AST exam 1

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when: A) the Sun appears to go behind the Moon. B) Earth passes through part of the Moon's shadow. C) the Moon passes through part of Earth's shadow. D) the Moon shadows part of the Sun

C

All stars denoted on the celestial sphere are: A) at varying distances from Earth. B) not in the Milky Way galaxy. C) actually planetary bodies of the solar system. D) equidistant from Earth.

A

At what time would the new Moon rise above your horizon? A) midnight B) noon C) 6 pm D) 6 am

A

Consider your weight on two planets. The larger planet has a radius four times as large as the smaller planet, but it is only one-half as massive as the smaller planet. How would your weight on the larger planet compare to your weight on the smaller planet? A) 1/32 times as much B) 32 times as much C) 8 times as much D) 1/8 times as much E) 1/16 times as much

A

How does the speed of light traveling through a medium (such as air or glass) compare to the speed of light in a vacuum? A) It is always less than the speed of light in a vacuum. B) It is always greater than the speed of light in a vacuum. C) It is the same as the speed of light in a vacuum. D) Sometimes it is greater than the speed of light in a vacuum, and sometimes it is less, depending on the medium

A

One of the central assumptions in astronomy is that the physical laws of nature: A) are the same everywhere in the universe. B) change when objects move at high speed. C) change throughout the age of the universe. D) depend on the mass of the objects involved.

A

The Moon undergoes synchronous rotation, and as a consequence the: A) rotational period of the Moon equals the orbital period of the Moon around Earth. B) rotational period of the Moon equals the rotational period of Earth. C) rotational period of the Moon equals the orbital period of Earth around the Sun. D) Moon does not rotate as it orbits Earth.

A

Which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest the meridian at 6 P..M. in November? A) Leo B) Scorpius C) Aquarius D) Gemini

C

What type of orbit results when a satellite has a velocity greater than the escape velocity? A) unbound B) linear C) bound D) circular

A

Which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest the meridian at midnight in March? A) Leo B) Gemini C) Aquarius D) Scorpius

A

Which of the following is FALSE? A) A scientific theory is an undisputed fact. B) A hypothesis must always have one or more testable predictions. C) If continual testing of a hypothesis shows it to be valid, it may become an accepted theory. D) A scientific theory may eventually be proved wrong when scientists acquire new data.

A

Which of the following is true about a comet that is on an elliptical orbit around the Sun? A) The comet's speed is greatest when it is nearest the Sun. B) The comet's speed is greatest when it is farthest from the Sun. C) The comet's speed is constant because its mass and the Sun's mass stay approximately the same. D) This comet's speed is zero.

A

Which of the following photons carry the most amount of energy? A) an ultraviolet photon, whose wavelength is 10-8 meters B) an infrared photon, whose wavelength is 10- 5 meter C) a blue photon of the visible spectrum, whose wavelength is 450 nm D) a red photon in the visible spectrum, whose wavelength is 700 nm E) a microwave photon, whose wavelength is 10- 2 meter

A

You apply a force of 10 N to a grocery cart in order to get an acceleration of 0.5 m/s2. If you apply a force of 20 N to the same grocery cart, its acceleration will be: A) 1 m/s2. B) 0.5 m/s2. C) 0.25 m/s2. D) 10 m/s2.

A

. The fact that the speed of light is constant (as it travels through a vacuum) means that: A) X-rays can be transmitted through the atmosphere around the world. B) photons with longer wavelengths have lower frequencies. C) radio wave photons have shorter wavelengths than gamma-ray photons. D) All of the above are true.

B

A hypothetical planet that is twice as far from the Sun as the Earth should have a period of A) 1 Earth year B) more than 2 Earth years C) between 1-2 Earth years D) 2 Earth years E) less than 1 Earth year

B

How are mass and inertia related? A) Less massive objects contain more inertia. B) More massive objects contain more inertia. C) Only masses in motion contain intertia. D) Inertia and mass are unrelated.

B

If a person on Earth is currently viewing the Moon in third-quarter phase, in what phase would the Earth appear to an observer on the Moon? A) full B) first-quarter C) new D) third-quarter

B

If the star Polaris has an altitude of 35°, then we know that: A) our longitude is +35° B) our latitude is +35° C) our longitude is +55° D) our latitude is +55°

B

No matter where you live on Earth, there is a location that has the same latitude but is 180˚ away in longitude (on the opposite "side" of Earth). You look up at midnight and see a full Moon in the sky. What did people living on the opposite side of Earth see at their midnight, 12 hours before? A) They saw a first quarter Moon. B) They saw the Moon very nearly full. C) They saw the Moon just as it was passing between the Earth and the Sun. D) Not enough information is given, as it would depend on the season.

B

Suppose an object is moving in a straight line at 50 mph. According to Newton's First Law of Motion, the object will A) eventually slow down and come to a stop. B) continue to move in the same way until it is acted upon by a force. C) continue to move in the same way forever, no matter what happens. D) continue to move in a straight line forever if it is in space, but fall to the ground if it is on Earth.

B

The amount of the Earth's surface receiving sunlight during the day is A) less in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere during December. B) less in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere during December. C) more in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere during December. D) the same in the northern and southern hemispheres during December.

