Astronomy B Final Review

If NASA and SpaceX stay on schedule with their plans to send humans to Mars, a person born in 2002 will be _____ years old when the first humans land on the red planet.

• 62

• 48

• 32

• 28

When our planet makes a complete revolution around our axis, we call it a “day.” What is the term used for the same instance on Mars?

• mach

• turn

• cycle

• sol

What is the name of the rover that MOST recently was active on Mars?

• Sojourner

• Opportunity

• Spirit

• Curiosity

What is one way the Earth releases carbon dioxide naturally into the air?

• plant decomposition

• volcanic eruptions

• rock formation

• El Niño events

How many degrees is the current tilt of the Earth’s axis?

• 2.5

• 23.5

• 94.8

• 172.3

Why is harvesting rice becoming a potential threat to Earth’s climate?

• More rice farmers are using heavy machinery that pollutes the air.

• Bacteria from the rice soil releases methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.

• Rice becomes chemically unstable if not tended to properly.

• Rice cultivation leaves the ground open to dangerous weather events.

What almost forced the Apollo crew to abort their mission?

• Communication was lost for an uncomfortable length of time during landing.

• The computer’s hard drive was overheating.

• The computer systems were holding too much information.

• The spacecraft’s system restarted too quickly.

The new memory-driven computer being developed by NASA and Hewlett Packard Enterprises is lightweight, hundreds of times faster than today’s most advanced computers, and is designed to hold one of the most advanced artificial intelligences.

• True

• False

A modern day smartphone has more computing power than the four computers that sent the Apollo mission to the Moon.

• True

• False

What was the average speed of the first flight of a powered airplane?

• 1 foot per second

• 10 feet per second

• 100 feet per second

• 1000 feet per second