Grade 9 Science Space

Grade 9 Science Astronomy Questions and Answers

Which object has such a strong surface gravity that light cannot escape it?
a. black hole
b. b. black dwarf
c. c. red giant
d. white dwarf

What is a supernova?
A brilliant explosion tht marks the end of a massive star.

What is the first stage in the formation of a star?

A nebula or cloud of dust and gases.

Which star below blows up in a supernova explosion.

a. low mass star
b. b. medium mass star
c. massive star

Binary stars can be used to establish what property of stars?

Binary stars can be used to establish a star's mass.

What is the last stage in the formation of a star?

A black dwarf.

All stars eventually run out of fuel and collapse due to gravity.
a. True
b. False

What is apparent magnitude?

The brightness of a star as seen from Earth.

Name the eight stages in the life span of a star starting with its birth and
ending with its death.
Dust and gases, protostar, main sequence, red giant, variable

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stage, planetary nebula, white dwarf, black dwarf

An average star spends 90 percent of its life as a helium-burning main-

sequence star.
a. True
b. False

Which color stars have the highest surface temperature?

a. red
b. b. orange
c. c. yellow
d. blue

Distances to stars are usually expressed in units called

a. miles
b. b. kilometers
c. c. light-years
d. astronomical units

What is a light year?

The distance that light travels in one year.

The Solar System is defined as:

a. The family of stars in our galaxy
a. b. The family of the sun, planets, and their moons
b. c. The family of the planets and moons
c. d. The family of the sun, stars, moons, and planets

The measure of a star's brightness is called its

a. color index
b. b. visual binary
c. c. magnitude
d. d. parallax

Which type of star is the sun?

a. black hole

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b. b. black dwarf
c. c. main sequence
d. red giant

List three factors that control the apparent brightness of a star as seen from
Earth.
how big it is, how hot it is, how far away it is

A star's color can tell you what its approximate temperature is.
a. True
b. False

What does a Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram show.

a. the location of stars in the sky
b. b. the absolute magnitude and temperature of the stars
c. the apparent magnitude and temperature of the stars
c. the absolute magnitude and mass of stars

The sun produces energy by nuclear fission.

a. True
b. False

What is the name of the dark region on the surface of the photosphere?
sunspot

What is the name of the relatively thin layer of the sun's atmosphere?
Chromosphere

When a wave source is moving toward or away from an object, the

wavelength changes, a phenomenon known as the Doppler
Effect .

Astronomers usually study an object by looking directly through a telescope.

a. True
b. False

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Distances to nearby stars can be determined from

a. fluorescence
b. b. stellar parallax
c. c. stellar mass
d. emission nebulae

What can astronomers learn by studying a star's color?

Astronomers can learn about a star's temperature by studying its
color.

What are binary stars?

Pairs of stars, pulled toward each other by gravity.

Spectroscopy is the study of the properties of light that depend

on Wavelength .

Refracting telescopes got their name because they refract,

or bend , light.

Early astronomers were confused because the following planets sometimes

reversed their direction:
a. Mars
b. b. Jupiter
c. c. Saturn
d. All of the above

Astronomers have calculated the parallax angles of millions of stars.

a. True
b. False

Which waves have the highest frequency?

a. gamma rays
b. b. ultraviolet rays
c. c. infrared rays
d. radio waves

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What lies at the center of our solar system?

a. the sun
b. b. Mars
c. c. Earth
d. the moon

Circle the letter of the two main motions of the Earth.

a. rotation and precession
b. b. rotation and revolution
c. c. revolution and precession
d. rotation and aphelion

Name three types of energy that make up the electromagnetic spectrum?

gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared
radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.

List the four main parts of the sun.

Solar interior, photosphere, chromosphere,corona

What is the name of the huge cloudlike structure of chromospheric gases?

prominence

All stars have measurable parallax angles.

a. True
b. False

What is the approximate time that it takes Earth to rotate on its axis?
a. 24 hours
b. B. 30 days
c. 365 days

What is the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere?

a. chromosphere
b. b. photosphere
c. corona

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Different parts of the sun rotate at different speeds.

a. True
b. False

The main difference between a reflecting telescope and a refracting

telescope is that a reflecting telescope uses a(n) mirror to focus
the incoming light.

Nearby stars have large parallax angles.

a. True
b. False

What is rotation?
The turning, or spinning, of a body on its axis.

