Earth's Atmosphere Differs from Those of Near-Neighbor Planets Venus and Mars

question 135

Multiple Choice

Earth's atmosphere differs from those of near-neighbor planets Venus and Mars in one important respect:

• A) Earth's atmosphere has a much larger fraction of carbon dioxide than has either of the other two atmospheres.
• B) The atmospheric temperature at the surface of Earth is much higher than those of the other two planets.
• C) Earth's atmosphere has a significant fraction of oxygen.
• D) Earth's atmosphere has a higher pressure than have the other two planetary atmospheres.

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Definitions:

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident in one's own abilities or outcomes than is objectively justified.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person’s mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision.

Representativeness Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut used in decision-making that involves judging the likelihood of an event based on how closely it matches a prototype or stereotype.

Belief Perseverance

The phenomenon where individuals stick to their initial beliefs even when confronted with contrasting evidence.