EAPS EXAM 2 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
The consequences of suddenly stopping a moving object
It deforms, its atoms vibrate more, and its temperature rises
The state of the interiors of new terrestrial planets
When iron within a melted interior of a new planetfalls toward the center, a core forms. The
process of core formation creates more heat as falling iron impacts (though slowly) with the
growing core.
The meaning of primordial heating
Accretion and core formation are known as primordial heating, since they only occurred during
planet formation
What Lord Kelvin neglected in his calculation of the age of the Earth.
Radioactive decay
Why radioactive decay produces heat
occurs when unstable atomic nuclei decay into a more stable nuclei, emitting particles that cause
collisions that produce heat.
Why the interior of the Earth is hot today
Today the main elements with unstable forms that decay and lead to the generation of heat within
a planet are uranium and thorium
-Earth's internal heat today is about half from ongoing radioactive decay and half from leftover
heat from accretion and core formation (primordial heating)
Why tidal heating is so intense on Io, but not the Moon
Though tidally locked, Io has an elliptical orbit around Jupiter(from resonance with Europa and
Ganymede), causing it to be continuously deformed (like an accordion), generating heat
-there is no continuous (accordion) deformation
The additional source of internal heating of the interiors of the giant planets.
The immense gravities of giant planets cause their interiors to compress, causing them to heat up
(same energy in less space).
The only means by which a body can shed its heat to space
Radiative heat transfer only takes place at the surface of a
body, as the interior is not transparent, and is the only
means for any body to shed its heat into space
, Why smaller planets cool faster than larger ones
Less primordial heat (less impacts, smaller core)
• Less radioactive elements to keep them hot
• Smaller bodies have larger surface areas to volume
ratios, enabling them more efficiently get rid of heat
How heat is transferred with conduction
Conduction is
the transfer of heat
through a solid by the
spread of vibrations to
surrounding regions
How heat is transferred with convection
Convection is the transfer of heat through the upward
motion of buoyant (hot) fluids, which then cool and
descend causing convection cells.
How convection can occur within a solid
Yes; if the solid flows like a fluid
-It's called solid state convection
How heat transfer occurs within the Earth's mantle.
Convection
What a lithosphere is
Lithosphere is the
cold strong outer
shell of the Earth
consisting of the
crust and
uppermost mantle
What asthenosphere is
Asthenosphere is the hot
and very weak layer that
underlies lithosphere. It
flows as a viscous fluid
What drives plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics is driven by mantle convection
ANSWERS
The consequences of suddenly stopping a moving object
It deforms, its atoms vibrate more, and its temperature rises
The state of the interiors of new terrestrial planets
When iron within a melted interior of a new planetfalls toward the center, a core forms. The
process of core formation creates more heat as falling iron impacts (though slowly) with the
growing core.
The meaning of primordial heating
Accretion and core formation are known as primordial heating, since they only occurred during
planet formation
What Lord Kelvin neglected in his calculation of the age of the Earth.
Radioactive decay
Why radioactive decay produces heat
occurs when unstable atomic nuclei decay into a more stable nuclei, emitting particles that cause
collisions that produce heat.
Why the interior of the Earth is hot today
Today the main elements with unstable forms that decay and lead to the generation of heat within
a planet are uranium and thorium
-Earth's internal heat today is about half from ongoing radioactive decay and half from leftover
heat from accretion and core formation (primordial heating)
Why tidal heating is so intense on Io, but not the Moon
Though tidally locked, Io has an elliptical orbit around Jupiter(from resonance with Europa and
Ganymede), causing it to be continuously deformed (like an accordion), generating heat
-there is no continuous (accordion) deformation
The additional source of internal heating of the interiors of the giant planets.
The immense gravities of giant planets cause their interiors to compress, causing them to heat up
(same energy in less space).
The only means by which a body can shed its heat to space
Radiative heat transfer only takes place at the surface of a
body, as the interior is not transparent, and is the only
means for any body to shed its heat into space
, Why smaller planets cool faster than larger ones
Less primordial heat (less impacts, smaller core)
• Less radioactive elements to keep them hot
• Smaller bodies have larger surface areas to volume
ratios, enabling them more efficiently get rid of heat
How heat is transferred with conduction
Conduction is
the transfer of heat
through a solid by the
spread of vibrations to
surrounding regions
How heat is transferred with convection
Convection is the transfer of heat through the upward
motion of buoyant (hot) fluids, which then cool and
descend causing convection cells.
How convection can occur within a solid
Yes; if the solid flows like a fluid
-It's called solid state convection
How heat transfer occurs within the Earth's mantle.
Convection
What a lithosphere is
Lithosphere is the
cold strong outer
shell of the Earth
consisting of the
crust and
uppermost mantle
What asthenosphere is
Asthenosphere is the hot
and very weak layer that
underlies lithosphere. It
flows as a viscous fluid
What drives plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics is driven by mantle convection
