Chapter 5, Problem 18SEQ

Explain all answers clearly, with complete sentences and proper essay structure if needed. An asterisk (*) designates a quantitative problem, for which you should show all your work.

Experiment: Planetary Cooling in a Freezer. To simulate the cooling of planetary bodies of different sizes, use a freezer and two small plastic containers of similar shape but different size. Fill each container with cold water and put both in the freezer at the same time. Checking every hour or so, record the time and your estimate of the thickness of the “lithosphere” (the frozen layer) in two tubs. How long does it take the water in each tub to freeze completely? Decribe in a few sentences the relevance of your experiment to planetary geology. Extra credit: Plot your results on a graph, with time on the x-axis and lithospheric thickness on the y-axis. What is the ratio of the freezing times?