Imagine you are an astronaut, landing on an alien world. Looking out your spacecraft window, you see a world that looks very much like Earth. You notice a disappearing stream and two sinkholes
Based on your training in Earth science, make a prediction about the rock type you would find in the area where you have landed, and justify your prediction. Make a second prediction about the composition of the atmosphere on the new planet.
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Disappearing streams and potholes are typical landscape features in karst topography on Earth, and karst topography forms on Earth where groundwater dissolves limestone. Groundwater can accomplish this task because of carbonic acid, which can result from the interaction of rain with carbon dioxide in the air. So the air of the new planet may contain carbon dioxide or a similar acid (once dissolved in water) as well as water vapor. The rock type may be limestone, or a similarly soluble rock type–like rock salt or rock gypsum, perhaps.
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Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)