The Universe (Quick Quiz)

Identify a possible shape of a galaxy.

• Oblong

• Elliptical

• Regular

• Cubic

Nebulae are clouds of:

• helium.

• oxygen.

• lithium.

• hydrogen.

A light-year is:

• the same as stellar parallax.

• the range of colours we see.

• the distance light travels in one year.

• the apparent change when the source of the wave or the observe is moving.

Which of the following supports the Big Bang theory?

• The universe appears to be expanding.

• The stars and galaxies are getting closer.

• The absence of cosmic background radiation.

• The discovery of dinosaur fossils.

Why have scientists only recently begun to understand how the universe was formed?

• The technology to collect data about the stars and planets did not exist previously.

• The scientists could not agree with each other and so had many different theories.

• The evolution of stars is a very slow process taking many millions of years.

• The electromagnetic radiation from stars takes a long time to reach Earth.

Stars are believed to have formed from the collapse of large, cold clouds of interstellar matter. The core temperature of such a mass eventually became so high that nuclear fusion reaction took place and a star was “born”. What is the main fuel for the nuclear reactions which take place in a star?

• Oil.

• Water.

• Hydrogen.

• Helium.

Some astronomical distances are represented by roman numerals below.

I. Sun – Earth

II. Earth – Moon

III. Milky way galaxy – Andromeda galaxy

IV. Sun – Alpha centauri (closest star)

V. Sun – Mercury

Choose the answer which correctly lists them in order of increasing distance.

• V, II, I, IV, III

• III, IV, I, V, II

• II, V, I, IV, III

• II, I, V, III, IV

Occasionally, a star may suddenly become much brighter and stay bright for some time. Chinese astronomers observed such bright stars in the years 185, 386, 393, 1006, 1054 and 1181. European astronomers such as Tycho Brahe observed one in 1572, and Johannes Kepler in 1604. Early astronomers did not realise what they were observing, but from their writings it is clear that these stars were supernova.

By the 1960s, astronomers could explain how supernovas marked the end stage in the life of a massive star when its nuclear fuel was exhausted.

Why did early astronomers not realise what they were observing?

• Early astronomy was based on superstition and magic.

• The Chinese astronomers had much better eyesight than the Europeans.

• The nature of their observations depended on what understanding they brought to the situation.

• The nature of their observations depended on whether they were looking at stars or planets.

Light emitted from a star or galaxy can be separated into a band of colours, called a:

• red shift.

• blue shift.

• spectrum.

• microwave.

The force of attraction between objects that have mass is called:

• gravity.

• inertia.

• force.

• motion.