Deck 22: Venus and Mars

Question 1

During its formation, Mars cooled quickly because it is a small planet.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Why can't Venus's atmosphere break up into small cyclonic storms, like Earth?

A) Venus rotates too slowly.
B) Venus rotates backwards.
C) Venus has a long orbital period.
D) Venus has too much CO₂ in its atmosphere.
E) Venus has no ozone layer to support cyclonic storms.

Answer 2

Venus rotates too slowly.

Question 3

Venus has an atmosphere that rotates within a period of only four days.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

With no water and a thick, slow-moving lower atmosphere, there is little erosion on Venus

Question 5

How often does Venus rotate on its axis?

A) 24 h
B) 182 Earth days
C) 243 Earth days
D) 1 Earth year
E) 3 Earth years

Question 6

Venus's tectonic processes seem to be vertical rather than horizontal.

Question 7

Which is a characteristic Venus shares with Earth?

A) Both planets have an ozone layer within their atmospheres.
B) Both planets rotate clockwise on their axes.
C) Both planets have a uniform circulation within their atmospheres.
D) Both planets are still geologically active.
E) Both planets have heavily cratered surfaces.

Question 8

The atmosphere of Venus is very dry.

Question 9

The instruments of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft detected water frozen in the soil over large areas of Mars.

Question 10

Venus has a significant magnetic field.

Question 11

What makes up the bulk of the atmosphere of Venus?

A) hydrogen
B) carbon dioxide
C) argon
D) water vapor
E) sulfuric acid

Question 12

Which is a unique characteristic of Venus not shared by the other Terrestrial planets?

A) The planet has an atmosphere.
B) The planet has volcanoes on its surface.
C) The planet experiences retrograde rotation.
D) The planet has a strong magnetic field.
E) The planet once had water on its surface.

Question 13

Venus is 95 percent the diameter of Earth.

Question 14

Signs of cratering dominate the surface of Venus.

Question 15

How have scientists mapped the surface features of Venus?

A) data received from rovers on the surface
B) data received from multiple probes sent to the surface
C) observations made from the Hubble Space Telescope
D) radar imaging by the Magellan spacecraft
E) UV imaging by the Odyssey spacecraft

Question 16

The air on Mars is 95% nitrogen and argon

Question 17

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos.

Question 18

What keeps the surface temperatures constant all over Venus?

A) a high level of deuterium within its atmosphere
B) a thick layer of water vapor just above the surface
C) a greenhouse effect holding in the heat
D) a slow, retrograde rotation on its axis
E) a thick atmosphere and high winds carry heat efficiently

Question 19

The crust of Mars is much thinner than the crust of Earth.

Question 20

The excess deuterium in Venus' atmosphere indicates that Venus currently has substantial amounts of water on its surface.

Question 21

The surface rocks on Venus are similar to ____ rocks on Earth.

A) oxide-rich
B) anorthosite
C) sedimentary
D) granitic
E) basaltic

Question 22

How is it that Earth has less CO₂ in its atmosphere than Venus, even though both planets likely outgassed the about the same amount of CO₂ during their development?

A) Earth absorbed most of the CO₂ into its oceans.
B) Venus absorbed most of the CO₂ into its oceans.
C) Earth lost most of its CO₂ because of weak gravity.
D) Venus rotates too slowly to lose any of its CO_2.
E) Venus retained much of its CO₂ in polar ice.

Question 23

What keeps water frozen on Mars?

A) The constant subzero surface temperatures
B) The low atmospheric pressure of the planet
C) The distance between Mars and the Sun
D) The relatively quick rotation period
E) The negligible axis tilt of the planet

Question 24

Which characteristic of Venus has led many to call it the "sister planet" to Earth?

A) Venus and Earth have very similar atmospheres.
B) Venus is almost the same size as Earth.
C) Venus and Earth have liquid water on the surface.
D) Venus is the same distance from the Sun as Earth.
E) Venus and Earth have composite volcanoes.

Question 25

Which statement best describes the atmosphere of Venus?

A) Similar to Earth, it contains mostly nitrogen and oxygen.
B) Venus' atmosphere is high in carbon dioxide and considered a runaway greenhouse.
C) Venus has a negligible atmosphere.
D) Similar to Uranus, it contains mostly methane.
E) Similar to Mercury, it has a thin atmosphere high in carbon dioxide.

Question 26

Why are there no small craters on the surface of Venus?

A) The thick atmosphere protects the surface from small meteorites.
B) Old surfaces have been subducted by convection currents.
C) Venus formed after the heavy bombardment period.
D) Weathering and erosion removed all craters.
E) Shield volcanoes prevent small craters to remain on exist on the surface.

Question 27

How did Mars get its two moons?

A) Mars captured asteroids from the asteroid belt.
B) Mars suffered a catastrophic meteor impact, breaking a piece off the planet.
C) Mars had planetary bodies near it when the solar wind blew out the nebula.
D) Mars collided and fused with another planet leaving two remnants behind.
E) Mars captured comets from the Kuiper belt.

Question 28

Which statement best describes Phobos and Deimos?

A) small satellites, irregular in shape and heavily cratered
B) large satellites, spherical in shape with smooth surfaces
C) small satellites, spherical in shape with smooth surface.
D) one large and one small satellite, irregular in shape with lava flows
E) large satellites, irregular in shape and heavily cratered

Question 29

What is the current dominant geological process on Mars?

