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Astronomy Study Guide



True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false.
 

1. 

As seen from Earth, the planets continually travel eastward through the stars.
 

2. 

All planets revolve about the Sun in the same direction.
 

3. 

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a huge region of reddish rock.
 

4. 

Saturn is the only planet with rings.
 

5. 

Neptune is the most massive planet in our solar system.
 

6. 

The Sun is composed mostly of hydrogen.
 

7. 

According to the solar nebula theory of the formation of the solar system, the planets should be different ages.
 

8. 

Blue stars have higher surface temperatures than yellow stars.
 

9. 

Nebulae are the birth places of stars.
 

10. 

Low mass stars shine longer than high mass stars.
 

11. 

A black hole is the final state of a low mass star.
 

12. 

A light year is a long time.
 

13. 

Light from approaching sources is red-shifted.
 

14. 

The most distant objects are travelling away from us at the fastest speed.
 

15. 

Hubble's Law states that galaxies further away from us are moving more slowly than the galaxies that are close to us.
 

Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

16. 

The solar system is comprised of ...
a.
the Sun and the stars.
c.
the Sun and all objects orbiting it.
b.
the Sun and its planets.
d.
Earth and the Moon.
 

17. 

Most asteroids are found orbiting the Sun ...
a.
between (the orbits of) Mars and Jupiter.
c.
inside Mercury's orbit.
b.
on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.
d.
twice as far from Earth as the Moon is.
 

18. 

How many gas giants are in our solar system?
a.
1
c.
3
b.
2
d.
4
 

19. 

People in rural areas see more stars. The most likely explanation for this is that ...
a.
there is more light pollution in cities, which obscures our view of the stars.
c.
rural areas are in higher altitudes.
b.
rural areas are cooler.
d.
stars are not evenly distributed about Earth.
 

20. 

The colour of a star is most closely related to the star's...
a.
surface temperature.
c.
mass.
b.
size.
d.
distance from Earth.
 

21. 

According to the solar nebula theory, the Sun and solar system began from ...
a.
a large black hole.
c.
a white hole.
b.
a large cloud of dust and gas (a nebula).
d.
a meteor collision.
 

22. 

According to the solar nebula theory, matter was drawn into the centre of the nebula by ...
a.
gravity
c.
centrifugal force
b.
electrostatic attraction
d.
radiation pressure
 

23. 

A light year is the ...
a.
distance light travels in a year.
c.
distance from the Sun to Earth.
b.
distance Earth travels in a year
d.
time for light to travel across the solar system.
 

24. 

Globular clusters are groups of hundreds of thousands of ...
a.
atoms
c.
stars
b.
planets
d.
galaxies
 

25. 

The spectral lines of a star cannot be used to determine ...
a.
the star's chemical composition.
c.
the star's motion toward or away from us.
b.
whether the star has planets.
d.
the star's speed
 

26. 

What will the spectrum of a star moving away from Earth show?
a.
red-shifted lines
c.
faint lines
b.
violet-shifted lines
d.
blurred lines
 

Matching
 
 
Celestial bodies and features:  Match the terms with their correct descriptions.
a.
a black hole
e.
helium
b.
supernova
f.
carbon
c.
nebula
g.
white dwarf
d.
hydrogen
h.
red giant
 

27. 

Region of dust and gas
 

28. 

The most common element in stars
 

29. 

The last glowing stage of a low mass star
 

30. 

Stellar explosion
 

31. 

Element forming in our Sun
 

32. 

Tiny, very massive object with very high gravity -- not even light can escape.
 
 
Match the process with its description
a.
surface temperature
d.
stellar mass
b.
fusion
e.
energy production
c.
gravity
 

33. 

pulls dust and gas together
 

34. 

determines a star's colour
 

35. 

creates energy
 

36. 

keeps the star from collapsing
 

37. 

determines a star's final stages
 
 
Match the description with the part of the diagram
(note: i = a, ii = b, iii = c, iv = d, v = e)
images/i0430000.jpg
 

38. 

luminosity
 

39. 

main sequence
 

40. 

red dwarf
 

41. 

red supergiant
 

42. 

temperature/colour
 
 
Match the items below with their correct descriptions
a.
celestial body
g.
planet
b.
celestial sphere
h.
moon
c.
asterism
i.
asteroid
d.
constellation
j.
meteor
e.
solar system
k.
meteorite
f.
star
l.
comet
 

43. 

a distinctive star pattern
 

44. 

a small celestial body that orbits the Suna nd has a bright nucleus and a fainter tail.
 

45. 

an imaginary sphere once thought to enclose the universe adn in which the planets and stars seem to be fastened.
 

46. 

the Sun and all of the celestial bodies that revolve around it.
 

47. 

a celestial body that orbits a planet
 

48. 

any of the millions of chunks of rock orbitting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
 

49. 

a celestial body that orbits a star and does not produce its own light.
 

50. 

the remnant of a meteor that does not burn up completely in Earth's atmosphere.
 

51. 

the collective term for the Sun, Moon, stars, planets, natural satellites and comets.
 

52. 

a celestial body which can produce light through fusion.
 

53. 

a solid body that enters Earth's atmosphere from outer space, becoming hot and bright because of friction with the atmosphere.
 

54. 

the sky has been divided into distinct regions called ___________, each of which is named a distinct star pattern found within the region.
 
 
Match the items below with their correct descriptions
a.
open cluster
e.
peculiar galaxy
b.
globular cluster
f.
luminosity
c.
spiral galaxy
g.
brightness
d.
elliptical galaxy
 

55. 

a collection of 100 000 to a million stars arranged in a spherical shape.
 

56. 

a collection fo 50 to 1 000 stars
 

57. 

the amount of light a star appears to be giving off.
 

58. 

galaxies with a lot of stars and no extra dust or gas
 

59. 

the amount of energy a star is actually giving off.
 

60. 

the Milky Way is an example
 

61. 

galaxies that do not fit in the other categories
 
 
Match the ending state with the type of star
a.
black dwarf
d.
black hole
b.
white dwarf
e.
red giant
c.
neutron star
f.
planetary nebula
 

62. 

the final stage of massive stars whose remaining core is 1.4 to 3 times the size of our Sun.
 

63. 

intermediate mass stars become this type of star when they are undergoing helium fusion
 

64. 

low mass stars and intermediate mass stars both become glowing embers called ___________ at the end of their lives.
 

65. 

the hot inner region of an intermediate mass star after stellar wind have blown away the outer gas layer.
 

66. 

the final stage of intermediate mass stars and low mass stars
 

67. 

the final stage of massive stars whose remaining core is more than 3 times the size of our Sun
 
 
Match the items below with their correct descriptions
a.
solar prominence
c.
solar flare
b.
sun spot
d.
solar wind
 

68. 

streams of electrically charged protons and electrons discharged by the Sun which hit the Earth to cause the Aurora Borealis
 

69. 

a large eruption of glowing gas that forms an arc across the Sun's surface
 

70. 

high temperature eruption of gases from the Sun's surface
 

71. 

a region on the Sun that is cooler and hterefore looks darker than its surroundings.
 



 
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