Astro Final

Which of the following statements is not true about Titan? A) evidence of volcanoes B) visited by the Huygens lander. C) open bodies of liquid D) largest moon in the solar system E) thick atmosphere

D

Which property of Jupiter has allowed it to retain hydrogen and helium in its atmosphere? A) tidal forces from its moons B) high winds C) strong magnetic field D) large mass E) fast rotation

D

Why did Ptolemy have the planets orbiting Earth on "circles upon circles" (epicycles) in his model of the Universe? A) to explain why the Greeks were unable to detect stellar parallax B) to explain why Venus goes through phases as seen from Earth C) to properly account for the varying distances of the planets from Earth D) to explain the fact that planets sometimes appear to move westward, rather than eastward, relative to the stars in our sky

D

Why do asteroids and comets differ? A) They don't; they are two different names for the same object B) Asteroids formed in the solar nebula while comets were captured by the Solar System C) Asteroids can hit Earth, comets cannot D) They formed in different locations in the protoplanetary disk (and thus are found in different regions of the solar system) E) Asteroids are smaller, so they are never found to be spherical

D

Which processes are NOT important for heating the interiors of the terrestrial planets and moons in our Solar System ? A) solar raditation B) fusion C) radioactivity D) tidal friction E) chemical reactions

A, B, E

A given constellation can be seen at night during one time of year, but is not in the night sky during another time of year. Why is that? A) the Earth's rotation B) the Earth's orbit around the Sun C) the tilt of the Earth's spin axis relative to the Earth's orbit D) the movement of stars through space E) the precession of the Earth's spin axis

B

A telescope with diameter d can resolve an angle theta (in degrees) according to the following formula: theta = 60 • wavelength / d where the wavelength of the observed light is in measured m and d is measured in m, The Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico is a radio dish 300 m wide. The smallest angle it can resolve when observing in radio waves with a wavelength of 30 cm is nearest to: Which number do you get for "wavelength / d" for this telescope and wavelength ? Hint: You have to use the same units A) 0.0001 B) 0.001 C) 0.01 D) 0.1

B

As time goes by, which of these is currently increasing? A) the amount of hydrogen in the Sun B) the amount of helium in the Sun C) the amount of carbon in the Sun D) the density of the Sun E) the mass of the Sun

B

The relationship between distance, speed, and time is: distance = speed x time. Solve this equation for time. (That is, get time by itself on the left side.) A) time = distance - speed B) time = distance / speed C) time = distance + speed D) time = distance x speed

B

Tycho Brahe is best known for: A) First sun-centered model of the solar system or Universe B) Creating a first theoretical model for explaining gravity C) Creating a first theoretical model to explain planetary motions D) first observations of the Sun E) The world's best naked-eye astronomical observations in history

E

Which of the following statements about Mars is NOT true? A) There are many big volcanoes on Mars. B) It is frozen today, but once had flowing water. C) It is considered part of our inner solar system. D) It's magnetic field is very weak. E) We could survive on Mars without spacesuits, as long as we brought oxygen in scuba tanks.

E

You are standing on the dark side of the Moon during a full Moon. If you look at the Earth in the sky, the phase of the Earth that you see is A) new B) 1st quarter C) full D) 3rd quarter E) The Earth isn't in the sky.

E

Which of the following are known to currently have liquid (of any kind) on their surface? A) Europa B) Mars C) Titan D) Jupiter E) Triton F) Earth G) Venus Correct answer(s): F, C

F, C

The furthest distance that can be measured by parallax is limited by: A) The size of a telescope B) The time in takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. C) Dust in the Milky Way D) The size of a star E) The brightness of a star

A

If you walk 2.5 miles to class and it takes you 50 minutes, what is your average speed in miles per hour? (You will need to be able to do this kind of problem without a calculator.) Do the calculation on paper, and then type a number (only) in the box.

3mph

Building on the answers (and corresponding calculations) to the three previous questions, you can now answer the exam question - what is the smallest angle Arecibo can resolve - by comparing which degree, arcmin, or arcsec value is closest to your calculated number. A) 4 arc minutes B) 4 degrees C) 4 arc seconds D) 40 degrees E) 0.4 degrees

A

(B) Concerning the answer that Hubble is closer to the stars, consider the following numbers for illustration: Remember that even the (current) largest optical telescopes collect only about a few million (1,000,000) times as much light as the pupils of our eyes. The closest (!) star Proxima Centauri is at a distance of 4 ly. This corresponds to 4 * 1013 (40,000,000,000,000) km. Since the brightness of light is inversely proportional to the distance2 (distance from observer), the closest star's collected light scales inversely with 16 * 1026 km2 . Hubble's orbit is at an altitude of 560 km, i.e., the distance to the closest star is reduced by 560 km. Is the following sentence true or false: If one compares the amount of light collected at the surface of Earth and at Hubble's altitude, the difference is so small that no current telescope can detect it. A) True B) False

A

A spacecraft in one stable orbit moves to another stable orbit that has twice the semi-major axis as the first. The period of the second orbit is ____ times that of the first orbit. A) square root of 8 B) 0.5 C) cube root of 64 D) 2

A

According to the heliocentric model, the reason the planets always appear to be near the ecliptic is that A) the planets revolve around the Sun in nearly the same plane B) the planets come much nearer to us than the Sun C) the ecliptic is only 23.5 degrees from the celestial equator D) compared to the stars, the planets are near the Sun

A

All of these moons show some evidence of water (in solid or liquid form) except A) Io B) Ganymede C) Enceladus D) Europa E) Callisto

A

All the following statements are true. Which one is the most important in explaining the tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io? A) Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical orbit, due to orbital resonances with other satellites. B) Io exhibits synchronous rotation, meaning that its rotation period and orbital period are the same. C) Io is the closest to Jupiter of Jupiter's large moons. D) Io orbits Jupiter in the so-called Io torus, and therefore has a surface that is bombarded by many charged particles.

A

Based on our current theory of Earth's formation, the water we drink comes from A) comets or asteroids that impacted Earth. B) chemical reactions that occurred in Earth's core after Earth formed. C) material left behind during the giant impact that formed the Moon. D) ice that condensed in the solar nebula in the region where Earth formed. E) chemical reactions that occurred in Earth's crust after Earth formed.

A

Compared to telescopes on the Earth, the primary advantage of the Hubble Space Telescope is that it One of these three answer options were chosen by most of you: (A) sees all wavelengths of light that are blocked by Earth's atmosphere (B) is closer to the stars (C) produces sharper images Let's go through them individually. Hubble can detect A) visible and a bit of infrared and ultraviolet light because all these photons behave similarly enough that the usual optical telescope design can be used. B) X-rays because Hubble was designed to detect X-rays. C) Gamma-rays because Hubble was designed to detect gamma-rays. D) Radiowaves because Hubble is a radio dish. E) All of the above because one telescope design can be used for all electromagnetic waves

A

Compared to the maria, the lunar highlands are NOT A) younger B) lighter colored C) more mountainous D) more cratered E) larger in area

A

Compared to visible light, radio waves have A) lower energy and longer wavelength. B) higher energy and shorter wavelength. C) lower energy and shorter wavelength. D) higher energy and longer wavelength.

