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135 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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the relative size of the atmostphere layer as compared to the solid part of earth is most similar to
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the skin to the meat of a grape
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from the center outward, the correct order of the sun is
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solid metallic inner core, molten metal outer core, silicate mantle, and crust
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the relative size of the mantle compared to the solid inner core of the earth is most similar to
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the meat, compared to the pit of a cherry
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which part of the suns radiation is responsible for heating earth's surface?
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ultraviolet and visible
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what is the process that physically transfers heat from a lower into a higher level?
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convection
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which of these gases are outgassed by our volcanic eruptions?
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water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide
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above about 100 km, the high energy portion of the sun's radiation spectrum breaks down molecules into atoms. what is this part of earth's atmosphere called?
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ionosphere
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what is the hole in the ozone thought to be caused by?
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CFC's
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the principal greenhouse gas in our present atmosphere are
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carbon dioxide and water vapor
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almost all of our atmospheric gases lie in the
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troposphere
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the greenhouse effect works by trapping
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outgoing infrared radiation comin gfrom the earth
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clouds form primarily at the boundary between
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the troposphere and the stratosphere
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when water vapor consenses out at the cool tops of convection cells, what happens?
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clouds form
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our understanding of the solar system can best be described as
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explosive
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planes orbital period is
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the time it takes to return to the same location
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the plane on which almost all planets orbit the sun is
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eliptic
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how do densities of the jovian and terrestrial planets compare
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terrestrials are more dense
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what planets are jovian
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jupiter saturn uranus neptune
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most astroids are found
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between mars and jupiter
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kuiper belt is found
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beyond neptune
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the tail of a comet points
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away from the sun and becomes longest and brightest at perihelion
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what is true about solar system densities?
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denser planets are closer to the sun
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masses of planets are easiest to determine if
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they have natural satelites whose motions can be precisely measured
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average density of each planet is determined by mass and
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volume
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which body has lowest density?
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comet
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rotation periods of venus, saturn, jupiter, uranus, and neptune are difficult to determine because
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surface features are obscured by the atmosphere
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to dermine mass by applying newton's laws the planet must have
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moons
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mercury's most unusual orbit feature
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the shape of orbit
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what aspects of a planets orbit are nearly the same for most planets
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shape and tilt from eliptic
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planetary orbits:
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are mostly circular with low eccentricies
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in composition and mass density, jupiter is most like
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the sun
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which characteristic describes terrestrial planets?
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weak magnetic fields
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difference between a metioroid and an astroid
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size
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smallest interplanetary matter
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interplanetary dust
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which isnt icy?
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asteroids
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earth's crust is covered by __% water in the hydrosphere
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70
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without greenhouse effect
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earth would have an average temp of -23 degrees celcius
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how is the existence of earth's atmosphere explained?
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oxygen in the atmosphere is a result of early life on earth
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what gas is primary constituent of our atmosphere?
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nitrogen
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which major atmospheric component is cheifly a product of life processes?
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oxygen
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the critical part of the atmosphere that protects life from ultraviolet is
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ozone
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we live in the
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troposphere
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we determine the structure of earth's core using
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seismic wave data
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seismic waves are most useful for mapping the
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earth's crust and mantle
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when 2 tectonic plates collide
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they continue moving producing a variety of large deformations
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when strong solar winds are displaced poleward by our magnetic fields we get
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intense auroral displays
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best description of earth's rotation through history
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it has slowed down
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from earth, due to their motions and the fact that the sun lights only a portion of each surface,
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both the sun and moon appear to go through phases
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if the earth's surface were increased to that of mercury's day side,
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we would lose most of our water vapor into space
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not a factor in determining whethere a body in the solar system as an atmosphere is
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rotation rate
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youngest features visible with telescopes on the moon are
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the craters sitting atop the mare
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to measure how mercury spins. astronomers sent ____ to mercury
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radar beams
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what did radar astronomers find in the polar regions of mercury?
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ice that never melts in deep craters
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fact about rotations of moon and mercury is false:
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like our moon, mercury doesnt rotate
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how does mercurys rotation relate to the sun?
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its roation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances
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what causes mercury's 3:2 spin orbit resonances?
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all the above
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what is the chief erosive agent on the moon?
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rain of micrometeorites
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the rate of cratering
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shows most interplanetary depris was swept up soon after the formation of the solar system
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the rate of cratering in lunar highlands shows
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they range from 4.6-4.4 billion years old on average
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the average rate of erosion on the moon is far less than on earth because
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the moon lacks wind, water, and an atmosphere
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which type of feature is best evidence of lunar volcanism?
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the mare formation
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one of the effects of mercury's very slow spin is
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extreme vaiations in surface temp
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what is true of lunar highlands?
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they are the oldest part of the lunar surface
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the lunar mare are radioactively dated at
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3.9-3.2 billion years old
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mercury presents the same side to the sun
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every other orbit
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what is true of the moon's orbital and rotational periods?
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they are equal
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a surprise of the pioneer venus photos was that
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the clouss rotate around in only 4 days
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aphrodite terra is
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a continental sized plateau
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maxwell mons is a
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sheild volcano
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what percentage of the surface of venus could be characterized by highlands?
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8%
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what has not been observed about volcanic activity on venus?
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flowing lava
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how long does venus take to rotate on its axis?
