SPACE MCQs PDF

Science Bowl ASTRONOMY
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of
which of the following planets?
w) Jupiter
x) Venus
y) Uranus
z) Earth
ANSWER: W -- JUPITER
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven
away from the sun is known as what?
ANSWER: SOLAR WIND
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The biggest asteroid known is:

w) Vesta
x) Icarus
y) Ceres
z) Eros
ANSWER: Y -- CERES
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Rounded to the nearest day, the Mercurian year is equal to:
w) 111 days
x) 88 days
y) 50 days
z) 25 days
ANSWER: X -- 88 DAYS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: One of the largest volcanos in our solar system-if not the largest-is
named Olympus Mons. This volcano is located on:
w) Jupiter's moon Callisto
x) Venus
y) Saturn's moon Titan
z) Mars
ANSWER: Z -- MARS
Astronomy - 1
ASTR-91; Short Answer: One of the largest volcanos in our solar system, if not the largest, is
named Olympus Mons. Name the planet which has the volcano.
ANSWER: MARS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: One Jupiter day is equal to which of the following?
w) 30 hrs 40 min
x) 9 hrs 50 min
y) 3 hrs 20 min
z) 52 hrs 10 min
ANSWER: X -- 9 HRS 50 MIN
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The time interval between two successive occurrences of a specific
type of alignment of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth is referred to as:
w) a conjunction
x) an opposition
y) a sidereal period
z) a synodic period.
ANSWER: Z -- A SYNODIC PERIOD (conjunction and opposition are names of

specific configurations)
ASTR-91; Short Answer: During the period between 1979 and 1998, what is the farthest planet
from the sun?
ANSWER: NEPTUNE
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Of the following four times, which one best represents the time it
takes energy generated in the core of the sun to reach the surface of the sun and be radiated?
w) Three minutes
x) Thirty days
y) One thousand years
z) One million years
ANSWER: Z -- ONE MILLION YEARS
Astronomy - 2
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The sunspot cycle is:

w) 3 years
x) 11 years
y) 26 years
z) 49 years
ANSWER: X -- 11 YEARS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares

what TWO of the following properties of stars?
w) size
x) temperature
y) luminosity
z) density
ANSWER: B and C -- TEMPERATURE AND LUMINOSITY (Size and distance of

stars can be inferred from H-R diagram but not directly)
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The andromeda Galaxy is which of the following types of galaxies?
w) elliptical
x) spiral
y) barred-spiral
z) irregular
ANSWER: X -- SPIRAL
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: About how many light years across is the Milky Way? Is it:
w) 1,000
x) 10,000
y) 100,000
z) 1,000,000
ANSWER: Y -- 100,000
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Which unlucky Apollo lunar landing was canceled after an oxygen tank
exploded?
ANSWER: APOLLO 13
Astronomy - 3
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What device first proved that Earth rotates on its axis?
ANSWER: FOUCAULT PENDULUM
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Which is the smallest planet in our solar system?
ANSWER: PLUTO
ASTR-91; Which planet has a moon almost as big as the planet itself?
ANSWER: PLUTO
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What distinction is Sally K. Ride known for?
ANSWER: FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE
ASTR-91; Short Answer: In what year did Neil Armstrong make his historic walk on the Moon?
ANSWER: 1969
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Only one planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than
its year. Name this planet.
ANSWER: VENUS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the heavenly body Charon (pron: kar-en), that's spelled
C-h-a-r-o-n?
ANSWER: PLUTO'S MOON
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Where in space is Cassini's division?
ANSWER: BETWEEN TWO RINGS OF SATURN
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Who was the first black American astronaut in space?
ANSWER: (GUION S.) BLUFORD
Astronomy - 4
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the Vostok 1?
ANSWER: THE FIRST MANNED SPACECRAFT
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Heliocentric (pron: he-lee-o-sen-trik) means around:

w) Jupiter
x) the Moon
y) the Sun
z) Neptune
ANSWER: Y -- THE SUN
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Triton, Neptune's moon, has an ocean made of a liquid. What is this
liquid?
ANSWER: NITROGEN
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Who was the first man to classify stars according to their brightness.
Was it:
w) Aristarchus
x) Pythagorus
y) Copernicus
z) Hipparchus
ANSWER: Z -- HIPPARCHUS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: For what reason was the Schmidt telescope specially built? Was it
to serve as:
w) a sky camera
x) a radio telescope
y) an optical telescope
z) a solar telescope
ANSWER: W -- A SKY CAMERA
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the star nearest to the sun?
ANSWER: ALPHA CENTAURI or PROXIMA CENTAURI
Astronomy - 5
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The greatest distance of a planet from the sun is called what? Is it
the planet's:
w) aphelion (pron: ah-feel-yen)
x) perihelion (pron: per-eh-heel-yen)
y) helix
z) eccentricity
ANSWER: W -- APHELION
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the name given to very bright meteors or bolides?
ANSWER: FIREBALLS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: How is the atmospheric pressure of Mars as compared to the
atmospheric pressure of the earth? Is it:
w) about the same as the earth's
x) about 100 times as great as the earth's
y) about 1/200th that of the earth's
z) half as much as that of the earth's
ANSWER: Y -- ABOUT 1/200th THAT OF THE EARTH'S
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What gas is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars?
ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The planet Jupiter has a mass that is:
w) equal to the combined masses of the earth and Mars
x) equal to the combined masses of Saturn and Pluto
y) equal to the combined masses of Saturn, Neptune and Uranus
z) greater than the combined masses of all of the planets
ANSWER: Z -- GREATER THAN THE COMBINED MASSES OF ALL OF THE

PLANETS
Astronomy - 6
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which one of the following moon features is named Copernicus? Is
it a:
w) sea
x) crater
y) mountain range
z) rill
ANSWER: B-- A CRATER
ASTR-91; Short Answer: On which day of the year does the summer solstice usually occur?
ANSWER: JUNE 21
ASTR-91; Short Answer: When the earth if farthest from the sun, what season is it in the
Northern Hemisphere?
ANSWER: SUMMER
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Of the nine known planets, seven have one or more natural satellites.
Name the only two moonless planets.
ANSWER: VENUS AND MERCURY
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The English nickname for this CONSTELLATION is "The Chained
Maiden". Give me the astronomer's name for this constellation.
ANSWER: ANDROMEDA
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Hercules is a constellation which is commonly viewed in the summer in
North America. In which of the seasons is the constellation "Pegasus" normally viewed?
ANSWER: AUTUMN
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The brightest star in this constellation is Vega. In which constellation
can Vega be found?
ANSWER: LYRA
Astronomy - 7
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The brightest star in this constellation is Aldebaran (pron:
al-DEB-ar-on). In which constellation can this star be found?
ANSWER: TAURUS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: A binary star system lends itself very well to a determination of the
total mass of the binary star system. What TWO observables must be measured to make the total
mass determination.
ANSWER: 1) SEPARATION OF THE TWO STARS

2) THE STARS' PERIOD OF REVOLUTION
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The Orion Nebula is a good example of what kind of nebula?
ANSWER: EMISSION NEBULA
ASTR-91; True-False: A major component of the interstellar media consists of charged particles
which have speeds close to that of light. What are these charged particles called?
ANSWER: COSMIC RAYS
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: A typical galaxy, such as our Milky Way galaxy, contains how many
billion stars? Is it approximately:
w) 10 billion
x) 40 billion
y) 200 billion
z) 800 billion
ANSWER: Y -- 200 BILLION
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What do we call the path in the sky that the sun appears to traverse
over the course of a year?
ANSWER: ECLIPTIC
Astronomy - 8
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Refracting telescopes always contain which one of the following?
w) mirrors
x) lenses
y) television systems
z) film
ANSWER: X -- LENSES
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: A comet's tail points in which direction?

w) toward the sun
x) toward the earth
y) behind the comet in its orbit
z) away from the sun
ANSWER: Z -- AWAY FROM THE SUN
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Spectral line splitting due to the influence of magnetic fields is
called:
w) Boltzmann Effect
x) Zeeman Effect
y) Planck Effect
z) Zanstra's Effect
ANSWER: X -- ZEEMAN EFFECT
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the term applied to the dark, relatively smooth LUNAR plains
whose name is derived from the Latin for "sea"?
ANSWER: MARE (singular) or MARIA (plural)
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the collection of small rocky bodies, otherwise known as
minor planets, 99.8 percent of whose orbits lie between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter?
ANSWER: ASTEROIDS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Elliptical, Spiral and Irregular are classifications of what type of
astronomical systems?
ANSWER: GALAXIES
Astronomy - 9
ASTR-91; Short Answer: I am a type of star with a relatively low effective temperature (3,000 to
4,000 Kelvins), and have a large radius-about 100 times that of the Sun. What am I?
ANSWER: RED GIANT
ASTR-91; Short Answer: A 5th magnitude star is how many times brighter than an 8th
magnitude star?
ANSWER: 15.85 (accept any answer between 15 and 16)
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which of the following statements is true for BOTH Saturn and
Jupiter?
w) both rotate faster than the Earth
x) both rotate slower than the Earth
y) only one rotates rapidly while the other rotates very slowly
z) their periods of rotation are linked to their period of revolution
ANSWER: W -- BOTH ROTATE FASTER THAN THE EARTH
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which of the following is true for ORION? Orion is:
w) the brightest star in the sky

x) a constellation
y) the name given to a NASA spacecraft
z) an asteroid
ANSWER: X -- A CONSTELLATION
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which of the following men wrote the book "On the Revolutions of
the Heavenly Spheres"?
w) Kepler
x) Euclid
y) Copernicus
z) Newton
ANSWER: Y -- COPERNICUS
Astronomy - 10
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the name given to the configuration when three celestial bodies
are in a line?
ANSWER: SYZYGY (pron: siz-a-je)
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Of the planets that circle the Sun, which planet has the most eccentric
orbit?
ANSWER: PLUTO
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which of the following is TRUE for Retrograde motion?
Retrograde motion is:
w) caused by epicycles
x) undergone only by superior planets
y) undergone only by inferior planets
z) an effect due to the projection of planet orbits onto the sky
ANSWER: Z -- AN EFFECT DUE TO THE PROJECTION OF PLANET ORBITS

