Content Benchmark E.12.B.3
Students know ways in which technology has increased understanding of the universe. I/S
Sample Test Questions
1st Item Specification: Describe the uses of optical and radio telescopes, probes, and
artificial satellites in astronomy.
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
1. Use the images below to answer the next question.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Which image best represents the orbit of the Hubble Space Telescope compared to the orbit
of Earth’s Moon?
A. Image 1
B. Image 2
C. Image 3
D. Image 4
2. The Hubble Space Telescope can detect very dim astronomical objects because it
A. orbits beyond the distorting effects of our atmosphere.
B. is closer to the objects than telescopes on Earth’s surface.
C. has several large lenses to magnify distant objects.
D. has larger mirrors than any Earth-bound telescopes.
3. Radio telescopes are used regularly by astronomers to
A. transmit messages to space in hopes of contacting extraterrestrial intelligence.
B. transmit signals that reflect off of space objects to determine their distances.
C. detect sound waves from space that are emitted by distant space objects.
D. detect electromagnetic radiation emitted from distant space objects.
4. Which invention revolutionized our scientific understanding by providing evidence that the
Earth is not the center of the universe?
A. Telescopes
B. Compasses
C. Astrolabes
D. Rockets
5. Which of the following CANNOT be determined by analyzing starlight?
A. Radial (line-of-sight) motion
B. Mass and weight
C. Chemical composition
D. Temperature and color
6. Why are some telescopes placed in space above Earth’s atmosphere?
A. Having the telescope above the atmosphere puts it closer to the object for better
magnification.
B. Having the telescope above the atmosphere puts it closer to the object for better sound
detection.
C. Some types of electromagnetic radiation from stars are absorbed by Earth’s
atmosphere.
D. Some of the light being sent out from telescopes can be blocked by Earth’s
atmosphere.
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
7. Which of the following proposed telescopes would provide the BEST observations of distant
astronomical objects?
A. An ultraviolet telescope located in Death Valley
B. An X-ray telescope in orbit around Earth
C. An infrared telescope at a Las Vegas observatory
D. A gamma ray telescope on Boundary Peak
8. Human astronauts have landed on
A. the Moon with regularity since July 1969, but have not ventured farther.
B. Mars and the Moon, but have not returned since the late 1970s.
C. Mars in the late 1990s and the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
D. the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but have not returned.
9. Which of the following instruments would be BEST to investigate the chemical composition
of Titan’s atmosphere?
A. An Earth-based optical telescope
B. A manned Space Shuttle mission
C. An unmanned spacecraft orbiting Titan
D. A space-based optical telescope
10. Which of the following would be BEST to investigate a star-forming nebula?
A. An Earth-based infrared telescope
B. A manned Space Shuttle mission
C. An unmanned spacecraft sent to the nebula
D. A space-based infrared telescope
Content Benchmark E.12.B.3
Students know ways in which technology has increased understanding of the universe. I/S
Answers to Sample Test Questions
1. B, DOK level 1
2. A, DOK level 1
3. D, DOK level 1
4. A, DOK level 1
5. B, DOK level 1
6. C, DOK level 1
7. B, DOK level 2
8. D, DOK level 2
9. C, DOK level 2
10. D, DOK level 2