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243 days
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the most detailed maps of venus come from the
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magellan space probe
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the best data about the surface of venus comes from
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magellan radar data and radar observations from earth
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orbiter that gave the most detailed maps of venus was
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magellan
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atmospheric pressure on venus is
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higher than on earth
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what is the result of the greenhouse effect on venus
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it raised the temp by 100s of degrees C
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what is the main constituent of the atmosphere of venus?
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CO2
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venus is brightest as seen from earth
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36 days before or after inferior conjunction
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at closest approach venus is how far from earth?
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.3 AU
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venus's full phase occurs when venus is at
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superior conjunction
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why is it reasonable to conclude that the internal structure and evolution of venus are basically earthlike?
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they have similar masses and sizes
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venus's rotation
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takes longer than its orbit around the sun
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through radar observations it was found that venus's
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rotation on its axis is retrograde
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why does venus appear so bright to the eye?
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all the above
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earth and venus are often called sister planets because
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size, density, and surface gravity
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because of its slow rotation period, venus
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presents the same side to earth at each closest approach
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synodic period of venus is how many earth years?
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3.5
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venus is only slightly smaller than earth so its mass is
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just a little less
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surface of venus can be observed with
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radar observations from arecibo
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synodic period of venus is time it takes for
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venus to complete a full cycle of phases
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which characterizes a shield volcano?
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it sits above a hot spot on the planets mantle
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which is true of venus's surface?
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2 continental sized uplands
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compared to earth, venus has a
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far greater percentage of its surface in low level ocean basins
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in the time between 2 closest approaches to earth, venus rotates almost exactly 5 times relative to the sun. the consequence is
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venus always presents the same face to earth at inferior conjunction
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what resonance exists between venus's rotational period and its synodic period?
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5:1
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one of the most unexpected aspects of mars's atmosphere is its
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troposphere changes altitude
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compare the atmospheres of mars and venus
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both are cheifly co2 but on mars it can freeze like dry ice
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the seasonal changes on mars create
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all the above
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why does mars appear fainter than venus?
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its smaller, farther away, and less reflective
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what was observed from earth prior to spacecraft missions to mars?
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a and c are correct
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the largest and deepest impact basin found an mars is
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hellar
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what is the best way to find the distance to the moon
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bounce lasers off the retroreflectors left on the surface by the Apollo landings
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in size, mercury is intermediate between
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the moon and mars
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mercury's surface resembles that of which other body?
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the moon
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which theory seems to best explain the moon's origin?
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impact theory
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What is the reason that it is so difficult to view Mercury from Earth?
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Mercury is always very close to the Sun
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Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because
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: it never gets more than 28 degrees from the Sun’s glare
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to measure how mercury spins, astronomers sent _____ to mercury and used the Doppler shift to determine how fast it was rotating
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radar beams
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The main problem spacecraft have encountered in landing on Venus is
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extremely high temps
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Because the atmosphere of Venus is so dense
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clouds form at an altitude much higher than on Earth.
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The fact that Venus’ atmosphere contains carbon dioxide was discovered
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in early spectroscopic studies.
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reason that the atmosphere of Venus is over 95% carbon dioxide is thought to be because
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Venus was much hotter than Earth when its atmosphere formed
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What is the composition of the clouds of Venus?
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Sulfur ad sulfuric acid droplets
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If Venus once had an ocean, where did it go?
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The water broke into hydrogen, which escaped to space, and oxygen, which became trapped in the planet’s surface rocks.
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Comparing the clouds of Earth and Venus, we find that
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ours lie in the troposphere, within 10 kilometer of our surface. In Venus has a higher troposphere, with its clouds about 40 kilometers high.
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absence of a magnetic field on Venus probably stems from its
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slow rotation
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which of the following contributes to Venus being so hot
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It is closer than earth to the sun. it has very little axial tilt so the equator is always directly exposed to the Sun. Its atmosphere is much denser than the Earth’s.
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was the summer of 2003 a fine time for Mars observers?
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Mars was closer to us than it has been in over 50,000 years.
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The deepest depression found on the surface of Mars is the
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hellas basin
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Valles Marineris is the most striking example of
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rift valley
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The most striking valley in the solar system is:
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Valles Marineris on Mars
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The largest shield volcano yet discovered is
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olympus mons
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The main constituent of the martian atmosphere is
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co2
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Venus and mars probably evolved differently from Earth because
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they orbit at different distances from the Sun.
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what physical feature of Mars is atypical compared with the other terrestrial planets?
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density
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Which the correct size order, from smallest to largest?
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mercury mars venus
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How long is the day on Mars
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24 hrs 36 mins
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The most prominent feature of mars observable from earth is
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bright polar caps
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What causes the changing dark and light features visible on the Martian surface from Earth?
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Highly cratered and eroded areas that are frequently covered and uncovered by dust
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Most of the dark regions on Mars visible from Earth are
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volcanic planes like the lunar maria.
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If water caused the huge outflow channels on Mars, what was the most likely process that formed them?
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flooding
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of liquid water in mars distant past suggest that it had a substantial atmosphere compared to what it has presently. What happened to its water vapor?
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The atmosphere has frozen out into the polar ice caps and permafrost as Mars has cooled.
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why is mars red
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The iron in the surface rocks have been oxidized over time.
-The seasonal changes on Mars create: huge dust storms that can enshroud the planets disk. Remarkable changes in size of the two dry ice polar caps. Changes in the dark features noted from Earth by telescopes long ago. Great changes in the barometric pressure as the atmosphere freezes and sublimes. |
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which of these were observed from Earth, prior to spacecraft missions to mars?
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Seasonal changes in the polars caps. Dust storms
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