ONTO THE SKY
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What name was given to the series of two-man U.S. space missions
undertaken in the mid 1960's?
ANSWER: GEMINI
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is formed when a massive star, after reaching supergiant status,
explodes?
ANSWER: A SUPERNOVA or TYPE II SUPERNOVA or NEUTRON STAR or

BLACK HOLE
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Beads of light visible around the rim of the moon at the beginning
and end of a total solar eclipse are called:
w) Lunar Beads
x) Solar Beads
y) Baily's Beads
z) Rim Beads
ANSWER: Y -- BAILY'S BEADS
Astronomy - 11
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Whereas latitude and longitude are the coordinates of places on
earth, the coordinates used for star locations are two of the following, choose two.
w) ascension
x) right ascension
y) altitude
z) declination
e) polar angle
ANSWER: B and D -- RIGHT ASCENSION AND DECLINATION
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Which planet is usually the brightest in the sky?
ANSWER: VENUS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the last planet Voyager II visited?
ANSWER: NEPTUNE
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The 2.7 Kelvin cosmic background radiation is concentrated in the:
w) radio wavelengths
x) infrared
y) visible
z) ultraviolet
ANSWER: W -- RADIO WAVELENGTHS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Which planets can never be in opposite direction from the Sun in earth's
sky?
ANSWER: VENUS AND MERCURY
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: If you were watching a star collapsing to form a black hole, the light
would disappear because it:
w) is strongly redshifted
x) is strongly blueshifted
y) its color suddenly becomes black
z) none of the above
ANSWER: W -- IS STRONGLY REDSHIFTED
Astronomy - 12
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: In which spectral region is it possible for astronomers to observe
through clouds?
w) visual
x) radio
y) ultraviolet
z) x-ray
ANSWER: X -- RADIO
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The first U.S. planetary probe released since the Challenger accident
was launched in October, 1989. What is its name and which planet is its primary and final
destination?
ANSWER: GALILEO, JUPITER
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The Magellanic Clouds are

w) irregular galaxies
x) spiral galaxies
y) elliptical galaxies
z) large clouds of gas and dust
ANSWER: W -- IRREGULAR GALAXIES
ASTR-91; Short Answer: The extraterrestrial impact hypothesis of dinosaur extinction is based on
finding anomalously high concentrations of a certain element at the geological boundary between
the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. What is the name of this element which was found?
ANSWER: IRIDIUM
ASTR-91: Short Answer: Technically, the reflecting power of an object is defined as the ratio of
the radiation reflected from an object to the total amount incident upon the object. What term is
used in astronomy to indicate the reflecting power of an object?
ANSWER: ALBEDO
Astronomy - 13
ASTR-91: Multiple Choice: The VISUAL aurora consists of luminous arcs, rays or bands in the
night sky, usually confined to high latitudes and located in the:
w) troposphere
x) stratosphere
y) ozonosphere
z) ionosphere
ANSWER: Z -- IONOSPHERE
ASTR-91: Multiple Choice: This yellow-white, spectral F-type star is located in the constellation
Carina south of the ecliptic. It ranks second in apparent brightness among the stars. Is this star:
w) Canopus
x) Alpha Centauri
y) Castor
z) Rigel
ANSWER: W -- CANOPUS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Name the northern latitude constellation that is easily recognized by 5
bright stars forming an irregular "W", some observers seeing not only a W but also a chair. One
of the brightest novae on record appeared in this constellation in 1572.
ANSWER: CASSIOPEIA (pron: cass-e-o-pe-yw)
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: When two heavenly bodies occupy the same longitude, the bodies
are said to be in:
w) sympathy
x) conjunction
y) parallel
z) series
ANSWER: X -- CONJUNCTION
Astronomy - 14
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
w) tomography
x) cystoscopy
y) cryology
z) cosmology
ANSWER: D -- COSMOLOGY
ASTR-91: Short Answer: Penzias and Wilson made what famous discovery which supported the
idea that the universe was created by a "big Bang".
ANSWER: BACKGROUND RADIATION RESULTING FROM THE BIG BANG

or PRIMORDIAL FIREBALL RADIATION
or 3 K RADIATION
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Name the English astronomer and professor at Cambridge University
who determined the orbit of the then unknown planet Neptune.
ANSWER: (JOHN C.) ADAMS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Name the two constellations that make up the famous "Great Square
of Pegasus".
ANSWER: PEGASUS, ANDROMEDA
ASTR-91; Short Answer: This allotrope of oxygen is formed in the upper atmosphere by the
action of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Name it.
ANSWER: OZONE
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: What percentage of the Sun's mass has been converted to energy?
w) 50%
x) 1%
y) 2%
z) .001% (read: one-thousandth of a percent)
ANSWER: Z -- .001%
Astronomy - 15
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: According to Kepler's Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
w) ellipses
x) parabolas
y) hyperbolas
z) square
ANSWER: W -- ELLIPSES
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: According to Kepler's Laws, the cube of the mean distance of a
planet from the sun is proportional to the:
w) area that is swept out

x) cube of the period
y) square of the period
z) fourth power of the mean distance
ANSWER: Y -- SQUARE OF THE PERIOD
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: What type of visible star is the coolest?

w) O (pron: oh)
x) A
y) G
z) M
ANSWER: Z -- M
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
w) Main Sequence Star
x) White Dwarf
y) Neutron Star
z) Black Hole
ANSWER: X -- WHITE DWARF
Astronomy - 16
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: In our solar system, which planet has a moon with a mass closest to
its own?
w) Earth
x) Mars
y) Jupiter
z) Pluto
ANSWER: Z -- PLUTO
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are satellites of what planet?
w) Jupiter
x) Saturn
y) Neptune
z) Uranus
ANSWER: W -- JUPITER
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The universe is estimated to be between ten and twenty billion years
old. This estimate is based on the value of which constant?
w) The mass of the Earth
x) The speed of light
y) The Hubble Constant
z) The mass of the electron
ANSWER: Y -- THE HUBBLE CONSTANT
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the
sun?
w) Alexander the Great
x) Copernicus
y) Socrates
z) Tycho Brahe
ANSWER: X -- COPERNICUS
Astronomy - 17
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
w) 1971
x) 1972
y) 1973
z) 1974
ANSWER: X -- 1972
ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The cosmic background radiation, a remnant of the Big Bang, is at
what temperature?
w) 100K
x) 0K
y) 5.3K
z) 2.7K
ANSWER: Z -- 2.7K
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Name the outer boundary of the sun's magnetic field?
ANSWER: HELIOPAUSE
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Superbubbles and chimneys are both galactic structures theorized to
result from what explosive phenomena?
ANSWER: SUPERNOVAS or NOVAS
ASTR-91; Short Answer: Mercury's year lasts how many Mercury sidereal days?
ANSWER: ONE AND ONE-HALF
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:

w) closest to the sun
x) farthest from the sun
y) at it's highest point above the ecliptic
z) at it's lowest point below the ecliptic
ANSWER: X -- FARTHEST FROM THE SUN
Astronomy - 18
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: At any time we may describe the position of an inferior planet by the
angle it makes with the sun as seen from the earth. This angle is called the:
w) ecliptic (pron: eh-klip-tik)
x) epicycle
y) elongation
z) proxima
ANSWER: Y -- ELONGATION
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which of the following planets has the greatest eccentricity?
w) Pluto
x) Jupiter
y) Mars
z) Mercury
ANSWER: W -- PLUTO
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Phobos and Deimos (pron: DEE-mos) are moons that orbit which
planet?
ANSWER: MARS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The largest moon in our solar system has an atmosphere that is
denser than the atmosphere of Mars. The name of this moon is:
w) Titan
x) Ganymede
y) Triton
z) Io (pron: I - O)
ANSWER: W -- TITAN
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The two main radiation belts that surround the earth are known by
what name?
ANSWER: VAN ALLEN BELTS
Astronomy - 19
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: On which of the following planets would the sun rise in the west?
w) Saturn
x) Pluto
y) Mercury
z) Venus
ANSWER: Z -- VENUS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which planet seems to be turned on its side with an axis tilt of 98
degrees?
w) Uranus
x) Pluto
y) Neptune
z) Saturn
ANSWER: W -- URANUS
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The planet Neptune was found by studying the deviations in another
planet's orbit. Name the other planet discovered in this fashion.
ANSWER: URANUS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The angle that the full moon takes up in the night sky is equal to
which of the following values?
w) 1/8 degree
x) 1/2 degrees
y) 1 degree
z) 2 degrees
ANSWER: X -- 1/2 DEGREE
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The period from one full moon to the next is:
w) 30.3 days
x) 30 days
y) 29.5 days
z) 28 days
ANSWER: Y -- 29.5 DAYS
Astronomy - 20
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: When a superior planet is at opposition it is making an angle of how
many degrees with the sun?
w) 0 degrees
x) 45 degrees
y) 90 degrees
z) 180 degrees
ANSWER: Z -- 180 DEGREES
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The word Albedo (pron: al-BEE-doe) refers to which of the
following?
w) The wobbling motion of a planet
x) The amount of light a planet reflects
y) The phase changes of a planet
z) The brightness of a star
ANSWER: X -- THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT THE PLANET REFLECTS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Galileo discovered something about Venus with his telescope that
shook the old theories. Which of the following was Galileo's discovery?
w) Venus was covered in clouds
x) Venus had phases like the moon
y) Venus' surface was similar to the earth's
z) Venus had retrograde motion
ANSWER: X -- VENUS HAD PHASES LIKE THE MOON
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Cassini's division is described by which of the following?

w) A break in the rings of Saturn
x) A break in the clouds of Jupiter
y) The distance between the first two moons of Jupiter
z) The distance between the Van Allen belts
ANSWER: W -- A BREAK IN THE RINGS OF SATURN
Astronomy - 21
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The law that says that all planets orbit the sun in elliptical orbits is
which of Kepler's three laws?
ANSWER: FIRST
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Name the astronomer who discovered that Mars orbits the sun in an
elliptical orbit.
ANSWER: KEPLER
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Name the phase that the moon is in for each type of eclipse, lunar
and solar:
w) Full moon for both phases
x) New moon for both phases
y) Full moon for lunar and new moon for solar
z) New moon for lunar and full moon for solar
ANSWER: Y -- FULL MOON FOR LUNAR AND NEW MOON FOR SOLAR
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The orbital plane of the moon is how many degrees inclined from the
ecliptic?
w) 15 degrees
x) 10 degrees
y) 5 degrees
z) 0 degrees
ANSWER: Y -- 5 DEGREES
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Which JOVIAN planet rotates slower than the earth?
ANSWER: NONE
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Neptune is closest in SIZE to which planet?
ANSWER: URANUS
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Is a sunspot hotter, cooler, or about the same temperature as the
region around it?
ANSWER: COOLER
Astronomy - 22
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: In the lowest level of the photosphere of the Sun, the temperature is:
w) 1,000 degrees Kelvin
x) 6,000 degrees Kelvin
y) 10,000 degrees Kelvin
z) 13,000 degrees Kelvin
ANSWER: X -- 6,000 DEGREES KELVIN
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A Galactic year is the length of time that it takes our sun to orbit the
galaxy. In Earth years, how long is a Galactic year?
w) 100 million years
x) 230 million years
y) 620 million years
z) 940 million years
ANSWER: X -- 230 MILLION YEARS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A first magnitude star is how many times brighter than a second
magnitude star?
w) 2.5
x) 7.3
y) 10.0
z) 12.0
ANSWER: W -- 2.5
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the name of the star that is the BRIGHTEST in the sky?
ANSWER: SIRIUS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which of the following constellations has more bright stars than any
other constellation?
w) Big Dipper
x) Cassiopeia
y) Orion
z) Scorpion
ANSWER: Y -- ORION
Astronomy - 23
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A line through the three stars in Orion's belt points toward which
one of the following stars?
w) Mizor
x) Polaris
y) Sirius
z) Rigel
ANSWER: Y -- SIRIUS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A pulsar is actually a:

w) black hole
x) white dwarf
y) red giant
z) neutron star
ANSWER: Z -- NEUTRON STAR
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: In the Milky Way there are approximately

w) 2 million stars
x) 100 million stars
y) 400 million stars
z) 200 billion stars.
ANSWER: Z -- 200 BILLION STARS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which of the following words best describes the shape of our
galaxy?
w) spherical
x) elliptical
y) spiral
z) barred-spiral
ANSWER: Y -- SPIRAL
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the name of the star CLOSEST to our sun?
ANSWER: PROXIMA CENTAURI
Astronomy - 24
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: On February 9, 1991, ROSAT, an orbiting observatory, finished the
first ever all-sky survey of:
w) radio waves.
x) infrared radiation.
y) ultraviolet radiation.
z) x-rays.
ANSWER: Z -- X-RAYS
ASTR-92; Short Answer: On what planet does a "year" last only 88 days?
ANSWER: MERCURY
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The Asteroid Belt is between the orbits of which two planets?
ANSWER: MARS AND JUPITER
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The ring nebula is an example of a planetary nebula. It is:
w) a ring of planets circling a star.

x) an expanding ring of gas released from a dying star.
y) a contracting ring of gas and dust falling circling into a massive object.
z) a ring of stars in a circular orbit.
ANSWER: X -- AN EXPANDING RING OF GAS RELEASED FROM A DYING

STAR
ASTR-92; Short Answer: After what geophysical occurrence might you see Bishop's Ring
around the Sun?
ANSWER: VOLCANIC ERUPTION
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: A black hole with the mass of the earth would be the size of:
w) the Sun
x) the Moon
y) a bowling ball
z) a marble
ANSWER: Z -- A MARBLE
Astronomy - 25
ASTR-92; Short Answer: How many people have set foot on the Moon?
ANSWER: TWELVE
ASTR-92; Short Answer: How many MANNED moon landings have there been?
ANSWER: SIX
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Which planets are never visible at midnight?
ANSWER: MERCURY AND VENUS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Whose paradox asks why the sky is not ablaze with starlight if the
universe is infinite in extent and uniformly filled with stars?
w) Olber's
x) Greigheim's
y) Schuller's
z) Miller's
ANSWER: W -- OLBER'S
ASTR-92; Short Answer: On one of the moon landings astronauts left an object on the moon.
Scientists periodically bounce a laser beam off of this object to measure the distance between the
earth and the moon. What is this object?
ANSWER: MIRROR
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What are Schmidt, Cassegrainian, and Galilean examples of?
ANSWER: TELESCOPES
ASTR-92; Short Answer: How large of an angle is the tilt of the Earth's spin axis from the
normal to the ecliptic plane?
ANSWER: 23 AND 1/2 DEGREES
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What are the two bright spots of light on opposite sides of a halo
around the sun called?
ANSWER: SUN DOGS
Astronomy - 26
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What was most significant about the Apollo 11 flight?
ANSWER: IT WAS THE FIRST MANNED LANDING ON THE MOON
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What are the Geminids (pron: JEM-in-ids), the Perseids (pron:
PER-see-ids), and the Leonids (pron: LEE-o-nids)?
ANSWER: METEOR SHOWERS
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Laika, the first living creature to orbit the earth was what type of
animal?
ANSWER: DOG
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Most stars are cooler than the sun. These stars, the planets,
interstellar clouds and star-forming regions emit most of their radiant energy in the:
w) visible
x) x-ray region
y) ultraviolet
z) infrared
ANSWER: Z -- INFRARED
ASTR-92; Short Answer: If the DIAMETER of a reflector's objective mirror is doubled, how
many times as great is its light-gathering power?
ANSWER: 4 TIMES
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Astronomers use cepheids principally as measures of what? Is it:
w) size
x) speed
y) chemical composition
z) distance
ANSWER: Z -- DISTANCE
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the name of the class that the andromeda Galaxy belongs to?
ANSWER: SPIRAL
Astronomy - 27
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:

w) Jupiter and Saturn
x) Mars and Venus
y) Earth and Mars
z) Mars and Jupiter
ANSWER: Z -- MARS AND JUPITER
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What was the year of the first lunar landing by man ?
ANSWER: 1969
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the Latin name for the lunar seas?
ANSWER: MARIA
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Of the following phases of the moon, which is the one at which a
spring tide occurs? Is it
w) new
x) new gibbous
y) first quarter
z) new crescent
ANSWER: W -- NEW
ASTR-92; Short Answer: I am one of two stars known as the Pointers. My fellow star is Merak
(MAIR-ak). Which star am I?
ANSWER: DUBHE (pron: DOO-be)
ASTR-92; Short Answer: This is a question for you budding young astronomers. What is the
sidereal period of the moon?
ANSWER: 27 AND 1/3 DAYS
ASTR-92; Short Answer: "The Swan" is the English name for this constellation. Give me the
Latin name by which this constellation is known.
ANSWER: CYGNUS
Astronomy - 28
ASTR-92; True-False: A white dwarf has a mass of roughly one solar mass but a size of about:
w) a basketball
x) a car
y) Lake Michigan
z) the Earth.
ANSWER: Z -- THE EARTH
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Sirius was identified as a binary star long before its small companion
was seen. What kind of star is the small companion of this binary system?
ANSWER: WHITE DWARF
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which of the following can be used to see through Venus's clouds?
w) refracting telescopes
x) radar
y) x-rays
z) ultraviolet
ANSWER: X -- RADAR
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Name the Chicago area astronaut that drove the Lunar Rover during
the Apollo 17 mission to the moon? A space center is named after this astronaut at Triton
College in River Grove.
ANSWER: (EUGENE) CERNAN
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the type of reflecting telescope in which the light focused by
the primary mirror is intercepted short of focal point and refocused by a secondary mirror through
a hole in the center of the primary mirror?
ANSWER: CASSEGRAIN OR CASSEGRAINIAN
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The only supernova explosion in modern times visible in the sky to the
naked eye became visible in which year?
ANSWER: 1987 (It is called 1987w)
Astronomy - 29
ASTR-92; Short Answer: To within 5% what fraction, by mass, of the observable matter in our
universe is helium?
ANSWER: 24% (accept answers between 19% and 29%)
ASTR-92; Short Answer: What is the source of energy in a supernova explosion? ( Name or
describe the force).
ANSWER: GRAVITATION ( Gravitational collapse)
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Give 5 year when Pluto was discovered.
ANSWER: 1930
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Primary cosmic radiation is characterized by:

w) an intensity which is essentially constant in time
x) isotropic in space
y) very energetic particles
z) all of the above.
ANSWER: Z -- ALL OF THE ABOVE
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Globular clusters in our galaxy are primarily found:
w) in the spiral arms.
x) distributed throughout the disk including regions between the spiral arms.
y) in the bulge at the center of our galaxy.
z) in the halo of our galaxy.
ANSWER: Z -- IN THE HALO OF OUR GALAXY.
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The phenomenon that causes the Moon's rotation about it's own axis
to be equal to the Moon's period of revolution about the Earth is called:
w) Haner Effect
x) Landow Effect
y) Orbital Synchronization
z) Tidal Friction
ANSWER: Z -- TIDAL FRICTION
Astronomy - 30
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The Sun rotates about it's own axis approximately:
w) once every 60 minutes.
x) once every 24 hours.
y) once every 365 days.
z) varies with solar latitude.
ANSWER: Z -- VARIES WITH SOLAR LATITUDE.
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: PRESENTLY, what is the farthest planet from the sun?
w) Pluto
x) Neptune
y) Uranus
z) None of the above
ANSWER: X -- NEPTUNE
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Andromeda, the nearest galaxy which is similar to the Milky Way, is
how far from the Earth? Is it:
w) 200,000 light years
x) 2,000,000 light years
y) 20,000,000 light years
z) 200,000,000 light years
ANSWER: X -- 2,000,000 LIGHT YEARS
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The angular position of an object measured from a fixed point along
the horizon is its:
w) azimuth (pron: AZ-i-myuth)
x) apogee (pron: AP-a-jee)
y) zenith
z) declination
ANSWER: W -- AZIMUTH
Astronomy - 31
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The precession of the Earth refers to the:

w) change from night to day.
x) Earth's motion around the sun.
y) change in orientation of the Earth's axis.
z) effect of the moon on the Earth's orbit.
ANSWER: Y -- CHANGE IN ORIENTATION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS.
ASTR-92; Short Answer: Algol (pron: AL-gall), the Demon star, is a binary star whose larger
component revolves around and regularly eclipses the smaller, brighter star causing periodic
changes in brightness. The constellation that Algol is in is also noted for meteor showers that
appear annually in August. Name the constellation.
ANSWER: PERSEUS (pron: PER-see-us)
ASTR-92; Short Answer: The term "Parsec", a unit of measure for interstellar space, is a
contraction of what two words?
ANSWER: PARALLAX SECOND
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The angular position of the sun at solar noon with respect to the
plane of the equator is the definition of:
w) index of refraction
x) solar azimuth angle (pron: AZ-i-muth)
y) latitude
z) solar declination angle
ANSWER: Z -- SOLAR DECLINATION ANGLE
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: Which of the following men was the first to make systematic use of a
telescope in astronomy?
w) Copernicus
x) Tycho Brahe
y) Kepler
z) Galileo
ANSWER: D -- GALILEO
Astronomy - 32
ASTR-92; Multiple Choice: The Magellanic cloud is a:

w) nebula
x) galaxy
y) super nova remnant
z) star cluster
ANSWER: X -- GALAXY
ASTR-93; Short Answer: The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of
which planet?
ANSWER: JUPITER
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The comet known as Halley's Comet has an average period of:
w) 56 years
x) 66 years
y) 76 years
z) 86 years
ANSWER: Y -- 76 YEARS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which one of the following planets has no moons?
w) Mars
x) Neptune
y) Venus
z) Jupiter
ANSWER: Y -- VENUS
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Which planet has the shortest year?
ANSWER: MERCURY
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: In kilometers, the earth's average distance from the sun is roughly
which of the following distances?
w) 250 million
x) 91 million
y) 150 million
z) 350 million
ANSWER: Y -- 150 MILLION
Astronomy - 33
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The gravity on the moon is what fraction of the gravity on the earth?
w) 1/3
x) 2/3
y) 1/6
z) 1/10
ANSWER: Y -- 1/6
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The rocks that enter the earth's atmosphere and blaze a trail all the
way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
w) meteorites
x) meteors
y) asteroids
z) none of these
ANSWER: W -- METEORITES
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
w) Carbon dioxide
x) Nitrogen
y) Argon
z) Carbon monoxide
ANSWER: W -- CARBON DIOXIDE
ASTR-93; Short Answer: How many of Jupiter's moons did Galileo see with his first telescope?
ANSWER: FOUR
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What is the definition of one Astronomical Unit?
ANSWER: IT IS THE DISTANCE FROM THE SUN TO THE EARTH.

(Accept AVERAGE DISTANCE or AVERAGE RADIUS or RADIUS OF EARTH'S ORBIT)
Astronomy - 34
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving
westward in the sky?
w) Retrograde
x) Parallax
y) Opcentric
z) Reverse parallax
ANSWER: W -- RETROGRADE
ASTR-93; Short Answer: In the Copernican system, what is the shape of the planets' orbits?
ANSWER: CIRCLE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: With which one of the following astronomical objects are meteor
showers associated?
w) Asteroids
x) Comets
y) Planets
z) None of the above
ANSWER: X -- COMETS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the
moon?
w) 1492
x) 1611
y) 1212
z) 1743
ANSWER: B-- 1611
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: A device which would not work on the Moon is:
w) thermometer
x) siphon
y) spectrometer
z) spring balance
ANSWER: X -- SIPHON
Astronomy - 35
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Where is the Great Red Spot?
ANSWER: JUPITER
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What astronomical event made the headlines in 1986?
ANSWER: HALLEY'S COMET
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What celestial body is known for its 11 year cycle?
ANSWER: SUN
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What are Callisto and Ganymede? (pronounced Call-IS-toe and
GAN-ee-meaz)
ANSWER: TWO OF JUPITER'S MOONS
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What feature do only Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus have in
common?
ANSWER: RINGS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The size of the average meteor is about the size of which of the
following objects?
w) a grain of sand.
x) a baseball
y) a basket ball
z) a car
ANSWER: W -- A GRAIN OF SAND
ASTR-93; Short Answer: When could you see Bailey's Beads?
ANSWER: DURING A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
Astronomy - 36
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Geocentric means around:

w) Jupiter
x) the Earth
y) the Moon
z) the Sun
ANSWER: X -- THE EARTH
ASTR-93; Short Answer: How many moons does Mars have?
ANSWER: TWO
ASTR-93; Short Answer: During what phase of the Moon can a total visual eclipse of the Moon
occur?
ANSWER: FULL MOON
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What is the more common name for the aurora borealis?
ANSWER: NORTHERN LIGHTS
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Which planet is the Earth's twin size-wise?
ANSWER: VENUS
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Which THREE planets have moons larger than Mercury?
ANSWER: SATURN, JUPITER AND NEPTUNE
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What belts are composed of charged particles surrounding the Earth?
ANSWER: VAN ALLEN BELTS
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Which two planets have overlapping orbits?
ANSWER: NEPTUNE AND PLUTO
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What are "cool" areas on the surface of the Sun called?
ANSWER: SUN SPOTS
Astronomy - 37
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Which is the only moon in the solar system with a substantial
atmosphere?
ANSWER: SATURN'S TITAN
ASTR-93; True-False: The moon is denser than the earth.
ANSWER: FALSE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: A comet's apparent size does which of the following as the comet
gets closer to the Sun?
w) decrease
x) remain the same
y) increase
ANSWER: Y -- INCREASE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The Phythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that
the Earth is:
w) at the center of the Universe.
x) spherical in shape.
y) orbits around the sun.
z) flat with sharp edges.
ANSWER: X -- SPHERICAL IN SHAPE.
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The light-gathering power of a reflecting telescope depends on

