Lectures 07-08 ยท Student-facing assignment
Show reasoning, units, diagrams or plots where useful, and source acknowledgments. Numerical answers without explanation receive limited credit. Eligible submissions may be revised after feedback.
Planet A has mass 1.0 Earth masses and radius 1.0 Earth radii. Planet B has mass 0.11 Earth masses and radius 0.53 Earth radii. Compute Planet B's mean density relative to Earth using rho/rho_Earth = M/R^3. Interpret the result.
Two airless moon surfaces are imaged at the same resolution. Region X has many overlapping craters; Region Y has few craters and smooth plains. Which region is probably older? Name one assumption behind your inference and one process that could complicate it.
Without calculating exact values, explain why a small asteroid cannot retain a thick atmosphere while a giant planet can. Use escape velocity and thermal motion in your explanation.
Rank Mars, Europa, Titan, and a typical main-belt asteroid by strength of evidence for potentially habitable environments, not life. Justify your ranking with energy, liquid environment, chemistry, and uncertainty.