Earth Systems Standard 1 Objective 2

Multiple Choice

a1. Which elements were formed in the big bang?

A. carbon, oxygen
B. hydrogen, helium
C. nitrogen, carbon dioxide
D. chlorine, argon

a2. Where did most of the heavy Earth elements come from?

A. other planets
B. colliding asteroids
C. evolving stars
D. evaporating comets

a3. A star is discovered with a high percentage of heavier elements. What does
that show about the star?

A. it has had nuclear fusion taking place for a long time

B. it was formed in the big bang and is a new star
C. it is recently formed from a gas cloud
D. it is an star that formed from a planet

b4. What happens to the atomic weight of a stars’ atoms each time the star goes
through a life stage?

A. it decreases
B. it stays the same
C. it increases
D. there are more atoms

b5. What does a star produce when it undergoes a “nova” or “supernova”

explosion?

A. Extremely small, energetic particles

B. Huge quantities of hydrogen
C. Mostly uranium and other radioactive elements
D. All the heavier atoms found in the universe
b6. How do stars produce larger and larger atoms?

A. the atoms fuse as the star goes through its life stages
B. the atoms expand because they get hotter and hotter
C. the atoms bond together in chemical reactions
D. the atoms are attracted to each other in small stars

b7. A small star that cools rapidly will produce what types of elements?

A. elements with small atomic weights

B. elements that are mostly gases
C. elements that have large atomic weights
D. elements that are found on small planets

Use this information from the periodic table to answer the next three questions.
Each box shows an element’s symbol (center) and its atomic number (upper left
hand). The atomic number indicates how many protons are in the nucleus of the
atom.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
H He Li Be B C N O F Ne

c8. What will the fusion of two hydrogen (H) atoms produce?

A. one half of a helium (He) atom

B. one helium atom
B. two helium atoms
C. one lithium (Li) atom

c9. What will the fusion of two helium atoms produce?

A. a lithium atom
B. a berillium (Be) atom
C. a boron (B) atom
D. a carbon (C ) atom

c10. All these elements are found on Earth. Where were they formed?

A. in the gas cloud that formed Earth.

B. in Earth’s core
C. in the Sun
D. in ancient stars
d11. Which of the following is evidence supporting the scientific explanation for
heavy element formation?

A. super nova explosions that have been viewed by scientists

B. sampling the matter found in our Sun to see what it is made of
C. traveling outside the solar system to see if stars look the same from space
D. tracing the elements found on Earth to see where they came from

d12. Bright new stars have been observed in the remains of exploded star
systems. What are the new stars made of?

A. from empty space

B. the energy from the exploded stars has become matter.
C. from the elements still remaining from the big bang explosion.
D. the elements produced by the exploded stars

d13. The end of the star cycle for a large star predicts a very small dense
collection of heavy elements. Which of these discoveries provided this
evidence?

A. looking at very distant stars with the Hubble telescope

B. discovering the largest star in the universe
C. finding the first neutron star or pulsar
D. observing the supernova explosions in other galaxies.

d14. Astronomers have observed stars in all stages of the life cycle. What is this
similar to?

A. using radioactive dating to find out how old the stars are.
B. looking at grains of sand on a beach and estimating their number.
C. asking around your classroom and finding out everyone’s birthday.
D. looking at a group of people and seeing all ages.
Use this sequence of a Sun’s life cycle to answer the next four questions.

e15. What happened for the dust cloud to begin nuclear fusion and turn into the
Sun?

A. it shrunk down to the right size

B. it got hot enough
C. the atomic nuclei got close enough together
D. vibrations of particles increased to a critical speed

e16. What will allow the Sun to become a red giant?

A. It will cool off

B. The density will increase
C. Gravity will become weaker
D. Helium atoms will began fusing

e17. What will happen next, at “B”? The Sun will

A. explode into a nova after it collapses

B. cool down and become a white dwarf
C. collapse and become a black hole
D. disappear and return in another universe

e18. What happens to stars much larger than the Sun when they reach point
“B”?

A. collapse then explode into a nova

B. cool down and become a white dwarf
C. explode and then collapse into a black dwarf
D. disappear and return in another universe
f19. What holds the planets in their orbits around the Sun?

A. nuclear fusion
B. forward motion
C. the big bang
D. gravity

f20. If the planets were to suddenly stop moving, what would happen to them?

A. They would fly out into space.

B. They would fall into the Sun
C. They would hang suspended in their orbits
D. They would explode in a super nova

f21. If the Sun were to suddenly disappear, what would happen to the planets?

A. They would fly out into space.

B. They would fall into the empty space
C. They would hang suspended in their orbits
D. They would explode in a super nova

Essay

1. What evidence for the star cycle is most convincing to you? Why?

2. How is the life cycle of our Sun different from other stars?
Earth Systems Standard 1, Objective 1 Assessment

Multiple Choice

a1. How does light from stars data support the Big Bang Theory? It shows that

A. most objects in space are moving away from one another

B. the universe is collapsing again
C. the Big Bang happened slowly over millions of years
D. the light from objects in space is “blue shifted”

Use the following spectrographs of hydrogen to answer the next two

questions.

