Earth in Space

Which of the following types of galaxies have disk-like arm structures that surround a central bulge?

• lenticular

• elliptical

• spiral

Answer explanation

A spiral galaxy, such as the Milky Way, has a hot, spherical bulge at its center and is surrounded by a disk of spiral-like arms made mostly of gas, dust, and younger stars. Bars that span the spiral arms are present in some barred, spiral galaxies.

Of the following, which color star has the highest surface temperature?

• Blue
• White
• Yellow
• Red

Answer explanation

Blue stars have the highest surface temperatures, at over 50,000 K.

If there is a first-quarter moon tonight, how many days will pass until the next full moon?

• 7 days

• 21 days

• 14days

• 28 days

Answer explanation

A first-quarter moon occurs between a new moon and a full moon. A lunar cycle is 28 days. It takes ¼ of a lunar cycle, or 7 days, for the moon to progress from a first-quarter moon to a full moon.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Which of the following stars will go through a red giant phase after its hydrogen is gone?

• only low-mass stars

• stars of all sizes

• only stars that will eventually form black holes

• only high-mass stars

Answer explanation

Stars of all sizes go through a red giant phase. When the hydrogen is burned, but the star is not hot enough to burn helium, gravitational effects take over and the star cools and shrinks leaving a large shell of helium. The helium ignites and the star becomes a red giant.

When the ______ is burned, but the star is not hot enough to burn helium, gravitational effects take over and the star cools and shrinks leaving a large shell of helium.

• neon
• hydrogen
• oxygen
• carbon

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-1

Which of the following statements regarding meteorites is true?

• Meteorites are mainly composed of gas

• Meteorites are meteors that strike the Earth

• Meteorites are located at the center of the universe

• Meteorites are comets that have fallen out of their orbit

Answer explanation

Not all meteors reach the Earth. Those that make it through the atmosphere and strike the Earth are called meteorites.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble measured the redshift of several galaxies and determined that galaxies farther away from Earth have a greater redshift. Which of the following best describes why this observation led to the Big Bang theory?

• It implied an oscillating universe that expands and shrinks.

• It implied that the early universe was very dark but an explosion made it brighter.

• It implied an expanding universe that started as only a single point.

• It implied that the early universe was once very hot and now glows red.

Answer explanation

A redshift indicates that a light source is moving away from an observer. Distant galaxies, with the greater redshift, must be moving away from the Earth faster than nearby stars, indicating an expanding universe. If the universe expanded throughout its existence, it would have started with a sudden expansion from a single point, which we call the Big Bang.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

What is a red giant phase?

• A red giant phase is when a star collapses into a black hole.
• The red giant phase occurs when a star is in its main sequence stage.
• A red giant phase is characterized by the star's core fusing helium into hydrogen.
• The red giant phase is a stage in a star's evolution characterized by expansion and cooling of the outer layers after hydrogen fusion in the core ceases.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-1

NGSS.HS-ESS1-3

The tilt of the Earth causes

• gravitational attraction.

• magnetic fields.

• the tides.

• the seasons.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Match the following

• gas

• outer planet

• Saturn

• planet with rings

• Mercury

• smallest planet

• rocks

• inner planet

• Jupiter

• largest planet