Astronomy 150 – Midterm Name:May 1, 2008 – Spring 2008 TA’s Name & Section (2 pts):Answer all questions in the space provided. If you have any questions, raise your hand.100 points possible. NO CALCULATORS OR ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICES.1 (3 pts) Apollo 12 landed on a Mare surface of the Moon. What type(s) of rock is/are most common atthis site?2 (3 pts) Apollo 16 landed on a Highland surface of the Moon. What type(s) of rock is/are most commonat this site?3 (6 pts) Explain why you can not use the s ame radioactive isotopes to determine the age of Moon rocksas you would use to determine the age of rocks found around Seattle.You have discovered a new planet orbiting the Sun at a distance of 0.3 AU. This planet is (1/5) the sizeof the Earth, and is (1/100) as massive. The planet has an uncompressed density of 5.0 g/cm3and amoment-of-inertia factor of 0.30. (Use this information to answer the question on the next two pages).4 (6 p ts) How does the gravity of this planet compare to the Earth’s gravity? [Be qu antitative; show yourwork.]5 (4 pts) What is the most likely composition of this planet? [Remember to give a qualitative indication ofthe amount of each substance.]6 (3 pts) Describe how the mass is distributed in the interior of this planet.7 (6 pts) Would you expect the amount geological activity on this world to be greater or less than theEarth’s? Explain your answer.8 (8 pts) Explain why it is unlikely that this planet has a thick atmosphere today.9 (8 pts) It is likely that 3 billion years ago this planet did have an atmosphere (for a short time). How didthis atmosphere form and what was the most likely composition of this atmosphere.10 (4 pts) Explain why the surface temperature of this world was probably higher 3 billion years ago, thanis today.11 (8 pts) The tilt of the Earth’s spin (23.5◦) is very similar to the current tilt of Mars (25.2◦). Explainwhy this may not be the case in one million years.12 (8 pts) What is the evidence that Late Heavy Bombardment happened on the surface of the Earth, andhow do we know when it happened?13 (9 pts) The graph below is the phase diagram for water. Plot and label the, very approximate, conditions(Temperature and P ressure) for:A: The current conditions in this room.B: The current conditions at the Opportunity Mars Rover site.C: The conditions 3 Billion years ago when th e Opportunity Mars Rover site was wet.You should have three labeled points on the graph below.14 (3 pts) Explain why you can not plot the conditions at the Apollo 15 landing site on the graph above.15 (3 pts) Explain why you can not plot the conditions at the surface of Venus on the graph above.16 (6 pts) Impact craters on th e Earth are destroyed on very short timescales. Describe one way we canknow if an impact had occurred in a particular location, even if the crater is long gone.17 (10 pts) In the space below, sketch and label the crater density plot of the Highlands of Mars, theMare on the Moon, and a typical surface of the Earth. Plot and label all th ree on the same axes. Make sureto provide a range and label for the axes. You should have one plot with three different
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