TEACHER RESOURCE: ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
Depending on grade level and presentation length (30 or 40 minutes), students should be able to answer all or most of the following questions.
What is a light year?
The distance a beam of light will travel in one year.
How many miles from earth is our sun?
93,000,000 miles.
How many light minutes is our sun from the earth?
8 light minutes.
How many light years from earth is the next closest start after the sun?
4.5 years.
In what region of the sky are circumpolar stars found?
Northern.
What is an asterism?
A well-known part of a constellation or a distinctive shaped formed by bright stars from different constellations (Ex – Big Dipper, Orion’s Belt, Winter Circle).
What is the asterism that circles and leads us to the North Star?
Big Dipper.
Why is the North Star stationary in our sky?
It is directly over the North Pole.
Assuming clear skies, how many nights during the year is the north star visible?
Every night of the year.
What is the brightest star in the sky?
Sirius.
What’s the difference between circumpolar and seasonal stars?
Circumpolar stars “circle the pole” and are visible every night of the year. Seasonal stars rise in the east, set in the west and are only visible for a portion of the year.
If a seasonal star or constellation is not visible in our sky at night, when is it passing overhead?
During the day.
What is the difference between a star with a reddish tint and a star with a blue/white tint?
Red tint is an older, cooler star; blue tint is young and hot.
Which are the two constellations that, according to the mythology, must be kept separated, or they will fight?
Orion and the Scorpius.
At what time of year is Orion visible in our night sky?
Winter into early spring.
At what time of year is Scorpius visible in our night sky?
Summer.