to draw celestial sphere diagrams for the phases of the Moon.

Apollo Missions

  1. Be able to summarize three of the six Apollo landing missions. 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.

Chapter 8: The Moon

  1. Describe the different types of surface features of the Moon. What are the relative ages of each?
  2. Be able to describe the lunar surface features in terms of our four processes: impact cratering, volcanism, tectonics, and erosion.
  3. Why do we think the crater Tycho is one of the youngest large craters on the Moon?
  4. Discuss the theories of the formation of the Moon. What is the evidence that supports each? Which theory is currently favored, and why?
  5. Describe the relationship between impact basins and mare.
  6. What is thought to be the origin of sinuous rilles? Of linear rilles?
  7. Describe the evidence for water on the moon.
  8. Describe erosion on the Moon. 
  9. Describe the geologic history of the Moon.
  10. Be able to locate and identify the following features on the Moon (I include two maps of the moon with the following features labeled in the Moon powerpoint)

Labeled Moon Map available here

Apollo landing site map

Lunar Exploration

  1. Be able to summarize three of the Lunar  missions discussed in class. Know:  what they did or will do, was it/will it be an orbiter or lander, what were/are some of the keystone accomplishments of the mission, and what were/are the major scientific or technical objectives of the mission.