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Exoplanets

Total questions: 25

Worksheet time: 24mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Planets that are found to be orbiting stars outside our solar system are called ___________

a)

rogue planets

b)

super planets

c)

exoplanets

d)

imaginary planets

2.

What is the term for the area around a star where liquid water could be found on it's planets __________________

a)

habitable zone

b)

aqueous zone

c)

zone of life

d)

green zone

3.

How many confirmed exoplanets have been discovered so far?

a)

2-3 thousand

b)

3-4 thousand

c)

4-5 thousand

 

d)

5-6 thousand

4.

Kepler 186f is an exoplanet in the habitable zone of it's star. It is 558 light years from Earth. When did the light we see today leave that star headed for our telescopes?

a)

1490

b)

1466

c)

1565

d)

1515

5.

What is an exoplanet?

a)

 

a planet outside our solar system

b)

a planet with an outer shell

c)

 a planet in the Kuiper belt

d)

a planet that is easy to fly away from

6.

The method of finding an exoplanet by detecting the light blocked as it passes its star is __________

a)

blocking

b)

eclipsing

c)

parallax

d)

transit

7.

The habitable zone around a star is the area where a planet is most likely to have __________

a)

rings

b)

oxygen

c)

water

d)

life

8.

The very first exoplanets found were ______________

a)

habitable

b)

earth sized

c)

jupiter sized

d)

 rogue planets

9.

What new space based telescope is expected to give us lots of new information about exoplanets?

a)

Kepler space telescope

b)

James Webb space telescope

c)

Hubble space telescope

d)

Galileo space telescope

10.
The small movement of a star due to an orbiting planet is called ___
a)
centripetal motion
b)
reflexive motion
c)
retrograde motion
d)
centrifugal motion
11.
The first confirmed detection of planets outside our solar system occurred in which year?
a)
1952
b)
1972
c)
1992
d)
2012
12.
As the host star of the exoplanet makes its little circle, its light will undergo a ___
a)
polarization shift
b)
reflexive shift
c)
Mach shift
d)
Doppler shift
13.
Giant gaseous exoplanets that orbit very close to their parent star are called ___
a)
"hot Jupiters"
b)
"quick Saturns"
c)
"short period Saturns"
d)
"high rate Jupiters"
14.
The beauty of transiting exoplanets is that the amount of starlight blocked tells you ___
a)
how far away the planet is
b)
how big the planet is
c)
the density of the planet
d)
the mass of the planet
15.
If we know the planet's mass from the star's Doppler shift, we can use the planet's size to calculate ___
a)
its distance
b)
its density
c)
its luminosity
d)
its apparent brightness
16.
The smallest exoplanet found is ___
a)
not much bigger than Earth's moon
b)
about the size of Mercury
c)
about the size of Mars
d)
not much smaller than Earth
17.
Planets bigger than Earth, but smaller than Neptune are called ___
a)
"Mini-Neptunes"
b)
"Super-Earths"
c)
"Neptune Dwarfs"
d)
"Earth Giants"
18.
Like Tatooine in the Star Wars saga, we've even found planets orbiting ___
a)
massive blue stars
b)
cool red dwarfs
c)
red giants
d)
binary stars
19.

What is the Fermi Paradox?

a)

Even with the huge number of planets in the Milky Way, we haven't seen any signs of aliens

b)

It would take a couple of million years to colonize the whole galaxy.

c)

There are three different possible levels for a civilization.

d)

There are no aliens in the universe.

20.

Which is the best definition of Fermi Paradox?

a)

The contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence and the presumed high probability of them.

b)

The idea that there is definitely intelligent life in the universe.

c)

A hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output.

21.

What is the name of the space telescope that was designed to search for exoplanets? And in what year was it launched?

a)

Kepler in 1999

b)

Exodetector in 2009

c)

Kepler in 2009

d)

Hubble in 1999

22.
Any exoplanet in the black area inside of the green zone is 
a)
too cold for life
b)
too hot for life
c)
just right for life 
23.

What is one reason we might not recognize life if we find it?

a)

It could have oxygen as a biosignature.

b)

It could have carbon dioxide as a biosignature.

c)

We might not know what to look for, especially if it is very different from Earth life.

d)

It could have complex carbon molecules as a biosignature.

24.

Some scientists believe life is abundant in the universe because...

a)

we lack the technology to recognize some potential biosignatures

b)

Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone are abundant in the universe

c)

all life requires liquid water

d)

all life requires a source of energy

25.

The idea that we are the only life in the universe because we have not seen any others is the basic concept behind the ________________ _______________.

a)

Olber's Paradox

b)

Fermi Paradox

c)

Anthropic Principle

d)

Gaia hypothesis