Cypress College ASTR 116 Homework
Astronomy 116, Homework CHAPTER 6 (A) The Terrestrial Planets.
Due:
Print Last, First Name and date on the small Scantron in INK. Print
your last name in BIG BLOCK letters on the back of the Scantron.
Use a No. 2 pencil to fill out Scantron. Read the chapter.
Look at the videos and simulations in the CD-ROM. Answer all True/False and
Fill in the Blank questions. Then answer the following questions and
turn in your Scantron only. Choose the best answer.
1. Mercury is a difficult planet to spot in Earth's sky because:
- a) It is so small.
- b) It is so faint.
- c) It is always close to the sun.
- d) all of the above
- e) none of the above
2. What causes Mercury's 3:2 spin-orbit resonance?
- a) The planet's nearness to the sun.
- b) The planet's very eccentric orbit.
- c) Tidal torques operating on the planet.
- d) all of the above
- e) none of the above
3. Which of the following contributes to Venus being so hot?
- a) It is closer than Earth to the Sun.
- b) Its atmosphere is dense.
- c) Its atmosphere is made almost entirely of carbon dioxide.
- d) all of the above
- e) none of the above
4. If Venus once had an ocean, where did it go?
- a) It exists as abundant water vapor in the planet's atmosphere.
- b) It was lost to space.
- c) The water broke into hydrogen, which escaped to space, and oxygen,
which became trapped in the planet's surface rocks.
- d) It exists trapped in the crust but below the surface.
- e) It is all frozen, in the form of large polar ice caps.
5. What is thought to have caused the craters on Venus?
- a) Most are volcanic in origin; some are due to meteoritic
impacts.
- b) As in the case of Mercury, all the craters are due to meteoritic
impacts.
- c) Because meteorites cannot survive passing through the atmosphere
of Venus, all craters must be volcanic.
- d) Venus has very few craters and their origin is not known.
6. The clouds of Venus contain much:
- a) carbonic acid
- b) hydrochloric acid
- c) dihydrogen oxide
- d) sulfuric acid
7. Which of the following are greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere:
- a) carbon dioxide & oxygen
- b) argon & water
- c) water & oxygen
- d) carbon dioxide & water
8. Why is one hemisphere of Mars believed to be older than the other?
- a) One hemisphere is darker.
- b) One hemisphere is more heavily cratered.
- c) One hemisphere is lower.
- d) One hemisphere leans more away from the Sun.
9. Why does Mars have seasons?
- a) Its orbit is circular.
- b) It rotates only a few times during each orbit around the Sun.
- c) Mars has a very elliptical orbit that brings it very close to
the Sun during summer and far from the Sun during winter.
- d) Its axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane.
10. Which of the following characterizes a shield volcano?
- a) It sits above a hot spot in the planet's mantle.
- b) It is formed by moving tectonic plates.
- c) It erupts only briefly before subsiding forever.
- d) It cannot grow very large.