Deck 17: Mercury, Venus, and Mars

Question 1

_____________ is a very long and deep canyon on Mars.

A) Valles Marineris
B) Ishtar Terra
C) Tharsis Bulge
D) Lobate Scarp
E) Phobos

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The surface of Venus has been studied

A) using radar maps made from Earth.
B) using radar maps made from satellites orbiting Venus.
C) using spacecraft that have landed on the surface of Venus.
D) using radar maps made from Earth, using radar maps made from satellites orbiting Venus, and using spacecraft that have landed on the surface of Venus.
E) using radar maps made from satellites orbiting Venus and using spacecraft that have landed on the surface of Venus.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The moons of Mars are believed to be

A) composed primarily of iron and nickel.
B) composed primarily of frozen gases of water and carbon dioxide.
C) orbiting Mars in a direction opposite to the direction that Mars rotates.
D) formed from material ejected from Olympus Mons and other large volcanoes on Mars.
E) captured asteroids.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Besides Earth, which of the terrestrial planets and/or satellites of terrestrial planets show(s) evidence for the possible existence of liquid water flowing on its surface in the past?

A) Venus
B) the Moon
C) Phobos
D) Mars
E) None of the terrestrial planets or satellites show such evidence.

Question 5

The theory that Mercury shrank slightly when it was young has been proposed to explain

A) extended lava plains.
B) large craters.
C) magnetic field.
D) lobate scarps.
E) regolith.

Question 6

_____________ are believed to have formed on Mercury when the planet's interior cooled and shrank.

A) Jumbled terrain
B) The highlands
C) Maria
D) Lobate scarps
E) Sinuous rills

Question 7

Which of the solar system objects listed below is most similar to Earth in terms of mass and density?

A) Mercury
B) the Moon
C) Venus
D) Mars
E) Deimos

Question 8

The graph below plots the escape velocity of each planet along the vertical axis and its surface temperature along the horizontal. The lines plotted in the figure are the average speeds of gas particles as a function of temperature for various gases. Which of the planets or satellite plotted in this diagram is least able to hold an atmosphere?
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A) Mars
B) the Moon
C) Mercury
D) Venus
E) Earth

Question 9

The geology of Venus appears to be dominated by

A) volcanism.
B) plate tectonics.
C) erosion by flowing water.
D) impact cratering.
E) strip mining.

Question 10

Which of the following are not found on Venus?

A) volcanoes
B) coronae
C) rolling plains
D) lobate scarps
E) high atmospheric pressure

Question 11

The greenhouse effect keeps Venus hot because

A) the atmosphere contains free oxygen.
B) the atmosphere is predominantly carbon dioxide.
C) the surface converts infrared into visible radiation.
D) the surface is free of sulfur compounds.
E) the magnetic field traps a large number of particles from the solar wind.

Question 12

The flow patterns found on the surface of Mars and the number of craters on top of them suggest that

A) Mars is today a liquid, water-rich world.
B) the climate on Mars was different billions of years ago.
C) volcanism is occurring on Mars.
D) the polar caps are made of liquid water.
E) All of the other choices are correct.

Question 13

Which of the following supports the idea that the Martian crust is not divided into moving plates like those on Earth?
I) the size of Olympus Mons
II) the lack of folded mountain chains
III) the lack of rift valleys outlining entire plates
IV) the presence of dry river beds and sea floors

A) I & II
B) II & III
C) II, III & IV
D) I, II, & III
E) I, II, III, & IV

Question 14

The crust of Mars is believed to _____________ than Earth's.

A) be much thinner
B) be younger
C) contain more water
D) be more geologically active
E) be much stronger

Question 15

Coronae on Venus are believed to be

A) impact craters.
B) caused by rising convection currents in the interior of Venus.
C) the result of plate tectonics.
D) located only in the polar regions of Venus.
E) much older than the highlands such as Ishtar Terra.

Question 16

Mars has a sufficient mass and a low enough temperature that water molecules could exist in its atmosphere as vapor. One reason Mars's atmosphere does not contain a significant amount of water vapor is that

A) Mars formed in a part of the solar nebula that lacked oxygen.
B) Mars formed in a part of the solar nebula that lacked hydrogen.
C) all of the water vapor was released in the impact that formed Deimos.
D) ultraviolet radiation breaks the water molecule into less massive particles that can escape.
E) the water molecule combines readily with chlorine to form hydrochloric acid.