Approximately how long does it take for the moon to go through all of its
phases?
a. 24 hours
b. b. 12 hours
c. c. 30 days
d. 365 days

The arrangement of electromagnetic waves according to their wavelengths

and frequencies is called the electromagnetic
spectrum .

How does distance affect parallax?

The nearest stars have the largest parallax angles, while the
parallax angles of distant stars are too small to measure.

What is the name of the layer that radiates most of the sunlight we can see?
photosphere

What is the solar wind?

Streams of protons and electrons that boil from the corona

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What is the gas that makes up most of the Martian atmosphere?

a. nitrogen
b. b. oxygen
c. c. carbon dioxide
d. water vapor

Which is the best description of the nature of light.

a. Light always behaves like waves.
b. b. Light always behaves like particles.
c. C. Light sometimes behaves like waves and at other times like
particles.
d. Light never behaves like either waves or particles.

Day and night are caused by Earth's revolution on its axis.

a. True
b. False

What must happen in order for an eclipse to take place?

The earth or the moon must block out the sun.

What is the substance that most likely makes up Neptune's upper cloud
layer?
a. water droplets
b. b. ice crystals
c. c. frozen carbon dioxide
d. frozen methane

What is the name of the brief outburst associated with sunspot cluster?
solar flare

Is Mercury a terrestrial planet or a Jovian planet?

terrestrial

The terrestrial planets are relatively small and rocky.

What year was Uranus discovered?

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a. 1992
b. b. 1543
c. c. 1781
d. 1654

Almost all of the mass of the solar system is within the Sun .

A(n) Nebula is a cloud of dust and gas in space.

Circle the letter of the planet(s) that have ring systems.

a. Saturn only
b. b. Saturn and Jupiter only
c. c. all four Jovian planets
d. all nine planets

Most large optical telescopes are reflectors.

a. True
b. False

What is solar wind?

Streams of protons and electrons that boil from the corona.

When a light source approaches an observer its

a. pitch becomes lower
b. b. pitch becomes higher
c. c. light becomes bluer
d. light becomes redder

What is the name of the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere called?
corona

List the main three forms of radiation in which which solar flares release
energy.
ultraviolet, radio, and X-ray

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Who was the first test pilot to successfully fly the X-1?
Chuck Yeager

The geocentric model was created by Aristotle who said that

all planets revolved around the Earth .

Why is it unlikely that life as we know it exists on Mercury?

The temperatures are too extreme. Too cold and too hot.

What is the shape of a planet's orbit?

a. circular
b. b. irregular
c. c. elliptical
d. constantly changing

Color changes on Mars's surface observed from Earth may be caused

by Extensive dust storms in Mars's
atmosphere.

Copernicus placed the sun at the center of the solar system, with
the planets orbiting around it.

List the types of energy that make up the electromagnetic spectrum.

gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared
radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.

Particles of light are called Photons .

Most of Venus's surface consists of plains covered by lava flows.

a. True
b. False

Lunar phases are caused by motions of the Moon and the sunlight
that is reflected from its surface.

Nicholas Copernicus proposed a new model

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that said the sun was fixed and a rotating earth

travelled westward around it.

Mars's atmosphere is 90 times the density of Earth's.

a. True
b. False

The idea that the moon, sun, and known planets orbit Earth is called
the geocentric model of the universe.

An uninterrupted band of color is called

a(n) Continuous spectrum.

Why do the auroral displays vary with the 11-year sunspot cycle?
Auroral displays are caused by sunspot activity.

What are the two main motions of the Earth?

rotation and revolution

The Earth Centered Model was useful for

predicting dates and times at which celestial bodies
rose and set.

Why do sunspots appear dark?

Their temperature is about 1500K less than that of the
surrounding solar surface.

An eclipse can only occur during a new moon or full moon when
the moon's orbit crosses the plane of the eliptic.

The largest volcano on Mars is over two and one half times higher than
Mount Everest.
a. True
b. False

Neptune has winds exceeding 1000km per hour.

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a. True
b. False

In Aristotle's geocentric model of our solar system, the was

considered to be the center of the universe.
a. sun
b. b. earth
c. c. asteroid belt
d. North Star

Is Uranus a terrestrial planet or a Jovian planet?

