Problem: I read this background article the other day: Clouds on Earth are made of water vapor. Venus's clouds are a lot less pleasant. They are made of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and large amounts of corrosive sulfuric acid! The atmosphere of Venus is so thick that the pressure on the surface of Venus is very high. In fact, it is 90 times greater than the pressure at Earth’s surface! The thick atmosphere causes a strong greenhouse effect. As a result, Venus is the hottest planet. Even though it is farther from the Sun, Venus is much hotter even than Mercury. Temperatures at the surface reach 465°C (860°F). That’s hot enough to melt lead!  I am facing a new situation today: Two teams of students studied Earth's atmosphere in class. They also started studying Venus' atmosphere. They were fascinated by the subject and learned a lot. Team A studied Earth, team B studied planet Venus.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which team didn't learn about carbon dioxide clouds?

A: Team A


Problem: I read this background article the other day: Almost all earthquakes occur at plate boundaries. All types of plate boundaries have earthquakes. Convection within the Earth causes the plates to move. As the plates move, stresses build. When the stresses build too much, the rocks break. The break releases the energy that was stored in the rocks. The sudden release of energy is an earthquake. During an earthquake the rocks usually move several centimeters. Rarely, they may move as much as a few meters. Elastic rebound theory describes how earthquakes occur ( Figure below ).  I am facing a new situation today: Two nearby villages are experiencing earthquakes. Bow village gets a lot of earthquakes annually, while Arrow village gets only a few.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which village experiences more sudden releases of energy?

A: Bow


Problem: I read this background article the other day: At the mid-oceanic ridges, two tectonic plates diverge from one another as new oceanic crust is formed by the cooling and solidifying of hot molten rock. Because the crust is very thin at these ridges due to the pull of the tectonic plates, the release of pressure leads to adiabatic expansion (without transfer of heat or matter) and the partial melting of the mantle, causing volcanism and creating new oceanic crust. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans; therefore, most volcanic activity on the Earth is submarine, forming new seafloor. Black smokers (also known as deep sea vents) are evidence of this kind of volcanic activity. Where the mid-oceanic ridge is above sea-level, volcanic islands are formed; for example, Iceland.  I am facing a new situation today: Hank and Dean studied plate tectonics in college. Hank learned more about divergent boundaries, while Dean read more about convergent boundaries.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which student read less about volcanism and creating new oceanic crust?

A: Dean


Problem: I read this background article the other day: A comet tail—and coma—are features visible in comets when they are illuminated by the Sun and may become visible from Earth when a comet passes through the inner Solar System. As a comet approaches the inner Solar System, solar radiation causes the volatile materials within the comet to vaporize and stream out of the nucleus, carrying dust away with them. Separate tails are formed of dust and gases, becoming visible through different phenomena; the dust reflects sunlight directly and the gases glow from ionisation. Most comets are too faint to be visible without the aid of a telescope, but a few each decade become bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.  I am facing a new situation today: Year 2022 would be an interesting year when three comets would get scientists' attention - Comet A, Comet B, and Comet C. Comet A and C are very faint, but Comet B is very bright. Comet A would enter the inner solar system on February 10, 2022 and leave the inner solar system on February 20, 2022. Comet B would enter the inner solar system on February 18, 2022 and leave the inner solar system on February 26, 2022. Comet C would never enter the inner solar system.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Wich comet would not be visible to naked eyes on February 19, 2022, Comet A or Comet B?

A:
Comet A