Exam 3 Flashcards
(145 cards)
What kind of external factors shape the terrestrial planets?
Bombardment
Some processes that shape the terrestrial planets may be ________. Examples of this may be plate tectonics an asteroid impacts.
Slow
Interior factors affect what we see on the:
Surface
We can examine the interior of the Earth and Moon by ________ ________ from earthquakes.
Seismic waves
The overall density of other planets is the combination of:
Surface and overall density
Determined by the interior layers that generate it.
Magnetic fields
Gives the interior composition of rock.
Emerged surface rock
Denser material is pulled towards the center of the planet
Differentiation
What are the three layers starting from the surface to the most inner part?
Crust, mantle, core
The top rigid layer
Lithosphere
Why are planets round?
Gravitational force
What are the three methods of interior thermal energy?
- Accretion (potential energy to kinetic, to thermal)
- Differentiation (potential energy to thermal via friction)
- Radioactive decay (mass-energy to thermal energy)
When do the two interior heating processes of the planet, accretion and differentiation, work?
When the planet is young
What are the three methods of interior cooling?
- Convection (cooling by hotter material moving to an area of cooler material)
- Conduction (cooling through close contact to a cooler object)
- Radiation (cooling by emitting energy in forms of a wave)
How does size affect geological activity?
Smaller planets cool faster.
What are the two terrestrial bodies that do not have heat driven geological activity?
Mercury and the Moon
What planets still have heat driven activity?
Venus, Earth, and Mars
What are the three parameters needed to create a magnetic field?
- And interior region of electrically charged conductive fluid.
- Convection in fluid layer.
- Moderately rapid spin.
What planets have a magnetic field due to the three parameter process?
Earth and Jovian planets
Which planet’s magnetic field is a mystery?
Mercury
What are the four major processes of planetary surface shaping?
- Volcanism
- Tectonics
- Erosion
- Impact Cratering
Which of the planetary surface shaping processes are internal? External?
Internal: Volcanism, Tectonics, and Erosion
External: Impact Cratering
Caused when an asteroid or comet impacts the surface of a planet.
Impact cratering
What two planetary bodies have been heavily impacted by impact cratering?
The Moon and Mercury