Astronomy Midterm

A "light year" is a way to measure distance. True False

True

Which of the following statements about the celestial sphere is not true? Select one: a. The "celestial sphere" is just another name for our universe. b. When we look in the sky, the stars all appear to be located on the celestial sphere. c. The celestial sphere does not exist physically. d. Earth is placed at the center of the celestial sphere. e. From any location on Earth, we can see only half the celestial sphere at any one time.

a

Which of the following statements is FALSE? Select one: a. The surface of Venus has very few craters primarily because asteroids burn up in its thick atmosphere. b. Impact craters on Earth are erased over time because of erosion due to water and the recycling of its crust. c. Geological features and the chemical composition of some rocks on Mars suggest liquid water flowed on the surface in the past. d. Volcanoes on Mars are larger, on average, than Earth's volcanoes because Mars does not have moving continental plates. e. Darker regions of the Moon's surface have fewer craters and are approximately 1 billion years younger than the lighter regions.

a

Approximately how long after the Solar System formed did it take for oxygen to get to within 80 percent of its present abundance in Earth's atmosphere? Select one: a. 1 million years b. 4 billion years c. Oxygen was always a component of Earth's atmosphere d. 1 billion years e. 400 million years

b

In science an idea that cannot be tested is Select one: a. a hypothesis. b. not a scientific idea. Correct c. a principle. d. a theory.

b

In the absence of a greenhouse effect, what would happen to Earth's oceans? Select one: a. They would evaporate b. They would freeze over c. They would dissociate into ozone and hydrogen d. They would be rapidly absorbed into surface rocks

b

The altitude of the north is equal to your latitude on Earth. At what latitude on Earth would the north celestial pole be at your Zenith? Select one: a. +60 degrees b. +90 degrees c. 0 degrees d. +34 degrees e. This can never happen

b

What is the reason Mercury has so little gas in its atmosphere? Select one: a. It has a high temperature. b. All of the above. c. Its escape velocity is low. d. Its mass is small. e. It is close to the Sun.

b

Approximately how often do lunar eclipses occur? (hint: line of nodes) Select one: a. three times a year b. once every 11 years c. twice every year d. twice every 11 months e. once per month

c

Tidal forces are caused by: Select one: a. the strength of the gravitation pull of the Moon on Earth. b. The weight of the water in the oceans on the ocean floor. c. the difference between the strength of the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on either side of Earth. d.the difference between the weight of the water on the ocean floor at high and low tide. e. the strength of the gravitation pull of the Moon and the Sun on Earth.

c

When someone on Earth observes the Moon in the first-quarter phase, someone on the Moon facing Earth observes Earth in the: (hint: draw a picture!) Select one: a. new Earth phase. b. full Earth phase c. first-quarter Earth phase d. crescent Earth phase e. third quarter Earth phase

e

Homosapiens have existed for about 150,000 years. This is 0.09% of the time of the dinosaurs. This means that 1,480,000 years from now we will have lives 1% as long as the dinosaurs. Select one: True False

true

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when: Select one: a. the Moon passes through part of the Earth's shadow. b. The Earth passes through part of the Moon's shadow c. The moon shadows part of the Sun d. The Moon passes through part of the Sun's shadow e. the Sun appears to go behind the Moon.

a

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States with a latitude of +40°. Using the figure below, which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest to the meridian at midnight in mid-November? Select one: a. Taurus b. Scorpious c. Aquarius d. Pisces e. Leo

a

Because of _____________, we can conclude that gravity works the same way on Mars as it does on Earth. Select one: a. The cosmological principle Correct b. the hypothetical statute c. Newtons theory of relativity d. Einsteins special theory of relativity e. Sagan's planetary principle

a

If one thinks about the distance between Earth and the Moon, 384,400 km, approximately how much of that distance would Saturn and its rings take up? Select one: a. less than half this distance b. more than half this distance c. much more than this distance d. exactly equal to this distance

a

In the absence of air friction, a 0.001-kg piece of paper and a 0.1-kg notebook are dropped from the same height and allowed to fall to the ground. How do their accelerations compare? Select one: a. The accelerations are the same. b. The notebook's acceleration is 100 times faster than the paper's acceleration. c. The paper's acceleration is 1,000 times faster than the notebook's acceleration. d. The paper's acceleration is 100 times faster than the notebook's acceleration. e. The notebook's acceleration is 1,000 times faster than the paper's acceleration.

