Name Date Class

The Scale of the UniverseWrite the letter of the correct answer on the line at the left.

  1. ___ In space, light travels at a speed ofabout 300,000,000 m/s. Which expressesthat speed correctly in scientific notation?

A 300,000 km/s

B 3 × 109 m/s

C 3 × 108 m/s

D 3 × 107 m/s

  3. ___ After six months, an astronomernotices that star A moves a greaterdistance than star B. Which conclusion iscorrect?

A star A is closer than star B.

B star A and star B are equally far away.

C star A is farther away than star B.

D More observations are necessary todetermine which star is farther away.

  2. ___ A star is 9 × 1012 meters from Earth.What is that number in expanded form?

A 900,000,000,000 meters

B 9,000,000,000,000 meters

C 90,000,000,000,000 meters

D 9.0 × 1012 meters

  4. ___ A star looks like it’s located one placein the sky in January and a different placein June. What is this phenomenon called?

A a light-year

B parallax

C refraction

D scientific notation

Fill in the blank to complete each statement. WORD BANK: scientific notation, distance, universe, parallax, position, light-year

  5. _______________________________________ uses powers of ten to write very large orvery small numbers in shorter form.

  6. The _____________ is made up of all of space and everything in it.

  7. A light-year is a measure of _____________.

  8. Astronomers use _____________ to measure the distance to stars that are within several hundred light-years of Earth.

  9. The distance light travels through space in a year is one _____________.

10. Parallax is the apparent change of _____________ of an object when you look at it from different places.

Name Date Class

Gravity and Motion

Weight in the Solar System

Each object in the solar system has a different mass and diameter. As a result, you would have a differentweight on the moon than on Mars or on earth. Use the table below to calculate a person’s weight onthe surfaces of some solar system objects. In the case of the sun, you’ll have to use your imagination.It’s really impossible to stand on the sun’s gaseous surface. For your calculations, use the example of anastronaut who weighs 150 pounds on earth. In your calculations, use newtons instead of pounds. Onepound is about equal to 4.5 newtons.

To find your weight on the surface of each object, multiply your weight on earth by the proportionof earth’s gravity for each object. Enter your weight on each object into the table.

Solar System Object Proportion of

Earth’s Gravity

Weight on Surface

Moon 0.165

Venus 0.905

Mars 0.379

Pluto 0.059

Sun 274

  1. Which object has a much higher gravitational attraction than Earth?

  2. On which object would you weigh the least? Why do you think this is so?

  3. Could you jump higher on Venus or on Mars?

4. Image that the sun contracted to a smaller volume. How would thisaffect the gravitational force on its surface?

Read the passage and complete the table below. Then use a separate sheet of paperto answer the questions that follow.

Name Date Class

Characteristics of StarsUse the H-R diagram on the right to answer questions 1–5. Write your answers in thespaces provided.

  1. Star _____________ has the greatest absolutebrightness.

  2. Star _____________ has the greatest surfacetemperature.

  3. Stars B, C, D, and E are probably _____________ _____________ stars.

  4. Star F is probably a(n) __________________________ star.

Fill in the blank to complete each statement. Word bank: Mass, Inertia, Weight, Gravity, Masses, upper, less than, greater than, color, brighter

5. The amount of matter in an object is its _____________.

6. _____________ attracts all objects toward each other.

7. An object with greater _____________ is more difficult to stop or start.

8. The _____________ of two objects and their distance from each other determine the gravitational force between them.

9. The measure of the force of gravity on an object is the object’s _____________.

10. On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the star in the _____________ left corner will have the highest absolute brightness and surface temperature.

11. A star is closer to Earth than the standard distance that is used to measure absolute brightness. Its apparent brightness is ___________________________________ its absolute brightness.

12. Stars A and B have the same absolute brightness and are far from Earth. Star A is twice as far away as Star B. Star A’s apparent brightness is _________________ Star B’s apparent brightness.

13. A star’s surface temperature and its _____________ are directly related.

14. Larger stars usually appear _____________ than smaller stars.

Name Date Class

Lives of Stars

  1. ___ Red giant or supergiant

  2. ___ Where nuclear fusion begins

  3. ___ Part of a nebula

  4. ___ White dwarf, neutron star, or black hole

  5. ___ The stage the sun is in

Write the letter of the correct answer on the line at the left.

1. ___ A pulsar is a spinning

A black hole

B neutron star

C supernova

D white dwarf

3. ___ What determines the life cycle ofa star?

A gravity

B the type of protostar

C its mass

D its temperature

2. ___ Which progression do astronomersexpect our sun to follow as it runs outof fuel?

A red giant, white dwarf

B red giant, neutron star

C supergiant, supernova, white dwarf

D supergiant, supernova, black hole

4. ___ When is a star born?

A when the nebula starts spinning

B when gas and dust start to contract

C when X-rays get emitted

D when nuclear fusion starts

Fill in the blank to complete each statement. Word Bank: black holes, nebula, pulsar, supernova, white dwarf, neutron star

Understanding Main IdeasFill in each blank with the correct letter from the diagram.

  5. Since no electromagnetic radiation escapes from ______________, astronomers locate them by looking for X-rays from gas accelerating toward them.

  6. An explosion that occurs at the end of a massive star’s life is a(n) _____________.  7. A(n) _____________ is a large cloud of gas and dust in space.  8. A low- or medium-mass star becomes a(n) ________________________at the end of its life.  9. A(n) _____________ appears to emit regular bursts of radio waves.10. A(n) ______________ forms from the leftover material from a supernova; it may contain as much as

three times the mass of the sun.

The Sun

7. ___ solar flare

8. ___ core

9. ___ chromosphere

10. ___ sunspot

11. ___ corona

12. ___ nuclear fusion

a. layer of the sun’s atmosphere that gives off visible light

b. layer of the sun’s atmosphere that has a reddish glow

c. layer of the sun’s atmosphere that looks like a halo during an eclipse

d. areas of gas on the sun’s surface that are cooler than the areas around them

e. eruptions that occur when the loops in sunspot regions suddenly connect

Understanding Main IdeasLabel the diagram of the sun below.

Building Vocabulary

Match each term with its definition by writing the letter of the correct definition in theright column on the line beside the term in the left column.

13. ___ photosphere

14. ___ solar wind

15. ___ convection zone

f. stream of electrical particles from the sun

g. center of the sun

h. outermost layer of the sun’s interior

i. joining of hydrogen atoms to form helium

The SunWrite the letter of the correct answer on the line at the left.

  1. ___ Areas of gas on the sun’s surface thatare cooler than the gases around themare

A solar flares

B sunspots

C solar wind

D prominences

  3. ___ Huge loops of gas that link differentparts of sunspot regions are

A solar flares

B supra-sunspots

C solar wind

D prominences

  2. ___ Large eruptions of gas from the sunout into space are

A solar flares

B sunspots

C solar wind

D prominences

  4. ___ The sun produces energy through

A fission

B fusion

C photovoltaic cells

D photosynthesis

Fill in the blank to complete each statement. WORD BANK: radiation zone, hydrogen chromosphere, photosphere, solar wind, auroras

 5. The sun’s layers, from innermost to outermost, are the core,___________, and convection zone.

  6. You see the _____________ when you look at an image of the sun.

  7. You see the middle layer of the sun’s atmosphere, the _____________, at the start and end of a total eclipse.

  8. The corona sends out a stream of charged particles called the ___________________.

  9. The solar wind can interact with Earth’s magnetic field to create powerful electriccurrents that cause _____________ near the poles.

10. About three fourths of the sun’s mass is _____________.