Astronomy Final Review

How is the atmosphere of Saturn similar to the atmosphere of Earth

They both have jet streams and periods of stormy and calm weather

What makes neutrinos so different from other particles of matter

They interact very weakly with other particles

Why did the terrestrial planets lose the majority of the gases in their primary atmosphere

They were too hot and their escape velocities too low to hold onto them

Between any two objects with mass, the force of gravity is always

different for each mass

The image of a star in the figure below does not look like a single dot due to

diffraction

A light-year is a unit commonly used in astronomy as a measure of

distance

Which of the following is a reason for the large size of volcanoes on Mars as compared to Earth's smaller volcanoes

distance from the Sun

What group of solar system objects does Pluto belong to

dwarf planet

Eris, Ceres, and Haumea are examples of

dwarf planets

If we know the semi-major axis and ____ of an object's orbit, then we can determine the object's closest and farthest points from the mass it is orbiting

eccentricity

The apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of a year is called the

ecliptic

Rays and secondary craters are created by ____ when craters are formed during a collision

ejecta

The smallest grains of dust stick together in an accretion disk by which force

electrostatic force

If an object is in orbit with an orbital speed less than the escape speed but greater than the circular orbit speed, what type of orbit is it

elliptical

The balance of energy in the solar interior means that

energy production rate in the core equals the rate of radiation escaping the Sun's surface.

The Perseid meteor shower will occur

every year

Most comets originate

far from the planets, many thousands of astronomical units (AU) from the Sun

Which graph in the figures below is a plot of a linear behavior

figure (a)

If tonight the Moon is in the waxing gibbous phase, in 3 days the phase of the Moon will be

full

The net effect of the proton-proton chain is that four hydrogen nuclei are converted to one helium nucleus and ____ are released

gamma ray photons, positrons, and neutrinos

When a comet comes close to the Sun, its volatile ice sublimates and transforms directly from the solid to ________ phase.

gas

Auroras are caused by

gases fluorescing in the atmosphere due to collisions with solar wind particles

LIGO and VIRGO are facilities that detect

gravitational waves

Solar wind particles hit the surface of the Moon, but they don't make it to the surface of the Earth because the Earth

has a magnetic field while the Moon does not

We can determine how density changes with radius in the Sun using

helioseismology

What is the age of our solar system?

4.6 billion years

The difference in composition between the giant planets and the terrestrial planets is most likely caused by the fact that

The terrestrial planets are closer to the sun

Why aren't all clouds on Jupiter white, like on Earth

There are chemical impurities in the ice crystals in Jupiter's clouds

What is the most accurate method to detect Earth-sized exoplanets with the telescopes and instrumentation that exist today

transit

All direct weather and wind on Earth are a result of convection in the

troposphere

A large region of ____ wavelengths are not affected in any way by Earth's atmosphere, and so astronomers can effectively observe at these wavelengths even at sea level

radio

Of the following methods, the age of the solar system can be determined most accurately by

radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon

How do the wavelength and frequency of red light compare to the wavelength and frequency of blue light

red light has a longer wavelength and lower frequency than blue light

The majority of asteroids are

rock

The majority of asteroids are primarily composed of

rock

In the Southern Hemisphere, hurricanes ____ compared to hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere because of the Coriolis effect

rotate in the opposite direction

The amount of time a planet takes to orbit the Sun once, from that planet's perspective, is called its ____ period

synodic

Meteor showers appear as if they are coming from one particular place in the sky because

that is the direction toward which Earth is traveling

The magnification of a telescope depends on the focal length of the telescope and

the focal length of the eyepiece

What is a primary atmosphere

the gas captured during the planet's formation

Hurricanes are powered by

the heat of vaporization of water

A person riding in a moving car will observe object moving differently from someone standing still on the side of the road, because