A

If you multiply your previous result by 60 you get theta in degrees - True or False ? A) True B) False

A

In order for Orion to become a Zodiac constellation, which of the following would need to be changed? A) orientation of the Earth's orbital plane B) the rate of the Earth's spin C) direction of the Earth's spin axis D) the time it takes Earth to complete one orbit E) angle of the Earth's spin axis relative to the Earth's orbit Correct answer(s): A

A

Math review: What is another correct expression for (x * a)b ? A) (x * a)b= xb * ab B) (x * a)b = x * ab C) (x * a)b = xb * a

A

Measuring the distance to Venus enabled the distances between all planets and the Sun to be calculated because: A) Kepler had calculated the distance between each planet and the Sun compared to the Earth-Sun distance. B) Tycho had calculated the distance between each planet and the Sun compared to the Earth-Sun distance. C) The temperature of each planet depends on how closely it orbits the Sun. D) The angular size of Venus could be compared to the Moon. E) The angular size of Venus could be compared to its known size.

A

On average, the Moon is three hundred and eighty thousand km (kilometers) from the Earth. How is this quantity expressed as a number? A) 380,000 km B) 3,800 km C) 380,000,000,000,000 km D) 380,000,000,000 km E) 380,000,000 km

A

Scorpius is currently a summer constellation, but in 26,000 years A) it will be a summer constellation B) it will be a winter constellation C) it will be an autumn constellation D) it will be a spring constellation

A

Star A is 3 times hotter than star B. Assuming that they have the same sizes, star A must produce _____ times more light than star B. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does "A is 3 times hotter than B" mean ? A) The temperature of A is three times the temperature of B (T[A] = 3* T[B]). B) The temperature of B is three times the temperature of A (T[B] = 3* T[A]). C) There is no obvious relation between the temperatures of stars A and B. D) The stars A and B have the same temperatures.

A

Suppose that large jovian planets had never formed in our solar system. Which of the following would most likely be true? A) Neither the asteroid belt nor Oort cloud would exist. B) Earth would have suffered far fewer impacts. C) There would be more northern lights on Earth. D) Earth would orbit much closer to the Sun. E) There would be a large empty region in our solar system between the orbit of Mars and the Kuiper belt.

A

Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's North Pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true? A) All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun. B) All the planets except Uranus orbit the Sun counterclockwise; Uranus orbits in the opposite direction C) The inner planets orbit the Sun counterclockwise while the outer planets orbit the Sun clockwise. D) The inner planets orbit the Sun clockwise while the outer planets orbit the Sun counterclockwise.

A

The large Jovian satellites have sizes comparable to Mercury. Why do they have an icy composition compared to Mercury's rocky composition? A) They formed beyond the frost line, where ices were three to four times more abundant than metals and rock. B) They formed from hydrogen compounds expelled by the Jovian planets. C) They experienced many more cometary impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment. D) They are captured comets.

A

The light radiated from the Sunʹs surface reaches Earth in about 8 minutes, but the energy of that light was released by fusion in the solar core about A) a few 100,000 years ago. B) one year ago. C) a few hundred years ago. D) a few thousand years ago. E) ten years ago.

A

The moons Phobos and Deimos probably originated from the A) asteroid belt B) Oort Cloud C) Kuiper belt D) outside the solar system E) Jupiter's system of moons

A

The sidereal year is longer than the tropical year because of A) Precession of Earth's spin axis B) The orbit of the Moon around the Earth C) Tilt of the Earth's spin axis relative to the earth's orbit D) Earth's spin E) Earth's orbit around the Sun

A

Use the Kepler's Laws Simulator ( KeplersLaws.swf ) for this question Repeat the experiment again, but this time change the orbital radius to 2 AU and set the eccentricity back to 0.0. About how long is the orbital period of this planet? A) More than a thousand days B) 1 day C) 90 days D) About million days E) 365 days

A

Use the Kepler's Laws Simulator ( KeplersLaws.swf - open it in new tab/window with right click) for this question Using the sliders at the bottom of the simulator, set the semimajor axis to 1 AU and the eccentricity to 0. Start the simulation and use the stopwatch to time how long it takes for the planet to complete one orbit. (Hint, you can start the stopwatch before you press begin and it will start automatically) About how long is the orbital period of the planet? A) 365 days B) 90 days C) 1000 days D) a million days E) 1 day

A

Using the table and the formula from above: Some people are still kind of upset about Pluto. Let's make it bigger! If we were to double both the mass and the radius of Pluto, how would it change the surface gravity? A) It be 1/2th the original value. B) It be twice the original value. C) It be 4 times the original value. D) It be 1/4th the original value. E) It be the same.

A

What is the average temperature of the surface of the Sun? A) 6,000 K B) 100,000 K C) 10,000 K D) 1 million K E) 1,000 K

A

Which appears to have the least water? A) Vesta B) Triton C) Pluto D) Enceladus E) Ceres

A

Which spacecraft visited all four gas giant planets? A) Voyager 2 B) Pioneer 10 C) Voyager 1 D) Galileo E) Pioneer 11 F) Cassini

A

Which statement about planetary rings is NOT true? A) Saturn's rings formed along with its moons 4.5 billion years ago. B) Individual ring particles orbit their planet in accord with Kepler's laws, so that particles closer in orbit faster than particles farther out. C) Rings are always located closer to a planet's surface than any large moons. D) The composition of the individual ring particles is either rocky, icy or a mixture of both. E) All four jovian planets have rings.

A

You are driving due west, and you notice the first quarter Moon is sitting just barely above the horizon. What time is it? A) midnight B) 9:00 pm C) sunrise D) noon E) 6:00 am

A

You watch a given star in the sky and find that it moves parallel to the horizon during the entire night, never rising or setting. What's your location on the Earth? A) north pole or south pole B) equator C) anywhere in the southern hemisphere D) anywhere in the northern hemisphere

A

What's the order of the following solar system families from longest (1) to shortest (2) orbital periods? A) gas giants B) Kuiper belt C) terrestrial planets D) Oort cloud E) asteroid belt

A:3, B:2, C:5, D:1, E:4

Rank the terrestrial planets in order of increasing atmosphere (1 = least atmosphere, 4 = most atmosphere). A) Venus B) Mercury C) Mars D) Earth

A:4, B:1, C:2, D:3

As viewed from State College, what is the farthest (i.e. largest angle) from the north celestial pole that a star can be and still be circumpolar? (Assume State College is at latitude of 40 degrees North). A) 90° from the North Celestial Pole B) 40° from the North Celestial Pole C) 50° from the North Celestial Pole D) Only Polaris is circumpolar at State College E) There are no circumpolar stars that can be seen from State College

B

Comets follow very elliptical orbits around the Sun with semi-major axes larger than Pluto. What is one consequence of this type of orbit? A) They have very large velocities around their entire orbit B) They spend more of their time far from the Sun than close to the Sun C) Kepler's third law doesn't apply to their orbits D) They all end up colliding with the Sun

B

Continuous thermal spectra of light can directly tell us the __?__ of astronomical objects. A) masses B) temperatures C) ages D) composition E) distances

B

Equipped with the answers to the previous two questions, consider in addition the math review question above [ (x * a)b=? ] and you can answer the exam question: An 9 meter telescope can detect stars that are ______ times fainter than a 3 meter telescope. A) 3 B) 9 C) 27 D) 81 E) 243

B

How does the Sun generate energy today? A) nuclear fission B) nuclear fusion C) gravitational contraction D) chemical reactions E) gradually expanding in size

B

How does the strength of Jupiter's magnetic field compare to that of Earth's magnetic field? A) Jupiter's magnetic field strength is about the same as Earth's. B) Jupiter's magnetic field is about 20,000 times as strong as Earth's. C) Jupiter's magnetic field is much weaker than Earth's. D) Jupiter's magnetic field is about twice as strong as Earth's.

