Terrestrial Planets

Mercury is best described as

•  the planet most like Earth
• having a very heavily cratered surface.
• having a surface covered with volcanoes.
• a place that shows evidence of water erosion in the distant past.

Why is the surface of Venus hotter than that of Mercury?

• A.    Carbon dioxide in Venus’s atmosphere efficiently traps heat radiating from its surface.

• A.    Venus’s rapid rotation generates strong winds that heat the ground by friction as they blow.

• A.    Clouds in Mercury’s atmosphere reflect sunlight back into space and keep its surface cool.

• A.    Venus rotates more slowly so it bakes more in the Sun’s heat.A.  

Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth's twin. Why?

• Venus orbited Earth at one time.
• Both have similar temperatures.
• Both have a single natural satellite
• They have similar mass and size.

Which planet is usually the brightest in the sky? 

• Venus
• Jupiter
• Mercury
• Mars

Which of the following planets have cratered surfaces?

• Venus
• Mercury
• Earth
• 
  

  All of these planets have cratered surfaces.

Why do Mercury and the Moon lack an atmosphere?

• They formed after all the gas had been used up.
• They are so cold that all their gases have frozen into deposits below their surface.
• They formed before the solar nebula had captured any gas.
• They are so small that their gravity is too weak to retain an atmosphere.

The atmosphere of Venus is composed primarily of:

• carbon dioxide
• sulfur dioxide
• sulfuric acid
• nitrogen

Which of the following lists the planets + a now dwarf planet in correct order of increasing distance from the Sun?

• Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury
• Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Mercury, Neptune, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus
• Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury
• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Planet mercury does not have

• A magnetic field
• Active volcanoes
• Impact craters

When you start counting the planets beginning from the side of the sun, at which place does Mars stand?

• 3rd
• 4th
• 6th
• 1st