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Astronomy Review Questions
Gr. 9 Academic Science
There are many vocabulary words in the study of astronomy. This is an incomplete list to give you an idea
of what you should know. Define the following key terms by using your notes, texts and pictures from your
textbook: celestial object, astronomer, solar system, star, nuclear fusion, astronomical unit (AU), lightyear (ly), neutron star, white dwarf, red giant, sunspot, prominence, binary system, supernova, nebula,
black hole, dark matter, big bang theory, asteroid, meteor, meteorite, meteoroid, Asteroid Belt, comet,
constellation, asterisms, rotation, revolution, tides, planet, luminosity, spectroscope, spectral line,
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
The Night Sky
1. Astronomers have officially listed a total of 88 constellations, list at least 10 of them by using your
star map.
2. Smaller recognizable star patterns within a larger constellation are known as asterisms. List
couple of them by using your star map.
3. What are "The Wanderers"?
4. As the month progresses, an Astronomer notices that one of "The Wanderers" seems to be
moving backwards relative to the other objects in the sky. What is this motion called?
5. Your star chart has a blotchy pattern in a stripe across the background. What is that supposed to
represent?
Planets
6. List the eight planets starting at our Sun. Include the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt in your list.
7. What causes the planets to orbit the Sun?
8. Sketch a diagram to explain why the Earth’s tilted axis and the planet’s revolution around the Sun
causes the changing of seasons.
9. Where did the planets in our solar system come from?
10. The four rocky planets and the four gaseous planets are divided by the Asteroid Belt. Why are
the rocky planets closest to the sun and the gaseous planets further away?
Moon
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Where did our Moon come from?
Why do the Moon and the Sun cause two tides per day in Earth’s oceans?
Is the moon only visible at night? Why?
Explain waxing and waning.
What does it mean when you can't see the Moon at night (from a place where you can normally
see it)?
Distances in space
16. How far is Neptune from the Sun? Provide your answer in astronomical units. Convert this value
to kilometers using scientific notation.
17. Is a light year (LY) a measurement of distance or of time?
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18. Starting with the speed of light being 3.00 x 10 meters per second (or 300,000 km per second),
calculate how far light will travel in one (365 day) year.
Stars
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Compare the three types of stars in terms of mass, luminosity and colour.
In term of mass, what kind of star is the Sun: low, medium, or high?
Simplify the life cycle of stars into at most four important steps.
List the layers of our Sun and briefly explain what is happening in each layer.
The Sun is composed almost entirely of what element? Are all stars like that?
How does an element such as Iron get created? How did Earth end up with so much Iron?
A star explodes, forming a nebula. Why did the star explode?
What could happen to the nebula?
Galaxies
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List three or four shapes of galaxies. Provide one notable feature of each.
What type(s) of galaxy has/have a black hole in the middle of it?
What is the name of the galaxy that we live in?
How is a galaxy different from a star cluster?
Why do galaxies and star clusters "stick together"?
Why do galaxies with more dust produce more new stars?
What is that dust anyway? Was someone slacking off with their swiffer?
Expanding Universe
34. According to the Big Bang Theory, how did the universe originate 13.7 billion years ago?
35. What evidence do we have of the Big Bang Theory?
36. Astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe appears to be expanding. What was his
proof of this?
Space Exploration
37. Chris Hadfield was one of the astronauts who installed Canadarm2 during a space walk from the
International Space Station. Canadarm2’s primary job is Space Station assembly. If you would
be in charge what new section would you add to the International Space Station?
38. List some pros and cons of space exploration. a) What difficulties could astronauts face when
they are in a space vessel such as the ISS? b) What difficulties could astronauts face when they
go outside of the space vessel?
39. Recent news relating to the planned mission to Mars (its real!) informs us that the trip will be "one
way". As such, our first mission will be to colonize Mars. There are lots of things to consider but
for you, Dear Student, list just five things that this colonization trip will have to consider so that the
humans will be able to live on Mars.