B

If it is wintertime right now and it is just after the winter solstice, how does the height of the Sun at noon change over the next several months? A) stays the same B) increases C) decreases

B

If the Sun had been _____ when it was born, then the gas giant planets could have formed closer to the Sun. A) hotter B) fainter C) less dense D) brighter E) larger

B

If you are maneuvering a rover on the surface of Mars by remote control from Earth, what is the minimum amount of time before it responds after you send it a command? A) 4 seconds B) 4 minutes C) 4 hours D) 4 days E) the rover will respond immediately after you send the command

B

If you wanted to obtain the sharpest possible image showing what Neptune looks like today, which of the following would you use? A) Voyager 2 B) Hubble Space Telescope C) Galileo D) Voyager 1 E) Cassini

B

Neptune and Pluto are in a 2:3 resonance. This means that for every three orbits Pluto makes, Neptune makes two - True or False ? A) True B) False

B

One night, you see the star Sirius rise at exactly 8:06 PM. The following night it will rise A) one hour later B) slightly earlier C) slightly later D) one hour earlier E) at the same time

B

Roughly how does the surface gravity of Mars compare to the Earth's? Remember both the mass and the radius of Mars are considerably smaller than the Earth's. A) There is no gravity on Mars B) It is lesser. C) It is about the same. D) It is greater.

B

The angular resolution of a telescope in degrees is given by The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia is a radio dish 100 m wide. The smallest angle it can resolve when observing in radio waves with a wavelength of 0.01 m is nearest to: A) 40 degrees B) 0.4 arc minutes C) 4 degrees D) 0.4 degrees E) 0.4 arc seconds

B

The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the most features of wind erosion? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.) A) Size: same as Mars. Distance from Sun: same as Earth. Rotation rate: once every 18 hours. B) Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours. C) Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days. D) Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months.

B

The peak of the blackbody spectrum according to Wien's Law: Betelgeuse has a temperature of 3400 K. The peak of its spectrum is closest to: A) 1 centimeter (10-2 m) B) 1 micrometer (10-6 m) C) 1 nanometer (10-9 m) D) 1 millimeter (10-3 m) E) 1 kilometer (103 m)

B

The phase of matter in the Sun is A) a mixture of all of the above B) plasma. C) gas. D) solid. E) liquid.

B

The relatively few craters that we see within the lunar maria A) are volcanic in origin, rather than from impacts. B) were formed by impacts that occurred after those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands. C) were formed by impacts that occurred before those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands. D) are sinkholes that formed when sections of the maria collapsed. E) were created by the same large impactor that led to the formation of the maria.

B

The same geological processes ultimately produced 3 of these features on Mars. Which is the remaining feature that is unrelated to the other 3? A) Tharsis Bulge B) Hellas Basin C) Valles Marineris D) Olympus Mons

B

Venus is unusual because of its retrograde motion ("retrograde" here means something slightly different than we previously discussed in class). This means that Venus A) changes its direction of rotation throughout the year. B) rotates in an opposite direction compared to most other planets in the Solar System C) rotates much more slowly than the other planets D) does not always rotate with its axis at the same angle to the plane of the ecliptic Correct answer(s): B

B

Water ice seems to be more common on the planets and moons in the Solar System than previously thought.There is NO suspected water ice on A) the Earth B) Venus C) Jupiter's moon Europa D) Mercury E) the Moon

B

What do we mean when we say that the Sun is in hydrostatic equilibrium? A) The hydrogen gas in the Sun is balanced so that it never rises upward or falls downward. B) There is a balance within the Sun between the outward push of pressure and the inward pull of gravity. C) The Sun maintains a steady temperature. D) This is another way of stating that the Sun generates energy by nuclear fusion. E) The Sun always has the same amount of mass, creating the same gravitational force.

B

What part of a comet always points most directly away from the Sun? A) the coma B) the plasma tail C) the jets of gas D) the dust tail E) the nucleus

B

When we see a meteor shower, it means that A) you should duck and run for cover to avoid being blasted on the head by a rock from space. B) Earth is crossing through the debris left behind from a comet. C) the solar wind is unusually strong. D) an Earth-approaching asteroid has recently come very close to our planet.

B

Which of the following best describes the internal layering of Jupiter, from the center outward? A) liquid core of hydrogen compounds; liquid hydrogen layer; metallic hydrogen layer; gaseous hydrogen layer; cloud layer B) core of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds; thick layer of metallic hydrogen; layer of liquid hydrogen; layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layer C) solid rock core; layer of solid metallic hydrogen; layer of pure liquid hydrogen; cloud layer D) liquid helium core, liquid hydrogen layer; metallic hydrogen layer; gaseous hydrogen layer; cloud layer E) core of rock and metal; mantle of lower density rock; upper layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layer Correct answer(s): B

B

Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does NOT have a strong magnetic field? A) It has too thick an atmosphere. B) Its rotation is too slow. C) It is too close to the Sun. D) It is too large. E) It does not have a metallic core.

B

Which of the following statements about the sunspot cycle is NOT true? A) The number of solar flares peaks about every 11 years. B) The rate of nuclear fusion in the Sun peaks about every 11 years. C) With each subsequent peak in the number of sunspots, the magnetic polarity of the Sun is the reverse of the previous peak. D) The cycle is truly a cycle of magnetic activity, and variations in the number of sunspots are only one manifestation of the cycle. E) The number of sunspots peaks approximately every 11 years.

B

Which of the following was not observed by Galileo? A) Jupiter's moons B) stellar parallax C) Craters on the Moon D) sunspots E) phases of Venus

B

Which planet has the largest moon in proportion to the planet's mass? In other words, for which planet is the following ratio largest: mass of its largest moon/mass of the planet's mass. A) Uranus B) Earth C) Saturn D) Mars E) Jupiter

B

Which relation connects the temperature with "more light" for stars and helps in answering the question above? A) The amount of collected light is proportional to the size of the telescope which is used. B) The thermal emission of stars follows the general rules of blackbody emission. One of these rules is that the amount of emitted light from thermal radiation is proportional to its temperature4. C) The thermal emission of stars follows Wien's law which states a dependency between peak emission wavelength and temperature. D) There is no relation between the temperature of a star and the amount of light it emits.

