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Astronomy Practice Test

Name: _______________________________

Multiple Choice
1. How large is the Milky Way Galaxy?
A. It is the largest galaxy ever observed. B. It takes up over half of the known universe.
C. It cannot be measured or compared. D. It is very small when compared to the universe

2. Which of the following correctly ranks astronomical objects by size, starting with the smallest?
A. Earth, sun, solar system, galaxy, universe B. Sun, solar system, Earth, universe, galaxy
C. Universe, galaxy, solar system, Earth, sun D. Solar system, Earth, sun, universe, galaxy

3. Which of the following best compares the amount of empty space in the universe to the amount of space
galaxies occupy? Galaxies...
A. take up about half of the space. B. take up most of the room in space.
C. are less than half but more than a fourth of space. D. take up an extremely small amount of space.

4. Compared to our galaxy, how big is our solar system? The solar system is...
A. extremely tiny. B. about one-tenth of the galaxy.
C. about one-third of the galaxy. D. over half of the galaxy.

5. Our nearest star neighbor in space, Alpha Centauri, is four light years from Earth. Why will it be difficult to
visit?
A. It is very bright and hot. B. We are not sure exactly where it is.
C. There may be no planets near it. D. It is very far away.

6. What are galaxies made of?


A. moons and planets B. two stars orbiting each other
C. about one hundred stars D. many millions of stars

7. Why are distances in space often measured in light years?


A. The light year is a commonly used unit of measure.
B. Distances in space are so great that a large unit is needed.
C. Scientists always use metric units like light years.
D. Light years are easy to measure and understand.

8. Early astronomers thought that galaxies were single stars. Why was this mistake easy to make?
A. Galaxies are so far away that they look like a single star.
B. Galaxies are made of stars that you can only see one at a time.
C. Light from galaxies collects into a single beam.
D. Earth is small and galaxies are much larger.

9. Which stars do we always see during the year? Stars...


A. on the horizon B. over the North Pole
C. in the larger constellations D. inside other galaxies
10. Why does the air temperature rise in the summer?
A. We are closer to the sun.
B. The air becomes thicker and more dense.
C. The sun’s rays are more direct and days are longer.
D. The ratio of the hours of daylight to the hours of night is reduced.

11. Why is it summer in the Southern Hemisphere when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere? The Southern
Hemisphere is
A. closest to the sun.
B. receiving the most direct rays from the sun.
C. on a path of warm winds from the North.
D. balancing out the temperatures for Earth.

12. What time of year is the sun farthest from Earth?


A. in our summer
B. in our winter
C. in our spring
D. in our fall
13. In what month would K-W have the greatest number of daylight hours per day?
A. January
B. June
C. September
D. December

14. In what month would K-W experience the same amount of light and dark hours
A. January
B. June
C. September
D. December

15. Which of the following statements best describes how the planets of the solar system formed?
A. They are condensed rings of matter thrown off by the young Sun.
B. They are the remains of an exploded star once paired with the Sun.
C. The Sun captured them from smaller, older nearby stars.
D. They formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas.

16. Which planet was formed from the light gases of the outer solar nebula?
A. Mars B. Mercury
C. Venus D. Uranus

17. What is the source of energy for the Sun?


A. hydrogen fusion B. internal combustion
C. nuclear fission of Metals D. burning of solar gases

18. Fusion is a form of nuclear reaction resulting in an enormous release of heat energy. The fusion of
hydrogen to helium is a reaction that commonly occurs in
A. the sun and other typical stars. B. the ionosphere and thermosphere.
C. Earth’s outer Core of molten iron D. a Comet’s tail of ionized gases

19. The Surfaces of planet mercury and our moon contain some very large craters that are most likely the
result of
A. giant lava flows. B. asteroid impacts.
C. nuclear explosions. D. large collapsed caves.

