This test is worth 120 points. Bubble in the best answer to each question.
1. The best definition of astronomy is the ____________________. a. search for life outside the solar system b. scientific exploration of our Solar System c. examination of the motions of stars and planets d. study of the universe and the objects in it through scientific investigation
2. How many planets are closer to the Sun than our Earth? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
3. Which planet is further from the Sun in our solar system. a. Mars b. Saturn c. Jupiter d. Neptune
4. Our sun is a huge ball of gas that has about ________________times more mass than Earth. a. 100,000 b. 200,000 c. 300,000 d. 400,000
5. The most abundant atom in our Sun and other stars is ______________. a. iron b. helium c. oxygen d. hydrogen
6. If terms of the diameter, the Sun is about _________ times larger than Earth. a. 100 b. 1,000 c. 300,000 d 500,000

7. Which of the following is not something found in our solar system. a. moons b. comets c. asteroids d. black holes
8. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is about _________________ million miles a. 50 b. 77 c. 93 d. 144
9. A light year is the ______________ light travels in one year a. time b. speed c. distance d. direction
10. Light speed is about ____________________ miles per second. a. 100,000 b. 186,000 c. 280,000 d. 512,000
11. One light year equals about 9.5 ___________________ kilometers. a. thousand b. million c. billion d. trillion
12. We live in the Milky Way galaxy, which is pretty large. In fact, we estimate it to be about
_________________ light years across. a. 50,000 b. 100,000 c. 150,000 d. 200,000
13. Our Milky Way galaxy is one of several in what is known as our ___________________. a. Local Group b. Visible Universe c. Local Supercluster d. none of the above

14. If you were to face a southerly direction and look up into the sky one hour before sunrise at
this time of year, the most visible constellation you would see is ___________________. a. Orion b. Ursa Major c. Ursa Minor d. Andromeda
15 Which of these describe an aspect of the celestial sphere? a. a model of the heavens b. a dome surrounding the earth c. a three-dimensional arrangement depicting the stars d. all of the above
16. The earth rotates around its ________________________, an imaginary line that runs
through the Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole. a. ecliptic b. center of mass c. axis of rotation d. center of gravity
17. The earth's axis is tilted ____________ degrees. a. 0 b. 10.5 c. 23.5 d. 34.5
18. The shortest day of the year is known as the _________________. a. Fall equinox b. Spring equinox c. Winter solstice d. Summer solstice
19. _________________________ occur twice a year when day and night are equal in time. a. Elliptics b. Eclipses c. Solstices d. Equinoxes

20. By observing the patterns and cycles in the celestial bodies, prehistoric people knew that the
Sun, Moon and stars rose in the ____________ and set in the _____________. a. east, west b. west, east c. north, south d. south, north
21. Modern observers know the movement of celestial bodies during the night occurs because of
the _________. a. Earth's rotation b. Earth's movement around the sun c. movement of the celestial bodies around the Earth d. all of the above
22. Seasonal changes in the sky result from Earth’s orbit around the Sun and it's __________. a. tilted axis of rotation b. interaction with the Moon c. position relative to the Sun and the Moon d. all of the above
23. Ancient observers saw ________________________ in the Sun’s path and the star patterns. a. orbital changes b. bizarre behavior c. seasonal changes d. reverse movement
24. By observing the heavenly bodies, ancient observers learned to predict ______________. a. future events b. planting time c. harvesting time d. all of the above
25. Prehistoric people easily observed regular changes in the _______________________. a. Sun’s path b. daylight hours c. seasonal temperatures d. all of the above
26. Ancient observers probably used the ________________________ as memory aids to track the seasons and navigate. a. Moons b. Solstices c. Equinoxes d. Constellations

27. The constellations that we can see change with the __________________. a. decade b. century c . seasons d. temperature
28. The changes we see in the Moon's appearance are known as _______________. a. phases b. epochs c. periods d. seasons
29. The Moon’s appearance from unseen to full takes about _______ days. a. 7 b 14 c. 21 d. 28
30. The Moon rises about _______ minutes later every 24 hours during its cycle. a. 20 b. 30 c. 40 d. 50
31 When the Moon’s fully lit surface faces Earth, we see a ________________ Moon. a. new b. old c. full d. empty
32. What do we call the following picture of the moon? a. Waxing Quarter b. Waning Quarter c. Waxing Gibbous d. Waning Gibbous

33. What do we call the following picture of the moon? a. Waxing Cresent b. Waning Cresent c. Waxing Gibbous d. Waning Gibbous
34. What do we call the following picture of the moon? a. 1st Quarter b. 2nd Quarter c. 3rd Quarter d. Half Moon
35. If a full moon is visible, we know that _____________________. a. it is daytime b. the Moon and Sun are on the same side of the earth c. the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of the earth d. none of the above
36. A ___________ occurs when the Earth casts a shadow on the moon. a. Fall Equinox b. Solar Eclipse c. Lunar Eclipse d. Summer Solstice
37. Which of the following statements is false ? a. We already know there are many other planets in the Milky Way b. The force that holds our planet in orbit around the Sun is gravity c. The distance from the Sun to Neptune is greater than the distance from Earth to the
nearest star other than our Sun d. The distance from one end of a Local Group to the other end is smaller than the distance
from end to end of a Local Supercluster

38. Which of the following statements is false ? a. We have two equinoxes and two solstices every year. b. Most scientists/astronomers theorize a black hole is at the center of the Milky Way c. Prehistoric observers used big structures to help them explain what they saw in the sky. d. On Earth, when the northern hemisphere is experiencing winter, the southern hemisphere
is experiencing summer
39. Which of the following statements is false? a. The word "Month" comes from the word, "Moon" b. The North Star, Polaris, is part of the Little Dipper constellation c. We cannot see a "New Moon" because during the day the moon is on the same side of the
Earth as the Sun d. We don't observe the changes in the constellations in the night sky because it takes light
millions of years to travel to Earth from distant stars
40. The structure in the photo below was part of this ancient civilization. a. Aztec b. Mayan c. Native American d. European Pagans