Deck 1: Here and Now

Question 1

Our Solar System formed 14 billion years ago with the Big Bang.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Uranus is approximately 3 × 10⁹ km away from the Sun. What is the distance in astronomical units?

A) 1 AU
B) 2 AU
C) 10 AU
D) 15 AU
E) 20 AU

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which is the correct order of the planets, moving from closest to the Sun to farthest from the Sun?

A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus
B) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
C) Venus, Mercury, Mars, Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus
D) Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
E) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Scientists try to form hypotheses that explain how nature works.

Question 5

Approximately how long does it take light to reach the Earth from the Sun?

A) 1 min
B) 8 min
C) 1 ly
D) 8 ly
E) 1 AU

Question 6

Uranus is one of a group of dwarf planets and other small objects that have been discovered circling the Sun beyond Neptune.

Question 7

A convenient method to write very large numbers is to use scientific notation.

Question 8

The scientific method is a simple, mechanical way of grinding facts into understanding.

Question 9

You need to drive to a research site to collect some samples. The site is 250 miles away. What is the approximate distance in kilometers?

A) 250 km
B) 106 km
C) 400 km
D) 500 km
E) 156 km

Question 10

The most widely accepted system of measurement is the metric system.

Question 11

Earth is approximately 13,000 km in diameter.

Question 12

What did the International Astronomical Union classify Pluto as in 2006?

A) asteroid
B) comet
C) planet
D) dwarf planet
E) meteor

Question 13

A planet is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity.

Question 14

Jupiter is located approximately 5.2 AU away from the Sun. What is the distance in kilometers?

A) 3.7 × 10⁷ km
B) 5.2 × 10⁸ km
C) 1.4 × 10⁹ km
D) 7.8 × 10⁸ km
E) 8.0 × 10⁸ km

Question 15

Which best represents 5,362,000,000 kilometers in scientific notation?

A) 5.4 × 10⁹ m
B) 5 × 10¹⁰ km
C) 53.6 × 10⁶ km
D) 5.362 × 10⁹ mi
E) 5.362 × 10⁹ km

Question 16

What is Earth's distance from the Sun?

A) 0.39 AU
B) 0.72 AU
C) 1.0 AU
D) 1.5 AU
E) 2.8 AU

Question 17

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are only located at a distance of 1 AU or less from the Sun.

Question 18

You are analyzing driveway lengths within your neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, and your data is to be presented to the city council. Which would be the most appropriate unit of measurement?

A) miles
B) kilometers
C) meters
D) inches
E) feet millimeters

Question 19

Humanity is very new to the Universe.

Question 20

The Universe consists of the Sun, its family of planets, and some smaller bodies such as moons, asteroids, and comets.

Question 21

The star Wolf 359 is 7.7 light years away. What is that distance in kilometers?

A) 7.7 × 10⁸ km
B) 14 × 10¹³ km
C) 0.78 × 10⁸ km
D) 7.28 × 10¹³ km
E) 7.28 × 10¹² km

Question 22

The discovery that whether peas are smooth or wrinkled is an inherited trait was made by _________.

A) Einstein
B) Hubble
C) Mendel
D) Hershel
E) Bohr

Question 24

Which list is in order of increasing size?

A) star, planet, galaxy, solar system, Universe
B) planet, star, solar system, galaxy, Universe
C) planet, star, solar system, Universe, galaxy
D) star, planet, galaxy, Universe, solar system
E) planet, galaxy, solar system, star, Universe

Question 25

What process do scientists use to determine how nature works?

A) The observational method
B) The scientific method
C) The brainstorming method
D) The laboratory method
E) The naturalistic method

Question 26

Which of these planets is just 0.39 AU from the Sun?

A) Jupiter
B) Mars
C) Earth
D) Venus
E) Mercury

Question 27

Why are extrasolar planets difficult to detect?

A) They are generally small.
B) They are faint.
C) They are too close to the glare of their respective parent star.
D) all of these

Question 28

Which of these planets is approximately the same size as Earth?

A) Venus
B) Mars
C) Saturn
D) Mercury
E) Pluto

Question 29

You discover a new star that is 352,800 AU away. What is the distance in light years?

A) 5.6 ly
B) 2.3 ly
C) 63 ly
D) 3.53 ly
E) 2.22 × 10² ly

Question 30

What unit of measurement is used to describe extraordinary large distances, such as the distance of other stars from our own?

A) AU
B) min
C) ly
D) km
E) mi

Question 31

Explain how the scientific notation of 4.52 × 10 ⁸ is the same as 452 × 10 ⁶ .

Question 32

Figure 1
What does the above image (Figure 1) represent?

A) Universe
B) galaxy
C) planet
D) Solar System
E) extrasolar planet

Question 33

Figure 1
In Figure 1, what is the pointer indicating?

A) extrasolar planet
B) Solar System
C) spiral arm
D) dwarf planets
E) galaxy

Question 34

Since Mars is 1.5 AU from the Sun, how long would it take for sunlight to reach the surface of Mars?

A) 4 min
B) 8 min
C) 12 min
D) 1 hr
E) 4 hr

Question 35

What is the Sun made up of?

A) rock
B) metal
C) ice
D) hot gas
E) water

Question 36

What is the very first step of the scientific method?

A) Design an experiment.
B) Form a hypothesis.
C) Analyze results.
D) Generate a conclusion.
E) Perform an experiment.

Question 37

The Big Bang is a theory describing the ____.

A) birth of our Solar System
B) start of civilization on Earth
C) beginning of planet formation
D) beginning of the Universe
E) massive extinction of dinosaurs

Question 38

When did life first appear on Earth?

A) 14 billion years ago
B) 400 million years ago
C) 4.6 billion years ago
D) 65 million years ago
E) 3.4 billion years ago

Question 39

The size of a star's image in a photo tells you how _______________ the star appears.

Question 40

The celestial object _______________ is just one of many small objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune.

Question 41

The formation of our _______________ occurred about 4.6 billion years ago.

Question 42

Astronomers refer to the beginning of the Universe as the _______________.

Question 43

Using the example of a football field, indicate the beginning of the Universe, the beginning of our Solar System and the beginning of civilization as we know it along the field in whatever terminology you are familiar with.

Question 44

As Earth _______________ on its axis, it produces the cycle of day and night.

Question 45

It is a common misconception that a light-year is a unit of _______________.

Question 46

What is the scientific method?

Question 47

The _______________contains all of the galaxies, solar systems, stars, and planets.

Question 48

Explain the difference between a galaxy and a solar system.

Question 49

Why do we study astronomy?

Question 50

Galaxies are held together by the ___________ force acting on its matter.

Question 51

Why do scientists use the scientific method?

Question 52

Astronomers use _______________ to express distance from the Sun.

Question 53

What are the planets of our Solar System in order from closest to farthest from the Sun?

Question 54

Our Solar System resides in the _______________ Galaxy.

Question 55

The Universe is too big to discuss distance without using _______________.