the laws of physics are different for moving objects

Which of these observations would allow you to measure the mass of a planet

the orbit of one of that planet's moons

Which of the following is a terrestrial planet

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet because

it has not cleared other bodies from its orbit

Identify the object shown in the figure below

zodiacal dust

The majority of the nitrogen in the air we breathe today was originally in what form

ammonia

The nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere primarily came from

ammonia delivered by comet impacts

If you observe the spectrum of a star, you will see

an absorption spectrum

Light has aspects of

both a particle and a wave

Comets and asteroids are

material left over from the formation of the planets

Which of the following is different for every observer

meridian

Space rocks less than 100 m in diameter, when they hit the ground, are called

meteorites

Rocks less than 100 meters (m) in diameter are called ____ when they are in space

meteoroids

Space rocks less than 100 m in diameter, when they burn up in the atmosphere, are called

meteors

Uranus and Neptune are bluish green in color because they contain large amounts of

methane

The giant planets are made primarily of

molecular hydrogen and helium

As a blackbody's temperature increases, it also becomes ____ and ____

more luminous; bluer

As an object's temperature increases, the atoms inside the object

move at higher velocites

What wavelengths of light can the human eye see

-1 billionth -1/1,000,000,000

A circular orbit has an eccentricity of ____ and a very elliptical orbit has an eccentricity of ____

0 ; 1

Which object, masses listed, will experience the greatest acceleration if the same force is applied to all of them

1 kg

If you apply a force of 10 N to a grocery cart in order to get an acceleration of 0.5 m/sˆ2. If you apply a force of 20 N to the same grocery cart, its acceleration will be

1 m/sˆ2

If the typical temperature of a red giant is 3000 k, at what wavelength is its radiation the brightest? Use the electromagnetic spectrum in the figure below to help you answer this question

1 µm—infrared wavelengths

The number 123,000 written in scientific notation is

1.23 x 10ˆ5

(6 x 10ˆ5) x (3 x 10ˆ-2)=

1.8 x 10ˆ3

If you travel at a velocity of 30 miles per hour (mph) during a 15-mile trip from home to school, how long does the trip take

1/2 hour

If a star has a peak wavelength of 290 nm, what is its surface temperature

10,000 K

Which telescope would collect 100 times more light than a 1-m telescope

10-meter telescope

At what peak wavelength does your body radiate the most given that your temperature is approximately that of Earth, which is 300 k

10ˆ-5 m

A nanometer is ____ of a meter

10ˆ-9 = 0.000,000,001

The Sun's magnetic field reverses direction every

11 years

The borderline between the most massive planet and the least massive brown dwarf is thought to occur at around

13 Jupiter mass

What is your acceleration if you go from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds

15 mph/s

The number 1.5 x 10ˆ4 can also be written as

15,000

Compare two blackbody objects, one at 200 K and one at 400 K. How much larger is the flux from the 400 K object, compared to the flux from the 200 K object

16 times as much

If Jupiter has a temperature of 165 k, at what wavelength does its spectrum peak? Use the electromagnetic spectrum in the figure below to answer this question

18,000 nm—infrared wavelengths

The Great Red Spot, Jupiter's most prominent storm system, has a diameter that is approximately ____ times Earth's diameter

2

Each helium atom created through the proton-proton chain, illustrated in the figure below, is made up of two protons and two neutrons. How many neutrons and protons are required as inputs to the proton-proton chain

2 neutrons and 2 protons

A red photon has a wavelength of 650 nm. An ultraviolet photon has a wavelength of 250 nm. The energy of an ultraviolet photon is ____ the energy of a red photon

2.6 times larger than

Earth's rotational axis processes in space and completes one revolution every

200 years

The sidereal period of the Moon is closest to

27 days

(1.2 x 10ˆ9) / (4 x 10ˆ-3)=

3 x 10ˆ6

The Sun's corona has a temperature of approximately 1 million degrees. At what wavelength and in what part of the electromagnetic spectrum does its radiation peak

3 × 10ˆ9 m, X-rays

What is the approximate number of stars in the Milky Way?