B

Why do astronomers believe that Triton is a captured moon? A) Triton is too large to have been formed in the "miniature solar nebula" thought to have surrounded Neptune in its very early history. B) Triton orbits Neptune in a direction opposite that of Neptune's rotation. C) Triton is very small and potato-shaped, which is common of captured moons. D) Triton appears to be made mostly of ice. E) Triton's jumbled surface indicates that it formed from the remnants of two captured asteroids after their collision.

B

You discover a small body in space, a comet or asteroid, and after measuring its path through space, you find that it has an orbital period of 1 million years. Where does this object most likely reside? A) asteroid belt B) Oort cloud C) Kuipter belt

B

If you lived on Venus, which of these would appear superior to you? Select all that apply. A) Saturn B) Earth C) Mercury D) Mars

B, A, D

Which of the following are qualities of a proper scientific theory? (check all that apply) A) It is based on observations B) It makes testable predictions C) It is usually quantitative D) It is no longer used when it is disproved E) It is true F) It becomes a Law when it has been proven correct in one experiment

B, C, A

Which of the following planets has a significant (greater that 10 degrees Celsius) greenhouse effect keeping the surface warmer than it would be without an atmosphere? A) The Moon B) Venus C) Mars D) Earth E) Mercury

B, D

Use the Kepler's Laws Simulator ( KeplersLaws.swf ) for this question This time set the semi major axis to at least 1 AU and the eccentricity to at least 0.5, but feel free to set both higher if you like. Run the simulation and make careful observations of the orbital velocity and orbital speed at different points in the orbit. Select all the statements that are true, based on your observations. Recall that perihelion is the point in the orbit when the planet is closest to the star and aphelion is the point it is farthest away. A) Both orbital radius and orbital velocity vary randomly, they are totally unpredictable. B) The orbital velocity is greatest at perihelion. C) The orbital radius is greatest at aphelion. D) The orbital velocity is greatest when the planet is between aphelion and perihelion. E) The orbital radius is greatest when the planet is between aphelion and perihelion. F) The orbital radius greatest at perihelion. G) The orbital velocity is greatest at aphelion. H) Both orbital radius and orbital velocity are constant.

B,C

(C) Regarding the answer option "sharper images" - Which of the following is NOT correct ? A) Hubble produces sharper images because it is outside the atmosphere. B) Ground-based telescopes can produce reasonably sharp images but one needs to use additional sophisticated technology to achieve this. C) Ground-based telescopes are not affected by the atmosphere. D) The effect of the atmosphere on observations of ground-based telescopes can be minimized by going to high altitudes. Correct answer(s): C

C

All the terrestrial (inner) planets have ____________ in common. A) large size. B) low density. C) rocky composition. D) rapid rotation.

C

An 9 meter telescope can detect stars that are ______ times fainter than a 3 meter telescope. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Which relation is important for the above question ? Hint: What are the given and wanted quantities in the text ? A) The angle a telescope can resolve is proportional to the telescope's diameter (i.e., the angular resolution of a telescope gets better the larger the telescope). B) The received amount of light (its brightness) from a light source scales inversely proportional with the source's distance2 C) The amount of light which a telescope collects is proportional to its diameter2

C

At which of these times would the Sun appear highest in the sky (closest to overhead) as seen from State College? A) At noon on the autumnal equinox B) At noon on the winter solstice C) At noon on the summer solstice D) At noon on the vernal equinox

C

How long does it take for a planet to be born? A) hundreds of years B) thousands of years C) millions of years D) hundreds of millions of years E) billions of years

C

If you compare a 9 meter telescope and a 3 meter telescope with respect to their diameter what is the best expression for this ? A) The diameter of 9m telescope is nine times that of a 1m telescope (9*1) while the diameter of a 3m telescope is three times that of a 1m telescope (3 *1). B) The diameter of 9m telescope is six times that of a 1.5m telescope (6*1.5) while the diameter of a 3m telescope is two times that of a 1.5m telescope (2 *1.5). C) The diameter of 9m telescope is three times that of a 3m telescope (3 *3)

C

In the scientific method, observations (data) are most useful for A) proving theories. B) generating catalogs. C) testing predictions made by theories. D) making predictions about what we will observe.

C

Newton's reformulation of Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion: where M1 and M2 are the masses of each star, measured in solar masses, P is the orbital period in years, and a is the orbital distance in AU. A star is seen to orbit a hidden mass at the center of a neighboring galaxy with an orbital period of just 1 year, at a distance of 100 AU. The mass of the hidden object is closest to: A) 1 Msun B) 108 Msun C) 106 Msun D) 104 Msun E) 100 Msun

C

Our Moon has an angular size of about 1/2 degree in the sky. Imagine you board a space ship with the destination Moon. When you are midway, what angular size does the Moon have ? A) 4 degrees B) 1/4 degree C) 1 degree D) 1/2 degree E) 2 degrees

C

Pluto is not considered a planet because it A) does not orbit in the same plane as the other 8 planets B) isn't round C) is within a belt of other objects D) has an elliptical orbit E) is smaller than several moons

C

Radioactivity can also be used to date the age of artifacts from recently living things. The carbon-dating method uses the radioactive decay of carbon-14 to Nitrogen-14. All living plants and animals constantly take in carbon. Some of this carbon is the isotope C-14. The result is that all living plants and animals have the same percentage of C-14 in their bodies and bones. After their death, no new C-14 is added and the available C-14 decays into N-14. How old is a bone for which today's amount of C-14 is only one eighth (1/8) of the original amount ? The half-life for C-14 to N-14 is 5730 years. A) 5730 years B) 11,460 years C) 17,190 years D) 22,920 years E) 28,650 years

C

The apparent brightness of a star depends on how much light it emits (this is called its luminosity) and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance to the star. Alpha Centauri A is a nearby star with the same luminosity as the Sun, but is 200,000 times further away from the Earth than the Sun. How many times brighter than Alpha Centauri A does the Sun appear? A) 40 million (4 x 107) B) 1 C) 40 billion (4x1010) D) 200,000 (2x105) E) The square root of 200,000 (2x105) 1/2

C

The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to havethe hottest interior? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all thesame age as the planets in our solar system.) A) Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours. B) Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days. C) Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months. D) Size: same as Mars. Distance from Sun: same as Earth. Rotation rate: once every 18 hours.

C

The distance from Saturn's inner ring to its outer ring is 400,000 km and the thickness of the rings is roughly 100 m. If you construct a scale model for Saturn's rings from a large sheet of paper (0.025 mm thick), what will be the distance from the inner ring to outer ring in this model? A) 100 mm B) 1 m C) 100 m D) 1 km E) 100 km

C

The fundamental reason why the Earth goes around the Sun, rather than the other way around is A) the Earth started out in orbit around the Sun (rather than the other way around) B) the gravitational force acting on the Earth is greater than the gravitational force acting on the Sun C) the Sun has more mass than the Earth D) the Sun is hotter than the Earth E) the Sun has a larger radius than the Earth

C

The nearest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri. Its distance is about 4 ly.What is its the parallax angle (roughly) ? A) 0.01 arcsecond B) 0.1 arcsecond C) 1 arcsecond D) 10 arcsecond E) 100 arcseconds

C

The transit of Venus in 1769: A) Allowed the size of angular size of Venus to be measured. B) Allowed the size of the Earth to be measured. C) Allowed the distance to the Sun and between all the planets to be measured. D) Allowed the bending of starlight from the Sun's gravity to be measured. E) Allowed the speed of light to be measured.