B

The meridian is defined as a great circle on the sky on which lie the: A) celestial equator and vernal equinox. B) zenith and the north and south celestial poles. C) north and south celestial poles. D) zenith and east and west directions.

B

The speed of light in vacuum is about: A) 30,000 km/s. B) 300,000 km/s. C) 5 million km/s. D) 20 km/s.

B

Which of the following did NOT require the use of a telescope to observe? A) phases of Venus B) retrograde motion of the planets C) spots on the Sun D) Jupiter's moons

B

Cameras that use adaptive optics provide higher spatial resolution images primarily because: A) composite lenses correct for chromatic aberration. B) they capture infrared light, which has a longer wavelength than visible light. C) deformable mirrors are used to correct the blurring due to Earth's atmosphere. D) they operate above Earth's atmosphere

C

If a 100-kg astronaut pushes on a 5,000-kg satellite and the satellite experiences an acceleration of 0.1 m/s2, what is the acceleration experienced by the astronaut in the opposite direction? A) 50 m/s2 B) 0.1 m/s2 C) 5 m/s2 D) 10 m/s2

C

If an object is moving in a circular orbit at a constant speed, which of the following is FALSE? A) There is an unbalanced force acting on it. B) Its acceleration is not zero. C) Its acceleration is zero. D) Its velocity is not zero.

C

If the wavelength of a beam of light were to double, how would that affect its frequency? A) The frequency would be four times smaller. B) The frequency would be two times larger. C) The frequency would be two times smaller. D) The frequency would stay the same. E) The frequency would be four times larger

C

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? A) The notebook's acceleration is 1,000 times faster than the paper's acceleration. B) The paper's acceleration is 100 times faster than the notebook's acceleration. C) The accelerations are the same. D) The notebook's acceleration is 100 times faster than the paper's acceleration.

C

In the figure below, the force of gravity is drawn in the picture. This represents Earth's gravity pulling down on the man. According to Newton's third law, what is the other half of this pair of forces? A) the man pushing on the floor B) the floor pushing backward on the man C) the man's gravity pulling up on Earth D) the floor pushing up on the man

C

In which of the following situations would the object be experiencing an unbalanced force? A) a rocket moving at a constant speed straight up away from Earth B) a truck at rest C) a car moving at constant speed turning a corner D) a car moving at a constant speed toward the right

C

The Earth's axial tilt is 23.5 degrees. If the Earth's axial tilt was 15 degrees, which would be TRUE? A) Winters would last longer. B) Summers would be warmer. C) Winters would be warmer. D) The seasons would remain the same

C

The Sun is positioned in the constellation of Pisces at the spring equinox. If we were able to somehow turn off the Sun, the constellation of Pisces would pass through the zenith for people living on the A) Arctic Circle. B) Tropic of Capricorn C) equator. D) Tropic of Cancer.

C

The allowed shapes for orbits under the force of gravity are A) spirals, circles, and squares. B) ellipses only. C) ellipses, spirals, and parabolas. D) ellipses and spirals. E) ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas.

C

The centrifugal force experienced by a body in circular motion is a reaction to: A) the body's weight. B) the force of gravity. C) the force that causes the motion to be circular. D) the contact forces between the molecules of the material

C

The shortest day of the year for a person living in the Northern Hemisphere is the: A) vernal equinox. B) summer solstice. C) winter solstice. D) autumnal equinox

C

Which of the following statements does not use the term light-year in an appropriate way? A) The Milky Way Galaxy is more than 100,000 light-years in diameter. B) It's about 4 light-years from here to Alpha Centauri. C) It will take me light-years to finish this exam. D) It will take the Voyager spacecraft about 20,000 years to travel just 1 light-year. E) A light-year is about 10 trillion kilometers.

C

Which properties of light changes in a refractive medium? A) frequency, speed, and wavelength B) speed C) wavelength and speed D) wavelength

C

Arrays of radio telescopes can produce much better resolution than single-dish telescopes because they work based on the principle of: A) diffraction. B) refraction. C) reflection. D) interference.

D

If the north celestial pole is located at your horizon, what is your latitude? A) +60° B) +90° C) This occurs at every latitude. D) 0° E) +30°

D

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? A) the revolution of the Moon around Earth B) Earth's rotation on its axis C) the revolution of the Sun around Earth D) the revolution of Earth around the Sun

D

The ecliptic plane is defined by the motion of ________ in the sky. A) the stars B) Polaris C) the Moon D) the Sun

D

The scientific method is a process by which scientists: A) prove theories to be known facts. B) show all theories to be wrong. C) test the ideas of Aristotle. D) gain confidence in theories by failing to prove them wrong

D

Two rocks (call them S and T) are a distance of 50 km from one another. Rock S has 20 times the mass of rock T. Which rock will move faster if they move due to only the force of their mutual gravitational attraction? A) Not enough information is available to answer. B) rock S C) Both rocks will move at the same speed. D) rock T

D

Consider a planet orbiting the Sun in a noncircular orbit. It will ___________ as it journeys away from the Sun and ____________ as it moves closer to the Sun. A) decelerate, decelerate B) accelerate, decelerate C) remain at the same speed; remain at the same speed D) accelerate, accelerate E) decelerate, accelerate

E