300 billion

If you traveled at a velocity of 60 mph for a 5 hour trip, how far did you travel

300 miles

The speed of light in a vacuum is

300,000 km/s

The speed of light is approximately

300,000 km/s

If you see a full Moon tonight, approximately how long would your have to wait to see the next full moon

4 weeks

Which object, masses listed, will have the largest inertia

50 kg

What is the slope of the line in the figure below -question 66 on chapter 1

60 km/h

An astronaut who weighs 700 Non Earth is in empty space, very far from an other objects. Approximately what is the mass of the astronaut

70 kg

If you find that the hydrogen alpha line in a star's spectrum occurs at a wavelength of 656.45 nm, what is the star's approximate radial velocity? Note that the rest wavelength of this line is 656.30 nm

70 km/s away from you

39. Identify the object shown in the figure below Chapter 12 (pg 47)

????

In the figure below, one can see that the Sun's surface appears darker towards the edges or 'limbs' of the disk of the Sun. Why does this happen

????

In the figure below, a planet orbits the Sun. During which of the three sections (A,B, or C) will the planet have the lowest average velocity

A

When an electron moves from a higher energy level in an atom to a lower energy level

A photon is emitted

In the figure below, a planet orbits the Sun. The line connecting the planet and Sun sweeps out 3 areas labeled. A, B, and C, during 3 different time intervals, If the duration of the time intervals are the same how are the sizes of these areas related

A, B, and C have the same area

Which giant planets have rings

All of them

In the figure below, which blackbody spectrum corresponds to the object that would appear the reddest to the human eye

C= 4,000 K= 730 nm

Why are auroras produced only near the northern and southern magnetic poles of a planet

Charged particles are forced to flow along Earth's magnetic field lines, which come out of Earth's poles

A large meteor shower will often occur once a year because

Earth passes through the debris left behind by a specific comet

A=(1/4)(pi)Dˆ2 -Solve for D

D=

The Kepler Mission is designed to search for extrasolar planets using the ____ method

Doppler shift

In the energy level diagram shown in the figure below, the electron is excited to the E4 energy level. If the electron transitions to an energy level giving off a photon, which level would produce a photon with the largest energy

E1

Ultraviolet radiation with a wavelength shorter than about 200 nm is hard to observe primarily because

Earth's atmosphere easily absorbs it

We experience seasons because

Earth's equator is tilted relative to the plane of the solar system

Leap years occur because

Earth's orbital period is 365.24 days

Which of the following moons is thought to have a vast ocean of water beneath its frozen surface

Europa

When the Earth catches up to a slower moving outer planet and passes it in its orbit like a faster runner overtakes a slower runner in an outside lane, the planet

Exhibits retrograde motion

If a person having mass, M, is standing on the ground and experiencing an acceleration due to gravity of g, what is the correct formula for the person's weight, F

F=mg

A superior planet is one that is

Farther from the Sun than the Earth

How does the speed of light traveling through a medium (such as air or glass) compare to the speed of light in a vacuum

It is always less than the speed of light in a vacuum

Suppose by some mysterious process the nuclear fusion rate in the core of the Sun were to increase. What would certainly happen to the appearance of the Sun

It would grow larger and hotter, making it more luminous.

If the core of the Sun were hotter than it is now, how would the Sun's energy production change

It would produce more energy per second than it does now

Which giant planet has the most prominent band structures

Jupiter

Which of the following is a giant planet

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

The largest volcanic mountains in the solar system are found on

Mars

Most asteroids are located between the orbits of

Mars and Jupiter

Which of the following are superior planets

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

Which terrestrial object shows the least evidence of recent volcanic activity

Mercury

The only planet(s) without a moon is (are)

Mercury and Venus

Which of the following are the inferior planets

Mercury and Venus

Astronomers have discovered other stars with planets that are more massive than Earth, but less massive than Neptune, that are called