which of the following?
w) the area of its objective mirror

x) focal length of its eyepiece
y) focal length of its objective mirror
z) the ratio of the focal lengths of objective and eyepiece
ANSWER: W -- THE AREA OF ITS OBJECTIVE MIRROR
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Who was the first individual to observe the phases of Venus? He
observed Venus' phases with a telescope that he had built.
ANSWER: GALILEO
Astronomy - 38
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Who first used Tycho Brahe's observational data on the planet Mars
to determine that Mars actually traversed an elliptical orbit, the sun being located at one of the
foci?
w) Kepler
x) Galileo
y) Hipparchus
z) Aristarchus
ANSWER: W -- KEPLER
ASTR-93; True-False: Newton taught that the natural state of motion of a body is one of uniform
motion in a circular path.
ANSWER: FALSE (uniform motion in a STRAIGHT line)
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Approximately how many times could a beam of light travel around
the earth in one second?
w) 3 times
x) 7.5 times
y) 15 times
z) 25 times
ANSWER: X -- 7.5 TIMES
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The diameter of the earth is approximately:

w) 5,000 kilometers
x) 13,000 kilometers
y) 18,000 kilometers
z) 25,000 kilometers
ANSWER: X -- 13,000 KILOMETERS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The average density of the earth is approximately:

w) half the density of water
x) twice the density of water
y) five and a half times the density of water.
z) ten times the density of water
ANSWER: Y -- FIVE AND A HALF TIMES THE DENSITY OF WATER
Astronomy - 39
ASTR-93; Short Answer: The earth's motion around the sun causes relatively nearby stars to
shift against the background of the more distant fixed stars. What term is used to describe this
phenomenon.
ANSWER: PARALLAX
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What name is given to the situation where the sun crosses the celestial
equator around March 21?
ANSWER: VERNAL EQUINOX
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through a
prism?
w) orange
x) violet
y) green
z) red
ANSWER: Z -- RED
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror
placed?
w) the top to the tube
x) the middle of the tube
y) the bottom of the tube
z) the side of the tube
ANSWER: Y -- THE BOTTOM OF THE TUBE
ASTR-93; Short Answer: The diameter of the disk of our galaxy, within a factor of two, is how
many light years?
ANSWER: 100,000 LIGHT-YEARS (ACCEPT 50,000 TO 200,000)
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What is the principal source of a young star's energy?
ANSWER: FUSION OF HYDROGEN TO HELIUM
Astronomy - 40
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What is the approximate age of our sun?

w) 1 billion years
x) 2 billion years
y) 5 billion years
z) 20 billion years
ANSWER: Y -- 5 BILLION YEARS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric
orbits? Does it mean
w) they have open orbits
x) they have nearly circular orbits
y) their orbits are unpredictable
z) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
ANSWER: Z -- THE SUN IS FAR FROM THE FOCI OF THEIR ORBITS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which of the following planets has the lowest density?
w) Mercury
x) Venus
y) Saturn
z) Mars
ANSWER: Y -- SATURN
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What planet comes closest to the Earth?
ANSWER: MARS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the
sun?
w) solar wind
x) air pressure
y) centrifugal force
z) gravity
ANSWER: W -- SOLAR WIND
Astronomy - 41
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What are Saturn's rings composed of?

w) completely connected solid masses
x) billions of tiny solid particles
y) mixtures of gases
z) highly reflective cosmic clouds
ANSWER: X -- BILLIONS OF TINY SOLID PARTICLES
ASTR-93; True-False: Canals have been photographed on Mars by recent space probes.
ANSWER: FALSE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen
with the unaided eye?
w) Jupiter
x) Mars
y) Neptune
z) Saturn
ANSWER: Y -- NEPTUNE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Accretion is:
w) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.

x) the process of moon formation for planets.
y) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
z) the disintegration of matter.
ANSWER: W -- THE GRADUAL ACCUMULATION OF MATTER IN ONE

LOCATION USUALLY DUE TO GRAVITY.
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: If we look at a galaxy that is moving AWAY from us, we find that
the wavelengths of light coming from this galaxy are:
w) lengthened
x) shortened
y) unchanged
ANSWER: W -- LENGTHENED
Astronomy - 42
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Give me the name of the first artificial earth satellite and the year in
which it was launched.
ANSWER: SPUTNIK 1957
ASTR-93; Short Answer: The stars Castor and Pollux are the two brightest stars of what
constellation?
ANSWER: GEMINI (Gemini the Twins)
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The age of the Universe in billions of years is approximately
w) 500
x) 3.5
y) 18
z) 1000
ANSWER: Y -- 18
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The reason we call an astronomical body a black hole is that
w) it is a huge star which appears black at its center.
x) its gravity is so high that it absorbs its own photons.
y) it represents lack of matter in a portion of space.
z) it is a dead planet.
ANSWER: X -- ITS GRAVITY IS SO HIGH THAT IT ABSORBS ITS OWN PHOTONS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
w) receding star.
x) blue star.
y) approaching star.
z) fixed star.
ANSWER: Y -- APPROACHING STAR
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
w) Pallas.
x) Juno.
y) Ceres.
z) Trojan.
ANSWER: Y -- CERES
Astronomy - 43
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which of the following Saturnian satellites is known to possess
an atmosphere?
w) Tethys
x) Titan
y) Dione
z) Mimas
ANSWER: X -- TITAN
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was
observed by:
w) Brahe in 1572.
x) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
y) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
z) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
ANSWER: Y -- THE CHINESE IN 1054 A.D.
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly

w) oxygen
x) carbon dioxide
y) nitrogen
z) water
ANSWER: X -- CARBON DIOXIDE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What causes a planet to have a magnetic field?

w) the dynamo effect.
x) the Doppler effect.
y) the Photoelectric effect.
z) its rotation about its sun.
ANSWER: W -- THE DYNAMO EFFECT
Astronomy - 44
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
w) the eclipse path.
x) ecliptic.
y) diurnal.
z) solstice.
ANSWER: X -- ECLIPTIC
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from
the Earth, is called
w) angle of inclination.
x) elongation.
y) latitude.
z) opposition.
ANSWER: X -- ELONGATION
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which of the following has the greatest density?
w) the sun
x) Venus
y) Mars
z) Jupiter
ANSWER: X -- VENUS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Mercury and Venus are said to be inferior planets because:
w) they are smaller than the other planets that circle the Sun.
x) their orbits are slower than the Earth's orbit.
y) their orbits are faster than the Earth's orbit.
z) their orbits are inside of the Earth's orbit.
ANSWER: Z -- THEIR ORBITS ARE INSIDE OF THE EARTH'S ORBIT
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What is the name of an important galactic cluster of stars in the Milky
Way and commonly known as the Seven Sisters?
ANSWER: PLEIADES
Astronomy - 45
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What is the point at which the orbit of Mercury comes closest to the
Sun called?
ANSWER: ITS PERIHELION
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Galileo made many astronomical discoveries. Which of the
following was NOT one of his discoveries?
w) the phases of Venus
x) mountains on Venus
y) moons of Jupiter
z) sunspots
ANSWER: X -- MOUNTAINS ON VENUS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Identify the ripples in the overall geometry of space produced by the
acceleration of moving objects.
w) Doppler effect.
x) granulation.
y) gravitational waves.
z) elongation.
ANSWER: Y -- GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which one of the following planets has less mass than the Earth?
w) Jupiter
x) Saturn
y) Uranus
z) Pluto
ANSWER: Z -- PLUTO
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
w) Earth
x) Jupiter
y) Mars
z) Mercury
ANSWER: X -- JUPITER
Astronomy - 46
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
w) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
x) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
y) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
z) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
ANSWER: Y -- THE LUNAR ECLIPSE IS VISIBLE TO MUCH MORE OF THE EARTH

THAN A SOLAR ECLIPSE.
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: A starlike object with a very large redshift is a

w) neutron star.
x) nova.
y) quasar.
z) supernova.
ANSWER: Y -- QUASAR
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
w) size
x) magnification
y) brightness
z) distance
ANSWER: Y -- BRIGHTNESS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The Van Allen belts are:
w) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.

x) charged particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field.
y) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
z) caused by precession.
ANSWER: X -- CHARGED PARTICLES TRAPPED IN THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC

FIELD ASTR-93; Short Answer: What do the two stars at the end of the cup in the Big Dipper
point to?
ANSWER: POLARIS or THE NORTH STAR
Astronomy - 47
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful
for the studies of
w) planets
x) stars
y) the Milky Way
z) galaxies
ANSWER: W -- PLANETS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: When originally discovered, how were planets such as Pluto
distinguished from the multitude of stars in the sky?
w) The planets appear to be bigger than stars
x) The planets are brighter than most stars
y) The planets move relative to the stars
z) The planets are close to the ecliptic
ANSWER: C -- THE PLANETS MOVE RELATIVE TO THE STARS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The moon was closer to earth in March 1993 than it has been for a
dozen years. This near distance was about
w) 200,000 miles
x) 216,000 miles
y) 231,000 miles
z) 240,000 miles
ANSWER: X -- 216,000 MILES
ASTR-93; Short Answer: First, identify by name the largest planet; then identify by name the
brightest planet in our solor system. If they are the same, give only one name.
ANSWER: JUPITER (largest) AND VENUS (brightest)
ASTR-93; Short Answer: Name the type of variable star which is a red dwarf star and shows
rapid and irregular changes in light.
ANSWER: FLARE STAR
Astronomy - 48
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What happens to a collapsed star that is too massive to be supported
by neutron pressure?
ANSWER: IT FORMS A BLACK HOLE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What is the name of the spacecraft that recently used Jupiter's
gravitational field to redirect its course toward the Sun's polar regions?
w) Magellan
x) Ulysses
y) Galileo
z) Challenger
ANSWER: X -- ULYSSES
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
w) 3.7
x) 10
y) 1
z) 101
ANSWER: Y -- 1
ASTR-93; Short Answer: The decreasing pitch of the siren of a receding locomotive has what
analog in astronomy?
ANSWER: RED SHIFT
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What process produces a star's energy?

w) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
x) nuclear fusion
y) neutron beta decay
z) nuclear fission
ANSWER: X -- NUCLEAR FUSION
Astronomy - 49
ASTR-93; Short Answer: In 1920, Albert Michelson measured the diameter of a star using a
stellar interferometer. It was the first measurement of the diameter of any star other than the sun.
Identify the star.
ANSWER: BETELGEUSE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: On which planet can one find the solar system's largest volcano?
w) Earth
x) Neptune
y) Mars
z) Jupiter
ANSWER: Y -- MARS
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see
without optical instruments?
w) The Horsehead Nebula
x) The Andromeda Galaxy
y) The Sagittarius Constellation
z) The Aurora Borealis
ANSWER: X -- THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Name the planet that has the greatest number of known moons:
w) Earth
x) Saturn
y) Jupiter
z) Mars
ANSWER: X -- SATURN
ASTR-93; Short Answer: State the common name given to the group of stars also known as
Crux Australis.
ANSWER: SOUTHERN CROSS
Astronomy - 50
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The solitary moon of Pluto is named after the boatman of Greek
mythology who ferries the dead across the River Styx. Its name is
w) Erebus
x) Charon (pronounced kar-un)
y) Nox
z) Persephone (pronounced per-seph-o-nee)
ANSWER: X -- CHARON
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar
calendar?
w) Babylonian
x) Greek
y) Egyptian
z) Aztec
ANSWER: Y -- EGYPTIAN
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?

w) The core
x) The photosphere
y) The chromosphere
z) The corona
ANSWER: Z -- THE CORONA
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
w) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
x) the moon's motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
y) tidal forces keep the moon's rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
z) the moon's magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth's magnetic field.
ANSWER: Y -- TIDAL FORCES KEEP THE MOON'S ROTATION AND ORBITING

MOTION IN SYNCH WITH EACH OTHER.
Astronomy - 51
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:

w) focal ratio
x) diameter of the objective
y) magnification
z) focal length
ANSWER: X -- DIAMETER OF THE OBJECTIVE
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The determination of stellar parallax is important because it allows
the determination of:
w) mass
x) diameter
y) distance
z) velocity
ANSWER: Y -- DISTANCE
ASTR-93; Short Answer: What one property besides the temperature does the luminosity of a
star depend upon?
ANSWER: THE STAR'S AREA OR DIAMETER
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: The Giotto spacecraft set a new record last July for the closest visit
yet to:
w) the core of a comet
x) the red spot of Jupiter
y) an active solar flare
z) the rings of Saturn
ANSWER: W -- THE CORE OF A COMET
ASTR-93; Short Answer: During 1990 and 1991 the Magellan orbiter mapped the surface of
Venus. What technique did it use?
ANSWER: RADAR
Astronomy - 52
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: Data from Voyager II indicate that previous estimates of Triton's
size were in error. It is now known that Neptune's largest moon is
w) nearly the size of Mars
x) half the size of Mercury
y) twice the size of the Earth's moon
z) even larger than previously thought
ANSWER: X -- HALF THE SIZE OF MERCURY
ASTR-93; Short Answer: In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft is scheduled to go into orbit about
which planet?
ANSWER: JUPITER
ASTR-93; Multiple Choice: On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can
be seen with the naked eye?
w) 300
x) 1,000
y) 3,000
z) 10,000
ANSWER: Y -- 3,000
Astronomy - 53
Space Related General Knowledge Questions Answers
1 The first cosmonaut to spend about 17½ days in space endurance flight
* Adrin Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanosov in soyuz-9 (June 1, 1970)
2 The first person in the world to land on the moon

* Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Adrin Jr. of U.S.A. Armstrong was the first to set
followed by Aldrin. July 21, 1969.
3 The first man to enter space

* Major Yuri Gagarin (Russian)
4 The first woman cosmonaut of the world

* Velentina Tereshkova
5 The first American astronaut to float in space

* Edward White
6 The first unmanned spaceship to have soft landed and lifted off from the moon to
* Luna-16 (U.S.S.R.) September 21, 1970
7 The first manned space vehicle to land on the moon

* Lunar Exploration Module (LEM) nick-named Eagle
8 The first spaceship which carried three American astronauts to land two of them
* Apollo-11
9 The first country to send man to the moon

* U.S.A.
10 The first space-vehicle to orbit the moon

* Luna-10 (U.S.S.R.)
11 The first unmanned moon buggy to explore surface of the moon

* Lunakhod-1 (U.S.S.R.)
12 The first space rocket brought back to earth after orbiting the moon
* Zond-5
13 First crew transfer between the orbiting spaceships

* Soyuz T-15 with Mir Space Station
18 The first country to send nuclear powered space craft to explore Jupiter
* U.S.A.
19 The first Indian to go into space
* Rakesh Sharma
20 The first American astronaut to make two space flights

* Gordon Cooper (U.S.A.)
21 The first country to launch a cosmic space rocket towards moon

* U.S.S.R.
22 The first space rocket to hit the moon

* Lunik II
23 The first spaceship in the world to sample moons crust

* Surveyor-3 (U.S.A.)
24 The first space vehicle to soft land on moon

* Luna-9 (U.S.S.R.)
25 The first manned spaceship to perform the longest stay in space (11 days)
* Apollo-7 (U.S.A.)
26 The first manned spaceship to perform space flight round the moon
* Apollo-8 (U.S.A.)
27 The first American manned spaceship to perform crew transfer in space

* Apollo-9 (U.S.A.)
28 The first woman of Indian origin in space

* Kalpana Chawla
29 The first residents on the International Space Station

* Bill shepherd (U.S.A.), Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev (Russia)
30 The first space tourist in the world

* Dennis Tito (U.S.A.)
31 The first European woman to international Space Station

35 European Space Agencys first moon probe craft
* SMART-I
36 Americas first Mission to Saturn

* Cassini Spacecraft (Reached Saturns orbit in July 2004)
37 First private, manned spacecraft

* Spaceship One (Launched on June 21, 2004)
38 First European space probe landing on the surface of the Saturnian Moon Titan
* Huygens (January 15, 2005)
39 Indias first Mapping Satellite

* CARTOSAT-I (Launched on May 5, 2005)
40 The first spacecraft to touch the surface of a comet

* NASAs Deep Impact hit its comet target temple-I (July 4, 2005)
41 The first Japanese spacecraft to get down to an asteroid and collect samples fro
* Hayabusa (November 2005, Japans Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
42 The first Probe Mission to planet Pluto

* New Horizons (U.S. launched on January 19, 2006)
43 The first space woman to stay for the longest ever Perivale of time in space
* Sunita Williams
44 The first lunar orbiter of China

* Change-I (Lauched on October 24, 2007 from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre of
Sichuan Province)
45 The first successful moon mission of India

* Chandrayan-I (October 22, 2008)
46 The US software pioneer who became the first person to travel twice to space a
* Charles Simonyi (March 26, 2009)
Space Q & A
Game
How to play:
This is a simple oral question/answer game that will teach your

students lots of fascinating space facts. You can play by calling
on individual students, or allowing groups of students to work as
teams.
This is a game you need to play more than once, but over time it will
make your students feel like real space experts. If you only play the
game one time, you students probably won't be able to remember
any of the facts. The learning comes through repetition.
The questions are hard - and kids probably won't know most of the
answers the first time you play. That's okay, because when the
questions are repeated the second, third, and fourth time you play
the game, they will become better and better at remembering
the answers.
The first time you play, most of their answers will probably be
guesses. The second time you play, they will probably know some
of the answers. The third time you play, they'll know more answers.
And so on.
You may want to offer a small prize for students who answer
questions correctly, or teams who win the game.
Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com

Space Question-Answer Game
Questions Page 1
Question 1: What planet is closest to the sun?

Answer: Mercury
Question 2: Which is the hottest planet?

Answer: Venus
Question 3: Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?

Answer: Clouds cover the planet and keep heat in.
Question 4: How far away is the sun?

Answer: 93-million miles
Question 5: How long does it take the sun’s light to reach Earth?
Answer: 8 minutes
Question 6: What star is closest to the Earth?

Answer: the sun
Question 7: What star is second closest to the Earth?

Answer: Alpha Centuri
Question 8: How far away is it?

Answer: 4.3 light years
Question 9: Why can’t we see it at night?