C

This will require some calculation, but don't resort to whipping out a calculator! Don't worry about the exact number, just estimate the Order of Magnitude (OoM). I recommend writing out all the steps -- good practice! On your 17th birthday, how many seconds old were you? A) 5,360,000 B) 53,600,000 C) 536,000,000 (which is about half a billion) D) 536,000 (which is about half a million)

C

Tycho's solution combined advantages of both Copernicus and Ptolemy's theories. Which of the following, if true, would support Tycho's model. A) Mars transits the Sun. B) The stars appear to move between constellations in the sky. C) The universe revolves around us! D) The moon orbits the Sun. E) The Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 1 AU.

C

Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. What is the reason for this ? A) Jupiter and Saturn have methane clouds. They are just deeper inside the atmosphere and we don't see them. B) The rapid rotation of Jupiter and Saturn prevents methane clouds from forming. C) Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense. D) The stronger gravity on Jupiter and Saturn pulls methane downward so that it can't form clouds. E) Jupiter and Saturn do not contain any methane gas.

C

Uranus' rotation axis is tilted about 96 degrees with respect to the ecliptic (it rotates almost entirely on its side!). Which of the following explanations for this phenomenon is consistent with the nebular theory of solar system formation? A) Uranus formed already tilted on its side because of its location in the solar system B) Uranus is defying the known laws of gravity. C) Uranus was originally rotating at a smaller axial tilt, but collided with another large object, which knocked it on its side. D) Uranus originally had no axial tilt, but it was slowly tilted over time by the pull of the Sun's gravity

C

We use radio wavelengths of light, which travel at the speed of light (300,000,000 m/s), to communicate with spacecraft such as the rover on Mars. 1 km = 103 m. What is the speed of the signal we send in km/s? A) 300,000,000,000 km/s B) 300 km/s C) 300,000 km/s D) 300,000,000 km/s

C

Which of the following civilizations could have designed constellations that covered the entire sky in all directions surrounding the Earth? A) Greeks B) Eskimos C) Babylonians D) Incas E) Vikings

D

What causes a cloud of gas and dust to collapse to become a star? A) gas pressure B) conservation of angular momentum C) gravity D) hydrogen fusion

C

What is the most important reason why an icy moon is more likely to be geologically active than a rocky moon of the same size? A) Ice is affected by tidal forces to a greater extent than rock. B) Ice is less dense than rock. C) Ice has a lower melting point than rock. D) Ice is less rigid than rock. E) Ice contains more radioactive elements than rock.

C

What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had a higher surface pressure? A) The presence of inactive volcanoes on Mars tells us that there must once have been a lot of outgassing, and hence a thicker atmosphere. B) The fact that parts of Mars have a lot of craters tell us that Mars must once have been much warmer. C) The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence that water flowed on the surface in the past. D) We think it for purely theoretical reasons, based on calculations showing that the Sun has brightened with time.

C

Where is most of the water on Mars? A) in deep underground deposits B) distributed evenly throughout its atmosphere C) in its polar caps and subsurface ground ice D) in its clouds E) frozen on the peaks of its tall volcanoes

C

Which of the following provides evidence of permafrost beneath the surface of Mars? A) river delta B) runoff and outflow channels C) ejecta blankets from impact craters D) canals E) polar ice caps

C

Which poses a possible hazard to the international space station? A) shooting stars B) meteor showers C) meteoroids D) fireballs E) meteorites

C

Which two fundamental misconceptions made Ptolemy's geocentric model very complicated and prevented it from adequately describing the movements of bodies in the Solar System? I. The Sun is at the center of the universe. II. All heavenly bodies move in combinations of perfect circles. III. The Earth is at the center of the universe. IV. The stars never move. A) II only B) III only C) II and III D) I and IV

C

Why did only very few spacecrafts explore the planet Mercury ? A) We already know everything about Mercury. It is just like the Moon and not interesting. B) It is too hot so close to the Sun. C) Spacecrafts are accelerated towards the Sun and it is not easy to get into Mercury's orbit. D) Since the planet is so close to the Sun, spacecrafts are destroyed by the solar wind. E) We can do all necessary observations from Earth.

C

Why do Mercury and the Moon have almost no atmosphere? A) They are both highly reflective B) The only gas molecules that they had originally were low in mass, so that they were immediately able to escape. C) Because the gravity at their surfaces is low and so most gas molecules travel fast enough to escape them. This is exacerbated because of their high daytime temperatures. D) ONLY because the temperature at their surfaces is high, so most gas molecules travel fast enough to escape the planet.

C

Which combination of properties make it the easiest for a planet to hold onto an atmosphere? A) small mass and cold temperature B) small mass and warm temperature C) large mass and warm temperature D) large mass and cold temperature

D

Why do sunspots appear dark in pictures of the Sun? A) They are tiny black holes, absorbing all light that hits them. B) They are too cold to emit any visible light. C) They actually are fairly bright but appear dark against the even brighter background of the surrounding Sun. D) They are holes in the solar surface through which we can see to deeper, darker layers of the Sun. E) They emit light in other wavelengths that we canʹt see.

C

Why don't lunar eclipses happen at every full moon? A) The Moon cannot be full AND pass through the Earth's shadow. B) The Moon's orbit is not circular. C) The Moon's orbit doesn't always take it through the Earth's shadow. D) The Moon's orbit sometimes takes it far enough away that the Earth's shadow has disappeared.

C

X-ray telescopes operate in space because: A) The Earth's atmosphere causes stars to twinkle. B) X-ray detectors operate better in weightlessness. C) The Earth's atmosphere blocks X-rays. D) X-rays have less energy than visible light. E) Radioactivity on the Earth interferes with ground-based X-ray detectors.

C

You are in a different star system, standing on a rocky planet, observing a gas giant planet in the sky over many nights. You notice that the gas giant planet has a moon that takes about 8 days ("days" as measured here on Earth) to go around the gas giant. Previous observers have already figured out that the semimajor axis of the orbit of the moon is 1 million kilometers. What is the mass of the gas giant, in units of "Jupiter Masses" (where 1 Jupiter Mass = 1.896 x 10^27 kg)? This one will likely require a calculator -- however, I recommend trying this first as an "order of magnitude" question, without a calculator, and then check your work afterwards with a calculator. If you are too far off with your order of magnitude estimate, try to figure out why). You will also need the exact formula of Newton's version of Kepler's 3rd law. A) 2.65 Jupiter Masses B) 1.65 Jupiter Masses C) 0.65 Jupiter Masses D) 1 Jupiter Mass E) 0.15 Jupiter Masses

C

You detect an object with a blackbody-like spectrum with a peak in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. How hot do you expect this object to be? Remember that the Sun's spectrum peaks at *visible* wavelengths and its temperature is about 6000 Kelvin. Hint: No calculation required. Just use logic. A) About 500 Kelvin B) About 6,000 Kelvin, like the Sun C) about 20,000 Kelvin D) No star is hot enough to give off much ultraviolet light

C

You discover a planet at 1 AU from a star like the Sun. You find that it has large amounts of hydrogen in its atmosphere, so compared to the Earth, this planet must be A) experiencing a greater greenhouse effect B) larger in radius C) more massive D) denser E) hotter

C

You measure the luminosity of a star to be 9 times greater than the Sun and the temperature of that star to be 1/2 that of the Sun. What is the star's radius in terms of the Sun's radius? A) 6 solar radii B) 1/6 solar radii C) 12 solar radii D) 1/12 solar radii

C

You notice with amusement that your roommate accidentally puts on one blue sock and one red sock. How does the temperature of the two socks compare? (Note: Could you explain why?) A) The red sock is significantly hotter. B) The blue sock is significantly hotter. C) Both socks are about the same temperature. D) The socks do not have a temperature.

