Rockets, Suits and the Moon: teacher key

Astronauts and Space Travel, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. The ideal rocket equation shows that 90% of a rocket going to orbit is propellant weight. The book covers the Apollo 11 landing, the lunar spacesuit, the first flights, health risks and NASA's Artemis plans as of November 2026.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. A rocket going to orbit weighs 100 tonnes at launch. About how much of that is propellant?
   • About 10 tonnes
   • About 50 tonnes
   • About 90 tonnes (answer)
2. How many of the three Apollo 11 astronauts walked on the Moon?
   • Three
   • Two (answer)
   • One
3. About how long did Armstrong and Aldrin spend inside the lunar module on the surface?
   • About 18 hours (answer)
   • About 2 hours
   • About 21 hours
4. What did Neil Armstrong have to do in the final minutes before landing?
   • Pilot the lunar module by hand (answer)
   • Float in open space
   • Stay in orbit
5. How many orbits of Earth did Tereshkova's Vostok 6 flight make?
   • 16
   • 48 (answer)
   • 108

Words

• propellant: rocket fuel
• meteorites: space rocks
• synodic: repeating cycle
• exhaust: hot gas