Lava flows on the Moon and Mercury created large, smooth plains. We don't see similar features on Earth because a. Earth has less lava. b. Earth had fewer large impacts in the past. c. Earth has plate tectonics that recycle the surface. d. Earth is large compared to the size of these plains, so they are not as noticeable. e. Earth rotates much faster than either of these other worlds.

Short Answer

Expert verified
c. Earth has plate tectonics that recycle the surface.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Question

Read the question carefully. It asks why Earth does not have large, smooth plains like those on the Moon and Mercury created by lava flows.
02

Analyze Each Option

Look at each provided option and see if it logically explains why Earth lacks these features:a. Earth's lava quantityb. Past large impacts on Earthc. Plate tectonics recycling Earth's surfaced. Earth's size relative to plainse. Earth's rotation speed
03

Evaluate Option A

Consider if Earth having less lava can be a reason. Even though Earth has a significant amount of lava, it is not the correct answer since lava quantity alone does not prevent smooth plains.
04

Evaluate Option B

Consider if fewer large impacts on Earth is the reason. Earth has experienced many large impacts, so this option is not correct.
05

Evaluate Option C

Consider if plate tectonics recycling the surface is the reason. Earth has active plate tectonics that constantly recycle its crust, which removes old features and creates new ones.
06

Confirm Option C

Realize that active plate tectonics on Earth explain why the surface features created by lava flows do not remain as they do on the Moon and Mercury. Option c is correct.
07

Evaluate Options D and E

Quickly evaluate the remaining options:d. Earth's size - Irrelevant as the plains would still be noticeable.e. Earth's rotation speed - Irrelevant to the creation or preservation of plains.
08

Conclusion

By process of elimination and understanding Earth's geology, conclude that plate tectonics recycling Earth’s surface is the correct reason.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Plate Tectonics
Earth's surface is constantly changing due to the dynamic processes of plate tectonics. The Earth's lithosphere, which is composed of large plates, floats on the semi-fluid asthenosphere. These tectonic plates are in slow, constant motion across the surface. They can collide, pull apart, or slide past each other.
When plates collide, they can form mountains or cause one plate to be pushed beneath another in a process called subduction. This recycling of the Earth's crust means that old surfaces are continually destroyed and new ones created. This ongoing process effectively erases the large, smooth plains formed by ancient lava flows, unlike on the Moon and Mercury where tectonic activity is absent or minimal.
Lava Flows
Lava flows are streams of molten rock that emerge from a volcanic vent or fissure. Once the lava is expelled from the volcano, it moves across the surface and eventually cools and solidifies to form igneous rock. On the Moon and Mercury, extensive lava flows from volcanic activity have created large, smooth plains.
On Earth, while volcanic activity is also prevalent, the results of these flows are not as permanent. Due to Earth's plate tectonics, the crust is constantly undergoing changes. This means that lava flows that might create wide plains are often disturbed, fragmented, and recycled by tectonic processes. That's why we don't see the same expansive, smooth plains that are present on the Moon and Mercury.
Impact Craters
Impact craters are depressions formed when a meteoroid, asteroid, or comet strikes a planetary surface at high speed. The Moon and Mercury's surfaces are littered with such craters due to their lack of atmospheric and geological activity to erode or recycle them.
Earth, on the other hand, undergoes constant surface renewal processes driven by plate tectonics, erosion, weathering, and volcanic activity. While Earth certainly experiences impacts, evidence of these events is frequently obliterated or altered beyond recognition. Hence, the significant contrast in surface features when compared to the Moon and Mercury.
The presence or absence of these craters tells us a lot about a planet's surface activity and history. On Earth, fewer visible impact craters indicate an active geological history, whereas the cratered surfaces of the Moon and Mercury tell the story of worlds left relatively unaltered for billions of years.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Suppose an earthquake occurs on an imaginary planet. Scientists on the other side of the planet detect primary waves but not secondary waves after the quake. This suggests that a. part of the planet's interior is liquid. b. all of the planet's interior is solid. c. the planet has an iron core. d. the planet's interior consists entirely of rocky materials. e. the planet's mantle is liquid.

Citizen science: a. Go to the website for "Moon Zoo" (http://moonzoo.org), a project that lets everyone participate in the analysis of images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Read through the FAQ, then click on "Tutorials" and select "How to Take Part." (You will need to create an account if you haven't already done so for another Zooniverse project.) In this project you count craters on the Moon, noting where there are boulders, classifying some of these features, and looking for hardware left over from exploration missions. b. Go to the website for cosmoquest (http://cosmoquest.org) and click on "Mercury Mappers." You will need to create an account for the cosmoquest projects. Click on the circled question mark under the blue check box, and read the FAQ and watch the tutorial. What is the goal of this project? Where did the data come from? Classify some images. c. Go to the website for cosmoquest (http://cosmoquest.org) and click on "Moon Mappers." As in part (b), you will need an account. Click on the circled question mark under the blue check box and read the FAQ and watch the four tutorials. What are some of the basic features? How does the angle of the sunlight and the direction of illumination affect what you see? Now classify a few craters.

Explain some of the geological evidence suggesting that Mars once had liquid water on its surface.

The object that created Arizona's Meteor Crater was estimated to have a radius of 25 meters and a mass of 300 million \(\mathrm{kg}\) Calculate the density of the impacting object, and explain what that may tell you about its composition.

Assume that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa are separated by an average distance of \(4,500 \mathrm{km}\) Assume also that GPS measurements indicate that these continents are now moving apart at a rate of \(3.75 \mathrm{cm} / \mathrm{yr}\). If this rate has been constant over geological time, how long ago were these two continents joined together as part of a supercontinent?

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free