3: What is the surface of Mercury like?
a) Rocky and covered with craters
b) Crisscrossed with rivers called canals
c) Covered with large oceans filled with boiling-hot water
5: How large is Mercury’s biggest crater, the Caloris Basin?
a) Large enough to fit the entire state of Texas inside
b) Large enough to fit the entire nation of Canada inside
c) Large enough to fit the Pacific Ocean inside
7: How long does it take Mercury to rotate, or spin around, once?
a) 1,408 Earth hours
b) 23 Earth hours
c) 1 Earth hour
9: Who is Mercury named after?
a) The inventor of the thermometer
b) The Roman messenger of the gods
c) A Marvel superhero who can change her shape
2: Which statement is true?
a) Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
b) Mercury is the farthest planet from the Sun.
c) Mercury is the third planet from the Sun.
4: How long is a year on Mercury?
a) 3,000 Earth days
b) 2 Earth hours
c) 88 Earth days
6: Which of these statements is false?
a) Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.
b) Mercury has an atmosphere like Earth’s.
c) Mercury is slightly larger than Earth’s Moon.
10: Which of these statements is false?
a) There is ice at the bottom of craters on Mercury.
b) The Sun appears smaller from Mercury than from Earth.
c) During the day, some metals would melt on Mercury.
How much do you know about the planet Mercury? Test your knowledge by taking the Mercury quiz. All you need to do is click on an answer for each question. Have fun!
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version of these questions.
13: What happens during a transit?
a) Astronauts are beamed onto Mercury.
b) A large object in space passes in front of a smaller one.
c) A small object in space passes across the face of a larger object.
15: How long did it take Messenger to reach Mercury?
a) 3 weeks
b) 24 hours
c) Six and a half years
17: Which statement is true?
a) At night, Mercury is very cold.
b) During the day, Mercury is very cold.
c) Lots of rain falls on Mercury.
19: Which statement is false?
a) Space probes have visited Mercury.
b) Ancient people could see Mercury in the sky.
c) Mercury is the same size as Earth.
16: Which of the following did Messenger discover on Mercury?
a) An alien spacecraft
b) Huge cliffs on the planet’s surface
c) Trees and other plants
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12: Which of these statements is false?
a) Messenger is the name of a space probe.
b) Messenger landed on Mercury.
c) Messenger is in orbit around Mercury.
14: How were the craters on Mercury formed?
a) By asteroids, meteoroids, and comets hitting the
planet’s surface
b) By spacecraft crashing onto the planet
c) By aliens digging holes