Q 01/05

Where does Venus rank in distance from the Sun?

A) Fourth

B) Third

C) First

D) Second

Answer · why

D) Second

It orbits between Mercury and Earth and comes closer to Earth than any other planet.

Q 02/05

Which planet is the hottest in the Solar System?

A) Jupiter

B) Venus

C) Mars

D) Mercury

Answer · why

B) Venus

Its runaway greenhouse effect keeps the surface at about 464 °C, hotter than Mercury despite being twice as far from the Sun.

Q 03/05

Roughly what is the surface temperature of Venus?

A) About 464 °C

B) About 900 °C

C) About 120 °C

D) About 250 °C

Answer · why

A) About 464 °C

That is hot enough to melt lead, and it barely varies between the equator and the poles.

Q 04/05

The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is roughly how many times Earth's at sea level?

A) 2

B) 9

C) 92

D) 920

Answer · why

C) 92

That is like being nearly a kilometre under the ocean; the lowest air layer behaves as a supercritical fluid.

Q 05/05

Venus's atmosphere is made almost entirely of which gas?

A) Carbon dioxide

B) Sulphur dioxide

C) Hydrogen

D) Nitrogen

Answer · why

A) Carbon dioxide

About 96.5% CO2 and 3.5% nitrogen, with clouds of sulphuric acid on top.