Sunspots, the solar cycle and space weather

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Drawing of the Sun's surface with dark sunspots. Why do sunspots look dark, by Ari's reading (NOAA)?

   • They are hotter and give off less light
   • They are cooler than the surface around them
   • They are shadows cast by planets
   • They are holes showing a cold core

2. Read this first

   Sun surface temperatures (NOAA)

   Region	Temperature
   sunspot center	about 7,000 °F (3,900 °C)
   photosphere	about 10,000 °F (5,500 °C)

3. 2.

   NOAA gives sunspot centers about 7,000 °F (3,900 °C) and the photosphere around them about 10,000 °F (5,500 °C). Which is true, by Bo's reading?

   • Both are the same temperature
   • Sunspots are about 3,000 °F cooler
   • Sunspots are about 17,000 °F
   • Sunspots are about 3,000 °F hotter
4. 3.

   What causes sunspots, by Kira's reading (NOAA)?

   • Hot spots where the surface is hottest and glows brightest
   • Intense magnetic fields pushing up from inside
   • Fires on the Sun's surface
   • Comets hitting the Sun
5. 4.

   Sunspot-number graph showing rises and falls over several decades. About how long is one solar cycle, by Jun's reading (NOAA)?

   • About 11 days
   • There is no repeating pattern
   • About 1 year
   • About 11 years

6. Yearly sunspot number (model data shaped like Cycle 24)

   Year	Sunspot number
   2009	3
   2011	80
   2014	115
   2017	22
   2019	4

7. 5.

   When is solar maximum in this cycle, by Luz's reading?

   • 2017
   • 2019, with the fewest
   • 2009, at the start
   • 2014, with the most sunspots

8. Solar Cycle 24 (NOAA)

   Event	Date
   began	December 2008
   peaked	April 2014
   ended	December 2019

9. 6.

   NOAA says Cycle 24 began in December 2008, peaked in April 2014 and ended in December 2019. About how long did it last, by Milo's math?

   • 1 year
   • 5.3 years, start to peak
   • 19 years
   • 11 years
10. 7.

    Drawing of a green and red aurora above a dark horizon. What makes an aurora, by Noah's reading (NOAA)?

    • Electrons hitting oxygen and nitrogen high up make them glow
    • Moonlight shining through clouds
    • Lightning far over the horizon
    • Sunlight reflecting off polar ice
11. 8.

    Side view of the atmosphere with a height scale in kilometers and an aurora drawn high up. About how high above the ground do auroras form, by Pia's reading (NOAA)?

    • About 80 to 500 km up
    • In clouds about 1 to 2 km up
    • At ground level, on the ice
    • Out near the Moon

12. NOAA G scale

    Level	Name
    G1	minor
    G2	moderate
    G3	strong
    G4	severe
    G5	extreme

13. 9.

    Which level on NOAA's geomagnetic storm scale is strongest, by Ren's reading?

    • G1, since it comes first
    • Each G level is the same strength
    • G5, extreme
    • G3, the middle level
14. 10.

    “not to scale” About how long do the fastest Earth-directed CMEs take to arrive, by Zee's reading (NOAA)?

    • About 11 years
    • About 8 minutes, like flare light
    • About 15 to 18 seconds
    • About 15 to 18 hours