What Are Black Holes? — Questions and answers

Read the full story

Where were Sara and her father when they saw Alcatraz disappear into the mist?

Choices

  1. On the deck of a ferry ✓
  2. On top of a tall building
  3. In a small fishing boat
  4. From the shore of the bay

Answer: On the deck of a ferry

From page 1

What did Sara ask her teacher, Mr. Harris, about?

Choices

  1. How to draw a foggy island
  2. If something could pull in everything, even light ✓
  3. Why stars twinkle in the sky
  4. What a star chart is used for

Answer: If something could pull in everything, even light

From page 2

How did the idea of black holes first begin, according to Mr. Harris?

Choices

  1. With a pen and paper during a war ✓
  2. By looking through a powerful telescope
  3. By observing planets from space
  4. By listening to sounds from the stars

Answer: With a pen and paper during a war

From page 3

What amazing thing did Karl Schwarzschild do when he was only sixteen years old?

Choices

  1. He joined the army on the Russian front.
  2. He helped Albert Einstein with his ideas.
  3. He published his first astronomy paper. ✓
  4. He invented a new kind of telescope.

Answer: He published his first astronomy paper.

From page 4

What quote from Einstein did Schwarzschild share with another soldier?

Choices

  1. "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ✓
  2. "The universe is full of secrets."
  3. "Gravity is the strongest force."
  4. "Always keep exploring the stars."

Answer: "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

From page 5

What did Schwarzschild's math predict about a collapsed giant star?

Choices

  1. It would turn into a new planet.
  2. Its gravity would be so strong that nothing, not even light, could escape. ✓
  3. It would become a super bright star.
  4. It would travel faster than light.

Answer: Its gravity would be so strong that nothing, not even light, could escape.

From page 6

What was the name of the first real evidence of a black hole found in the 1960s?

Choices

  1. The Cygnus Constellation
  2. The Mysterious X-ray
  3. Cygnus X-1 ✓
  4. The Invisible Star

Answer: Cygnus X-1

From page 7

How did Sara understand that astronomers found the black hole?

Choices

  1. They used powerful telescopes to see it clearly.
  2. They sent a probe into space to touch it.
  3. They used invisible X-ray light to find an invisible object. ✓
  4. They listened for strange sounds from the stars.

Answer: They used invisible X-ray light to find an invisible object.

From page 8

What new question did Sara ask Mr. Harris after summarizing what a black hole is?

Choices

  1. Why doesn't the supermassive black hole in our galaxy swallow everything? ✓
  2. How big is the Milky Way galaxy?
  3. What is light made of?
  4. Can humans travel to a black hole?

Answer: Why doesn't the supermassive black hole in our galaxy swallow everything?

From page 10