Ben Oppenheimer: Planet Hunter

According to the passage, what does an astrophysicist study?

• The history of life on Earth

• The nature of stars and planets

• How to build spacecraft

• Weather patterns on Earth

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CCSS.RI.5.2

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What are exoplanets, as defined in the passage?

• Planets inside our solar system

• Moons that orbit Earth

• Planets that circle stars other than our sun

• Stars without any planets

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CCSS.RI.5.2

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Which statement best explains why visiting the nearest extrasolar planet is not possible?

• It is only a few miles away, so it changes position too quickly.

• It is about 25 trillion miles from Earth, which is far beyond current travel ability.

• It has no surface for people to land on.

• It is hidden behind our moon most of the time.

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CCSS.RI.4.8

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How do Oppenheimer and other scientists learn about exoplanets, according to the passage?

• By sending astronauts to explore them

• By measuring earthquakes on distant worlds

• By studying the light the planets give off using special telescopes and cameras

• By listening for sounds from space

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CCSS.RI.5.2

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What major difficulty did Oppenheimer face when trying to see light from an extrasolar planet?

• Planets spin too fast to photograph.

• Stars are hundreds of millions to billions of times brighter than the planets that orbit them, causing glare.

• Telescopes cannot point at distant stars.

• Cameras cannot capture faint colors.

Look at the illustration described: “Like our sun, some stars have planets that orbit them. This illustration shows an exoplanet and its sun.” Based on this visual and the passage, which statement is most accurate?

• Exoplanets float alone without stars.

• Exoplanets orbit stars just as Earth orbits the sun.

• Exoplanets are always brighter than their stars.

• Exoplanets stay fixed while stars circle them.

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Part A:

What is the central idea of the  Passage 1 – “Ben Oppenheimer: Planet Hunter”?

• Ben Oppenheimer studies ways to make stars brighter.

• Ben Oppenheimer creates tools to help study planets outside our solar system.

• Ben Oppenheimer enjoys traveling to new planets.

• Ben Oppenheimer teaches people how to use telescopes.

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Part B:
Which detail best supports the central idea from Part A?  

• “He and other scientists have already found more than eight hundred extrasolar planets.”

• “Oppenheimer works at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.”

• “The nearest extrasolar planet is about 25 trillion miles from Earth.”

• “He spends time looking at planets with a telescope.”

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Which sentence best describes the author’s purpose in “Ben Oppenheimer: Planet Hunter”?

• To persuade readers to become astrophysicists.

• To inform readers about a scientist’s work to discover new planets.

• To entertain readers with a story about outer space travel.

• To describe how to use a telescope.

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1. What does the word “extrasolar” mean as it is used in paragraph 5 of “Ben Oppenheimer: Planet Hunter”?

• Inside the sun

• Made of gas and dust

• Beyond our solar system

• Very small and cold

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