Apart from Uranus, which planet rotates on its axis from east to west, that is in a direction opposite to most planets?
- A.Mercury
- B.Venus
- C.Mars
- D.Saturn
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Venus. Almost every planet, the Earth included, rotates from west to east, which is why the Sun appears to rise in the east. Venus and Uranus are the two exceptions and rotate from east to west, so on Venus the Sun would appear to rise in the west. Venus also turns extremely slowly, taking longer to complete one rotation than to complete one revolution around the Sun.
Option A, Mercury, rotates in the usual direction and is remembered instead as the smallest planet and the fastest to complete a revolution, in about 88 days. Option C, Mars, also rotates west to east and has a day close in length to ours. Option D, Saturn, is a fast-spinning gas giant rotating in the normal direction. The pair to remember for this question is simply Venus and Uranus.
Read the full article: Solar System and the Earth: Planets, Moon and Motions
Practice Questions
View allWhich is the hottest planet of the solar system?
- A.Mercury
- B.Venus
- C.Mars
- D.Jupiter
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Venus is wrapped in a very thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, which lets sunlight in but does not let the heat escape.
Read the full explanation →Approximately how long does sunlight take to reach the Earth?
- A.8 minutes 20 seconds
- B.1.3 seconds
- C.4.2 years
- D.24 hours
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The Sun is about 149.6 million kilometres from the Earth, a distance called one astronomical unit, and light travels about three lakh kilometres in a second.
Read the full explanation →Which is the largest planet of the solar system?
- A.Saturn
- B.Neptune
- C.Jupiter
- D.Uranus
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Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest of all by both diameter and mass; it is a gas giant of hydrogen and helium.
Read the full explanation →The occurrence of seasons on the Earth is caused mainly by which of the following?
- A.The changing distance between the Earth and the Sun
- B.The rotation of the Earth on its axis
- C.The tilt of the Earth's axis along with its revolution around the Sun
- D.The gravitational pull of the Moon
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The axis of the Earth is tilted about 23.5 degrees from the vertical and keeps pointing in the same direction throughout the year.
Read the full explanation →Which planet has the lowest density, so low that it would float if placed in a large enough body of water?
- A.Jupiter
- B.Saturn
- C.Neptune
- D.Mercury
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Saturn is a huge ball of hydrogen and helium spread over an enormous volume, and its average density is less than that of water.
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