105 practice questions covering Beyond Earth, organised into 0 topics.
105 questions include a written explanation.
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Sample questions
Q1
easy
A bright streak of light that flashes across the night sky and vanishes within a second is called
Aa constellation
Ba comet
Ca planet
Da meteor
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Correct answer: D - a meteor
Such a brief streak is a meteor, often called a shooting star although it is not a star at all. A comet stays visible for many nights. A planet moves so slowly against the stars that its motion cannot be seen in a second, and a constellation is a fixed pattern of stars.
Q2
hard
Assertion (A): The planets keep moving around the Sun along fixed paths instead of drifting away into space. Reason (R): The Sun's pull of gravity acts on every planet and keeps it in its path.
ABoth A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
BBoth A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
CA is true, but R is false
DA is false, but R is true
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Correct answer: A - Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
Both statements are true and the reason explains the assertion. The Sun is by far the heaviest body in the Solar System, and its gravity constantly pulls each planet towards it, bending the planet's motion into a closed path. Since A is true the last two choices fail, and R gives the cause of A.
Q3
easy
How many planets move around the Sun in our Solar System?
ATwelve
BNine
CEight
DSix
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Correct answer: C - Eight
Our Solar System has eight planets, from Mercury nearest the Sun to Neptune farthest out. The count of nine was used in older books, when Pluto was included, but Pluto is no longer counted as a planet. Six and twelve do not match the Solar System at all.
Q4
easy
The night on which the whole bright disc of the Moon is seen is called
Ahalf moon night
Bfull moon night
Ccrescent night
Dnew moon night
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Correct answer: B - full moon night
On a full moon night the entire lit half of the Moon faces us, so we see a complete bright disc. On a new moon night the Moon is not seen at all. A half lit Moon and a thin crescent are stages in between, not the fully lit disc.
Q5
hard
Assertion (A): A comet is a star that carries a long tail behind it. Reason (R): A comet is made mostly of ice and dust, and it grows a tail when it comes close to the Sun.
ABoth A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
BBoth A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
CA is true, but R is false
DA is false, but R is true
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Correct answer: D - A is false, but R is true
The assertion is false, because a comet is not a star; stars are enormous balls of glowing gas that shine for ages. The reason is true, since a comet is a small icy and dusty body whose material streams out as a tail near the Sun. So a false assertion goes with a true reason.
Q6
easy
The four planets nearest to the Sun are together called the
Adwarf planets
Binner planets
Couter planets
Dnatural satellites
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B - inner planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars lie closest to the Sun and are called the inner planets. The outer planets are the four that lie beyond them. A dwarf planet is a smaller body such as Pluto, and a natural satellite is a moon going round a planet.
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