Space and Astronomy Pretest HONORS

What is true when looking at distant galaxies and stars?

• They appear equally bright
• You are looking into the future
• You are looking back in time
• You are seeing reflections from the Milky Way

Which qualities best describes the universe just before the Big Bang?

• very small, hot, dense
• very big, hot, not dense
• very small, cool, dense
• very big, cool, not dense

Which of these are part of an atomic nucleus?

• proton, neutron
• electron
• proton, electron
• proton, neutron, electron

What does The Big Bang Theory model predict about the ratio of lighter elements to heaver elements?

• less of the lighter elements, more of the heavier of elements
• more of the lighter elements, less of the heavier of elements
• an equal distribution of lighter and heavier elements
• more of the heavier elements in the early universe which become lighter over time

Which statement BEST summarizes The Big Bang Theory?

• whole universe began as a black hole and rapidly expanded, but is now collapsing
• whole universe began as a cool dense point and rapidly collasped, but is now expanding
• whole universe began as a hot dense point, rapidly expanded, and continues to expand
• the whole universe began as a hot dense point and rapidly expanded, but is now collapsing

Think about the ways has our understanding of the universe changed in the last 500 years. Which of the statements are FALSE when completing this is sentence, "We have discovered..."

• entire galaxies of stars & planets beyond our own
• a 3K background radiation can be found throughout the entire universe
• the universe is expanding
• the meaning of life

If a hypothetical space traveler today were ALREADY 500 light years away, what would he or she see looking back on Earth?

• societies of people in medieval times
• pretty much the same thing you'd see today
• lots of clouds from future global warming
• dinosaurs!

Your science teacher tells you to go home and look for the Andromeda Galaxy. It is our closest galaxy 2.5 million light years away. Which statement is true about time and light?

• You are looking into the future! light from 2.5 million years in the future
• You are looking back in time! light from 2.5 million years ago
• You are seeing the brightest galaxy in the sky
• You are looking back in time! light from 5 million years ago

Which statement is true about our understanding of atoms of the past and today?

• The first atoms were complex, and have remained complex
• The first atoms were simple, and have since fused into more complex varieties
• We know nothing about the first atoms
• The first atoms were complex, and have since broken apart into hundreds of varieties

What is the name of our galaxy?

• Local Group
• Orion
• Andromeda
• Milky Way