Pub Quiz Question

[ScubaMike]

I think the devil is in the detail.

It depends on the precise wording of the original question.

If the quizmaster paraphrased and asked "which is the older? the moon or the earth"?

that would be open to debate.

If the original question asked "which has the oldest dated rock? the earth or the moon?", then perhaps there would be agreement that it would be the Moon.

[delilahtwinkle]

Hi Folks,

What a great thread, really enjoyed reading. I think a poll would be good. I am going with Earth before it was Earth. I wonder if there was life pre collision ??

Dt

[Space Bat]

From my understanding the moon was captured by the earth...and was formed sepratley at an earlier time than the earth...

I believe - from memory (so could be wrong) that there is Aboriginal art and stories telling of the period when the Moon was captured into Earths orbit

[Shibby]

From my understanding the moon was captured by the earth...and was formed sepratley at an earlier time than the earth...

I believe - from memory (so could be wrong) that there is Aboriginal art and stories telling of the period when the Moon was captured into Earths orbit

Very fanciful stories since the Indigenous Australians evolved some 4.5 billion years after the Moon and Earth were created!

As I understand, the commonly held theory is that the Moon was created when the Earth collided with a Mars-sized body.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis

[kniclander]

are you still in the pub?

[Space Bat]

Very fanciful stories since the Indigenous Australians evolved some 4.5 billion years after the Moon and Earth were created!

As I understand, the commonly held theory is that the Moon was created when the Earth collided with a Mars-sized body.

Edit: Giant impact hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The question was what was older....

And it was possible that the moon was formed earlier and for whatever reason was later captured by the earth - this could have been at anytime...obviously not recent - but any period before mans time...

However the Aboriginies spoke of a time of when there was no moon and the time when there was....

Also noted scholars such as Aristotle also referred to the period of Earths history without a moon -

[jamespels]

My opinion is that the correct answer is "False". I am also of the understanding that most likely theory is that the Earth and Moon formed when a proto-Earth was struck by a Mars sized object, the resulting collision forming Earth (iron and heavy metal rich) and the lighter material forming the moon. In that case, whatever you call the original objects, they were so substantially reformed in the collision that they must be considered new from that time. As a result, Earth and the Moon formed as astronomically the same time, so Earth is not older than the Moon.

+1 also for the comments about plate tectonics leading to a maximum realistic age for surface rocks on the Earth.

[smudgeball]

I don't remember pub quizes being that tough when I used to do them.

......more importantly, did you win ?

[Space Oddity6]

are you still in the pub?

Unfortunately not.

I don't remember pub quizes being that tough when I used to do them.

......more importantly, did you win ?

Yes we did win, by a massive 2 points!!

People have talked about a poll, as the OP do I do that and more importantly how do I do that?

[jamespels]

New thread - it's in the advanced options bit at the bottom.

[Peter Drew]

Can't someone post this up to Alan Longstaff at AN, he seems to know everything! .

[Black Knight]

+1 also for the comments about plate tectonics leading to a maximum realistic age for surface rocks on the Earth.

Thankyou!

[jabberwocky]

dating the age of rocks on the moon and earth and comparing cant be used to say one is older than the other if you believe the theory that the moon what created by a colision between the earth an another body as those rocks on the moon may have come from earth in the first place.

at a stretch that could explain why no rocks older than those on the moon have been found on earth, after the colision all the older rocks formed the moon leaving younger material behind to form the earth as we now know it.