science

Head (crater)

Head (crater) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Head (crater) rather than just read about it. In short: Head crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

Key takeaways

Head (crater) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Head (crater) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Head (crater) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Head crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed the Lunar Module (LM) Intrepid northeast of Head crater on November 19, 1969. To the east of Head is the larger Surveyor crater. To the southwest are Bench crater and Sharp crater (now called Sharp-Apollo). To the northwest of Head is the larger crater Middle Crescent. It is called Head because the pattern of craters in the area resembles that of a snowman (with Surveyor crater forming the body) when viewed from the east, as in the landing approach. The crater was described in the Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report:

Both rounded and angular blocks litter the surface of the rims of Head and Bench Craters. Some rocks appeared to be coarse grained; to the astronauts, the coarse-grained rock crystals were clearly visible. Many rocks on the rim of Bench Crater were reported to be splattered with glass.

Samples Lunar sample 12055, a pigeonite basalt, was collected on the north rim of Head crater. A fragment of sample 12055 is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Sample 12052, another pigeonite basalt, was collected on the west rim. The crew dug a small trench about 15 m inside the northwest rim of Head crater. Soil samples 12033 and 12034 were collected from it. 12033 is a ropy glass sample that has been suggested came from Copernicus crater and may represent material from the Fra Mauro formation. Sample 12034 is regolith breccia. Its composition does not match the other regolith samples from the site and is presumed to have a distant origin.

External links Lunar Orbiter 3 image 154 H2, used for planning the mission (landing site is left of center). Lunar Orbiter 1 sequence of images 157, 158, and 159, showing the Apollo 12 landing site and vicinity

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Head (crater)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Head (crater) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Head (crater) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Head (crater) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Head (crater)

In research: Head (crater) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Head (crater) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Head (crater) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Apollo 12, Impact craters on the Moon, LQ19 quadrangle, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Head (crater) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Head (crater)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Head (crater) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Head (crater) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Head (crater) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Head (crater) in simple terms?

Head crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

Why does Head (crater) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Head (crater)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Head (crater).