Middle Georgia State University

Course title: ASTR 1010K

Chapter 7 Homework

1)Which pair of planets has atmospheres with the most similar chemical compositions?

2. Compare the surfaces of Mercury and our Moon. How are they similar? How are they different?

3. On Mercury, when would you expect it to be coldest? Noon, just before sunset, midnight, or just before sunrise. Explain your answer.

4.  Briefly describe a scientific theory explaining why Mercury has such a large iron core.

5. What evidence exists for active volcanoes on Venus?

6. Why is Mars red?

7. During with configuration of planets is it easiest to observe Mars from Earth? (Hint: Guided Discovery: The Inner Solar System in Section 7-5 can help.)

8. How would you tell which craters on Mars were formed by meteoritic impacts and which by volcanic activity?

9. What evidence do astronomers have that there are active volcanoes on Venus?

10. What evidence have astronomers accumulated that liquid water once existed in large quantities on Mar’s surface? What evidence is there that water still exists under its surface?

11. Venus takes 440 days to move from greatest western elongation to greatest eastern elongation, but it needs only 144 days to go from greatest eastern elongation to greatest western elongation. With the aid of a diagram, explain why.

12. How might Venus’s cloud cover change if all of Venus’s volcanic activity suddenly stopped? How might these changes affect the overall Venusian environment?

13. Explain why Mars has the longest synodic period of all of the planets, although its sidereal period is only 687 days.

14. With carbon dioxide accounting for about 95% of the atmosphere of both Mars and Venus, why is there little greenhouse effect on Mars today?