GSC 199 Exam 1

Hubble's law states that galaxies are receding from us at a speed that is proportional to their ________.

Distance

A hot (incandescent) gas under low pressure produces a continuous spectrum.

False

Aristarchus was the first Greek to explain a geocentric model of the universe

False

Blue stars are cooler than red stars.

False

Dark Energy and Dark Matter are similar in that they both appear to be slowing the expansion of the universe

False

Solar eclipses are more common than are lunar eclipses.

False

The red shift refers to the tendency of stars to cool and become red in color.

False

4-Compare and contrast the geocentric and the heliocentric views of the universe

Geocentric (Ptolemaic) Theory/Heliocentric (Copernican) Theory •Earth was round. >Earth was round. •Earth was the center of the Universe. >Sun was the center of the Universe. •Earth did not rotate. >Earth rotated. •The orbit of the planets was circular. >The orbit of the planets was elliptical

What are the four major disciplines that collectively contribute to earth science?

Geology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy

Which of the following is not considered a form of electromagnetic radiation?

Gravity

The stars are made of primarily these two chemical elements.

Hydrogen and helium.

What did the Big Bang theory predict that was finally confirmed years after it was formulated?

If the universe was originally hot beyond comparison, it should be possible to detect this radiation, which is called cosmic microwave background radiation.

What can be learned about a star (or other celestial objects) from a dark-line (absorption) spectrum?

It can tell about the composition of the star or celestial object.

This scientist determined that the planetary orbit was elliptical.

Johannes Kepler

Three laws of planetary motion were discovered by ________.

Johannes Kepler

A blue star emits ____________ radiation than a red star per unit area

More

Almagest, the 13-volume astronomy treatise, was written by _________________.

Ptolemy

Which of the following colors has the longest wavelength?

Red

According to the Ptolemaic (Greek) model of the universe, how many "heavenly" bodies could be observed wandering along the background of stars?

Seven

Blue light has a ___________ wavelength than red light.

Shorter

This scientist determined the nature of the forces that kept the planets in their orbits.

Sir Isaac Newton

The discovery that the universe appears to be expanding led to a widely accepted theory called ________.

The Big Bang

Newton discovered that the orbits of the planets result from opposing forces. Briefly explain these forces.

The force of inertia keeps objects moving in their original direction and the force of gravitation pulls objects towards each other.

This observation supports the theory that the planets formed from a disk shaped nebula

The planets revolve around the Sun in approximately the same plane of the ecliptic.

Why did Hubble think the Cepheid variables he saw in "Fuzzy Patches" were outside the milky way?

They were dim.

Define the ecliptic.

This is the apparent path of the Sun during the course of one year.

An eclipse of the Moon can be seen by anyone on the side of Earth facing the Moon.

True

Earth is closest to the Sun in January

True

Environmental science always involves a large component of Earth Science.

True

Galileo discovered that the Sun has "blemishes," which we call sunspots.

True

Science is based on the assumption that nature behaves in a consistent and predictable manner.

True

Shorter wavelengths correspond to more energetic photons.

True

The "Big Bang" is an example of theory

True

The Sun is considered an "average star."

True

The energy from nuclear fusion is produced by the conversion of mass to energy.

True

Slipher made the observation that galaxies rotated and moved relative to each other. Hubble expanded on this work to show that ________.

all galaxies except those in the Local Group are moving away from the Milky Way

All of the following are possible steps of scientific investigation except for ________.

assumption of conclusions without prior experimentation or observation

In the Ptolemaic (Greek) model of the universe, the stars are attached to the ________.

celestial sphere

The chemical composition of stars can be determined by the __________________.

dark-line spectrum

In the Ptolemaic (Greek) model of the universe, the ________.

earth was in the center of the universe

The Sun produces energy by converting ________.

hydrogen nuclei to helium nuclei

When viewing the planets, Mars appears to move backwards, or retrograde, because ________.

it is rotating around the sun slower than the earth's rotation

What is science?

method of investigating nature that discovers reliable knowledge about it.

The ________ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.

nebular theory

The source of the Sun's energy is ________.

nuclear fusion

The ________ day is the time it takes for Earth to make one complete rotation with respect to a star other than our Sun.

sidereal

Galileo observed several features using the telescope.

sunspots, phases of Venus, Jupiter's four largest moons

To determine whether a celestial body is approaching or receding from Earth, astronomers employ ________.

the Doppler principle

Evidence for the existence of dark matter includes ________.

the observation that stars near the center of galaxies do not rotate as fast as expected

what is meteorology

the study of the atmosphere

As the temperature of a radiating surface is increased ________.

the total amount of energy emitted increases a larger portion of the energy is radiated at shorter wavelengths

Based on the observed red shifts in the spectral lines of distant galaxies, astronomers conclude that ________.

the universe is expanding

A ________ is a well-tested and widely accepted view that best explains certain scientific observations

theory

The primary goal of Earth Science is ________.

to identify the patterns in nature and use that information to predict the future

Explain the Big Bang theory

•At about 13.7 billion years ago, a cataclysmic explosion happened; all matter and space were created; •The ejected gas cooled and condensed, forming the stars we now observe; •The universe continues to expand, evolve and cool

Provide two pieces of supporting evidence of the Big Bang

•Doppler effect or Red shift: Galaxies are moving away •Presence of long-wavelength, background cosmic radiation (radio waves and microwaves), which is predicted by the Big Bang Theory