Name______Class______Date______

Ch 18 Directed Reading (Pg. 554 - 570)

Section 1: Astronomy: The Original Science

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

1.______What did ancient cultures use to mark the passage of time?

a. stars, planets, and moon

b. stars

c. planets

d. sun and moon

2.What science did the study of the night sky become?

a. astrology c. astronomy

b. cosmology d.physiology

OUR MODERN CALENDAR

Read the description. Then, draw a line from the dot next to each description to the matching word.

3.how long the Earth takes to orbit once around the sun
4.roughly how long the moon takes to orbit once around the Earth
5.how long the Earth takes to rotate once on its axis / •

• / a.day
b.month
c.year

WHO’S WHO OF EARLY ASTRONOMY

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

6.What did most early astronomers think made up the universe?

a. sun and planets

b. sun and Earth

c. sun, moon, and Earth

d. sun, moon, and planets

Directed Reading B continued

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

7.How did early astronomers learn about the universe?

a. They learned from history.

b. They discovered almost everything with their eyes and minds.

c. They used calendars.

d. They made good guesses.

Ptolemy: An Earth-Centered Universe

8.What did Ptolemy think was at the center of the universe?

a. Earth c. moon

b. sun d. other planets

9.What did Ptolemy think moved around the Earth?

a. sun and other planetsc.only the moon

b. only stars d. only the sun and moon

10.What did Ptolemy predict better than any other astronomer of his time?

a. the number of planets

b. the sizes of the planets

c. the atmospheres of the planets

d. the motions of the planets

11.For how many years did most people believe Ptolemy’s theory?

a. about 100 c. over 1,500

b. about 500 d. over 5,000

Copernicus: A Sun-Centered Universe

12.What did Copernicus think was at the center of the universe?

a. Earth c. moon

b. sun d. other planets

Directed Reading B continued

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

13.What did Copernicus think moved around the sun?

a. only Earth and the moonc.only the moon

b. Earth and other planetsd.only the moon and stars

14.What happened after Copernicus’s theory was accepted?

a. Major changes in science and society took place.

b. There was less interest in science.

c. There was less interest in culture.

d. There was less interest in the Earth and other planets.

Read the words in the box. Read the sentences. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

observations / telescope / gravity / elliptical

Tycho Brahe: A Wealth of Data

15.Tycho Brahe recorded precise ______of planets and stars.

Johannes Kepler: Laws of Planetary Motion

16. Johannes Kepler said that planets revolved around the sun in ______orbits.

Galileo: Turning a Telescope to the Sky

17. Galileo was one of the first astronomers to use a(n) ______to observe objects in space.

Isaac Newton: The Laws of Gravity

18. Isaac Newton showed that ______keeps moons and planets in orbit.

Directed Reading B continued

modern ASTRONOMY

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

Edwin Hubble: Beyond the Edge of the Milky Way

19.Who proved that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy?

a. Newton

b. Hubble

c. Galileo

d. Copernicus

20.What did Hubble’s work prove about the size of the universe?

a. It’s bigger than our galaxy.

b. It’s smaller than our galaxy.

c. It’s shrinking.

d. It’s staying the same.

Section 2: Telescopes

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

1.What does a telescope gather from objects in space?

a. optical radiation c.electrical radiation

b. magnetic radiation d.electromagnetic radiation

2.What does a telescope do with electromagnetic radiation?

a. collects and concentrates itc.collects and expands it

b. collects and dissolves itd.collects and breaks it

Optical Telescopes

3.What kind of light does an optical telescope collect?

a. visible light c.ultraviolet light

b. invisible light d.ultrared light

Read the words in the box. Read the sentences. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

magnifies / eyepiece / collects / objective

4. The simplest optical telescope has a(n) ______lens and a lens in the ______.

5. The objective lens ______light and forms an image.

6. The lens in the eyepiece ______the image made by the objective lens.

Refracting Telescopes

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

7.What does a refracting telescope use to gather and focus light?

a. lenses c. mirrors

b. prisms d. metal disks

Reflecting Telescopes

8.What does a reflecting telescope use to gather and focus light?

a. lenses c. mirrors

b. prisms d. metal disks

9.What is one advantage of reflecting telescopes?

a. They gather less light.

b. They use smaller mirrors.

c. They weigh less.

d. Flaws in the glass don’t affect the light.

10.What can a reflecting telescope do that a refracting telescope cannot do?

a. collect light

b. focus all colors to the same point

c. touch up images

d. send images via e-mail

Very Large Reflecting Telescopes

11.What do very large reflecting telescopes use to collect and focus more light?

a. many linked mirrors

b. a very large mirror

c. a huge objective lens

d. a very large eyepiece

Optical Telescopes and the Atmosphere

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

12.What affects the light that a telescope on the Earth gathers?

a. temperature

b. location

c. Earth’s atmosphere and light pollution

d. Earth’s atmosphere and noise pollution

13.How does the Earth’s atmosphere affect the light a telescope gathers?

a. It blurs starlight. c.It breaks light apart.

b. It makes it darker. d.It changes its colors.

