Deck 1: Here and Now

Question 1

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

Answer 1

False

Question 2

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

Answer 2

400 km

Question 3

Uranus is approximately 3 x 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 3

20 AU

Question 4

Humanity is very new to the Universe.

Question 5

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

Question 6

Scientists try to form hypotheses that explain how nature works.

Question 7

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 8

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 9

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

Question 10

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

Question 11

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

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

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 15

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

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

Question 16

Earth is approximately 13,000 km in diameter.

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

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

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

Question 20

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 22

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 23

Figure 1-11 (for the following questions)
What does the above image represent?

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

Question 24

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 25

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

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

Question 26

Astronomers use _______________ to express distance from the Sun.

Question 27

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

Question 28

Figure 1-11 (for the following questions)
In Figure 1, what is the pointer indicating?

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

Question 29

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

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

Question 30

What is the scientific method?

Question 31

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 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

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 36

What is the Sun made up of?

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

Question 37

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

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

Question 38

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 x 10² ly

Question 39

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 40

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

Question 41

Why do we study astronomy?

Question 42

Our Solar System resides in the _______________ Galaxy.

Question 43

Why do scientists use the scientific method?

Question 44

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

Question 45

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 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

Explain the difference between a galaxy and a solar system.

Question 49

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

Question 50

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