Question 17

The graph below plots the escape velocity of each planet along the vertical axis and its surface temperature along the horizontal. The lines plotted in the figure are the average speeds of gas particles as a function of temperature for various gases. Which of the planets or satellite plotted in this diagram has the greatest escape velocity?
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A) Mars
B) the Moon
C) Mercury
D) Venus
E) Earth

Question 18

How rapidly a planet loses its atmosphere depends on the planet's
I) escape velocity (determined by mass and radius).
II) atmospheric composition.
III) temperature.
IV) rotation period.

A) I & II
B) III & IV
C) I, II, & III
D) II, III, & IV
E) I, II, III, & IV

Question 19

The graph below plots the escape velocity of each planet along the vertical axis and its surface temperature along the horizontal. The lines plotted in the figure are the speeds of the fastest gas particles as a function of temperature for various gases. Which of the gases plotted in the diagram could be retained in the atmosphere of Mars?

A) only CO₂
B) only NH₃
C) CO₂, NH₃, and O₂
D) only H₂
E) H₂ and He

Question 20

The extreme size of volcanoes on Mars indicates that

A) Mars has a much thicker crust than Earth.
B) water once flowed in streams on Mars.
C) large moving plates have not formed on Mars.
D) Mars has a much thicker crust than Earth and large moving plates have not formed on Mars.
E) Mars has a much thicker crust than Earth, water once flowed in streams on Mars, and large moving plates have not formed on Mars.

Question 21

Mercury's major atmospheric gas is

A) oxygen.
B) hydrogen.
C) carbon dioxide.
D) Misleading; the atmosphere is virtually nonexistent.

Question 22

Which one of the phrases below is the current explanation of why the surface of Venus is so hot?

A) Venus's poor reflectivity
B) the action of the greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide
C) always keeping the same face turned toward the Sun
D) the action of the greenhouse effect caused by hydrogen

Question 23

The daytime surface temperature of Mercury is higher than Earth's Moon's surface temperature because

A) clouds shield the Earth's Moon during the day.
B) Mercury is farther from the Sun than the Earth's Moon.
C) Mercury is closer to the Sun than the Earth's Moon.
D) the atmosphere of the Earth's Moon has a strong greenhouse effect.

Question 24

Which Terrestrial planet has the largest moon or moons relative to the planet circled?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars

Question 25

Is the large crater shown on the bottom left older or younger than the smooth, dark, circular crater in the upper right?

A) older
B) younger
C) neither older nor younger, they are the same age
D) cannot determine which is older or younger

Question 26

What physical property of Venus is vastly dissimilar compared to Earth?

A) radius
B) mass
C) density
D) surface temperature

Question 27

As seen from Earth and the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars shows

A) a reddish color.
B) dark markings.
C) rotation.
D) white icy polar caps.
E) All of the other choices are correct.

Question 28

Which of the objects below has an atmosphere consisting mostly of carbon dioxide?

A) Earth
B) Mercury
C) Earth's Moon
D) Venus
E) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 29

Which celestial object in the above graph has the most difficult time retaining an atmosphere based solely upon escape velocity?
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A) Pluto
B) the Moon
C) Ceres
D) Triton

Question 30

What is the arrow in the above photo pointing to on the surface of Mercury?

A) mountain
B) valley
C) crater
D) scarp

Question 31

Which terrestrial planet has the highest-pressure (thickest) atmosphere?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars

Question 32

At which altitude is the atmospheric temperature of Venus and Earth the same?

A) 120 km
B) 0 km
C) 50 m
D) 70 km

Question 33

One hypothesis suggested to explain the uniform age of the surface of Venus is that

A) Venus's surface is 4 billion years old and has not been affected by flooding or slow evolution.
B) Venus's surface is made of rocks that are much harder than Earth's and thus last longer.
C) Venus periodically goes through a catastrophic melting of its entire surface.
D) Venus's clouds protect it from meteorites so that very few impacts occur to change its surface.
E) dust storms deposit large amount of dust on the surface, making it appear of uniform age.

Question 34

What do astronomers generally believe about the origin of Mars's moons?

A) They formed with the planet out of the protoplanetary material.
B) They formed elsewhere and were captured at a later time.
C) They were ejected from Mars during its formation.
D) They were once a single moon and a later catastrophic event broke them in two.

Question 35

Whether or not a planet like Mercury can hold a particular gas in its atmosphere depends on that planet's

A) ice cap.
B) craters.
C) escape velocity.
D) its distance from the Sun as manifested in the temperature of the atmosphere.
E) escape velocity and its distance from the Sun as manifested in the temperature of the atmosphere.