Jovian

Name the eight planets.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Which astronomer formulated and tested the law of universal gravitation?

Isaac Newton

List four reasons Venus is referred to as Earth's twin.

Size, density, mass, and location in the solar system.

What is the function of the objective lens of a refracting telescope?

Produces an image by bending light from a distant object so that
the light converges at an area called the focus.

Circle the letter of the answer that correctly describes Jupiter's mass.
a. 800 times as massive as the sun
b. b. the same mass as the sun
c. c. 2 and one half times greater than the mass of all of the other
planets and moons combined
d. the same mass as all of the other planets and moons combined

Lunar phases are a result of the motion of the moon and the
sunlight that is reflected from its surface.

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Pluto's orbit is highly highly eccentric , causing it to

sometimes travel inside the orbit of Neptune.

A radio telescope works in a similar way to a radio antenna.

a. True
b. False

Different space telescopes collect the same information about an object in

space.
a. True
b. False

List two advantages of radio telescopes over optical telescopes.

Less affected by turbulence in the atmosphere, no protective
dome is required, viewing is possible 24 hours a day, can see
through interstellar dust clouds, can detect clouds of gases too
cold to emit visible light.

What can a star's spectrum tell astronomers about the star?

It identifies the elements present and the star's chemical
composition.

When a light source moves away from an observer its

a. pitch becomes lower
b. b. pitch becomes higher
c. c. light becomes bluer
d. light becomes redder

Why do space telescopes produce clearer images than telescopes on Earth?

They do not have to go through the Earth's atmosphere.

Is Neptune a terrestrial or Jovian planet?

Jovian

Circle the letter of Mercury's position in the solar system.

a. innermost terrestrial planet

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b. b. innermost Jovian planet

c. c. outermost terrestrial planet
d. outermost Jovian planet

described the behavior of moving objects.

a. Galileo
b. b. Newton
c. c. Copernicus
d. Aristotle

Jupiter's surface is thought to be a giant ocean of liquid water.

a. True
b. False

Is Venus a terrestrial or Jovian planet?

Terrestrial

What is unique about Uranus's axis of rotation?

It lies nearly parallel with the plane of its orbit.

Explain the difference between the geocentric and heliocentric models of the
universe
In the geocentric model, th sun and the planets revolve around
Earth. In the heliocentric model, Earth and the other planets
revolve around the sun.

Is Jupiter a terrestrial or Jovian planet?

Jovian

One of Jupiter's moons, Io , is one of only three volcanically active

bodies in the solar system.

What is Saturn's most prominent feature?

a. moon system
b. b. ring system
c. c. giant storm

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d. liquid oceans

Name one test that the astronauts had to undergo.

Varies

List the planets whose orbital planes lie more than 3 degrees from the plane
of the sun's equator.
Mercury and Pluto

Refracting telescopes suffer from an optical defect called chromatic

aberration.
a. True
b. False

What is the type of invisible radiation from space that can be detected from
Earth's surface?
a. gamma rays
b. b. X-rays
c. c. infrared radiation
d. radio waves

Is Saturn a terrestrial or Jovian planet?

Jovian

Refracting telescopes suffer from an optical defect called chromatic

aberration.
a. True
b. False

The Jovian planets are huge, rocky giants.

a. True
b. False

When a sound source approaches an observer the

a. pitch become lower
b. b. pitch becomes higher

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c. c. light becomes bluer

d. light becomes redder

Why was John Glenn such an appealing candidate?

America loved him and his personality.

Venus's topography has been maped from space and Earth,

using radar pulses.

Mercury has the greatest Temperature extremes of any

planet.

Using Brahe's precise observations, discovered three laws of

planetary motion.
a. Aristotle
b. b. Kepler
c. c. Hipparchus
d. Copernicus

Mars's polar caps are made of Water ice covered with a think
layer of frozen

Uranus's moon Miranda has a greater variety

of Landforms than any solar system body yet examined.

Uranus's rings were discovered when Uranus passed in front of a distant star
and blocked its view.
a. True
b. False

Brahe's observations, especially of , were far more precise than

any made previously.
a. Earth
b. b. Mercury
c. c. Mars
d. Venus

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When is the moon nearest to Earth during its orbit?

a. at apogee
b. b. at perihelion
c. c. during an eclipse
d. during perigee

List the four main differences between the terrestrial and Jovian planets.
Size, Density, Chemical Makeup, Rate of rotation

To escape from a planet's gravity, an object must reach a speed called

the escape velocity .

