Grade 9 · Science · Unit 10 of 10
Space Exploration
Telescopes, satellites and living in space
What your child practises
How optical and radio telescopes work, how scientists measure distance and motion in space, what satellites are used for, life-support needs for space travel, Canada's part in space exploration, and the risks and issues of using space.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: Unit E: Space Exploration · telescopes, satellites, remote sensing and the challenges of living and working in space
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which Canadian satellites observe Earth with radar, for example to map ice, floods and crops?
- Apollo
- RADARSAT
- Hubble
- Sputnik
Show answer
RADARSAT
Hint: Remote sensing from space helps with wildfire, flood and crop monitoring across Canada.
Question 2
What can spectral analysis of starlight tell scientists?
- which elements are in a star
- what colour Earth is
- how old the observers are
- how many moons it has
Show answer
which elements are in a star
Hint: Each element absorbs or gives off light at certain wavelengths, creating a pattern like a fingerprint.
Question 3
Meteor showers can be predicted in general, but not exactly. Why?
- Scientists do not observe them
- The amount of debris and its exact path are uncertain
- Meteors do not exist
- The Moon blocks them
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The amount of debris and its exact path are uncertain
Hint: Predictions come from earlier observations, so they have uncertainty.
Question 4
Why do rockets often have multiple stages?
- Empty stages can be dropped to reduce the mass that must keep accelerating
- It makes the rocket look bigger
- Stages make gravity weaker
- It keeps the rocket cold
Show answer
Empty stages can be dropped to reduce the mass that must keep accelerating
Hint: Dropping the heavy empty parts means the remaining fuel pushes less mass.
Question 5
A star is 100 light-years from Earth. About how many years does its light take to reach us?
answer box
Show answer
100
Hint: A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, so light from a star 100 light-years away travels for 100 years.
Question 6
What do radio telescopes detect?
- sounds travelling through space
- only visible light
- heat on Earth
- radio waves from objects in space
Show answer
radio waves from objects in space
Hint: Radio waves pass through dust clouds and show features optical telescopes cannot see.