C

Your roommate changes to the white socks before going out the door, to avoid social embarrassment. You head out to Old Main Lawn to enjoy the bright sunny day. Thinking about socks in general, and having your pocket spectrograph with you (never leave home without it!), you measure the spectrum of light coming from your roommate's socks. You measure that the peak emission from the socks is about 500 nanometers (10-9m), which according to Wien's law implies a temperature of about 5,800 K (Kelvin*). Why is this? *By the way, Kelvin is temperature scale that uses the same degrees as Celsius . It just sets 0 at absolute zero (−459.67°F) instead of the freezing point of water. The temperature of our lecture hall is about 300 Kelvin. A) Your friend's feet are small, so they emit shorter wavelengths of light than something larger would at the same temperature. B) Your spectrograph may be broken. C) Your friend's socks are reflecting sunlight, and the Sun's surface temperature is about 5,800 K. D) You friend's feet are hotter than molten steel, you better take your friend to the hospital.

C

Choose the correct category for each object described below. Each category appears once (all categories are used). A. Moon (or Natural Satellite) B. Asteroid C. Meteor D. Comet E. Dwarf Planet F. Planet A potato-shaped piece of ice and rock that is orbiting the sun on an extremely elliptical orbit, meaning that it comes from very far out in the solar system and passes close to the Sun when its orbit brings it to perihelion. You also sometimes see something resembling a tail or halo around this object. A potato-shaped object that appears as a fireball across the sky on Earth, lasting only a couple of seconds A spherical object, orbiting the Earth, that has managed to clear out the rest of its orbit of most other mass. A spherical object that is orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune, along with a lot of other mass in the same orbit A spherical object, orbiting the Sun, that has managed to clear out the rest of its orbit of most other mass. A potato-shaped piece of rock orbiting the Sun inside the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Correct answer(s): Asteroid:A potato-shaped piece of rock orbiting the Sun inside the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, Planet:A spherical object, orbiting the Sun, that has managed to clear out the rest of its orbit of most other mass. , Moon (or Natural Satellite) :A spherical object, orbiting the Earth, that has managed to clear out the rest of its orbit of most other mass. Dwarf Planet:A spherical object that is orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune, along with a lot of other mass in the same orbit, Comet:A potato-shaped piece of ice and rock that is orbiting the sun on an extremely elliptical orbit, meaning that it comes from very far out in the solar system and passes close to the Sun when its orbit brings it to perihelion. You also sometimes see something resembling a tail or halo around this object. , Meteor:A potato-shaped object that appears as a fireball across the sky on Earth, lasting only a couple of seconds

Match the 'Law' to what is says. A. Kepler's 1st Law B. Kepler's 3rd Law C. Newton's 1st Law D. Kepler's 2nd Law E. Newton's 3rd Law F. Newton's 2nd Law Planets go faster during the parts of their orbits that are closer to the Sun More distant planets have longer orbital periods Planets orbit the Sun in ellipses with the Sun at one focus For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction Objects accelerate proportionally to the force upon them, but massive objects are harder to accelerate Objects at rest remain at rest, objects in motion retain their motion unless and until a force acts upon them

Correct answer(s): Newton's 2nd Law:Objects accelerate proportionally to the force upon them, but massive objects are harder to accelerate , Kepler's 2nd Law:Planets go faster during the parts of their orbits that are closer to the Sun , Kepler's 3rd Law:More distant planets have longer orbital periods , Kepler's 1st Law:Planets orbit the Sun in ellipses with the Sun at one focus , Newton's 3rd Law:For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction Newton's 1st Law:Objects at rest remain at rest, objects in motion retain their motion unless and until a force acts upon them

Identify which of the following is NOT a region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and label it accordingly. THEN, for the remaining six regions, identify whether they have smaller or larger wavelength than visible light. A. larger wavelength than visible B. smaller wavelength than visible C. NOT part of spectrum infrared gamma rays microwaves beta waves radio waves x-rays ultraviolet light

Correct answer(s): smaller wavelength than visible:gamma rays, larger wavelength than visible:radio waves, NOT part of spectrum:beta waves, larger wavelength than visible:microwaves, smaller wavelength than visible:ultraviolet light, smaller wavelength than visible:x-rays, larger wavelength than visible:infrared

Among discovered meteorites, we have found some with all the following origins except A) being a fragment from the surface of the Moon B) being a fragment of a shattered asteroid C) being a fragment from the surface of Mars D) being a fragment from Comet Halley

D

Assume that the average rate of 1-km sized asteroids hitting the Earth is about 1 every million years. The chance of the Earth being hit by a 1-km sized asteroid in the next 100 years is about: A) zero B) one in 100 million C) one in a million D) one in ten thousand E) inevitable, it has to happen sometime

D

Based on your last three answers, what is the answer to the exam question: Star A is 3 times hotter than star B. Assuming that they have the same sizes, star A must produce _____ times more light than star B A) 3 B) 9 C) 27 D) 81 E) 243

D

Which is true about rings in the Solar System? A) Saturn and Uranus are the only planets with rings B) Rings are bright because they are heated by sunlight C) Rings are made of gas and are thousands of km thick D) Rings are made of billions of icy rocks gravitationally interacting with moons E) All of these are true F) None of these is true

D

Copernicus proposed the following model of the solar system: A) All planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits are circles. A planet moves faster the further away it is from the Sun. The Moon's orbit around Earth is a circle. B) All planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits are circles. The Moon's orbit around Earth is a circle. C) All planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits are ellipses. A planet moves faster the further away it is from the Sun. The Moon's orbit around Earth is an ellipse. D) All planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits are circles. A planet moves slower the further away it is from the Sun. The Moon's orbit around Earth is a circle. E) The Earth is the center of the solar system. The orbits of the other planets around the Earth are ellipses.