A) plate tectonics
B) volcanism
C) wind erosion
D) water erosion
E) cratering

Question 30

Which two rover missions provided detailed information about the surface of Mars?

A) Phoenix and Odyssey
B) Spirit and Opportunity
C) Mars Express and Magellan
D) Magellan and Terra
E) Voyager and Apollo

Question 31

Shield volcanoes, like those on Venus and Mars, occur ____.

A) over a hot spot
B) along a subduction zone
C) Inside a chamber
D) along plate boundaries
E) within a caldera

Question 32

Studies have shown that the ice located in the south pole of Mars is mostly ____.

A) H2O
B) NO2
C) CO2
D) O2
E) FeO2

Question 33

What are coronae on the surface of Venus?

A) ice trapped at the poles
B) subduction zones creating jagged mountains
C) peaks of the highlands
D) features left by rising convection currents
E) the basin of an impact crater

Question 34

Phobos and Deimos are believed to be captured ____.

A) comets
B) planetesimals
C) planetoids
D) asteroids
E) meteorites

Question 35

What evidence is there to prove that there has been no tectonic movement on Mars?

A) The meteorites that have landed on Earth
B) The "blueberries" found by rover Opportunity
C) The huge size of the Martian volcanoes
D) The presence of ice beneath the surface
E) The large number of polygonal cracks on the surface

Question 36

How does Venus release its interior heat?

A) Through solar wind
B) Through active plate tectonics
C) Through large convective currents of hot magma that rise beneath its crust
D) Through periodic outgassing of the atmosphere
E) Through CO₂ outgassing

Question 37

What is Olympus Mons and where is it found?

A) a crater on our Moon
B) a volcano on the planet Mars
C) a sinuous rille on Venus
D) a caldera on the planet Venus
E) a lobate scarp on Mars

Question 38

Which period of Mars's planetary history has been the most uneventful?

A) Mesozoic
B) Noachian
C) Amazonian
D) Jurassic
E) Hesperian

Question 39

The very large size of Olympus Mons indicates that Mars has ____.

A) plate tectonics
B) no plate tectonics
C) a thick atmosphere
D) a molten core
E) a very active surface

Question 40

What is significant about Olympus Mons?

A) It is the only impact crater remaining on Mars.
B) It is the largest crater in the Solar System.
C) It is the largest volcano on Venus.
D) It is the only composite volcano on Mars.
E) It is the largest volcano in the Solar System.

Question 42

Since Mars's axis is tipped 25.2^o to its orbit, it experiences ____.

A) seasons
B) day and night
C) extreme temperature fluctuations
D) solar eclipses
E) auroras

Question 43

Martian volcanoes are _______________ volcanoes with gradual slopes.

Question 44

Mars has _______________ but it is hidden.

Question 45

The Venus's atmosphere contains 96 percent _______________.

Question 46

What evidence in Mars's atmosphere supports the idea that Mars once had flowing, liquid water?

Question 47

Why can't scientists put a rover on Venus like the ones on Mars?

Question 48

Almost all geological features on Venus have _______________ names.

Question 49

Venus has many more _______________ than Earth, but not nearly as many as Earth's Moon.

Question 50

What are the three periods of Mars's planetary history?

Question 51

Excess atmospheric _______________ indicates that Venus once had substantial amounts of water on its surface.

Question 52

Why is Venus's atmosphere hotter than Mercury even though it is farther from the Sun?

A) Venus has a thin atmosphere thus allowing more of Sun's radiation to enter.
B) Venus contains water vapor in its atmosphere, which absorbs more heat.
C) Venus contains 96 percent CO₂ resulting in very hot temperatures.
D) Mars contains more CO₂ , which has a cooling effect on its atmosphere.
E) Mercury has a hotter atmosphere because it is closer to the Sun than Venus.

Question 53

Describe the surface features of Venus. If the atmosphere is so thick and the planet is so hot, how do we know about these surface features on Venus?

Question 54

Why do scientists believe Venus lacks plate tectonics?

Question 55

Venus has no _______________ to absorb the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.

Question 56

Mars probably has a large solid core surrounded by a thin shell of liquid core material in which the _______________ is unable to generate a magnetic field.

Question 57

Venus rotates once every _______________ Earth days.

Question 58

How does the atmosphere of Venus circulate in comparison to the atmosphere of Earth?

Question 59

Radar maps provide information about _______________, roughness and in some cases, chemical composition of a planet's surface.

Question 60

Which statement best describes the greenhouse effect?

A) infrared radiation escapes into space.
B) ultraviolet radiation enters a planet's atmosphere producing a green haze
C) visible radiation is trapped by the atmosphere.
D) infrared radiation is trapped by the atmosphere.
E) oxygen escapes from the atmosphere.

Question 61

The two moons of Mars are captured _______________.

Question 62

Phobos is so close to Mars that tides are currently making its orbit _______________.

Question 63

Why are volcanoes so large on Venus and on Mars?

Question 64

How did the Martian soil become so heavily oxidized, giving it the reddish hue?

Question 65

Which period of Mars's planetary history was the most active geologically and describe what happened during that time period.

Question 66

Describe those surface features that indicate water once flowed on Mars.

Question 67

_______________ is a network of canyons 4000km long and up to 600km wide on the surface of Mars.