Answer: You can only see it in the Southern Hemisphere. People in the
Southern Hemisphere see different stars than the people in the Northern
Hemisphere do.
Question 10: Name all of the planets in order, from closest to the sun to
farthest away.
Answer: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
And Pluto kinda.
Question 11: How many stars are in our solar system?

Answer: one (Our solar system consists of the sun and the objects that
orbit around it.)

Questions Page 2
Question 12: How many stars are in our galaxy?

Answer: billions (Nobody knows exactly how many, but some scientists
estimate about 100 billion.)
Question 13: What is the name of our galaxy?

Answer: the Milky Way
Question 14: Name Jupiter’s two largest moons.

Answer: Io and Europa
Question 15: How many moons does Jupiter have?

Answer: Over 57
Question 16: Which two planets do not have moons?

Answer: Mercury and Venus
Question 17: What is another name for the “North Star”?

Answer: Polaris
Question 18: Where is the North Star located?

Answer: directly over the North Pole of the Earth
Question 19: Who were the first two people to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
Question 20: Name the 5 space shuttles built in America.

Answer: Discovery, Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, and Endeavor
Question 21: What is a satellite?

Answer: Anything that orbits a planet.
Question 22: What was the name of the first man-made satellite in
space?
Answer: Sputnik (It was a Russian satellite)
Question 23: What is the Earth’s biggest satellite?

Answer: the moon

Questions Page 3
Question 24: What is the International Space Station?

Answer: A large satellite where astronauts/scientists can live and work.
Question 25: What is the name of the large space telescope that orbits
the Earth?
Answer: Hubble Space Telescope
Question 26: What is a supernova?

Answer: an exploding star
Question 27: Name all of the planets that people have walked on.
Answer: Earth (People have walked on the moon, but that's not a
planet.)
Question 28: Why can’t you land on Jupiter?

Answer: It’s a large gas planet.
Question 29: Which planet is nicknamed “the morning star” and “the
evening star”?
Answer: Venus (But remember - it's not really a star. It's a planet.)
Question 30: What is the big red spot on Jupiter?

Answer: a giant wind storm
Question 31: Why can’t you see Neptune or Pluto without a telescope?
Answer: They’re too far away and it’s too dark in that part of the solar
system.
Question 32: Which is the smallest planet?

Answer: Mercury (Pluto’s not a planet anymore)
Question 33: How long does it take Earth to orbit around the sun?
Answer: 365 days
Question 34: How long does it take the Earth to rotate/spin all the way
around?
Answer: 24 hours

Questions Page 4
Question 35: What is a constellation?

Answer: a group of stars that forms the shape of a person, animal, or
object
Question 36: How many stars are in the big dipper?

Answer: seven
Question 37: An American space explorer is an astronaut. What is a

Russian space explorer?
Answer: Cosmonaut
Question 38: Which planet spins on its side?

Answer: Uranus
Question 39: Which planet used to have the “Great Dark Spot”?
Answer: Neptune (The dark spot was a large storm that mysteriously
disappeared in the 1990s.)
Question 40: Where does gravity pull people/objects?

Answer: towards the CENTER of a planet or star.
Question 41: What’s a blue moon?

Answer: the second full moon in a month
Question 42: How long does it take the moon to orbit the Earth?
Answer: 29 days
Question 43: What’s the difference between a waxing moon and a

waning moon?
Answer: a waxing moon is getting bigger and a waning moon is getting
smaller
Question 44: Like Earth, Mars is covered with air. What type of gas is
makes up most of Mars' air?
Answer: carbon dioxide

Questions Page 5
Question 45: Pluto is not a planet. What is it?

Answer: a dwarf planet (also accept: planetiod)
Question 46: How many dwarf planets are in our solar system?
Answer: five
Question 47: Which planet is nicknamed the “Red Planet”?

Answer: Mars
Question 48: Which planet is nicknamed the “Cloudy Planet”?

Answer: Venus
Question 49: Which two planets are closest to Earth?

Answer: Venus and Mars
Question 50: If you were standing above the North Pole looking down,
which way would Earth rotate?
Answer: counter-clockwise

Grade 6 Standard 3 Unit Test A
Astronomy
Multiple Choice
1. The four inner planets are rocky and small. Which description best fits the next four
outer planets?
A. They are also rocky and small.

B. They are very large and made of ice.
C. They are small and made of ice.
D. They are very large and made of gases.
2. Which two planets are out of order in this list of our solar system? The planets are listed
in order of distance from the sun.
Mercury-Earth-Venus-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune-Pluto
A. Mercury and Earth

B. Earth and Venus
C. Saturn and Jupiter
D. Uranus and Neptune
3. What is a special characteristic of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus?
A. They are planets in our solar system.

B. They spin slowly.
C. They revolve around the sun.
D. They have rings.
4. How does a telescope help us understand the moon?
A. It tells us how it was formed.

B. It tells us how hot it is there.
C. It helps us see surface features.
D. It can tell us what the moon is made of.
10.3.1
5. A probe landed on Mars and did soil tests. What information did it discover?
A. There are no living organisms in Martian soil.

B. Mars is slightly oval in shape.
C. Mars is about one-fourth the size of Earth.
D. The gravity on Mars is much less than on Earth.
6. Pictures from space are sent to Earth. How are they printed?
A. On paper from film sent from the probe.

B. A computer reads a code and places dots on paper.
C. They are drawn by hand as the information is received.
D. They are sent through space by rockets and are already printed.
7. Why is space travel difficult for people?
A. We cannot take the air or food we need into space.

B. The distances are very great; it is dangerous and expensive.
C. It is impossible to escape the sun’s or Earth’s gravity.
D. We do not have a destination to visit that we know will support life.
8. What holds the planets in their orbits around the sun?
A. gravity
B. speed
C. string
D. air currents
9. Which object has the most gravity?
A. Earth
B. moon
C. Jupiter
D. sun
10. Without gravity, what would be the shape of the solar system?
A. Planets would revolve in perfect circles.

B. Much different than it is now.
C. Planet’s orbits would cross.
D. All planets would be in the same orbit.
10.3.2
Constructed Response
1. What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteor?
2. How do we know about outer space, beyond our solar system?
3. How are the orbits of Earth around the sun and the orbit of the moon around Earth
alike?
10.3.3
Answers Standard 3-unit test A:
Multiple Choice
1. D
2. B
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. B
7. B
8. A
9. D
10. B
1. Asteroids are chunks of rock in orbit around the sun, meteors are chunks of rock that fall
through Earth’s atmosphere.
2. From information gathered through telescopes.
3. Both rely on the greater gravitational pull of the more massive object and their own for-
ward motion to match and keep them in orbit.
10.3.4
Grade 6 Standard 3 Unit Test B
Astronomy
Multiple Choice
1. What do planets revolve around?
A. each other
B. a star or sun
C. a moon
D. a galaxy
2. If you could live on Jupiter, what would you see in the sky at night besides stars?
A. many moons
B. the inner planets
C. the sun
D. Earth’s moon
3. Which two planets are out of order in this list of our solar system? The planets are listed
in order as they go out from the sun.
Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Pluto-Neptune
A. Mercury and Earth

B. Earth and Venus
C. Saturn and Jupiter
D. Neptune and Pluto
4. Mary looked in her science book at a picture of the solar system. The planets were
large and colorful, but she knew it was not an accurate model. Why?
A. The planets should have been much farther apart.

B. The planets are not colorful. They are white.
C. We don’t know exactly what the planets look like, so it was a guess.
D. Planets are oval and not round.
10.3.5
5. What is an important function of space probes, such as Voyager, as they travel in
space?
A. to land on each planet and report the conditions there

B. to take pictures and send them back to Earth
C. to see if other stars have planets
D. to see if life exists on other planets
6. What have probes orbiting on Venus recently discovered?
A. The atmosphere appears white.

B. It is the third planet from the sun.
C. There are volcanoes on its surface.
D. Venus is larger than Earth.
7. Which of the following instruments could best see the rings on Saturn?
A. your eye
B. binoculars
C. a telescope
D. a magnifying glass
8. Some objects are invisible in space yet astronomers know they exist. On what do they
base their knowledge?
A. They give off radio or X-rays that we can analyze.

B. They were once visible and people recorded it.
C. Astronomers have a “sixth” sense that helps them know.
D. Telescopes can see things that people cannot.
9. What would happen to Earth if it started going faster around the sun?
A. It would fall into the sun.

