MCQ on Mercury Planet

1. What is the distance of Mercury from the sun?

A.  57.91 million km

B. 108.2 million km

C. 149.6 million km

D. 77.3 million km

Answer: D. 77.3 million km

2. Which planet is closest to Mercury?

A. Venus

B. Mars

C. Earth

D. Jupiter

Answer: A. Venus

3. What is the average temperature on the surface of Mercury?

A. -173°C

B. -63°C

C. 430°C

D. 1370°C

Answer: C. 430°C

4. How long is a day on Mercury?

A. 24 hours

B. 59 Earth days

C. 88 Earth days

D. 365.25 Earth days

Answer: C. 88 Earth days

5. What is the largest impact crater on Mercury called?

A. Tycho

B. Copernicus

C. Caloris Basin

D. Aristarchus

Answer: C. Caloris Basin

6. Which spacecraft was the first to visit Mercury?

A. Mariner 4

B. Viking 1

C. Pioneer 10

D. Messenger

Answer: D. Messenger

7. What is the diameter of Mercury?

A. 12,742 km

B. 6,371 km

C. 4,880 km

D. 2,440 km

Answer: C. 4,880 km

8. How many times smaller is Mercury than Earth?

A. 1/3

B. 1/2

C. 1/4

D. 1/6

Answer: C. 1/4

9. Which of the following is not a feature of Mercury’s surface?

A. Craters

B. Mountains

C. Oceans

D. Valleys

Answer: C. Oceans

10. Which of the following best describes Mercury’s atmosphere?

A. Dense and rich in oxygen

B. Thin and composed mostly of helium

C. Thick and composed mostly of nitrogen

D.  Non-existent

Answer: D. Non-existent

11. How many missions have been sent to explore Mercury?

A. 1

B. 3

C. 5

D. 7

Answer: B. 3

12. Which of the following is not a characteristic of Mercury’s orbit?

A. It is highly eccentric

B. It is inclined relative to the plane of the ecliptic

C. It is perfectly circular

D. It has a long orbital period

Answer: C. It is perfectly circular

13. Which of the following is not a factor that contributes to the extreme temperature differences on Mercury?

A. Lack of atmosphere

B. Long day/night cycle

C. Close proximity to the sun

D. High levels of greenhouse gases

Answer: D. High levels of greenhouse gases

14. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

A. Venus

B. Mars

C. Earth

D. Mercury

Answer: D. Mercury

15. Which of the following is not a possible explanation for the presence of water ice on Mercury?

A. Comets impacting the surface

B.Water molecules being brought by solar wind

C. Volcanic activity

D. Water being brought by a meteorite

Answer: C.  Volcanic activity