What does astrophysics mean?
Word: Astrophysics
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Astrophysics means the branch of science that studies how stars, planets and other objects in space behave and what they are made of.
How do you spell astrophysics?
Syllables: as - tro - phys - ics
Tricky part: The ph makes an f sound, and the y in the middle says a short i. Students write astrofysics or astrophisics.
Watch out for: astrofysics, astrophisics
Memory tip: Think of a phone: the ph that starts phone gives the same f sound in astrophysics.
Astrophysics in a sentence
Example 1: My cousin is studying astrophysics at a university in Edinburgh.
Example 2: Astrophysics helps scientists work out how hot a star is from its colour.
Example 3: The planetarium show was a gentle first taste of astrophysics.
Fun Fact
Astrophysics explains why stars shine: deep inside them, hydrogen is squeezed into helium, which gives out enormous amounts of energy.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
____physics
a) astero
b) austro
c) astro
d) astra
Show answer
c) astro. The star part is astro, the same as in astronaut and astronomy.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
yoishsrpstac
a) astrophysics
b) astronomers
c) psychics
d) physicists
Show answer
a) astrophysics. Count the s letters: there are three, and only astrophysics has three s letters along with an a and an o.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
My aunt teaches astrophysics and lets us look at Saturn through her telescoap.
a) Saturn
b) astrophysics
c) telescoap
d) teaches
Show answer
c) telescoap. Telescope ends in scope, with an o and then pe.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) chemestry
b) mathmatics
c) geografy
d) astrophysics
Show answer
d) astrophysics. Chemistry has an i after the m, geography uses ph and mathematics keeps its e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which question would an expert in astrophysics try to answer?
a) How do bees make honey?
b) Why do leaves change colour?
c) Which crop grows best in clay?
d) What is the Sun made of?
Show answer
d) What is the Sun made of?
2. An astrophysicist would most likely work at ____.
a) an observatory high on a mountain
b) a bank in the city centre
c) a farm growing sugar cane
d) a factory that makes shoes
Show answer
a) an observatory high on a mountain