a

One of the nearest stars is Alpha Centauri, whose distance is 4.2 × 1016 meters. How long does it take light to travel from Alpha Centauri to us? (Hint: the speed of light is 3 x 108 meters/second) Select one: a. 4.4 years Correct b. It is too far away to ever see c. 8.3 minutes d. 140,000,000 years e. 4.4 days

a

Which of the following properties of an astronaut changes when he or she is standing on the Moon, relative to when the astronaut is standing on Earth? Select one: a. weight b. The color of the Sun c. mass d. nothing changes e. inertia

a

The figure shows the continental plates of Earth and the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes. Which statement is FALSE? Select one: a. Earth's crust is broken up into 13 separate continental plates. b. Volcanoes occur more often where two plates are coming together rather than spreading apart. c. The Atlantic Ocean is getting smaller with time d. Southern California in the United States and Baja in Mexico are sliding northeastward relative to the rest of the North American Plate. e. Earthquakes happen where two plates come together and when they spread apart.

c

The presence of gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor in a planet's atmosphere is direct evidence of _________ in a planet's history. Select one: a. a lack of asteroid impacts b. the greenhouse effect c. volcanic activity d. cometary impacts e. high surface temperatures

c

The radius of Jupiter is still contracting, getting ~10 centimeters smaller per century. This means: Select one: a. Jupiters shape is noticeably oblate. b. Jupiter is getting a stronger magnetic field c. Jupiter's rotation rate is increasing over time d. Jupiter is moving slightly farther from the Sun with time.

c

Which of the following processes did NOT contribute gas to Earth's secondary atmosphere? Select one: a. all of the above contributed gasses to Earth's secondary atmosphere b. comet impacts c. oxidation d. accretion e. volcanism

c

Which of the following statements about the Moon is true? Select one: a. If you see a new Moon from North America, someone in South America would see a full Moon. b. The side of the Moon facing away from Earth is in perpetual darkness. c. The Moon's distance from Earth varies during its orbit. d. The Moon goes through a cycle of phases because it always has the same side facing Earth. e. The moon is only visible at night

c

If it were not for the greenhouse effect on Earth, Select one: a. there would be no liquid water on Earth. b. there would be no oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. c. it would be a much colder planet. d. All of the above are results of the greenhouse effect. e. life as we know it would not have developed on Earth.

d

If photosynthesis were to disappear on Earth, Select one: a. the atmosphere would become hotter. b. nitrogen would disappear from the atmosphere. c. the atmosphere would become less dense. d. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere. e. the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere would decrease.

d

If the distance between Earth and the Sun were doubled, the gravitational force between these two objects would: Select one: a. decrease by 2 b. increase by 2 c. decrease by 8 d. decrease by 4 e. increase by 4

d

If you have a stuffy nose, a fever, chills, and body aches and a doctor treats you for the flu rather than four separate diseases that account for each of your symptoms, this is an application of Select one: a. Einstein's relativity b. Aristotle's test c. Newton's hypothesis d. Occam's razor Correct e. Copernican principle

d

Our universe is approximately 13.7 _________ years old. Select one: a. trillion b. thousand c. million d. billion

d

What prevented the Moon from maintaining any atmosphere with which it originally formed? Select one: a. It repeatedly collided with planetesimals. b. The solar wind blew it away. c. It is too close to the Sun d. It is not massive enough. e. It is tidally locked to Earth.

d

What sets the temperature of the pocket of gas in a protoplanetary disk? Select one: a. its distance from the forming star b. how much radiation from the forming star shines on the gas c. how much kinetic energy was converted to heat d. a combination of A, B, and C

d

According to the figure, if you were to specify your address in the universe, listing your membership from the smallest to largest physical structures, it would be: a. Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea Supercluster, the universe. b. Earth, Solar System, Local Group, Milky Way, the universe. c. Earth, Laniakea Supercluster, Milky Way, Solar System, the universe. d. Earth, Local Group, Solar System, Andromeda, the universe. e. Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Local Group, Laniakea Supercluster, the universe.

e

If you go out at exactly 9 P.M. each evening over the course of 1 month, the position of a given star will move westward by tens of degrees. What causes this motion? Select one: a. The speed of the star through the Galaxy b. The revolution of the Moon around Earth c. Earth's rotation on its axis d. Einsteins theory of relativity e. the revolution of Earth around the Sun

e

Suppose you live on the Moon. How long is a day (i.e., from sunrise to sunrise)? Select one: a. 24 hours b. a year c. 3.1415 light years d. 23 hours 56 minutes e. a lunar month

e

What is the most important factor in determining whether or not a planet will be rocky like terrestrial planets or gaseous like giant planets? Select one: a. the time at which the planet forms b. whether the planet has moons c. the planet's radius d. the planet's internal temperature e. the planet's distance from the Sun

e

When the Sun and Moon are separated by 90 degrees in the sky, _________ tides occur on Earth when the strength of the tides are _________ than normal. Select one: a. lunar; lower b. spring; lower c. spring; higher d. neap; higher e. neap; lower

e