Astronomy Ch. 1-4 Mastering Questions
Rank the events based on when they occurred, from longest ago to most recent. 1. The Big Bang 2. elements such as carbon & oxygen first exist 3. the universe begins to expand 4. earliest humans 5. earliest life on earth forms 6. dinosaurs go extinct 7. nuclear fusion begins in the Sun
1=3, 2, 7, 5, 6, 4
Rank the following items that describe distances from longest distance (left) to shortest distance (right). one AU (1), distance across solar system (2), distance from Milky Way to Andromeda (3), distance from Earth to Alpha Centauri (4), one light year (5), distance from Sun to center of Milky Way (6), distance from Earth to Sun (7).
3,6,4,5,2,1=7
One light-hour is the distance that light travels in an hour. How far is this, in kilometers? (Recall that the speed of light is 300,000 km/s.) A. 1.08 billion km B. 18 million km C. 300,000 km D. 9.46 trillion km E. 100 million km
A
The age of our solar system is about: A. one-third of the age of the universe. B. three-fourths of the age of the universe. C. two billion years less than the age of the universe.
A
Which of the following lies in the ecliptic plane? A. Earth's orbital path around the Sun B. Earth's equator C. A line connecting Earth's north and south poles D. A line connecting Earth and Polaris
A
Earth's average distance from the Sun (AU, lightyear, neither)
AU
Jupiter lies about 5.2 of these from the Sun (AU, lightyear, neither)
AU
about 150 million kilometers (AU, lightyear, neither)
AU
A television advertisement claiming that a product is light-years ahead of its time does not make sense because _________. A. light-years can only be used to talk about light B. it uses "light-years" to talk about time, but a light-year is a unit of distance C. it doesn't specify the number of light-years D. a light-year is an astronomically large unit, so a product could not possibly be so advanced
B
About where is our solar system located within the Milky Way Galaxy? A. at the center of the galaxy B. about half way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic disk C. in the halo of the galaxy above the galactic disk D. near the far outskirts of the galactic disk E. about 10 percent of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic disk
B
According to current scientific estimates, when did the Big Bang occur? A. about 20 billion years ago B. about 14 billion years ago C. about 10 billion years ago D. about 4 1/2 billion years ago E. about 65 million years ago
B
Earth is always precisely 1 AU from the Sun. A. True B. False
B
On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into one year, how long is the average human life span? A. 2 hours B. 0.2 second C. 0.2 millisecond D. 2 seconds E. 2 minutes
B
On a scale where the Sun is about the size of a grapefruit and the Earth is about 15 meters away, how far away are the nearest stars besides the Sun? A. about the distance across 50 football fields B. about the distance across the United States C. about the distance across the state of Delaware D. 100 meters
B
Our solar system is located in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. A. True B. False
B
Regarding the history of the universe, which of the following is true? A. The Earth formed quickly after the Big Bang. B. Key elements of which Earth and life are made, including carbon, oxygen, and iron, did not exist when the universe was born and were created later in stars. C. All the current stars in our galaxy formed about the same time billions of years ago. D. All the chemical elements were created during the Big Bang, but some have been modified since that time as a result of radioactive decay.
B
Suppose we imagine the Sun to be about the size of a grapefruit. How far away are the nearest stars (the three stars of Alpha Centauri)? A. across the state B. across the United States C. the length of a football field (100 meters) D. 25,000 miles E. across town
B
Suppose we imagine the Sun to be about the size of a grapefruit. Which of the following describes the size and distance of Earth on the same scale? A. Earth is the size of a tip of a ballpoint pen about 1 meter away from the Sun. B. Earth is the size of a tip of a ballpoint pen about 15 meters away from the Sun. C. Earth is the size of a marble about 25 miles away from the Sun. D. Earth is the size of a golf ball about 15 meters away from the Sun. E. Earth is the size of a golf ball about 1 meter away from the Sun.
B
The solar system contains about 100 billion stars. A. True B. False
B
Which of the following statements does NOT use the term angular size or angular distance correctly? A. The angular size of the Sun is about the same as that of the Moon. B. The angular distance between those two bright stars in the sky is about 2 meters. C. You can use your outstretched hand against the sky to estimate angular sizes and angular distances. D. The angular distance between those two houses in the distance is 30 degrees.
