Section #: 29.2
The Terrestrial Planets
Practice Test
1.
The inner four planets of our solar system are called the __________ planets and the next four are called the __________ planets.
a.
terrestrial, gas giant
b.
hard, soft
c.
gas giant, terrestrial
d.
rocky, gas-like
Hint
2.
The wobble in Earth's axis is called __________.
a.
precession
b.
eccentricity
c.
tilt
d.
seasons
Hint
3.
Mercury's extremely slow spin causes only __________ days to pass in __________ of Mercury's years.
a.
three, two
b.
one, two hundred
c.
one hundred, one
d.
twenty-four, one
Hint
4.
Use the table to determine the largest terrestrial planet.
Planet
Orbital Radius, a (AU)
Planetary Radius, r (km)
Planetary Mass, m (10
24
kg)
Mercury
0.387
2439.7
0.3302
Venus
0.723
6051.8
4.8685
Earth
1.0
6378.1
5.9736
Mars
1.524
3397
0.64185
Jupiter
5.204
71 492
1898.6
Saturn
9.582
60 268
568.46
Uranus
19.201
25 559
86.832
Neptune
30.047
24 764
102.43
Pluto
39.236
1195
0.0125
a.
Mercury
b.
Venus
c.
Earth
d.
Mars
Hint
5.
Why can't astronomers directly observe the surface of Venus without landing probes on the surface?
a.
Venus has a clockwise spin.
b.
Venus has a high albedo.
c.
The surface is covered by thick clouds.
d.
The surface is covered by thick ice sheets.
Hint
6.
Which planets in the figure have solid surfaces?
a.
1-4
b.
5-8
c.
1-4 and 9
d.
9
Hint
7.
Why is Venus the hottest planet, even though it isn't the closest to the Sun?
a.
it surfuric acid rain
b.
it's greenhouse effect
c.
it's high albedo
d.
it's high atmospheric pressure
Hint
8.
What is Olympus Mons?
a.
a large shield volcano on Mars
b.
a scarp on Mercury
c.
one of Mars' moons
d.
a composite volcano on Venus
Hint