20. The Sun is an average yellow star in the Milky Way galaxy, which is described as
A. a dwarf galaxy B. a spiral galaxy
C. an elliptical galaxy D. an irregular galaxy

21. Stars begin their life cycle in


A. a black hole. B. a nova.
C. a nebula D. a supernova.

22. Stars much more massive than our sun begin their lives very similarly; however, they end quite
differently. How would one of these massive stars (more than 10X bigger) end its life?
A. red giant B. white dwarf
C. neutron star D. all of the above

23. Which of the following units are in the correct order from largest to smallest?
A. Light year, AU, km B. Light year, km, AU
C. km, light year, AU D. km, AU, light year

24. Early Earth, about 4.5 billion years ago was…


A. very similar to today except there was no life. B. Very much like Venus is today.
C. a large molten ball of rock D. none of the above

25. Doppler shift is something used to tell if a star is moving towards or away from the Earth. Which shift
is evidence the Universe is expanding?
A. Red shift B. Blue shift
C. Green shift D. Yellow shift

26. One characteristic all the gas planets share is


A. solid surface. B. presence of water and ice.
C. rings. D. evidence of volcanic activity.
27. What will happen to the Earth when the Sun becomes a Red Giant?
A. The Earth will be pushed into a more distant orbit. B. The Earth will already be gone
C. The Earth will become too hot for life D. There will be no effect

28. Why have planets orbiting other stars not been directly observed?
A. they are too dim B. They are too far away
C. They are too small D. All of the above

29. The light from the most distant galaxies is


A. shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. B. shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum.
C. always ultraviolet D. always infrared

30. Which is the approximate diameter of the milky way?


A. 1,000,000,000 Light years B. 1,000,000 light years
C. 100,000 light years D. 100,000 km

31. The life cycle of a star is determined by its initial


A. mass and volume B. temperature and origin
C. luminosity and color D. luminosity and structure

32. Evidence indicates that the expansion of the universe is


A. slowing down. B. settling into a constant rate.
C. accelerating. D. reversing.

33. How does light from most distant galaxies differ from light from closer galaxies?
A. It is dimmer. B. It is more red-shifted.
C. It is more likely to have been altered by gravitational effects. D. all of the above

34. Which scientist was the first to find evidence that the universe is expanding?
A. Galileo Galilei B. Albert Einstein
C. Edwin Hubble D. Stephen Hawking

35. What theory was strengthened by the discovery of the microwave background radiation?
A. the Big Bang theory B. the Steady State theory
C. the general theory of relativity D. all of the above

Matching section

_____ an icy object that travels in orbit around the Sun a) meteor
_____ a small rocky object in space b) meteorite
_____ a bright streak of light caused by an object falling through c) meteoroid
the Earth’s atmosphere
_____ a piece of space debris that reaches the ground d) comet
_____ a piece of space debris that is trapped by the Earth’s e) asteroid
gravity and is pulled into the Earth’s atmosphere
___________________________________________________________________________

_____ last shining stage of a low mass star a) supernova


_____ small, dense object with an extremely strong force of gravity b) nebula
that forms when the largest of stars collapses
_____ huge clouds of dust and gases c) black hole
_____ an enormous explosion that occurs at the end of a large star’s life d) neutron star
_____ after a supernova, the core material of a large star packs e) white dwarf
together to form this
__________________________________________________________________________

_____ a collection a gas, dust and hundreds of billions of stars a) fusion


_____ substances join together to form new substances b) gravity
_____ a group of stars that form shapes or patterns c) universe
_____ the force that pulls objects towards each other d) galaxy
_____ everything in existence including all energy and matter e) constellation
Short Answer

1. Sketch the following phases of the moon.

a. waning crescent b. waxing gibbous c. first quarter

2. Explain why Earth experiences seasons.

3. The distance from the Sun to Jupiter is 5.19 A.U. The distance from the Sun to Uranus is
19.13 A.U. Calculate the distance from Jupiter to Uranus in km. 1 A.U. = 150 000 000 km.

4. (a) What are some of the challenges of living and working in space?

(b) How can some of these challenges be overcome?

(c) Which planet is most likely to next be explored directly by humans on a space mission?

5. Use the spectral patterns provided to determine the contents of the unknown stars.
6. List the stages of the formation of a solar system according to the solar nebula theory.

7. Describe starting from its formation to its final end the lifecycle of a star 25 solar masses
bigger than our Sun.

8. For each planet shown:


a. Name the Planet
b. How many moons does the planet have?
c. Write one special characteristic about the planet.

a.

b.

c.

a.

b.

c.

a.

b.

c.

a.

b.

c.

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