首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
What is the main purpose of the lecture? What is one point the professor makes about the capture theory?
What is the main purpose of the lecture? What is one point the professor makes about the capture theory?
admin
2022-09-29
18
问题
What is the main purpose of the lecture?
What is one point the professor makes about the capture theory?
Listen to part of a lecture in an astronomy class.
Professor:
Today we’re gonna talk about something planetary scientists have yet provided a satisfactory explanation for. How was the moon formed? From the samples the Apollo astronauts brought back we know that the moon is about four and a half billion years old and formed about at the same time as the rest of our solar system.
Now there are some theories about how the moon was formed. The first, dating back to the 19th century. It’s called fission theory. Fission means splitting into parts. The theory proposes that Earth spun so rapidly in its early years that a chunk of it broke off and got thrown into space into Earth’s orbit, and that chunk from Earth became the moon. The fission theory was accepted well into the 20th century, but we now know that Earth was spinning at a rate that was much too slow for this kind of fission to occur.
Another theory is the capture theory which goes like this. The moon formed somewhere in the solar system and was captured by Earth’s gravitational field as it was passing by. And it stayed in Earth’s orbit ever since. Now the moon’s chemical composition is different from Earth, so if the moon formed somewhere else this would actually explain why they’re different in composition, right? However, astronomers have a problem with the capture theory because for the moon to be captured into its present orbit, a complex set of circumstances is required, so it’s very unlikely that it happened.
The most widely supported theory today is the giant impact theory. It suggests that the moon formed as a result of an impact onto the young Earth four and a half billion years ago when the young Earth collided with another planetary object. According to this theory the moon formed from debris caused by a giant impact which had gone into orbit around the Earth. The scientific community didn’t jump on this theory right away. You can’t test it since it’s impossible to find traces of an impact with the Earth that far back. And remember the Earth and moon have different compositions and densities. The moon’s density is much lower than that of the Earth or any other terrestrial planets. This indicates that the moon lacks high density iron and doesn’t have a big iron core like Earth, which was confirmed by measurements taken during the Apollo moon landing.
But wouldn’t the moon and the Earth be similar in composition and density if the moon formed from rock fragments that were ejected from Earth? So astronomers came up with ideas to explain some of the inconsistencies the theory presents. For instance, the idea that by the time the giant impact happened Earth’s iron had already migrated toward its center, its core, and so the debris that was blown from Earth came from an outer layer which was depleted of iron. Okay, that would explain why Earth has a large iron core and the moon doesn’t.
But we don’t know for sure whether Earth’s core had already formed when the collision occurred. The next step was to use advanced computer technology to simulate the giant impact, an impact that would produce a moon that lacks iron. The researchers who performed the simulations developed different models from a variety of scenarios and came up with some interesting results. According to one model, a collision with an object, 10% of Earth’s mass, about the size of the planet Mars, could in fact account for an iron-poor moon. The model also suggests that the moon formed towards the end of Earth’s formation. This is important because if the moon formed early in Earth’s history, it would have accumulated more iron-rich material.
As convincing as it may sound, the giant impact theory isn’t proven to everyone’s satisfaction since several questions remain unanswered. On the other hand, it is very attractive because it’s consistent with our idea of how planets were assembled. We think collisions played a big role when the planets in our inner solar system formed. We think that during the final stages of the formation of rocky planets, planetary embryos smashed into each other, creating larger planets.
选项
A、It accounts for the difference in composition between Earth and the moon.
B、It lost popularity when the fission theory was proposed.
C、It is based on the assumption that Earth’s gravitational field has remained constant.
D、It was challenged by the Apollo findings.
答案
A
解析
题目问关于俘获理论的正确说法。在讲座中,教授提到俘获理论能解释为什么月球的化学成分和地球的不同(this would actually explain why they’re different in composition),对应A项。B项“当裂变理论被提出时,它就不受欢迎了”、C项“它以地球重力场保持恒定的假设为依据”和D项“阿波罗号的发现质疑了这个理论”均没有依据。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/vrcYFFFM
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
Completethenotesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSAND/ORANUMBERforeachanswer.
Wherecaneachofthefollowingitemsbefound?ChooseSIXanswersfromtheboxandwritethecorrectletter,A-InexttoQuesti
Wherecaneachofthefollowingitemsbefound?ChooseSIXanswersfromtheboxandwritethecorrectletter,A-InexttoQuesti
Completethenotesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSORANUMBERforeachanswer.STUDENTHEALTHCENTREExamplePatient’sna
Researchonweb-basedcrosswordsLilaandJakechangedthedesignoftheoriginalquestionnairebecause
ChooseTWOletters,A-E.WhatTWOthingsdoesHowardsuggestJoannetodointhefirstmonthoftutorials?Aseehertutorevery
StrategiesforeffectiveuseoflecturesDosome【L25】________【L26】________andsitwhereyoucanseeandheareasily.Be【L27】___
Lecturesaregoodforthelecturersbecausetheycan
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.WhatisthepurposeoftheRestHouse?
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.ThemainpurposeofthenewArtsCentreistoprovide
随机试题
1.0moL/LHCl溶液的pH值是()
下面有关Mapleson系统回路的说法,错误的是
一束自然光以60°的入射角照射到不知其折射率的某一透明介质时,反射光为线偏振光,则知()。
水平放置的渐扩管如图6-13所示,如忽略水头损失,断面形心点的压强有以下关系()。
中国佛教“四大菩萨”是()。
系统分析模式是在借鉴工程管理科学的某些原理的基础上形成的一种设计模式,这种模式将教学过程看做是一个输入一产出的系统过程,其中“输入"是__________,“产出"是__________。
阅读下面的文章,回答问题。鲁穆公问于子思日:“吾闻庞氏之子不孝,其行奚如?”子思对日:“君子尊贤以崇德,举善以观民。若夫过行,是细人之所识也,臣不知也。”子思出。子服厉伯入见,问庞氏子,子服厉伯对曰:“其过三。”皆君之所未尝闻。自是这后,君贵子思
Throughouthistorytherehavebeenmanyunusualtaxesleviedonsuchthingsashats,beds,baths,marriages,andfunerals.Atonetim
Mr.Wangfindsitnoteasytogetalongwiththatyoungguy.Mr.Wangfindsit______togetalongwiththatyoungguy.
孔子(Confucius)是春秋时期鲁国人,中国古代伟大的思想家、教育家、政治家和儒家思想(Confucianism)的创始人。他一生大部分时间都在从事教育事业,培养出很多知识渊博、有才能的人。作为儒家学派的创始人,孔子的思想以“仁(benevolence
最新回复
(
0
)