A gas eventually will escape from a planet's atmosphere if the average velocity of the atoms exceeds 1/6 times the escape velocity of the planet.If the average velocity of water vapor in Venus's atmosphere is 0.9 km/s,would it eventually escape into outer space? Note that Venus's mass is 5 × 10²⁴ kg and its radius is 6,050 km.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The escape velocity of Venus can be calculated using the formula:

escape velocity = √(2GM/R)

where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of Venus, and R is the radius of Venus.

Substituting the given values, we get:

escape velocity = √[(2 * 6.67 × 10^-11 N m^2/kg^2 * 5 × 10^24 kg) / 6,050,000 m] 
= 10.36 km/s

1/6 times the escape velocity of Venus is:

(1/6) * 10.36 km/s = 1.73 km/s

Since the average velocity of water vapor in Venus's atmosphere is 0.9 km/s, which is less than 1.73 km/s, the water vapor would not escape into outer space.

Therefore, the correct choice is B.

A Gas Eventually Will Escape from a Planet's Atmosphere If