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2. Question 1 Mercury’s surface most resembles which of these?
The Moon’s far side
Venus’s polar regions
Earth’s deserts
The Moon’s near side
Mars’s deserts
Answer: a
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3. Question 1 Mercury’s surface most resembles which of these?
The Moon’s far side
Venus’s polar regions
Earth’s deserts
The Moon’s near side
Mars’s deserts
Explanation: Both Mercury’s and the Moon’s far side, are heavily cratered.
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4. Question 2 Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because
it always appears only half lit.
it is never more than 28º from the Sun.
its elliptical orbit causes it to change speed unpredictably.
its surface reflects too little sunlight.
its surface does not allow radar to bounce back to Earth.
Answer: b
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5. Question 2 Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because
it always appears only half lit.
it is never more than 28º from the Sun.
its elliptical orbit causes it to change speed unpredictably.
its surface reflects too little sunlight.
its surface does not allow radar to bounce back to Earth.
Explanation: Mercury’s inner orbit keeps it close to the Sun, visible only for an hour or two before sunrise or after sunset.
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6. Question 3 How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare?
Mercury’s is more dense, with carbon dioxide.
They are similar, only 1% as dense as ours.
The cooler Moon retains a thicker nitrogen atmosphere.
As no spacecraft has yet landed there, no information exists about Mercury’s.
Neither body has a permanent atmosphere.
Answer: e
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7. Question 3 How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare?
Mercury’s is more dense, with carbon dioxide.
They are similar, only 1% as dense as ours.
The cooler Moon retains a thicker nitrogen atmosphere.
As no spacecraft has yet landed there, no information exists about Mercury’s.
Neither body has a permanent atmosphere.
Explanation: The lack of an atmosphere acting as a protective layer contributes to their extremely cratered surfaces.
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8. Question 4
Mercury has extreme high and low temperatures between night and day because
it is so close to the Sun.
its surface rocks don’t retain heat.
it spins too fast to cool down.
Mercury’s axis has no tilt; its equator receives direct sunlight.
it has no atmosphere to moderate temperatures over the globe.
Answer: e
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9. Question 4
Mercury has extreme high and low temperatures between night and day because
it is so close to the Sun.
its surface rocks don’t retain heat.
it spins too fast to cool down.
Mercury’s axis has no tilt; its equator receives direct sunlight.
it has no atmosphere to moderate temperatures over the globe.
Explanation: Mercury’s low mass and very high sunlit surface temperature of 700 K explain why it has no atmosphere.
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10. Question 5
Which statement about the rotations of Mercury and the Moon is FALSE?
Our Moon keeps the same side toward us.
The rotation period of Mercury is 59 Earth days.
Like our Moon, Mercury does not rotate at all, keeping the same side facing the Sun.
On Mercury, 3 “days” equals 2 “years.”
On the Moon, each “day” lasts about 15 Earth days of constant sunlight.
Answer: c
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11. Question 5
Which statement about the rotations of Mercury and the Moon is FALSE?
Our Moon keeps the same side toward us.
The rotation period of Mercury is 59 Earth days.
Like our Moon, Mercury does not rotate at all, keeping the same side facing the Sun.
On Mercury, 3 “days” equals 2 “years.”
On the Moon, each “day” lasts about 15 Earth days of constant sunlight.
Explanation: Both Mercury and the Moon rotate slowly and show a “spin-lock” created by tidal forces from nearby large objects.
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12. Question 6
Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the densest atmosphere?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Answer: b
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13. Question 6
Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the densest atmosphere?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Explanation: Venus’s atmosphere has a pressure about 90 times greater than Earth’s. Many of its surface features are affected by this immense pressure.
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14. Question 7
The greenhouse effect on Venus is due to _____ in its atmosphere.
nitrogen
hydrogen
carbon dioxide
oxygen
sulfuric acid
Answer: c
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15. Question 7
The greenhouse effect on Venus is due to _____ in its atmosphere.
nitrogen
hydrogen
carbon dioxide
oxygen
sulfuric acid
Explanation: Venus’s atmosphere is over 96% CO2, resulting in a surface temperature exceeding 900ºF.
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16. Question 8 Venus’s surface shows all of the following EXCEPT
many impact craters of all sizes.
shield volcanoes.
a continent-sized plateau.
huge circular volcanic coronae.
lava domes.
Answer: a
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17. Question 8 Venus’s surface shows all of the following EXCEPT
many impact craters of all sizes.
shield volcanoes.
a continent-sized plateau.
huge circular volcanic coronae.
lava domes.
Explanation: Venus’s thick atmosphere shields the planet from smaller meteor impacts.
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18. Question 9
What effect does the greenhouse effect have on the surface environment of Venus?
Little or no effect
About the same as on Earth
To reduce the surface temperature by about 30ºC
To raise the surface temperature by hundreds of degrees Celsius
To cause the surface temperature of Venus to become hotter than the Sun
Answer: d
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19. Question 9
What effect does the greenhouse effect have on the surface environment of Venus?
Little or no effect
About the same as on Earth
To reduce the surface temperature by about 30ºC
To raise the surface temperature by hundreds of degrees Celsius
To cause the surface temperature of Venus to become hotter than the Sun
Explanation: Even though Venus is farther from the Sun than Mercury, it actually has a higher surface temperature because of the greenhouse effect.
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20. Question 10
Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the largest volcanoes?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Moon
Answer: d
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21. Question 10
Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the largest volcanoes?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Moon
Explanation: Mars’s largest volcano, Olympus Mons, rises more than 25 km (75,000 ft) above the surrounding plains.
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22. Question 11
Venus and Mars probably evolved differently from Earth because they
are slightly bigger than Earth.
are more massive than Earth.
have thicker atmospheres than Earth.
formed sooner than Earth.
orbit at different distances from the Sun.
Answer: e
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23. Question 11
Venus and Mars probably evolved differently from Earth because they
are slightly bigger than Earth.
are more massive than Earth.
have thicker atmospheres than Earth.
formed sooner than Earth.
orbit at different distances from the Sun.
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24. Question 12 The weakness of the magnetic field of Mars is because
it spins much slower than Earth does.
its core may no longer be molten.
its core contains less iron than Earth.
Both (b) and (c) are probable.
All of the above are correct.
Answer: d
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25. Question 12 The weakness of the magnetic field of Mars is because
it spins much slower than Earth does.
its core may no longer be molten.
its core contains less iron than Earth.
Both (b) and (c) are probable.
All of the above are correct.
Explanation: Mars is smaller, and would have cooled more quickly.
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26. Question 13
What was the most likely source of the water that formed the huge outflow channels of Mars?
Rainfall
Catastrophic but rare flooding
Annual melting of the seasonal ice caps
Large comets that struck Mars
A collision with one of Jupiter’s frozen moons
Answer: b
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27. Question 13
What was the most likely source of the water that formed the huge outflow channels of Mars?
Rainfall
Catastrophic but rare flooding
Annual melting of the seasonal ice caps
Large comets that struck Mars
A collision with one of Jupiter’s frozen moons
Explanation: Flooding on Mars appears to have occurred about 3 billion years ago.
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