Mini-Neptunes

What is the main difference between 'super-earths' and 'mini-neptunes'

Mini-Neptunes are larger and less dense

Which planet receives the least amount of energy from the Sun

Neptune

Which of these can travel directly from the center of the Sun to Earth in about 8 minutes

Neutrinos

Kepler's Third Law for our Solar System can be expressed mathematically as

Pˆ2 = Aˆ3

V=(4/3)(pi)Rˆ3 -Solve for R

R=

Which of the following planets has the most complex and conspicuous ring system

Saturn

Which terrestrial planet has rings

Saturn

Which of the following is the biggest disadvantage of putting a telescope in space

Space telescopes are much more expensive than ground-based telescopes

Star A and star B appear equally bright in the sky. Star A is twice as far away from Earth as star B. How do the luminosities of stars A and B compare

Star A is four times as luminous as star B.

Star C and star D have the same luminosity. Star C is twice as far away from Earth as star D. How do the brightnesses levels of stars C and D compare

Star D appears four times as bright as star C

The day with the smallest number of daylight hours over the course of the year for a person living in the Northern Hemisphere is the

Summer Solstice (June 21)

What do astronomers means when they say that the Sun makes energy by hydrogen burning

The Sun is fusing hydrogen into helium and releasing energy

You observe a red star and a blue star and are able to determine that they are the same size. Which star has a higher surface temperature, and which star is more luminous

The blue star has a higher surface temperature and more luminous

Why do some stars in the sky appear blue, whereas other stars appear red

The blue stars have higher surface temperatures than the red stars.

Why are large telescopes often places on top of mountains

To get above most of the atmosphere

Why do reflecting telescopes usually have a secondary mirror in addition to a primary mirror

To make the telescope shorter

Which method can be used to determine the radius of an extrasolar planet

Transit can be used

Without the ozone layer, life on Earth would be in danger from increased levels of ____ radiation

UV

For which of the following orbital velocities, V, is the orbit unbound

V is greater than or equal to escape velocity

The day with the smallest number of daylight hours over the course of the yer for a person living in the Southern Hemisphere is the

Winter Solstice (Dec 22)

You hear a news story about an X-ray telescope being built on Earth. You know this can't be possible because

X-rays do not travel very far through Earth's atmosphere

All of the zodiacal dust in the Solar System combined is roughly equal in mass to

a comet

Identify the phenomenon shown in the figure below

a meteor shower

The most straightforward way to determine the mass of an asteroid is if it has

a moon

The nucleus of a comet is mostly

a porous mix of ice and dust

Pluto is composed primarily of

a rocky core surrounded by ice

A spaceship is traveling toward Earth while giving off a constant radio signal with a wavelength of 1 meter (m). What will the signal look like to people on Earth

a signal with a wavelength less than 1 m

The solar spectrum is an example of a(n) ____ spectrum

absorption

As a car drives around a corner at constant speed, the car is

accelerating because the direction is changing

Why is hydrogen burning the main energy source for main-sequence stars

all of these -Hydrogen is the most common element in stars -Hydrogen nuclei have the smallest positive charge -Hydrogen burning is the most efficient of all fusion or fission reactions

Which of the following can be used as an indicator of the age of a moon's surface

all of these -color of the surface -crater density -volcanic activity -radioactive dating

Why does Mercury have so little gas in its atmosphere

all of these -its mass is small -it has a high temp -it is close to the sun -its escape velocity is low

As a beam of light travels from one medium to another, the change in direction of the beam of light depends on

all of these -the wavelength of the light -the index of refraction of the outgoing medium -the index of refraction of the incoming medium -the angle of incidence

Which of the following is evidence for Mars once having had liquid water on its surface

all of these -mapping satellites have detected dry riverbeds -rovers have detected minerals that must have formed in the presence of liquid water -mapping satellites have detected outflow channels coming from impact craters -large canyons

