Telescopes and space missions

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   A ground telescope's mirror is twice as wide as another's. How much more light does it collect, by Esme's math?

   • The same amount
   • 4 times as much
   • 2 times as much
   • 8 times as much
2. 2.

   A 10 m mirror is compared with a 2.5 m mirror. How many times more light does it collect, by Jun's math?

   • 4 times
   • 16 times
   • 7.5 times
   • 64 times
3. 3.

   Time = distance ÷ 300,000 km/s; distance 225 million km. Mars is 225 million km from Earth on a given day. About how long does a radio command take to reach a rover there, at 300,000 km/s, by Kira's math?

   • About 12.5 hours
   • No time
   • About 0.75 s
   • About 12.5 minutes
4. 4.

   One-way signal time 12.5 minutes. A command takes 12.5 minutes to reach that rover. How long before the team can see the rover's reply, by Luz's math?

   • About 6 minutes
   • At once
   • About 12.5 minutes
   • About 25 minutes
5. 5.

   Light speed 299,792 km/s; one day 86,400 s. A light-day is 299,792 km/s × 86,400 s. About how many kilometers is that, by Milo's math?

   • About 26 million km
   • About 300,000 km
   • About 26 trillion km
   • About 26 billion km
6. 6.

   Four telescope cards, labeled A to D. Noah wants to study X-rays from a hot gas cloud. Which telescope fits?

   • An X-ray telescope in space
   • An X-ray telescope on a mountaintop
   • A larger visible-light mirror on the ground
   • A radio dish on the ground
7. 7.

   Webb at L2 with its sunshield facing the Sun, Earth and Moon. Webb studies mostly infrared light. Why does it fly far from Earth, behind a sunshield, by Ren's reading (NASA)?

   • Because infrared passes easily through the air
   • To get closer to distant galaxies
   • To stay near Earth's warm surface
   • To stay cold enough to sense faint infrared
8. 8.

   New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006 and flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015 (NASA). About how long was the trip, by Tala's math?

   • About 9.5 years
   • About 2 years
   • About 15 years
   • About 6 years
9. 9.

   NASA's Perseverance launched July 30, 2020 and landed Feb. 18, 2021. About how many months was the trip, by Zee's math?

   • It did not land; it is an orbiter
   • About 2 months
   • About 6.5 months
   • About 18 months
10. 10.

    A spacecraft that circles a planet for years, mapping it, is what kind of mission, by Ari's reading?

    • A flyby
    • A rover
    • An orbiter
    • A lander