Coldest planet of the Solar System is:
- (A) Saturn
- (B) Neptune
- (C) Uranus
- (D) Venus
- (C) Uranus
Uranus is known as the coldest planet in our Solar System. Although Neptune is farther away from the Sun than Uranus, the average temperature of Uranus is the lowest, at −224 °C (−371 °F), due to the lower emission of internal heat compared to other gas giants.
Which of the following planets has the maximum number of satellites?
- (A) Venus
- (B) Saturn
- (C) Uranus
- (D) Jupiter
- (B) Saturn
Recent discoveries in the field of astronomy have declared Saturn to be the planet with the most moons in our solar system, with a total of 146 confirmed natural satellites. This number includes 62 new moons discovered in 2023, which allowed Saturn to reclaim the number one position from Jupiter.
Which planet takes the longest time to go once around the Sun?
- (A) Neptune
- (B) Mars
- (C) Jupiter
- (D) Earth
- (A) Neptune
Neptune has the longest orbital period around the Sun among the recognized planets, which takes approximately 165 Earth years (about 60,190 days). As the farthest planet, it has the largest orbit around the Sun and has made only one complete orbit since its discovery in 1846.
The first artificial satellite was launched by:
- (A) Japan
- (B) Russia
- (C) America
- (D) France
- (B) Russia
The USSR marked the beginning of the Space Age on October 4, 1957, by launching the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, this 58-centimeter (approximately 23 inches) metal sphere orbited the Earth for 92 days, thus sparking the space race.
The first Canadian woman in space was:
- (A) Roberta Bondar
- (B) Dirk Freemont
- (C) Tamaya Mendez
- (D) Marc Garneau
- (A) Roberta Bondar
Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman to travel to space. She flew aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-42 in January 1992. Bondar was also the first neurologist to travel to space. As of early 2026, the only other Canadian woman to travel to space is Julie Payette, who flew to space in 1999 and again in 2009.
The first astronaut to set foot on moon was:
- (A) Yuri Gagarin
- (B) Edmund Hailey
- (C) Tamayo Mendez
- (D) Neil Armstrong
- (D) Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong made history by becoming the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission. He is famous for saying “one small step for man” as he stepped out of the spacecraft and onto the Moon’s surface, followed shortly by Buzz Aldrin.
The theory stating that new matter is always created to fill the space left by the universe is called:
- (A) Big Bang
- (B) Steady State
- (C) Hubble’s Theory
- (D) Black Hole
- (B) Steady State
The Steady State theory states that as the universe is expanding, new matter is being formed. This theory was proposed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Hermann Bondi, and Thomas Gold. This theory states that the universe has no beginning or end and looks the same at all times. As galaxies move apart, new matter is continuously created (often described as hydrogen atoms) to fill the gaps, keeping the overall density constant.
Velocity of sound in air per second is:
- (A) 250 meters
- (B) 331 meters
- (C) 434 meters
- (D) 561 meters
- (B) 331 meters
The speed of sound in air is approximately 331 meters per second at a temperature of 0°C. As the temperature rises, the speed increases slightly, by about 0.6 meters per second for each degree Celsius.
Acceleration caused by gravity is:
- (A) 23 feet per second²
- (B) 32 feet per second²
- (C) 42 feet per second²
- (D) 62 feet per second²
- (B) 32 feet per second²
The acceleration of gravity on Earth’s surface is approximately 32 ft/s² (or 9.8 m/s² in metric units). This means that the speed of a freely falling object will increase by 32 feet per second square.
A rocket needs the speed of _____ to escape from earth’s gravity:
- (A) 5 miles per second
- (B) 6 miles per second
- (C) 7 miles per second
- (D) 12 miles per second
- (C) 7 miles per second
In order to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth, a rocket must achieve the escape velocity, which is approximately 7 miles per second (or 11.2 kilometers per second). This is the speed required for a rocket to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth without the need for propulsion.