Copernicus developed a model of the solar system with the

sun at the center.

What are the outermost group of planets called?

Jovian

Chuck Yeager wasn't chosen to be an astronaut. Why not?

He didn't go to college.

One piece of evidence that there was once water on Mars is that some areas
have drainage patterns similar to those made by Streams on
Earth.

How can you show that visible light is made up of many different
wavelengths?
A spectrum is produced when sunlight or visible light is passed
through a prism, which bends each wavelength at different
angles.

Different electromagnetic waves travel through vacuum at different speeds.

a. True
b. False
Why is an understanding of light important to astronomers?

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Scientists can better understand the nature of more distant

objects in space.

What unusual feature does Saturn's moon Titan share with Neptune's moon
Triton?
They both have substantial atmospheres.

What does the retrograde motion of Neptune's moon Triton indicate about its
origin?
Triton formed independently of Neptune and was gravitationally
captured.

Describe the heliocentric model of the universe.

The sun is at the center of the solar system and the planets orbit
the sun.

What are Jupiter's rings made up of?

Fine, dark particles, similar in size to smoke particles.

Why is it unlikely that life as we know it exists on Venus?

High temperatures, Atmosphere 97 percent Carbon Dioxide,
Atmospheric pressure 90 times that of Earth.

What was the most important accomplishment of the Apollo moon missions?
Landing on the moon and collecting data and samples from the
moon's surface.

How would geometry and trigonometry have been useful to early

astronomers?
These would have provided a method of approximating sizes and
distances.

Describe how Eratosthenes measured the size of Earth.

He observed and calculated the difference between the angles of
the noonday sun in two cities.

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List three accomplishments of Hipparchus.

Star catalog, measured length of year, developed method for
predicting lunar eclipses.

Why do auroras occur near the polar regions instead of other locations on
Earth?
The ionized particles in the solar flares are attracted to the north
and south magnetic poles of Earth's magnetic field.The ions follow
the magnetic field lines because a force is generated when they
move with some component perpendicular to the lines, and the
field lines mostly reach Earth at the magnetic poles.

Is Mars a terrestrial planet or a Jovian planet?

terrestrial

What is an orbiting observatory?

An orbiting observatory is research satellite, designed for the
study or observation of distant stars, planets, galaxies or similar
objects.

What are the groups of substances that make up the planets?

Minerals, Metals, Gases

Saturn has large cyclonic storms similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
a. True
b. False

What will happen to the Sun before it dies and how does it affect Mercury
and Venus?
Before the sun dies it will expand, when this happens it will
consume Mercury and Venus.

List the four main parts of the sun.

solar interior, photosphere, chromosphere, corona

A series of bright lines of particular wavelengths is called

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a(n) emission spectrum.

A band of color with a series of dark lines running through it is called

a(n) Absorption spectrum.

How long did Alan Shepherd's flight, the first manned U.S. spacecraft, last?
15 minutes

Give two reasons why the Jovian planets have much thicker atmospheres
than the terrestrial planets.
greater escape velocities, cooler temperature

How did the United States react when they found out that the Russians put a
man in space before they did.
Angry, Jealous, Inspired

Who believed he was the best pilot you ever saw?

Gordon Cooper

How were the large canyons on Mars thought to have formed?

Slippage of material along huge faults in the crustal layer.

What were the spacecraft modifications the astronauts demanded?

A hatch with explosive bolts and a window.

What did a pilot have to do to be memorialized on Pancho's wall?

He had to die.

Describe the forces responsible for keeping the planets in orbit around the
sun. Make sure to appropriately use the words: inertia, angular momentum,
and gravity. What scientist is responsible for developing the ideas and
models to explain this?
Planetary orbits are created by a balance between angular
centripetal forces and the gravitational pull of the moon. Inertia is
the force of an object in motion that keeps it in motion unless
acted upon by another force.

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Name four ways in which Mercury is similar to the moon and two ways in
which it is different.
It absorbs most of the sunlight that strikes it and reflects only 6
percent back into space. It has cratered highlands and smooth
terrains that resemble maria. It is about the same size as the
moon. Differences are Mercury is much denser than the moon and
has very long scarps that cut across the plains and craters alike.

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