B
Approximately how fast are you moving with the rotation of Earth? A. 13,000 km/hr B. not moving at all C. 1,300 km/hr D. 13 km/hr E. 130 km/hr
C
In January, Earth's rotation axis points in the direction of the star Polaris. Where does it point in July? A. Toward a star 23 ½° away from Polaris B. Toward a star 47° away from Polaris C. Toward the star Polaris D. Toward the star Sirius
C
On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did Kepler and Galileo first discover that we live on a planet in a solar system? A. December 30 B. 1 day ago C. 1 second ago D. December 25 E. 1 week ago
C
On the cosmic calendar, which compresses the history of the universe into a single year, about when did life arise on Earth? A. in late January B. in mid-August C. in September D. in mid-December E. just a few hours before midnight on December 31
C
Which of the following is largest? A. 1 light-year B. size of Pluto's orbit C. size of a typical galaxy D. distance to the nearest star (other than our Sun)
C
Which of the following is smallest? A. size of a typical star B. 1 light-second C. size of a typical planet D. 1 AU
C
Which of the following statements about the ecliptic plane is not true? A. During a solar eclipse, the Moon lies in the ecliptic plane. B. The nodes of the Moon's orbit lie in the ecliptic plane. C. It is the plane of the Moon's orbit around Earth. D. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon lies in the ecliptic plane. It is the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun.
C
On the cosmic calendar, which compresses the history of the universe into a single year, about when did Earth form? A. very early in January B. in mid-February C. in June D. in early September E. in mid-December
D
On the scale of the cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed to 1 year, how long has human civilization (i.e., since ancient Egypt) existed? A. about a month B. less than a millionth of a second C. about half the year D. a few seconds E. a few hours
D
Roughly how many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy? A. 100 million B. 1 billion C. 10 billion D. 100 billion B. 100 trillion
D
Earth is made mostly of metals and rocks. Where did this material come from? A. It was made by our Sun. B. It was made by nuclear fission of uranium and other radioactive materials. C. It was created by chemical reactions in interstellar space. D. It was produced in the Big Bang. E. It was produced by the nuclear fusion in stars that made the heavy elements.
E
On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did the dinosaurs become extinct? A. in late November B. in late October C. in late August D. in late September E. in late December
E
On the cosmic calendar, which compresses the history of the universe into a single year, about when did early humans first walk on Earth? A. in June B. in September C. in mid-December D. on December 30 E. just a few hours before midnight on December 31
E
Which of the following celestial objects do NOT rise in the east and set in the west, as viewed from the Earth? (Assume that all of these objects are visible from your location on Earth, and that none of them are circumpolar.) A.galaxies B. stars C. the Sun D. the Moon E. All of these objects rise in the east and set in the west.
E
Why did Carl Sagan say that we are star stuff? A. Sagan thought that all of us have the potential to be movie (or TV) stars like he was. B. Cosmic rays reaching Earth from distant astronomical sources may be one source of mutations that help evolution along. C. The composition of most stars (mostly hydrogen and helium) is about the same as the composition of our bodies. D. Nearly every atom from which we are made was once inside our star, the Sun. E. Nearly every atom from which we are made once (before the solar system formed) was inside of a star.
E
Rank the following items according to their size (diameter) from left to right, from largest to smallest. Jupiter, Local Group, Universe, Sun, local supercluster, Earth, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy
Universe, local supercluster, Local Group, Milky Way Galaxy, solar system, Sun, Jupiter, Earth
Which of the following correctly lists our "cosmic address" from small to large? a. Earth, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe; b. Earth, solar system, Local Group, Local Supercluster, Milky Way Galaxy, universe; c. Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, solar system, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe.
a
Our solar system consists of _________. a. the Sun and several nearby stars, as well as the planets and other objects that orbit these stars b. the Sun and the planets, and nothing else c. the Sun and all the objects that orbit it d. a few hundred billion stars, bound together by gravity
c
Define astronomical unit. a. The distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is about 150 billion kilometers. b. The distance that Earth travels around the Sun in 1 year, which is about 9.46 million kilometers. c. The average distance between Earth and the Sun, which is about 9.46 billion kilometers. d. The average distance between the Sun and the Pluto, which is about 5.9 billion kilometers. e. The average distance between Earth and the Sun, which is about 150 million kilometers.
e
Define light-year. a. The distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is about 150 trillion kilometers. b. The distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is about 150 billion kilometers. c. The distance that Earth travels around the Sun in 1 year, which is about 9.46 million kilometers. d. The average distance between Earth and the Sun, which is about 9.46 billion kilometers. e. The distance that light travels in 1 year, which is about 9.46 trillion kilometers.
e
about 10 trillion kilometers (AU, lightyear, neither)
lightyear
the distance light travels in 1 year (AU, lightyear, neither)
lightyear
the star Sirius lies about 8 of these from the Sun (AU, lightyear, neither)
lightyear
Mars' average distance from the Sun (AU, lightyear, neither)
neither
the diameter of Earth (AU, lightyear, neither)
neither
