Cosmic Mechanics
According to Kepler's Third Law, if a planet's orbit is located further from the Sun, how will its orbital period (the length of its year) be affected?
The orbital period will be longer
A Main Sequence star maintains a stable size by balancing the inward pull of gravity with the outward pressure of which process?
Nuclear Fusion
Carbon is considered the backbone of life because it possesses how many valence electrons?
Four
Which biological process acts as the inverse of photosynthesis by breaking down nutrients to release energy?
Cellular respiration
If series of measurements are very close to each other, but far from the actual "true" value, they are said to have high _____ but low _______.
Precision, accuracy
While Earth is at its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) during Northern Hemisphere's winter, what concept explains why the poles remain cold?
The Flashlight Effect (the angle of light, not physical distance, dictates temperature)
Scientific evidence suggests that every atom in your body was originally forged in which cosmic location?
Inside the core of a dying star
Why are Noble Gases in Group 18 of the periodic table?
Because they are stable and not highly reactive with other compounds
To sustain life in space, the International Space Station (ISS) recycles sweat and urine with what percentage of recovery?
98%
If you dissolve 2.0 moles of NaCl in 1.0 L of water, what is the molarity of the solution?
2.0M
At what specific point in an elliptical orbit does a planet reach its maximum orbital velocity?
Perihelion (the point closes to the Sun)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was engineered to see infrared light specifically because those waves can glide through what interstellar obstsacles?
Opaque clouds of cosmic dust
In the carbon cycle, carbon stored in fossil fuels and rocks is categorized as being part of which sphere?
Geosphere
Using the formula for acceleration, what is the acceleration of a pot that goes from 0 to 14.7 m/s in 1.5 seconds?
9.8 m/s squared
Which cosmic ruler represents the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, approximately 150 million km?
The Astronomical Unit (AU)?
In deep space engineering, what is the name for the Smart Zipping method that only beams back pixels that have changed compared to a base model?
Model-Based Data Transmission (MBDT)
Which fundamental force is responsible for holding protons and neutrons together inside the nucleus?
Strong nuclear force
What phenomenon causes light waves from distant galaxies to physically stretch as the universe expands?
Redshift
What classification of Planetary Protection is required for a mission returning samples from Mars to ensure Earth's biosphere is safe?
Category V
To measure the extreme edges of the visible universe, astronomers rely on these objects because their true brightness is always identical
Type 1a Supernovae
What specific hardware allows the JWST to study 100 different galaxies simultaneously by blocking or allowing light from specific points?
Microshutters
In atom physics, if an electron is at its lowest possible energy level, it is said to be in what "state?"
Ground state
When carbon is stored in the oceans as carbonic acid, it is part of which specific sphere of the carbon cycle?
Hydrosphere
Regarding spacecraft electronics, what is the term for a glitch caused by a single high-energy particle striking a component?
Single Event Effects (SEE)