D

For people like Aristotle and Ptolemy, which observation supported the model of a geocentric universe? A) The phases of venus B) Moons orbiting Jupiter C) The presence of retrograde motion among the planets D) The absence of noticeable parallax among the stars

D

If you are staring at the northern horizon and see the stars trailing during the night in the manner shown in this image, what's your location on the Earth? A) anywhere in the northern hemisphere B) north pole C) anywhere in the southern hemisphere D) equator

D

Let's say we send a light signal to the rover when Mars is 350 million km away. How many seconds does it take for the signal to reach the rover? Hint: refer to the other problems, or else look up the speed of light in a textbook or on the web, and remember OoM is close enough to get the right answer. A) 1.17 s B) 0.00086 s C) 0.86 s D) 1167 s

D

One sidereal day, the time it takes the stars to return to the same relative position night after night, is closest to which of the following? (assume you're on Earth) A) 12 months B) 23 hours C) 23.5 days D) 23 hours, 56 minutes E) 24 hours F) 1 year

D

Red visible light has less energy than blue visible light. Therefore the frequency of red light is A) equal to c, the speed of light B) larger than the frequency of blue light. C) equal to the frequency of blue light. D) smaller than the frequency of blue light. E) less than c, the speed of light.

D

Suppose the Sun was somehow replaced with a black hole with the same mass as the Sun. What would happen to the earth? A) The Earth would be pulled into the black hole. B) The Earth's orbit would shrink. C) The Earth would stop orbiting and fly out of the Solar System. D) Nothing would happen to the Earth's orbit.

D

Surface Gravity on Other Planets Recall from class that the acceleration on an object near the surface of a planet is given by the formula we derived: Remember that G is a constant anywhere in the Universe, m is the mass of the planet, and r is the radius of the planet. That acceleration a is also know as the surface gravity. On Earth, this number is used so much that it has its own symbol g, and it is about 9.8 m/s2. Remember that acceleration is what changes your velocity when you fall, also this acceleration due to gravity is the force acting on all time that you feel as 'weight.' For the next few questions we are going to look at what the surface gravity would be like on other objects in our Solar System. To do that, you are going to need to refer the the table below that lists the radius and masses of various solar system objects. Radius Mass Name (km) (kg) --------- ------- ------- Sun 695000 1.99x1030 Mercury 2440 3.30x1023 Venus 6052 4.87x1024 Earth 6378 5.97x1024 Mars 3397 6.42x1023 Jupiter 71492 1.90x1027 Saturn 60268 5.68x1026 Uranus 25559 8.68x1025 Neptune 24766 1.02x1026 Pluto 1150 1.27x1022 Moon 1738 7.35x1022 We'll keep things at the order of magnitude level, so don't resort to you calculator! Also some of these objects, like the Sun and gas giant planets, don't really have a solid surface we could stand on, but we'll ignore that for now. Using the table above, which object in the Solar System is going to have the greatest surface gravity? A) Earth B) Jupiter C) The Moon D) The Sun E) Mars

D

The Hubble Space Telescope primary mirror is 2.4m and observes light with a wavelength 0.0000005 m (5 * 10-7). It orbits the Earth every 90 minutes.The furthest distance it can measure by parallax is nearest to: Hint: The parallax p in arcsec is related to the distance d in parsec [abbreviation: pc] as p=1/d (In our lecture we used ly for the unit of distance, 3.26 ly = 1 pc = 3.1 * 1016 m ) A) 84,000 pc B) 4,800,000 pc C) 240 pc D) 24 pc E) 84 pc

D

Which moon phase do we observe one week BEFORE the waxing gibbous phase? A) new B) third quarter C) waning gibbous D) waxing crescent E) full

D

The astronaut in the photo at right is doing an untethered space walk outside the space shuttle. That means he does not have any kind of cord or cable connecting him to the shuttle. But don't worry, he does have a jet pack on his back so he can maneuver himself back to the shuttle door when he's ready to go back inside. Assume he is not using his jet pack in any way at the moment, but is currently maintaining a constant distance from the space shuttle -- which itself is in a stable circular Earth orbit with engines turned off. He is currently experiencing "weightlessness''. From the perspective of a stationary observer standing on the surface of the Earth, is the astronaut moving? A) yes, he is moving very quickly away from Earth because he has achieved escape velocity B) yes, he is moving very quickly toward Earth because he must be falling down C) yes, he is drifting slowly in some random direction and then in another, but these random motions average out to no net motion; so he is stationary on average D) yes, he is moving very quickly sideways -- parallel to the surface of Earth E) no, he is completely stationary until he turns on his jet packs

D

The speed of light is 300,000,000 meters per second (m/s). In scientific notation, this quantity is: (What is the exponent?) A) 2 B) 3 C) 5 D) 8 E) 9 F) -2 G) -3 H) -5 I) -8 J) -9

D

The surface of Venus is mostly low density rock, but the average density of Venus is similar to Earth. The interior of Venus is therefore A) composed of low density material B) rapidly rotating C) homogeneous D) denser than the average density of Earth

D

Use the Kepler's Laws Simulator ( KeplersLaws.swf ) for this question Repeat the above experiment, but this time change the eccentricity to 0.5. About how long is the orbital period of this planet? A) 1 day B) a million days C) 90 days D) 365 days E) 1000 days

D

Using some lenses, the apparent disk of the Sun is projected onto a wall. You measure the projected disk size and it has a diameter of 57 inches. You notice several groups of dark sun spots. The largest one has a diameter of about 1 inch. Knowing that roughly 110 Earth radii correspond to the radius of the Sun, how large is that spot in Earth sizes ? A) about 0.02 Earth diameters B) about 0.2 Earth diameters C) about 20 Earth diameters D) about 2 Earth diameters E) about 0.002 Earth diameters

D

Using www.google.com/mars/ , search for the Gale Crater (This is where the Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity took a lot of measurements and found that water probably covered the crater in earlier times) and zoom-in. In the elevation map (default) you can see the elevation color-coded. How deep is Gale ? A) about 40 m deep B) about 40 km deep C) about 400 m deep D) about 4 km deep E) about 1 km deep

D

What causes winter to be cooler than summer? A) The Earth is closer to the Sun in summer than in winter. B) The daylight period is longer in summer C) The Sun gets higher in the sky in summer. D) Both B and C E) All of the above

D

What change in the Moon might enable us to see its entire surface from Earth? A) If its axis of rotation were tipped slightly. B) If its orbit were in the ecliptic. C) If the Moon were always full. D) If it rotated at a different speed.

D

What is science? A) Science is something only professional scientists do. B) Science is the accumulated facts discovered about the world. C) Science is a worldview that some people adopt based as a matter of faith. D) Science is an ongoing process of seeking to understand nature and for determining what things are true, false, or unknown that guards against the human tendency for illogical thinking.

D

What time is this moon phase highest overhead for an observer on Earth? Note: this picture was taken from the Northern Hemisphere. A) sunrise B) 9am C) midnight D) 3pm E) sunset F) noon G) 3am H) 9pm

D

Where on Mars did NASA's Mars Pathfinder Rover land ? Use www.google.com/mars/ (there is an option "spacecraft" on the top ) A) near a volcano B) the southern highlands C) near the north pole D) in the mouth of an outflow channel E) near the equator

D

Which can cause an electromagnetic storm on Earth ? A) radiation from the solar photosphere B) solar wind C) solar prominences D) coronal mass ejections from the Sun E) sunspots

D

Which of the following expressions are correct (check all that apply) ? A) You can convert your degree result into an arc min result by multiplication with 100. B) You can convert your degree result into an arc sec result by multiplication with 60*60 (=3600). C) You can convert your degree result into an arc sec result by multiplication with 1000. D) You can convert your degree result into an arc min result by multiplication with 60.