Spectrum of hydrogen on Earth

Red Blue

Spectrum of hydrogen from a distant star

Red Blue

a2. How would the spectrum of hydrogen on the distant star be described?

A. Reflected
B. Red-shifted
C. Offset
D. Refracted

a3. How would an astronomer explain the difference between the two spectra?

A. Hydrogen gives off light differently if the gravity of the star is large
B. Light traveling through space is warped by the vacuum
C. The star is traveling away from us, lengthening the light waves
D. The star has a slightly different kind of hydrogen it is burning.

b4. Which of the following is supported by evidence from red-shifted starlight?

A. objects in the universe are not moving.

B. objects in space are moving away from each other
C. objects in space are moving toward each other
D. objects in space cannot be measured
b5. How did the big bang begin?

A. All matter in the universe burst from a tiny point.

B. All matter in the universe was created in its current location
C. Light waves condensed in a single area and matter was created.
D. Several galaxies collided and exploded.

b6. According to the theory, what has been happening to the matter in the
universe since the big bang occurred?

A. little change has happened to matter

B. matter has moved outward and collected into galaxies
C. matter has moved from one end of the universe to another
D. matter is contracting and coming back together again.

c7. Which of the following would be the best model of the “Big Bang” theory?

A. dropping a bag of oranges off of a tall building

B. launching a rocket engine
C. lighting a firecracker
D. throwing a ball

c8. Why do scientists accept the big bang theory?

A. it is a belief based on faith

B. they trust other scientists
C. it seems to make sense
D. evidence supports it

Use this time line of the life of the universe to answer the next two
questions.

A B C D E F G H I J K

10 billion 5 billion years ago present

yrs ago

c9. Which best describes the location on the time line of the Big Bang?

A. at or before A
B. between A and B
C. between B and C
D. at G
 c10. When do scientists think our solar system was formed?

A. at A
B. Between A and D
C. Between F and G
D. Between J and K

d11. Centuries ago, people thought that Earth was the center of the universe
and that the sun and moon went around it. Why did they think this was true?

A. they were not good at making observations

B. the sun and moon appear to go around Earth
C. the universe has changed since the early days
D. the planets were not visible to people then

d12. Galileo went to jail for publishing evidence that supported the sun-centered
solar system theory. Why?

A. It appeared he had illegally stolen the work of others.

B. Scientists have often been prosecuted for new ideas they propose.
C. He did not follow the correct steps to have his work approved.
D. His ideas opposed the cultural and religious practices of his time.

d13. Most human cultures have explanations for the origin of the universe. How
is the scientific explanation different?

A. All scientists agree on by and no further research is needed.

B. It cannot be changed unlike most other explanations
C. It relies on evidence from starlight and other types of radiation
D. It is widely accepted by all cultures.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble made a series of measurements at Mount

Wilson Observatory. Using Cepheid variable stars in a number of
galaxies, Hubble found that the red shift was related to the distance
a star was from Earth.

e14. How did technology help Hubble make his discovery?

A. He used telescopes in the observatory that collected data from far into space.
B. He knew of the work of Einstein and used it to help make his calculations.
C. He made accurate measurements and used the correct formulas.
D. He was able to work on nights when the sky was clear of clouds.
 a15. Which stars would have the greatest red shift?

A. stars closest to Earth

B. stars nearest the Sun
C. stars farthest from Earth
D. stars in the nearest galaxy

The first intentional attempt to measure the Cosmic Microwave

Background Radiation was made by Dicke and Wilkinson in 1965 with
an instrument mounted on the roof of the Princeton Physics
department. While they were still constructing their experiment, two
Bell Labs engineers working on microwave transmissions made the
discovery. The Bell engineers had built a microwave receiver but were
unable to eliminate a persistent background noise that seemed to
affect the receiver no matter where they pointed it in the sky, day or
night. Upon contacting Dicke for advice on the problem, they realized
what they had observed and eventually received the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1978.

d16. What does Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation have to do with the
big bang theory?

A. It is part of the theory that has never been explained.

B. It was radiation made as the Universe started to cool.
C. It was radiation in space that got moved out of the way.
D. It is the radiation released during the explosion.

e17. How does this story show the development of scientific evidence?

A. Technology development was part of the process.

B. Accidents almost always happen.
C. Scientists compete with one another and rarely cooperate.
D. The discoveries that are made are rarely rewarded.

e18. What does much of the evidence for the big bang theory depend on?

A. accepting ideas you cannot understand.

B. understanding the data gathered with technology
C. reading the literature on space and understanding past discoveries
D. developing many new ideas and seeing if scientists think they are true.
Essay

1. Describe the big bang theory and what evidence scientists have to support it.

2. Why does a car horn sound different as it passes you? Tell how the sound
changes and why.

3. Compare and contrast the theory of an Earth centered solar system with the
theory of a Sun centered solar system.