ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE PKG
15th Edition
ISBN: 9780133982688
Author: Bennett
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 9, Problem 35EAP
Assessing Impact Danger. Roles: Scribe {collects data and takes notes on the group's activities), Proposer (proposes hypotheses and explanations of the data), Skeptic (points out weaknesses in the hypotheses and explanations}, Moder:ator (leads group discussion and makes sure everyone contributes). Activity: Assess the risks we face on Earth from meteorite and comet impacts as follows.
- Consider the question of the odds that human civilization will be destroyed by an impact during your lifetime. Determine the kinds of information you would need, develop a method for making the estimate, and write down your method.
- Analyze Figure 9.27 1£1and determine whether it contains any of the necessary information.
- App ly your group's method to estimate the probability that civiliza,tion will be destroyed by an impact during your lifetime, which you can assume to be 100 years for the purpose of this exercise.
- Estimate the probability that an impact will cause "widespreaddevastation" somewhere on Earth during your lifetime.
- Finding near-Earth asteroids earily greatly increases our chances of deflecting them. Given the probabliities from parts c and d and cons idering the damage these events would cause, decide as a group how much money per year should be spent on finding near-Earth asteroids and explain your reasoning.
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If you stood on Earth during its formation, during which it captured about 1.4 ✕ 1011 particles per second, and watched a region covering 310 m2, how many impacts would you expect to see in an hour? (Notes: The surface area of a sphere is 4πr2. Hint: Assume that Earth had its current radius of 6,378 km.)
[......] impacts
Impact Energy. Consider a comet about 2 kilometers across with a mass of 4 × 1012 kg. Assume that it crashes into Earth at a speed of 30,000 meters per second (about 67,000 miles per hour).
a. What is the total energy of the impact, in joules? (Hint: The kinetic energy formula tells us that the impact energy in joules will be 1 × m × v2, where 2 m is the comet’s mass in kilograms and v is its speed in meters per second.)
b. A 1-megaton nuclear explosion releases about 4 × 1015 joules of energy. How many such nuclear bombs would it take to release as much energy as the comet impact?
c. Based on your answers, comment on the degree of devastation the comet might cause.
Why Wait? To explore a planet, we often send first a flyby, then an orbiter, then a probe or a lander. There’s no doubt that probes and landers give the most close-up detail, so why don’t we send this type of mission first? For the planet of your choice, based just on the information in this chap- ter, give an example of why such a strategy might cause a mission to provide incomplete information about the planet or to fail outright.
Chapter 9 Solutions
ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE PKG
Ch. 9 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 5VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 1EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 3EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 5EAP
Ch. 9 - Prob. 6EAPCh. 9 - Describe the Kuiper belt and Oorl cloud in terms...Ch. 9 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 12EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 9 - Studies of a large object in the Kuiper belt...Ch. 9 - Prob. 17EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 9 - 19. Geologists discover a crater from a...Ch. 9 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 9 - In another solar system, astror1omers discover an...Ch. 9 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 25EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 26EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 27EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 29EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 32EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 33EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 34EAPCh. 9 - Assessing Impact Danger. Roles: Scribe {collects...Ch. 9 - The Role of Jupiter. Suppose that Jupiter had...Ch. 9 - Prob. 37EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 41EAPCh. 9 - Adding Up Asteroids. It's estimated that there are...Ch. 9 - Prob. 43EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 9 - Room to Roam. It's estimated that there are a...Ch. 9 - 46. Comet Dust Accumulat ion. A few hundred tons...Ch. 9 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 50EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 51EAP
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- Explain how high-speed impacts form circular craters. How can this explanation account for the various characteristic features of impact craters?arrow_forwardIf all life were destroyed on Earth by a large impact, would new life eventually form to take its place? Explain how conditions would have to change for life to start again on our planet.arrow_forwardIf, in the remote future, we establish a base on Mercury, keeping track of time will be a challenge. Discuss how to define a year on Mercury, and the two ways to define a day. Can you come up with ways that humans raised on Earth might deal with time cycles on Mercury?arrow_forward
- We believe that all of the terrestrial planets had similar histories when it comes to impacts from space. Explain how this idea can be used to date the formation of the martian highlands, the martian basins, and the Tharsis volcanoes. How certain are the ages derived for these features (in other words, how do we check the ages we derive from this method)?arrow_forwardIn the photo shown here, astronaut Alan Bean works at the Apollo 12 lander. Describe the horizon and the surface you see. What kind of terrain did they land on for this, the second human Moon landing, and why?arrow_forwardWe think the terrestrial planets formed around solid “seeds” that later grew over time through the accretion of rocks and metals. a) Suppose the Earth grew to its present size in 1 million years through the accretion of particles averaging 100 grams each. On average, how many particles did the Earth capture per second, given that the mass of the Earth is = 5.972 × 10 ^24 kg ? b) If you stood on Earth during its formation and watched a region covering 100 m^2, how many impacts would you expect to see in one hour. Use the impact rate you calculated in part a. You’ll need the following as well: the radius of the Earth is = 6.371 × 10 ^6 m and the surface area of the Earth is 4??^2Eartharrow_forward
- Look at the map of the Hawaiian chain of islands on the right-hand page of the Concept Art: Volcanoes. Which island formed most recently? How do you know? Is the newly formed volcano of a type found on Venus, on Mars, on both planets, or on neither?arrow_forwardHow does beltzone circulation transport energyby radiation, conduction, or convection? Explain your answer.arrow_forwardOne source of information about Mars has been the analysis of meteorites from Mars. Since no samples from Mars have ever been returned to Earth from any of the missions we sent there, how do we know these meteorites are from Mars? What information have they revealed about Mars?arrow_forward
- Suppose that Earth grew to its present size in 1 million years through the accretion of particles averaging 100 grams each. On the average, how many particles did Earth capture per second? (Note: Earth’s mass is 6.01027 grams.)arrow_forwardOlympus Mons on Mars is an enormous volcano. In this image, you can see multiple calderas (craters) at the top. What do the numbers of calderas and the immense size of the volcano indicate about the geology of Mars?arrow_forwardDo you think scientists should make plans to defend Earth from future asteroid impacts? Is it right to intervene in the same evolutionary process that made the development of mammals (including us) possible after the big impact 65 million years ago?arrow_forward
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