Sulfuric Acid & Old Volcanic Plains

Venus is the 2nd planet from the Sun and 3rd brightest object in the sky after the Sun and our Moon. Orbits the Sun at twice the distance of Mercury. References date back to 1600 BCE, which was though to be 2 different stars, "morning star" & "evening star" or, by the Greeks, Phosphorus & Hesperus. Pythagoras deduced that it was 1 celestial body, so now he is referred to as "the discoverer of Venus."
Venus=Earth's "sister" planet because they are both terrestrial planets, similar in size, gravity, composition & other characteristics. 4/5th the mass of Earth. Thought to possess large reserves of water, but there is no more. 80% of its surface is volcanic plains & signs of intense volcanism, but most are inactive now.
Atmosphere=96.5% carbon dioxide & 3.5% nitrogen, traces or other elements & compounds such as carbon monoxide, argon, helium & neon. Atmospheric pressure=90x heavier than Earth's. Close to the surface is a thick layer of carbon dioxide. Over this layer are clouds of sulfuric acid which reflect 90% of sunlight that hit the planet itself, also resulting in most attempts to look at the planet end up being obscured. The reflective nature of the clouds & how close it to Earth are the reasons why it is so bright.
Hottest planet in the Solar System. Thought to have a climate similar to Earth's, but greenhouse gas effects destroyed this climate. Temperatures can range from -220 degrees Celsius to 465.556 degrees Celsius.
We might be able to populate Venus by creating "floating cities" or "Terraforming" (changing Venus' climate to resemble Earth's), but we can not do that because of its harsh environments. We might be able to find bacteria within Venus' cloud layers. No life of Venus so far.
Created 20 space crafts to orbit Venus. 1962, first planet to be observed by spacecraft, Mariner 2 within a distance of 21,600km of it. NASA mapped 98% of Venus using radar when they sent Magellan to orbit Venus.
Orbits opposite direction/retrograde than other planets. 1 day on Venus is 243 Earth days making Venus the slowest rotating planet in our Solar System. One day is longer than a Venusian year because it takes 224.7 Earth days to orbit the Sun. Its orbital pattern is closer to a circle than any other planet, whose patterns are more elliptical in nature.

Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun. Only planet known to support life. Even though this is our home, we know very little about it. The Moon's friction on the tides of the Earth are causing our planet to gradually slow down. Because of this, the our gravitational pull is growing weaker, letting our Moon creep slower away.
Atmosphere composed of 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen with trace amounts of water, carbon dioxide & argon. The water and carbon dioxide create a greenhouse gas effect, but much less than that of Venus. This effect can be a good thing because it sustains a temperature acceptable to maintain life but doesn't freeze the ocean.
The crust is separated into tectonic plates which float on top of much hotter mantle. There are 7 primary tectonic plates & 7 smaller ones. Majority of earthquakes & volcanic activity happen where these plates meet, particularly in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Divergent-Plates move apart form one another.
Subduction-Oceanic plates move under continental plates, usually causing the most violent earthquakes & volcanic activity.
Transform-Plates slide back & forth against each other.
Because of these platonic activities, the Earth has changed since it was formed. 300,000,000 years ago, the continents created 1 continental body called Pangaea. 200,000,000 years ago, Pangaea split into our 7 continents, these continents still move due to the tectonic plates shifting.
71% of the Earth is water. Only planet in the Solar System to have liqid water but there may be some on Jupiter's moon, Europa. 97% of water is salt water, 2% is glacier ice & 1% is fresh water. Oceanographers suggest we have only explored only 5% of the Earth's oceans & others suggest we have more detailed maps of Mars' surface than we do of our own oceans.

Venus & Earth!-100%=10 points=O=Outstanding
True/false. Self-grading. Answers from the lesson. Can only be taken once. No due date.

Venus or Earth?-95%-9 points=O=Outstanding
Choose either Venus or Earth, write about either appearance, composition, history, surface geography or atmosphere. Minimum of 3 facts. Do not compare & contrast the planets, you can use another aspect to prove your point but the bulk of the essay must be about the one aspect.

10% Spelling/Grammar
15% Word Requirements (100 words, over not under)
5% Identifying Marks
70% Bulk of Essay (Remember aspect, factual, easy to understand)
Plagiarism=Automatic fail
No due date.