alleryStart learning →Compared with Earth, the Moon is strongly short of which materials?
AIron and other metals
BSilicon and oxygen
CCarbon and nitrogen
DCalcium and sodium
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Iron and other metals
1. The Moon's average density is only about 3.3 grams per cubic centimeter.
2. That low value means it is made almost entirely of silicate rock.
3. It is depleted in iron and the other metals that sank into Earth's core.
4. Silicon and oxygen are exactly what silicate rock is built from, so those are plentiful.
_Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 9.1 General Properties of the Moon_
Keep practising The Moon and Mercury
Browse all The Moon and Mercury questions for CAST — California Science Test, or explore more Science topics.
Related questions
Place each mission on the years lineKnock out the cratering mythsDrop each trait onto the right worldLong cliffs on Mercury cut straight across older craters. What does that tell us?Mercury spins once in 59 Earth days and circles the Sun in 88. How long does the Sun take The idea that Earth simply captured a passing Moon runs into which specific problem?Mercury's high density points to a core that holds what share of the planet's mass?In the giant impact idea for the Moon's birth, how big was the body that struck Earth?