D, B

A human with a temperature of 310 K emits blackbody radiation with a peak wavelength closest to: A) 100 nanometers. B) 10 nanometers. C) 1 micrometer. D) 100 micrometers. E) 10 micrometers.

E

An electron in an atom absorbs a photon and jumps from level 1 to level 3. It then falls from level 3 to level 2 and emits a photon, and then falls from level 2 to level 1 and emits another photon. Which of the statements below is true? A) Each of the 2 emitted photons has a shorter wavelength than the absorbed photon. B) Each of the 2 emitted photons has a higher energy than the absorbed photon. C) The combined energy of the 2 emitted photons is less than that of the absorbed photon. D) The speeds of the two emitted photons are different from that of the absorbed photon. E) Each of the 2 emitted photons has a lower frequency than the absorbed photon.

E

Based on Google Moon, which of the Apollo missions landed furthest from the nearest mare? A) 11 B) 12 C) 14 D) 15 E) 16 F) 17

E

From the center outward, which of the following lists the ʺlayersʺ of the Sun in the correct order? A) core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere B) core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere C) core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere D) core, convection zone, radiation zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona E) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona

E

Galileo's discovery of the Moons of Jupiter was shocking because it showed those who believed the Earth to be at the center of the universe that A) a planet could have more than one moon. B) Earth was unusual to have only one moon. C) the moons do not move. D) Jupiter does not move. E) something was moving around a body that was not the Earth.

E

If you traveled 3 billion years into the past, stepped out of your time machine, and looked at the sky, how would the Moon appear compared to now? A) smaller and much fewer craters B) larger and much fewer craters C) same size and much fewer craters D) smaller and slightly fewer craters E) larger and slightly fewer craters F) same size and slightly fewer craters

E

Mercury can be observed at midnight when it is A) undergoing retrograde motion B) at aphelion (furthest point from the Sun) C) in conjunction to Earth (Earth, Planet, and Sun are approximately connected by one line in top-down perspective) D) in opposition to Earth (Earth, Sun, and Planet are approximately connected by one line in top-down perspective) E) Mercury is never observable at midnight

E

Suppose the Sun were nine times more massive than it now is, and the size and shape of the Earth's orbit were unchanged. Would the year be longer, shorter, or unchanged? If longer or shorter, by how many times? (Of course we would still call whatever time it took the Earth to orbit the Sun "1 year", but express your answer in terms of our current year.)[Hint: you may need to use Newton's version of Kepler's law] A) the year would be 9 times longer than our current year B) the year would be 81 times longer than our current year C) the year would be 1/9th of our current year D) the year would be 1/81th of our current year E) the year would be 1/3rd of our current year F) the year would be 3 times longer than our current year

E

The X-rays that doctors use to take pictures of bones have wavelengths of about 10 nanometers (nano=10-9). What is the frequency of those X-rays? A) 3 x 10-19 Hz B) 3 Hz C) 0.03 Hz D) 1 x 10-10 Hz E) 3 x 1016 Hz

E

The high concentration of this in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune results in their green-blue colors A) ammonia B) nitrogen C) hydrogen D) helium E) methane

E

The parallax angle increases: A) If the object is further, and the baseline is wider. B) If the telescope is wider. C) If the object is further, and the baseline is narrower. D) If the object is nearer, and the baseline is narrower. E) If the object is nearer, and the baseline is wider.

E

You want to construct a scale model of the Earth - Moon system where the distances are scaled accurately. In real life, the Earth is about 12,800 km in diameter and the Moon is about 385,000 km away from it. In the model, the Earth is 8 inches in diameter, which is about the size of your head. How far away should the model Moon be? Hint: The answer choices are not exact, so try ESTIMATING the answer. You can do it without a calculator if you ROUND the numbers first! A) in Australia B) in the next state C) at arm's length D) across campus E) across the room

E

Which of the following are rovers? Select all that apply. A) Spirit B) Viking C) Phoenix D) Opportunity E) Curiosity

E, A, D

Which of the following are currently considered dwarf planets? Select all that apply. A) Triton B) Eris C) Titan D) Ida E) Pluto

E, B

Tidal friction is the ultimate cause for A) volcanoes on Earth B) seeing the same face of the Moon all the time C) Earthquakes D) our 24-hour day E) volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io F) resonances of moon or planet orbits

E, B, F, D

For a given location on the Earth, at which time of day and moon phase will the local ocean tides be highest? A) Sunset during a new moon. B) Noon during a 1st quarter moon. C) Sunset during a 1st quarter moon. D) Sunrise during a full moon. E) Sunrise during a 3rd quarter moon. F) Midnight during a full moon.

F

You are riding along in your automobile, cruising and playing the radio at The Lion 90.7 FM. FM stations are numbered according to the frequency of the radio waves they broadcast on, measured in Megahertz. Since you have no particular place to go, you decide to do a calculation. About what is the wavelength of the waves carrying the signal? Note: 1 MHz = 1 million Hertz = 1 million per second. This means the units of "Hz" are "per second" or "1/seconds". If you multiply a length in meters by a frequency in Hertz, the resulting units are meters per second, a velocity. A) 3 mm B) 3 km C) 0.3 m D) 300 m E) 0.3 mm F) 3 m

F

Mercury is sometimes described as "geologically dead". This is an oversimplification, especially in the light of recent observations.Which observational findings indicate that the planet's core is still (at least partially) liquid ? Select all that apply. A) a magnetic field which has the strength of 1% of the Earth's magnetic field B) the high temperature maximum (430 degree Celcius) of the planet surface C) active volcanoes D) large (100 km size) "cliffs" on the surface E) Mercury "hollows" F) small (few km) cliff-like surface features

F, A

The U.S. National debt last year was about 12 trillion dollars. (A "trillion" is a thousand billion.) The U.S. population over the age of 18 is about 240 million adults. What is each adult's individual share of the National Debt? (You will need to be able to do this kind of problem without a calculator.)

Feedback: This is a very practical everyday problem! It is a good life skill to be able to calculate this kind of thing... and a vital part of being an informed citizen -- Familiarity with this kind of math is your civic duty! Hint: thousand = 103, million = 106, and billion = 109. A "thousand billion" means a thousand TIMES a billion, which is 103x 109... Hint: Express the national debt in scientific notation. Express the adult population in scientific notation. Divide them. (Which goes on top?) 50 thousand dollars

Which of these travels fastest? A) Not enough information to answer B) Visible light C) gamma rays D) X rays E) Ultraviolet light F) Infrared light G) All of these travel the same speed H) Radio waves

G

Match the conditions to the inner Solar System body. A. Mercury B. Earth C. Moon D. Venus Humans visited in the 60's and 70's, but not since. Warmed by about 30 degrees C by water, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gasses in its atmosphere No atmosphere and extremely hot on one side The hottest planet, with sulfuric acid clouds and a dense atmosphere

Moon:Humans visited in the 60's and 70's, but not since., Mercury:No atmosphere and extremely hot on one side, Venus:The hottest planet, with sulfuric acid clouds and a dense atmosphere, Earth:Warmed by about 30 degrees C by water, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gasses in its atmosphere