B. It would travel away from the sun.
C. Its gravity would decrease.
D. Its gravity would increase.
10.3.6
10. What do objects that have more mass also have more of?
A. volume
B. size
C. gravity
D. speed
1. How is a planet different from a star?
2. Pick a planet (other than Earth) and describe 5 characteristics that you knowabout
it. Be as specific as possible.
3. Space probes have not landed on Pluto yet. Describe three types of information you
would collect if you were designing the probe. Tell what you think the results of each test
might be.
4. How have computers aided our understanding of space?
5. How is spinning a weight tied to a string around your head similar to the orbit of a planet
around the sun?
10.3.7
Answers Standard 3-unit test B:
Multiple Choice.
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. C
7. C
8. A
9. B
10. C
1. Planets are smaller than stars and are not glowing producing their own light.
2. Students should have 5 correct characteristics of the planet they picked.
3. Students may mention temperatures, movement of crust, composition of crust, type of

atmosphere, gravity, presence of life etc. The results of these tests would indicate that
Pluto is very cold, mostly ice, little or no atmosphere, small gravity and no life.
4. They are able to take large amounts of data and process it quickly.
5. The spinning speed is the same as the velocity of a moving planet, the string is like
gravity holding it in orbit.
10.3.8
Grade 6 Standard 3 Performance Test 1
Astronomy
Title: Telemetry
Activity Description: Students will send a message to a partner who will

decode it similar to real space communications.
Materials Needed: grid sheet, pictures of simple objects
Prior to Assessment: Students should know that messages traveling

through space must be sent via electromagnetic rays such as light or radio
waves. A picture is sent using a code which a computer then decodes. The
computer places a dot of the correct shade in a space (called a pixel) and
makes row after row of dots. A picture emerges.
Time Needed: one and one half hour
Procedure
1. Students must work in pairs. Each should have a worksheet with a picture to “send” and
an empty grid to “receive”.
2. Both students need to code their picture. Each square needs to be assigned a number.
Use a key like this:
· 0 = no color or white
· 1 = gray
· 2 = black
3. Students will have to decide if partially filled squares count as a color or not. They
cannot be partially filled.
4. One student should “send” their picture to the other by reading off the numbers they
established. The “receiving” student should fill in their grid and try to guess what the
picture is.
5. When one student has finished the other can “send.”
6. See attached worksheets
Grading Scale
1. Student successfully codes own picture........................................5 pts

2. Student successfully receives and decodes partner’s picture.......5 pts
3. Student correctly answers questions on worksheet......................5 pts
a. Answers will vary.
b. The translated picture is blocky and not very clear.
c. sound waves
d. light or radio waves
e. The picture would be destroyed.
10.3.9
Student worksheets:
Directions:
1. One grid on your paper has a picture on it. Assign a number to each square on the grid.
Use this code:
0 = white or no color
1 = gray
2 = black
2. Read your numbers to your partner who will fill in the empty grid on the bottom of his/her
paper. He/she will guess what the picture is.
3. Reverse the process and have your partner read you his/her numbers.
4. Answer the questions when you are finished.
Questions:
1. Were you able to guess what the picture was that was sent to you?
2. How was the translated picture different from the real one?
3. You sent the picture to your partner using what type of waves?
4. Are pictures sent through space on these same waves?
5. What would happen if you used a different size grid than the sender? (with more rows
or columns?)
10.3.10
10.3.11
10.3.12
Grade 6 Standard 3 Performance Test 2
Astronomy
Title: Staying in Orbit
Activity Description
In this activity students will model the forces that keep planets in orbit and discover rela-
tionships between mass, distance, and velocity.
Materials
1 meter (and a little more for tying the knots) of string per group (4 students) a meterstick,
4 large metal washers, clock with second hand or stopwatch, student sheet (see next page)
Time Needed
50 minutes
Teacher Background
Objects stay in stable orbits when the gravity between them and a larger body (like the
sun) matches their own forward velocity. The distance a planet is from the sun affects the
gravitational attraction. If preferred, this can be done as a demonstration with one student
swinging the “planet” and the class counting and timing the swings.
Procedure
1. Explain to students that they will be investigating the forces that keep planets in orbit
and read the introduction and procedures to the activity.
2. Allow groups to gather their materials. Remind them to stay far enough apart that the
swinging washers do not hit anyone.
3. Allow time for students to collect data.
4. As a class, discuss data and draw conclusions.
5. Allow students time to answer questions on student sheet.
Scoring Guide
1. Students make prediction…………………………………………….3 pts
2. Students design their own test………………………………………10 pts
3. Students collect and record data……………………………………15 pts
4. Students correctly answer questions……………………………….5 pts
Answers:
1. Shortening the string increases the speed and shortens the revolution time.
2. The Inner planets have the shortest revolutions
3. Increasing the mass shortens increases speed needed and shortens revolution
time.
4. The larger objects require more speed in forward motion to keep from falling.
5. Answers will vary.
5. Students write specific and pertinent conclusion…………………3 pts
10.3.13
Student Sheet
Title: Staying in Orbit Name_______________________
Introduction: In this activity you will investigate the factors that affect the revolution of
planets around the sun. We will use string for “gravity” and washers for “planets”.
Materials
1 meter of string, a meterstick, 4 large metal washers, clock with second hand or stopwatch
Procedure:
1. Tie two washers on the end of your string. Have a student hold the end of the string and
swing it over their head. Swing it only fast enough to keep it in “orbit.” Make sure you will
not hit anyone with the washers.
2. Have one student count the number of revolutions the washers take in 10 seconds.
One student needs to time while the other counts. Do this twice and average your results.
Record your data on the data table.
3. Fold the string in two and hold it in the middle (at the 50 cm) mark. Repeat the count-
ing for 10 seconds. Do this twice and average your results. Record your data on the data
table.
4. Put two more washers on the string and repeat #2 and #3.
5. Think of another different test you can do concerning orbits with the string and washers.
Write down here what you will do:
a.
b.
Record this data also.

6. Answer the questions when you are done.
Prediction: (Which combination of string and washers will go fastest?)
Data
Experiment First test Second test Average

100 cm, 2 washers
50 cm, 2 washers
100 cm, 4 washers
50 cm, 4 washers
Your experiment
10.3.14
Questions:
1. What effect did making the orbit smaller (shortening the string) have on the speed of the
washers and time it took to make an orbit (revolution)?
2. Which planets in the solar system have the shortest revolution time?
3. How does increasing the weight of the “planet” affect its revolution?
4. Why?
5. What did your experiment show?
Conclusion:
10.3.15

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Science Bowl ASTRONOMY

ANSWER: SOLAR WIND

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The biggest asteroid known is:

ANSWER: X -- 9 HRS 50 MIN

ANSWER: Z -- A SYNODIC PERIOD (conjunction and opposition are names of

ANSWER: Z -- ONE MILLION YEARS

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The sunspot cycle is:

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares

ANSWER: B and C -- TEMPERATURE AND LUMINOSITY (Size and distance of

ANSWER: FOUCAULT PENDULUM

ASTR-91; Short Answer: What distinction is Sally K. Ride known for?

ANSWER: FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE

ANSWER: PLUTO'S MOON

ASTR-91; Short Answer: Where in space is Cassini's division?

ANSWER: BETWEEN TWO RINGS OF SATURN

ANSWER: (GUION S.) BLUFORD

ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the Vostok 1?

ANSWER: THE FIRST MANNED SPACECRAFT

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: Heliocentric (pron: he-lee-o-sen-trik) means around:

ANSWER: Y -- THE SUN

ANSWER: W -- A SKY CAMERA

ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the star nearest to the sun?

ANSWER: ALPHA CENTAURI or PROXIMA CENTAURI

ANSWER: Y -- ABOUT 1/200th THAT OF THE EARTH'S

ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE

ANSWER: Z -- GREATER THAN THE COMBINED MASSES OF ALL OF THE

ANSWER: B-- A CRATER

ANSWER: VENUS AND MERCURY

ANSWER: 1) SEPARATION OF THE TWO STARS

ANSWER: EMISSION NEBULA

ANSWER: COSMIC RAYS

ANSWER: Y -- 200 BILLION

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: A comet's tail points in which direction?

ANSWER: Z -- AWAY FROM THE SUN

ANSWER: X -- ZEEMAN EFFECT

ANSWER: MARE (singular) or MARIA (plural)

ANSWER: RED GIANT

ANSWER: 15.85 (accept any answer between 15 and 16)

ANSWER: W -- BOTH ROTATE FASTER THAN THE EARTH

w) the brightest star in the sky

ANSWER: SYZYGY (pron: siz-a-je)

ANSWER: Z -- AN EFFECT DUE TO THE PROJECTION OF PLANET ORBITS

ANSWER: A SUPERNOVA or TYPE II SUPERNOVA or NEUTRON STAR or

ANSWER: Y -- BAILY'S BEADS

ANSWER: B and D -- RIGHT ASCENSION AND DECLINATION

ASTR-91; Short Answer: What is the last planet Voyager II visited?

ANSWER: W -- RADIO WAVELENGTHS

ANSWER: VENUS AND MERCURY

ANSWER: W -- IS STRONGLY REDSHIFTED

ANSWER: GALILEO, JUPITER

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: The Magellanic Clouds are

ANSWER: W -- IRREGULAR GALAXIES

ANSWER: CASSIOPEIA (pron: cass-e-o-pe-yw)

ANSWER: BACKGROUND RADIATION RESULTING FROM THE BIG BANG

ANSWER: (JOHN C.) ADAMS

ANSWER: PEGASUS, ANDROMEDA

w) area that is swept out

ANSWER: Y -- SQUARE OF THE PERIOD

ASTR-91; Multiple Choice: What type of visible star is the coolest?

ANSWER: X -- WHITE DWARF

ANSWER: Y -- THE HUBBLE CONSTANT

ANSWER: SUPERNOVAS or NOVAS

ANSWER: ONE AND ONE-HALF