Version A

Write your name at the top of this quiz as well as on your answer sheet. WRITE YOUR VERSION ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET. Feel free to write or draw on the quiz.

PICK THE BEST ANSWER FOR EACH QUESTION.

1. Which of the following objects has the MOST impact craters?
a) Europa.
b) Callisto.
c) Io.
d) Enceladus.
e) Earth.

b) Callisto.

2. Which of the following objects has the youngest surface?
a) Mercury.
b) Venus.
c) Callisto.
d) Mimas.
e) The highlands on the Moon.

b) Venus.

3. The rilles on the Moon are:
a) large circular cracks, caused by lava uplifting a dome, and the dome then collapsing.
b) the lunar equivalent of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where tectonic plates are moving apart.
c) the equivalent of subduction zones: two continental plates colliding.
d) channels caused by streams of lava.
e) the very large dark spots that can be seen from Earth without a telescope.

d) channels caused by streams of lava.

4. What is the name of the large impact crater on Mercury that faces the Sun (or is directly away from the Sun) when Mercury is at its closest point to the Sun in its orbit?
a) Cassini Basin.
b) Valhalla.
c) the Great Dark Spot.
d) Corona Basin.
e) Caloris Basin.

e) Caloris Basin.

5. Based on computer models, astronomers theorize that the interior of Uranus is:
a) mostly ice.
b) mostly liquid metallic hydrogen.
c) largely liquid, with a rocky core and a thick atmosphere.
d) mostly iron and nickel, with a rocky mantle.
e) similar to Earth's.

c) largely liquid, with a rocky core and a thick atmosphere.

6. Which of the following scenarios for the formation of the Moon is most accepted by astronomers?
a) it formed at the same time as the Earth, as a `double planet'.
b) it formed elsewhere in the solar system, and was gravitationally captured.
c) it broke off from the Earth due to internal stresses.
d) the Earth was hit by a large object, which broke off a chunk which became the Moon. The impacting object then left the solar system.
e) the Earth was hit by a large object, which created a disk around the Earth which then formed into the Moon.

e) the Earth was hit by a large object, which created a disk around the Earth which then formed into the Moon.

7. The Magellan spacecraft found the following features on the surface of Venus:
a) an extremely high density of craters, like the highlands on the Moon.
b) an extremely geologically active, volcanic surface, with many on-going eruptions and molten lava flows.
c) a cracked, icy surface, that may have liquid water under the ice.
d) large (probably) extinct volcanos and large-scale hardened lava flows.
e) huge cracks in the surface, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, indicating significant on-going plate tectonics.

d) large (probably) extinct volcanos and large-scale hardened lava flows.

8. Which of the following objects has an thin atmosphere made up of mostly sulfur dioxide, SO₂?
a) Europa.
b) Callisto.
c) Io.
d) The Moon.
e) Mars.

c) Io.

9. The Cassini spacecraft:
a) Is on its way to Pluto now.
b) Is on its way to Mercury now.
c) Is in orbit around Saturn now.
d) Is in orbit around Mars now.
e) Was the first lander on Mars, back in 1976.

c) Is in orbit around Saturn now.

10. What is the name of the huge crack in the surface of Mars, 3000 miles long?
a) Cassini Canyon.
b) Valhalla Chasm.
c) Olympus Valley.
d) Caloris Chasm.
e) Valles Marineris.

e) Valles Marineris.

11. Which moon of Saturn is sometimes called the `Death Star Moon', since it has a very large impact crater on one side? This is a light-colored very cratered moon.
a) Io.
b) Europa.
c) Enceladus.
d) Titan.
e) Mimas.

e) Mimas.

12. Which of the Galilean Moons has the largest density?
a) Io.
b) Europa.
c) Ganymede.
d) Callisto.
e) They all have the same density.

a) Io.

13. Which of the following objects has the largest proportion of methane in its atmosphere?
a) Neptune.
b) Saturn.
c) Jupiter.
d) All of the above have the same proportion of methane.
e) None of the planets or moons have any methane in its atmosphere; all of the methane in our solar system is frozen solid.

a) Neptune.

14. Which of the following has NOT been seen on the surface of Mercury?
a) Impact craters.
b) Scarps.
c) Caloris Basin.
d) Maria.
e) All of the above.

d) Maria.

15. The `Continent' of Aphrodite is on:
a) Mercury.
b) Venus.
c) Earth.
d) Mars.
e) Jupiter.

b) Venus.

16. The large dark spots one can see on the face of the Moon without a telescope are:
a) very cratered, compared to the rest of the Moon.
b) very mountainous, compared to the rest of the Moon.
c) not as cratered as the lighter regions.
d) composed of the oldest known rocks in the solar system.
e) are large basins filled with hot flowing molten lava, due to on-going volcanic activity on the Moon.

c) not as cratered as the lighter regions.

17. Phobos is a moon of:
a) Mars.
b) Jupiter.
c) Saturn.
d) Uranus.
e) Neptune.

a) Mars.

18. Which of the following moons has active geysers at the current time?
a) Enceladus.
b) Mimas.
c) Deimos.
d) Callisto.
e) Phobos.

a) Enceladus.

19. Why does the sky look pinkish on Mars?

a) Methane in its atmosphere absorbs blue sunlight.
b) CO₂ in its atmosphere absorbs blue sunlight.
c) Thick sulfuric acid clouds absorb blue sunlight.
d) Iron-rich dust particles are suspended in the atmosphere.
e) The atmosphere is redshifted.

d) Iron-rich dust particles are suspended in the atmosphere.

20. Why isn't Hyperion tidally locked to its planet?

a) It is too massive.
b) It is too far away from its planet to be locked.
c) Titan breaks the tidal lock of Saturn.
d) It is a perfect sphere, thus its planet cannot lock onto it.
e) It is too hot.

c) Titan breaks the tidal lock of Saturn.