Question 36

The greenhouse effect produces excess heat in a planet's atmosphere by

A) trapping infrared radiation from escaping into space.
B) clouds blocking the surface from receiving any infrared radiation.
C) preventing light gases from escaping into space.
D) trapping ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere of the planet.

Question 37

Which Terrestrial planet has the combination of most rapid rotation, liquid interior, and strongest magnetic field?

A) Venus
B) Mercury
C) Earth
D) Mars

Question 38

From which terrestrial planet was the above photo taken which gives us an idea of what daylight is like on that planet?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars

Question 39

Most terrestrial planets have portions of their surface that appear to be significantly older than other portions of their surface. What evidence suggests that the surface of Venus is all of the same age?

A) Photos taken by probes that landed on Venus showed that all of the rocks were of the same age.
B) The craters on Venus are randomly distributed in size and number across the surface.
C) The volcanoes on Venus are not found in isolated groups, but are scattered around the planet.
D) Photos taken by probes that landed on Venus showed that all of the rocks were of the same age and the craters on Venus are randomly distributed in size and number across the surface.
E) Photos taken by probes that landed on Venus showed that all of the rocks were of the same age, all of the rocks were of the same age and the craters on Venus are randomly distributed in size and number across the surface, and the volcanoes on Venus are not found in isolated groups, but are scattered around the planet.

Question 40

Which object has the most intense sunlight on it?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars

Question 41

Besides Earth, which of the terrestrial planets and/or their satellites show(s) evidence for the possible existence of liquid water flowing on its surface in the past?

Question 42

The terrestrial planet with the most effective greenhouse effect is ____________________.

Question 43

The terrestrial planet with the most moons is ____________________.

Question 44

The two moons of Mars are known as ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 45

____________________ volcanoes have shallow slopes and are associated with hot spots. These types of volcanoes have been seen on the surface of Venus.

Question 46

The greenhouse effect occurs because carbon dioxide is opaque to infrared radiation.

Question 47

The atmosphere of ____________________ contains acid compounds including sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.

Question 48

____________________ formed as Mercury cooled and shrank.

Question 49

The largest volcano found on one of the terrestrial planets is ____________________.

Question 50

______________ is permanently frozen soil.

Question 51

As seen from Mars orbiters, ______________ and ______________ are cut, possibly by sudden floods or drainage that occur on a longer timescale.

Question 52

Outgassing produces gas rich in carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor.

Question 53

____________________ is the molecule most responsible for the greenhouse effect on Venus and Earth.

Question 54

Lobate scarps are believed to have formed on Mercury when its interior cooled and shrank.

Question 55

The size of the volcanoes on Mars indicate that Mars has a(n) ____________________ crust than Earth.

Question 56

Flow channels on Venus suggest it was once rich in water.

Question 57

Which terrestrial planet orbits the Sun in 88 Earth days?

Question 58

Venus is very hot because its atmosphere is rich in carbon dioxide.

Question 59

The atmosphere of Mars primarily consists of ____________________.

Question 60

The terrestrial celestial object _________________ is most like Mercury.

Question 61

Mercury is thought to have shrunk when it for forming.

Question 62

Discuss the evidence we have that the surface of Venus is marked by volcanism.

Question 63

How is the greenhouse effect on Venus different to the same effect on Earth?

Question 64

Mercury is mostly comprised of a large metallic core.

Question 65

The size of Olympus Mons suggests that the crust of Mars is very thick.

Question 66

Radar maps of Venus show impact craters.

Question 67

How did the four-stage history of Mars differ from that of Earth?

Question 68

What is the difference between volcanism on Venus and that around the ring of fire on Earth?

Question 69

What evidence do we have that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere?

Question 70

Why did the atmosphere of Venus develop differently from that of Earth?

Question 71

Evaluate the evidence that Mars had a liquid water past.

Question 72

Mercury is larger than Earth's Moon but smaller than Earth.

Question 73

Venus is most like Earth in terms of size.

Question 74

What evidence do we have that the surface of Mars has never divided into moving plates?

Question 75

Venus is the planet closest to Earth in mass.

Question 76

The absence of folded mountain ranges on Mars suggests that it has been subjected to plate tectonics.

Question 77

The surface of Venus is hotter than the surface of Mercury.

Question 78

What factors determine the rate of loss of gases from a planet's atmosphere?

Question 79

Lobate scarps are only found on Mercury

Question 80

Astronomers on Earth are able to measure the rotation of Venus by using optical telescopes to watch surface markings as rotation carries them across the disk of Venus.