Redshift and the expanding universe
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Speed = H0 × distance; A at 30 Mpc; B 4 times as fast. Galaxy A is 30 Mpc away; galaxy B recedes 4 times as fast. How far is B, whatever the exact H0, by Jun's math?
- About 120 Mpc
- About 7.5 Mpc
- It cannot be found without H0
- About 34 Mpc
1 ÷ H0 ≈ 14.6 billion years at 67 and 13.4 billion years at 73. If galaxies always moved at today's speeds, the time since they were together ≈ 1 ÷ H0. With H0 of 67 to 73 km/s/Mpc, this comes to about what, by Kira's math?
- Between about 13 and 15 million years
- Between about 13 and 15 billion years
- About 67 to 73 billion years
- About 6,000 years
Luz's friend says the Big Bang means galaxies are flying away from the spot where an explosion happened. Which response is best?
- Disagree: galaxies are moving toward one spot
- Disagree: space stretches everywhere, with no center
- Agree: galaxies fly out through empty space
- Agree: the Milky Way is near that spot
Milo's cousin says the Earth and Moon drift farther apart each year because the universe expands. Which response is best?
Diagram: Earth and Moon held by gravity; distant galaxies spreading apart. Diagram: Earth and Moon held by gravity; distant galaxies spreading apart. Earth Moon gravity distant galaxies spreading apart - Disagree: the Moon is moving toward Earth fast
- Agree: the Moon is redshifted
- Agree: each distance grows with the universe
- Disagree: gravity binds them, so expansion does not pull them apart
Noah's friend says a redshifted galaxy must look red in a telescope. Which response is best?
A blue-white galaxy beside its redshifted spectrum strip. A blue-white galaxy beside its redshifted spectrum strip. blue-white galaxy redshifted spectrum strip - Agree: red galaxies alone move away
- Disagree: redshift means its lines moved to longer wavelengths
- Disagree: redshifted galaxies look blue, since they move toward us
- Agree: redshift is the galaxy's color
Speed = H0 × distance; distance 50 Mpc; H0 about 67 to 73 km/s/Mpc. Sources give H0 as about 67 to 73 km/s/Mpc. Which statement about a galaxy 50 Mpc away holds for every value in that range, by Pia's math?
- It recedes at about 350 km/s
- It moves toward us at about 3,500 km/s
- It recedes at exactly 3,500 km/s
- It recedes at between 3,300 and 3,700 km/s
Why do different methods give H0 values from about 67 to 73 km/s/Mpc, by Ren's reading (NASA)?
Two bars: early-universe method about 67; Cepheid and supernova distance ladder about 73. Two bars: early-universe method about 67; Cepheid and supernova distance ladder about 73. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 early-universe method 67 Cepheid and supernova distance ladder 73 - The universe is not expanding
- Nearer galaxies recede faster than far ones, which shifts the values
- One method measures blueshifts
- Two careful methods disagree, and the reason is still being studied
H0 = speed ÷ distance; 21,000 km/s; 300 Mpc. A galaxy at 300 Mpc recedes at 21,000 km/s. Is it consistent with H0 of 67 to 73 km/s/Mpc, by Tala's math?
- Yes: 21,000 ÷ 300 = 70 km/s/Mpc
- No: farther galaxies should be slower
- No: it gives 6,300,000
- No: it gives 0.014
Read this first
Two galaxies
Galaxy z X 0.005 Y 0.015 Galaxy X shows z = 0.005 and galaxy Y shows z = 0.015. Without knowing H0, how does Y's distance compare with X's, by Ari's math?
- About 0.01 Mpc farther
- About one-third as far
- About 3 times as far
- The same distance
Four evidence cards, labeled A to D. Which evidence best shows the universe is expanding rather than galaxies rushing from our galaxy, by Bo's reading?
- Nearby galaxies show the biggest redshifts
- Distant galaxies look red in color
- Galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way alone
- The same speed-distance pattern would be seen from any galaxy