Expanding Universe
Star System and Galaxies
Solar System
Planets
Gravity and Moon
Earth-Sun-Moon System
Other Objects in the Solar System
100
What can be observed only by observing its effects on gravity?
a. dark matter
b. a solar nebula
c. gas and dust
d. a planetesimal
a. dark matter
100
Look at this image of a star cluster.
Which type of star cluster is shown?
a. open
b. binary
c. globular
d. eclipsing
c. globular
100
Which two scientists’ theories supported the general consensus of the people and religious teachings of the time?
a. Aristarchus and Aristotle
b. Aristotle and Ptolemy
c. Ptolemy and Copernicus
d. Galileo and Aristarchus
Aristotle and Ptolemy
100
Which characteristic is common to all inner planets?
a. rings
b. moons
c. rocky surfaces
d. slow revolutions
c. rocky surfaces
100
When two objects are near each other, how would increasing one object’s mass affect it?
a. The shape of the object would change.
b. The weight of the object would decrease.
c. The gravitational force of the object would increase.
d. The mass of the object would be stronger than gravity.
The gravitational force of the object would increase.
100
About how long does it take Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun?
a. 1 year
b. 14 days
c. 24 hours
d. 27.3 days
a. 1 year
100
A student came late to class and started her notes midway through the lecture. These are the notes she copied:
–Small, rocky object
–Not round, irregular shapes
–Several meters to kilometers
–Make up a belt between Mars and Jupiter
What should she title her notes?
a. Comets
b. Asteroids
c. Meteors
d. Meteoroids
b. Asteroids
200
Which statement describes Earth?
a. It is an outer planet.
b. It is a gaseous planet.
c. It was formed from gas and dust.
d. It has a thick atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
c. It was formed from gas and dust.
200
What are the two main types of star clusters?
a. binary and wobbling
b. eclipsing and binary
c. globular and eclipsing
d. open and globular
d. open and globular
200
Who rediscovered Aristarchus’s model of a heliocentric solar system?
a. Copernicus
b. Galileo
c. Kepler
d. Ptolemy
a. Copernicus
200
Which phrase describes the composition of the outer planets?
a. are gaseous
b. contain water
c. have high densities
d. are made mostly of liquid
a. are gaseous
200
At which location would an object’s weight be the greatest?
a. on Pluto
b. on Earth
c. on the Sun
d. on the moon
c. on the Sun
200
How is the moon illuminated?
a. It produces its own light.
b. It reflects light from the Sun.
c. It transforms energy into light.
d. It absorbs light from the Earth.
b. It reflects light from the Sun.
200
Jasmine is late to science class and misses the very beginning of notes for the day. These are Jasmine’s notes:
–Round objects that orbit the Sun
–Not large enough to have enough gravitational pull to clear the path of their orbit
–4 known in the Kuiper Belt (Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Pluto)
–1 in the asteroid belt (Ceres)
Jasmine later copied the title of the notes from a friend. What title did Jasmine most likely copy?
a. Comets
b. The Kuiper Belt
c. Asteroids
d. Dwarf Planets
d. Dwarf Planets
300
According to the big bang theory, which statement is accurate about how the universe came to be?
a. It expanded slowly.
b. It gradually warmed.
c. Stars and galaxies formed.
d. Atoms such as hydrogen were destroyed.
c. Stars and galaxies formed.
300
Which list correctly names the three types of galaxies?
a. binary, open, globular
b. elliptical, open, binary
c. irregular, spiral, elliptical
d. open, irregular, spiral
c. irregular, spiral, elliptical
300
How was Aristotle’s model similar to Ptolemy’s model?
a. Both models stated that the planets rotate on their axes.
b. Both models stated that Earth is the center of the system around which other objects orbit.
c. Both models stated that the planets and objects in the solar system have small orbits called epicycles.
d. Both models stated that the Sun is the center of the system around which objects have elliptical orbits.
b. Both models stated that Earth is the center of the system around which other objects orbit.
