Grade 9 astromony test

Question 1

define Astronomical Unit

Answer 1

approx. 150 million km; distance from earth to sun

Question 2

define Astronomy

Answer 2

the scientific study of whats beyond earth

Question 3

Define Black hole

Answer 3

an extremely dense quantity of matter in space from which no light or matter can escape

Question 4

define comet

Answer 4

a chunk of ice and dust that travels in an long orbit around the sun

Question 5

define costellation

Answer 5

a grouping of stars seen from earth

Question 6

define eclipse

Answer 6

a darkening of a celestial object to the postion of another celestial object

Question 7

what is the sun

Answer 7

a medium sized star

Question 8

what is a planet

Answer 8

a large celestial object that travels around a star

Question 9

what are the 8 planets that travel in our solar system in order

Answer 9

mercury
venus
earth
mars
jupiter
saturn
Uranus 
neptune

Question 10

What are the terms of a planet

Answer 10

size, composition, atmosphere, length of day

Question 11

are planets luminous

Answer 11

no, the refect light, they do not give off light

Question 12

what is a moon

Answer 12

a satellite , 4 times smaller then earth

Question 13

what is a galaxy

Answer 13

a huge collection of stars, gas, dust and planets

Question 14

what is our galaxy

Answer 14

the milky way

Question 15

where are the dwarf planets

Answer 15

a region of outer solar system known as Kuiper belt

Question 16

composition of asteroid belt and location

Answer 16

rock and metal, orbits around mars and jupiter

Question 17

what are meteor/ids/ites made of

Answer 17

a piece of rock or metal

Question 18

What was the theory called that believed that earth was the center of the solar system

Answer 18

geocentric

Question 19

Our current model of the solar system is called

Answer 19

heliocentic

Question 20

who proved the heliocentric model?

Answer 20

Galileo Galiee

Question 21

Why do we have day and night on earth

Answer 21

because of the rotation of the earth

Question 22

why do we have seasons?

Answer 22

because of the axis earth is on

Question 23

what is a solstice

Answer 23

an astronomical event that occurs 2 times each year when the tilt of the earths axis is most inclined toward or away from the sun , causing the position of the sun in the sky to appear to reach its northernmost or southern most extreme

Question 24

whats an equinox

Answer 24

the time of year when the hours of daylight equal the hours of darkness

Question 25

In 120000 years which star will the earth be pointing to

Answer 25

Vegas

Question 26

What is retrograde motion

Answer 26

the apparent motion of an object in the sky, usually a planet, from east to west, rather than its normal motion from west to east.

Question 27

what rays does the sun give off

Answer 27

electromagnetic waves, consist of X-rays, Gamma Rays and visible light rays.

Question 28

What is nuclear fusion

Answer 28

is the process where two atoms of hydrogen fuse together to form an atom of heluim

Question 29

what are the 6 layers of the sun

Answer 29

thermonuclear core, radioactive zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona

Question 30

which is the hottest part of the sun

Answer 30

core

Question 31

coldest part of the sun

Answer 31

corona

Question 32

how many days does it take for the sun to make one full revolution

Answer 32

25 days

Question 33

define sunspots

Answer 33

Darker cooler area's on the photosphere cause by the disturbances in the suns magnetic field.

Question 34

define solar flare

Answer 34

found near sunspots, release of large quantities of gas & charged particles.

Question 35

Define solar prominence

Answer 35

slow, low energy, gas ejection zones traveling through the corona

Question 36

how much is one au

Answer 36

150000000km

Question 37

what is a lunar eclipse

Answer 37

when the sun, earth and moon are alined and the earth casts a shadow over the moon.

Question 38

whats a solar eclipse

Answer 38

when the moon is the in middle casting a shadow on the earth

Question 39

where are high tides

Answer 39

facing the moon and oppisate of the moon

Question 40

where are low tides

Answer 40

on the opisate 2 sides of the moon

Question 41

what are the 8 phases of the moon in order

Answer 41

first quarter, waxing cresent, new, waning crescent, third quarter, waning gibbous, full , waxing gibbous

Question 42

what are the characteristics of stars

Answer 42

colour, temperature, size, and brightness

Question 43

whats the chemical compostion of most stars

Answer 43

helium

Question 44

what does hot colour mean

Answer 44

cold

Question 45

what does blue colour mean

Answer 45

hot

Question 46

what are the 2 factors to determine how bright a star looks from earth

Answer 46

apparent and absolute

Question 47

what does apparent mean

Answer 47

seen from earth

Question 48

what does absolute mean

Answer 48

brightness of a star would have if all stars were the same

Question 49

what are 2 things an astronomer measure to calculate a star/s absolute brightness

Answer 49

distance and luminosity

Question 50

a light year us equal to

Answer 50

9.46 x 10 to the power of 12 km

Question 51

how old is our sun

Answer 51

5 billion years old

Question 52

what are the 4 main types of galaxies

Answer 52

elliptical, spiral, lenticular, irregular