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9th grade Sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather worksheet

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Sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Sunspot drawing: 3 groups, 14 spots in all. Bo counts 3 sunspot groups with 14 spots in all. What is the sunspot number (10 × groups + spots, NOAA)?

    • 140, ten for each spot
    • 30, from the groups alone
    • 44
    • 17, adding groups and spots

  2. 5 groups, 22 spots in all. Esme counts 5 sunspot groups with 22 spots in all. What is the sunspot number?

    • 220, ten for each spot
    • 50, from the groups alone
    • 72
    • 27, adding groups and spots

  3. a blank solar disk. For a week, Jun sees no sunspot groups and no spots. What does this suggest?

    • The Sun is at solar maximum
    • The solar cycle has stopped for good
    • The Sun is near solar minimum
    • Sunspots are hiding behind brighter spots

  4. Read this first

    Yearly sunspot number (model data shaped like Cycle 24)

    YearSunspot number
    20093
    201285
    2014115
    201722
    20194

  5. About how many years did this cycle take to go from minimum to maximum, by Kira's math?

    • About 10 years, from 2009 to 2019
    • About 11 years
    • About 2 years
    • About 5 years

  6. NOAA says Cycle 25 began in December 2019. If it lasts about 11 years, about when should it end, by Luz's math?

    • Around 2041
    • Around 2020
    • Around 2030
    • Around 2025, at maximum

  7. Near solar maximum, satellites in low orbit slow down faster. Why, by Milo's reading (NOAA)?

    • The upper atmosphere shrinks at maximum
    • Sunspots pull satellites with gravity
    • Satellites run out of fuel faster in sunlight
    • The Sun heats the upper air, lifting denser air to their height

  8. NOAA G scale

    LevelKpAverage per 11-year cycle
    G151,700
    G37200
    G594

  9. About how many G5 storms happen in an average 11-year cycle, by Pia's reading?

    • About 4
    • They do not happen
    • About 200
    • About 1,700, like G1

  10. How far auroras reach (NOAA)

    LevelStatesGeomagnetic latitude
    G3Illinois and Oregonabout 50°
    G5Florida and southern Texasabout 40°

  11. NOAA: G3 auroras have reached Illinois and Oregon (about 50° geomagnetic latitude); G5 auroras, Florida and southern Texas (about 40°). As storms grow, where do auroras go, by Ren's reading?

    • They stay at the same latitude
    • Toward the equator, to lower latitudes
    • Onto Earth's daytime side
    • Toward the poles

  12. A flare's X-rays cause a high-frequency radio blackout. Where on Earth, by Zee's reading (NOAA)?

    • On the night side, away from the Sun
    • On the sunlit side, in high-frequency radio
    • In underground cables
    • Everywhere, three days later

  13. “not to scale” A CME leaves the Sun at 1,500 km/s and travels 150 million km to Earth. About how many hours does it take, by Ari's math?

    • About 8 minutes
    • About 28 hours
    • About 100 hours
    • About 11 years
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9th grade Sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can explain why sunspots are darker (cooler, magnetic) and compute a sunspot number (10 × groups + spots).
  • I can read the 11-year solar cycle, find maximum and minimum, and project when a cycle ends.
  • I can explain auroras, read NOAA's G scale, and say how flares and CMEs affect radio, satellites and power grids, and how forecasts give warning.

Standard: supports HS-ESS1-1

Words to know

sunspot: A cooler, darker patch of strong magnetic field on the photosphere

solar cycle: The rise and fall of sunspot numbers over about 11 years

solar flare: A burst of light and X-rays from the Sun lasting minutes to hours

CME: A huge cloud of solar plasma and magnetic field thrown into space

aurora: Glowing upper air where electrons strike oxygen and nitrogen

G scale: NOAA's geomagnetic storm scale, from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme)

Common mistakes

Your child thought sunspots are hotter than the rest of the surface. NOAA: sunspot centers are about 7,000 °F, cooler than the 10,000 °F photosphere around them.

Your child did not use the sunspot-number rule. Each sunspot group counts 10 and each spot counts 1 (NOAA).

Your child got the solar cycle's length wrong. Sunspot numbers rise and fall over about 11 years (NOAA).

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather?

Your child thought sunspots are hotter than the rest of the surface. NOAA: sunspot centers are about 7,000 °F, cooler than the 10,000 °F photosphere around them.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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