14.What is a good place on Earth to put a telescope?

a. in a valley c. on top of a mountain

b. by a lake d. near a city

Optical Telescopes in Space

15.Why do scientists put telescopes in space?

a. to be able to detect very large objects in space

b. to avoid interference from the Earth’s atmosphere

c. to allow less light to be collected

d. to allow more light to be collected

the electromagnetic spectrum

16.Who proved that visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

a. Edwin Hubble c.James Clerk Maxwell

b. Galileo d. Isaac Newton

Directed Reading B continued

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

17.What is the electromagnetic spectrum made of?

a. all the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation

b. magnetic metals

c. waves of gamma rays

d. bands of heat

Detecting Electromagnetic Radiation

18.What is each color of light?

a. a different magnetic element

b. a different wavelength of electromagnetic radiation

c. a different type of gamma rays

d. a different type of radio waves

19.Which of the following is NOT a type of electromagnetic radiation?

a. X rays c. infrared light

b. gamma rays d.black holes

20.What does the Earth’s atmosphere do to most electromagnetic radiation?

a. melts it c. blocks it

b. absorbs it d. freezes it

21.Which of these types of radiation can pass through the Earth’s atmosphere?

a. microwaves c.gamma rays

b. X rays d. all radio waves

22.Which of these types of radiation cannot pass through the Earth’s atmosphere?

a. microwaves c.gamma rays

b. visible light d.radio waves

Directed Reading B continued

Nonoptical telescopes

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

23.What do astronomers use to reveal different clues about an object?

a. different types of radiation

b. different atmospheres

c. visible light

d. colored filters

Radio Telescopes

24.Why do radio telescopes have to be much larger than optical telescopes?

a. They have much shorter wavelengths.

b. They have much longer wavelengths.

c. They use bigger lenses.

d. They collect less light.

Linking Radio Telescopes

25.What do radio telescopes work like when they are linked together?

a. a refracting telescopec.an optical telescope

b. a giant telescope d.an electromagnetic spectrum

26.What is the name of a telescope made up of 27 linked radio telescopes?

a. Very Large Telescopec.Very Large Array

b. Very Linked Array d.Very Limited Array

Nonoptical Telescopes in Space

27.Why have scientists placed X-ray telescopes in space?

a. because Earth’s atmosphere blocks X rays

b. because Earth’s atmosphere blurs X rays

c. to reduce air pollution

d. to avoid light pollution

Section: Mapping the Stars

patterns in the sky

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

1.What are constellations?

a. sky regions with star patterns

b. stars

c. star patterns

d. galaxies

2.How did ancient cultures use the constellations’ locations and movements?

a. to measure the universe

b. to build roads

c. to plot out land

d. to navigate and track time

3.What constellation was the same as the Greek constellation Orion?

a. Ursa Major

b. Great Bear

c. Japanese constellation of a drum

d. Japanese constellation of a hunter

Constellations Help Organize the Sky

4.What does each constellation share with a neighboring constellation?

a. star c. border

b. galaxy d. sky

5.How many constellations are there?

a. 18 c. 100

b. 88 d. 288

Directed Reading B continued

Seasonal Changes

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

6.When do the apparent locations of constellations seem to change?

a. from year to year

b. twice a year

c. every other year

d. from season to season

7.Why do constellations seem to move with the seasons?

a. Earth tilts on its axis.

b. Earth revolves around the sun.

c. Stars move with the seasons.

d. Stars rotate around Earth.

8.Where do people see constellations different from those in the Northern Hemisphere?

a. Southern Hemisphere

b. Western Hemisphere

c. Texas

d. United States

finding stars in the night sky

Read the description. Then, draw a line from the dot next to each description to the matching word.

9.a tool used to tell a star or planet’s location
10.the line where the sky and Earth appear to meet
11.the angle between an object and the horizon
12.an imaginary point right above an observer’s head / •


• / a.altitude
b.astrolabe
c.horizon
d.zenith

Directed Reading B continued

Read the description. Then, draw a line from the dot next to each description to the matching word.

13.the sun’s location on the first day of spring
14.the sun’s apparent path as seen from Earth
15.an imaginary sphere that surrounds Earth
16.an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator into space / •


• / a.celestial equator
b.celestial sphere
c.ecliptic
d.vernal equinox
17.how far east an object is from the vernal equinox
18.how far north or south an object is from the celestial equator / •
• / a.right ascension
b.declination

Directed Reading B continued

The Path of Stars Across the Sky

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

19.What stars never set and can be seen all year long?

a. shooting stars c.northern stars

b. circumpolar stars d.evening stars

the size and scale of the universe

Measuring Distance in Space

20.What is a light-year?

a. the distance light travels in 1 year

b. the speed of light

c. the time it takes light to travel

d. the amount of light in 1 year

21.How many kilometers are in a light-year?

a. 1 c. about 9.46

b. about 1 trillion d.about 9.46 trillion

Considering Scale in the Universe

22.What is an important thing to consider when thinking of the universe?

a. shape c. scale

b. angle d. color

the doppler effect

23.What makes sound seem higher as it moves closer and lower as it moves away?

a. sound effect

b. wavelength effect

c. drowser effect

d. Doppler effect

Directed Reading B continued

Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

24.When a galaxy moves quickly away from an observer, how does the light appear to change?

a. It looks bluer. c.It looks greener.

b. It looks redder. d.It stays the same.

25.When a galaxy moves quickly toward an observer, how does the light appear to change?

a. It looks bluer. c.It looks greener.

b. It looks redder. d.It stays the same.

26.What effect occurs when a galaxy moves quickly away from an observer?

a. greenshift c. redshift

b. wavelength effect d.blueshift

An Expanding Universe

27.What did Hubble discover about galaxies?

a. They were moving apart.

b. They were moving closer.

c. They didn’t move.

d. They were shrinking.

28.What did Hubble discover about the universe?

a. It’s getting bigger.

b. It’s getting smaller.

c. It’s getting colder.

d. It’s getting redder.

29.How did Hubble discover the universe was getting bigger?

a. by redshift c.by yellowshift

b. by blueshift d.by greenshift

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

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