1. How far away is Proxima Centauri from Earth?
(a) 100 million times farther than our moon.
(b) 120 million times farther than our sun.
(c) 390 million times farther than Venus.
(d) 700 million times farther than Mars.

2. The fact that Pluto has a moon was not discovered until:
(a) 1936.
(b) 1965.
(c) 1991.
(d) 1978.

3. Astronomer Edmond Halley approached mathematician Sir Isaac Newton to get his help figuring out why planets:
(a) Are round.
(b) Spin on their axes.
(c) Orbit the sun in ellipses.
(d) Vary in size.

4. According to the Reverend William Buckland, the biblical reference to "in the beginning" with regards to the formation of Earth could refer to:
(a) A particular era.
(b) Myths and legends.
(c) Millions and millions of years.
(d) Exactly seven days.

5. In the 1700s, people were finding holes in theories. For example, if the thoughts on erosion were completely correct, then:
(a) There would be no mountains, only smooth hills.
(b) Icebergs would have eroded long ago.
(c) Sand would be ground to fine powder.
(d) All farmland would have been washed away.

Short Answer Questions

1. After noticing an unusual phenomenon with uranium salts and a photographic plate, Henri Becquerel asked one of his graduate students to investigate the matter. Who was this student?

2. Pluto is the first planet to be discovered by an:

3. The Geiger counter is a:

4. Which of the following is not part of an atom?

5. In addition to being a seventeenth-century astronomer, Christopher Wren designed:

(see the answer key)

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