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Grade 9 · Science · Earth and Space Science

9th grade What a star's light shows: spectra and color worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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What a star's light shows: spectra and color

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Three spectrum strips labeled A to C

    Smooth rainbow; bright lines on black; dark lines on a rainbow.

  2. A hot, dense glowing object, such as a lamp filament, gives which kind of spectrum, by Ari's reading?

    • No light
    • Dark lines crossing a rainbow
    • Bright lines on a dark background
    • A smooth rainbow with no lines

  3. A hot, thin gas glowing in a tube gives which kind of spectrum, by Bo's reading?

    • Dark lines crossing a rainbow
    • Bright lines on a dark background
    • One color, with no lines
    • A smooth rainbow

  4. Starlight passes through the star's cooler outer gas. Which kind of spectrum reaches Kira's telescope?

    • Bright lines on black
    • A rainbow crossed by dark lines
    • A smooth rainbow, since the gas is see-through
    • Pure black

  5. Table, Lab lines (NIST, air wavelengths), with columns Element, Lines (nm)

    Hydrogen, 656.3, 486.1, 434.0, 410.2; helium, 587.6; sodium, 589.0, 589.6; calcium, 393.4, 396.8.

  6. A star's dark lines sit at 656.3, 486.1, 434.0 and 410.2 nm. Which element matches, by Jun's reading?

    • Sodium
    • Hydrogen
    • Helium
    • Calcium

  7. A star shows two dark lines close together at 589.0 and 589.6 nm. Which element matches, by Luz's reading?

    • Sodium
    • Helium, which has a line at 587.6 nm
    • Hydrogen
    • Calcium

  8. A star shows dark lines at 393.4 and 396.8 nm. Which element matches, by Milo's reading?

    • Sodium
    • Helium
    • Calcium
    • Hydrogen, since 410.2 is close

  9. Four star dots colored red, yellow, white and blue. Which star has the hottest surface, by Noah's reading?

    • The yellow star, like the Sun
    • The red star
    • The white star, since white is brightest
    • The blue star

  10. One peaking at a shorter wavelength, one at a longer wavelength. As a star gets hotter, what happens to the wavelength where its light peaks, by Pia's reading?

    • It stays the same
    • The peak disappears
    • It gets longer, shifting toward the red end
    • It gets shorter, toward blue

  11. Why does each element have its own pattern of lines, by Zee's reading (NASA)?

    • Lines mark the colors an element lacks
    • Lines show just the star's color
    • Each element's atoms absorb and emit their own wavelengths
    • Lines show the star's size

  12. Bright lines on black, dark lines on a rainbow. An element's dark lines and its bright lines appear where, compared with each other, by Esme's reading?

    • At the same wavelengths
    • Dark lines sit where the element is missing
    • At random wavelengths
    • At opposite ends of the spectrum
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9th grade What a star's light shows: spectra and color worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

What a star's light shows: spectra and color. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can tell continuous, bright-line and dark-line spectra apart and say which setup makes each.
  • I can match a star's lines to elements using NIST wavelengths, matching the whole pattern.
  • I can use peak wavelength = 2,898,000 nm·K ÷ T both ways, and link color to temperature.

Standard: supports HS-ESS1-2

Words to know

spectrum: Light spread out by wavelength, like a rainbow

absorption line: A dark line where gas absorbs one wavelength

emission line: A bright line where hot gas gives off one wavelength

nanometer: One billionth of a meter; visible light is about 400 to 700 nm

Wien's law: Peak wavelength equals 2,898,000 nm·K divided by temperature

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up the kinds of spectra. A hot dense object gives a smooth rainbow; hot thin gas gives bright lines; cooler gas in front of a hot source gives dark lines.

Your child matched an element from one line or a near match. Each element has its own whole pattern of lines at exact wavelengths (NIST).

Your child swapped star colors and temperatures. Blue stars are the hottest and red stars the coolest.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with what a star's light shows: spectra and color?

Your child mixed up the kinds of spectra. A hot dense object gives a smooth rainbow; hot thin gas gives bright lines; cooler gas in front of a hot source gives dark lines.

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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