300
Which correctly lists three planets that have rings?
a. Jupiter, Mars, Saturn
b. Mars, Jupiter, Mercury
c. Mercury, Mars, Venus
d. Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter
d. Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter
300
Which statement explains how planets move in orbit as supported by Newton’s first law of motion?
a. Planets can change the direction of their own orbital path.
b. Planets can change orbits due to their inertia.
c. Planets in motion will have a constant speed unless acted on by an outside force.
d. Planets with a greater mass will orbit more quickly than smaller planets.
c. Planets in motion will have a constant speed unless acted on by an outside force.
300
What occurs when the moon blocks the view of the Sun?
a. neap tide
b. spring tide
c. solar eclipse
d. lunar eclipse
c. solar eclipse
300
A comet is a
a. meteoroid that travels through Earth’s atmosphere and hits the surface.
b. meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, producing a streak of light.
c. small, rocky object that orbits the Sun and is usually found in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
d. small object made of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and forms a coma as it approaches the Sun.
d. small object made of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and forms a coma as it approaches the Sun.
400
Which object(s) formed last in our solar system?
a. the Sun
b. the solar nebula
c. the inner planets
d. the planetesimals
c. the inner planets
400
Which type of star system has the most stars?
a. open cluster
b. globular cluster
c. eclipsing binary
d. binary star system
b. globular cluster
400
What is some of the evidence used by Galileo to support Copernicus’s model and disprove Aristotle and Ptolemy’s?
a. Each planet spins in an epicycle.
b. Planets appear to move backward.
c. Jupiter has moons orbiting it.
d. The religious and cultural beliefs supported this model
c. Jupiter has moons orbiting it.
400
Which planet revolves slowly around the Sun, has rings, and is known for its Great Red Spot?
a. Jupiter
b. Mars
c. Neptune
d. Saturn
a. Jupiter
400
Look at the diagram of the moon and three different paths that it could take.
Which description applies best to pathway 2?
a. the path of the moon toward the Sun
b. the path of the moon’s orbit around Earth
c. the path the moon would take if it had a larger mass than the Sun
d. the path the moon would take if there was no force of Earth’s gravity
d. the path the moon would take if there was no force of Earth’s gravity
400
Which describes one event that causes an eclipse?
a. Earth’s rotation on its axis
b. shadows from clouds covering Earth
c. Earth’s shadow covering the moon
d. the gravity from the moon and Sun pulling in the same direction
c. Earth’s shadow covering the moon
400
Which term specifically describes small chunks of rocks and debris in space that travel through the Earth’s atmosphere and hit its surface?
a. meteorites
b. meteoroids
c. meteors
d. meteorides
a. meteorites
500
What do scientists know about the future of the universe?
a. what dark matter is made of
b. why the expansion of the universe is accelerating
c. that stars will eventually burn out causing the universe to become cold and dark
d. that galaxies spin much slower than they should based on visible matter
c. that stars will eventually burn out causing the universe to become cold and dark
500
Which type of galaxy has arms that contain sites of active star formation and start close to a bulge in the center?
a. elliptical
b. irregular
c. barred spiral
d. normal spiral
d. normal spiral
500
How did Galileo increase public support for Copernicus’s model?
a. by publishing his work in Italian
b. by using data collected by Tycho Brahe
c. by explaining why planets appear to move backward
d. by arguing that Earth’s rotation makes objects appear to move in the sky
a. by publishing his work in Italian
500
In addition to having a blue color, what other characteristic do Neptune and Uranus share?
a. no rings
b. 27 moons
c. no axis tilt
d. cold temperatures
d. cold temperatures
500
Which force keeps the planets from floating off into space?
a. Earth’s gravity
b. the Sun’s gravity
c. the moon’s gravity
d. Milky Way’s gravity
b. the Sun’s gravity
500
Look at the image of the moon.
Which moon phase does it show?
a. full moon
b. third quarter
c. waxing gibbous
d. waning crescent
a. full moon
500
A student is taking an animal science and an astronomy class. In animal sciences, she learns that pumas are called mountain lions and cougars in different parts of the world, but they are all the same cat. She makes an analogy, or comparison, to something she learned in her astronomy class. She says that a certain space object is like a puma because it is the same object but has different names depending on where it is. What space object is she thinking of?
a. comet
b. meteoroid
c. asteroid
d. meteoride
b. meteoroid