The definition of the term satellite in astronomy refers to

any low-mass object that is orbiting a more massive object

Which is the best description of the moon

any natural satellite of a planet or asteroid

The majority property that differentiates a dwarf planet from a major planet is that dwarf planets

are not the single dominant object in their orbit

Most meteors originate from

asteroids and comets

How many moons are known in the Solar System

at least 150

Most large regular moons probably formed

at the same time as their planets and grew by accretion

When you look at the visible surface of a gas giant planet, you are looking at that planet's

atmosphere

Our universe is approximately 13.7 ____ years old

billion

Imagine that you could build a telescope of any size in your backyard. Ultimately, the smallest angular size that could be resolved by this telescope would be governed by the

blurring caused by Earth's atmosphere.

Two rocks (call them S and T) are released at the same time from the same height and start from rest. Rock S has 20 times the mass of rock T. Which rock will fall faster if the only forces involved are each rock's mutual gravitational attraction with Earth?

both rocks will fall at the same rate

Declination is a measure of a star's location relative to the

celestial equator

In a circular orbit, the force of gravity provides a/an

centripetal force

Earth's magnetosphere effects

charged particles

An inferior planet is one that is

closer to the Sun than the Earth

Kepler's second law says that if a planet is an elliptical orbit around a star, then the planet moves fastest when it is

closest to the star

The icy planetesimals that remain in the Solar System today are called

comet nuclei

Which of the following likely helps replenish the zodiacal dust in the vicinity of Earth the most

comets

Boiling water is an example of energy transport through

convection

The hottest layer of the solar atmosphere is the

corona

Which of the layers of the Sun is located the farthest from the center of the Sun

corona

Weather is the ____ state of the atmosphere, while climate is the ____ state of the atmosphere

day-to-day; average

A quantity that follows an inverse square law

decreases as distance increases, as 1/rˆ2

As wavelength increases, the energy of a photon ____ and its frequency ____

decreases; decreases

Of the following, the best location for a neutrino detector is

deep underground

Based on the figure below, this moon

is possibly geologically active

Jupiter and Saturn are composed primarily of

hydrogen

The primary atmospheres of the planets are made mostly of

hydrogen and helium

The majority of the Sun's energy comes from

hydrogen fusion

Which of the following is an unbound orbit

hyperbolic

The solid form of a volatile material is generally referred to as a(n)

ice

If a moon has a retrograde orbit, then it orbits

in the opposite direction than its planet revolves around the Sun

If the distance between the Earth and Sun were cut in half, the gravitational force between these two objects would

increase by a factor of 4

In regard to the phase of the Moon, the term waxing means

increasing in brightness

The natural tendency of an object to resist changes in motion is called

inertia

Water vapor in Earth's atmosphere primarily absorbs which type of photons

infrared

The nucleus of the typical comet is approximately ____ in size

irregular in shape, with a very dark and cratered surface

Based on the figure below, this moon

is geologically active

Based on the figure below, this moon

is geologically dead

Comet Halley is unique because

it was the first comet whose return was predicted

Jupiter's rings are made of material from

its innermost moons

Earth is held together in the shape of a sphere. This is due to

its self-gravity

The mass of all the known asteroids combined is approximately equal to

less than 1/3 the mass of the Moon

The aperture of a telescope partially or totally determines its

light gathering power and diffraction

The angular resolution of a large ground-based telescope (without adaptive optics) is typically

limited by atmospheric seeing

Which of the following describes comets in the Oort Cloud

long periods

Right ascension is a measure of a star's location on the celestial sphere that is most similar to which measurement of location on Earth

longitude

Cryovolcanism occurs when

low-temperature liquids explode through the surface because of increasing pressure underground

The observation that the Moon's average density is similar to the density of Earth's ____ supports the collision theory of the Moon's origin

mantle

The force of gravity that an object has is directly proportional to its

mass

You observe the spectrum of two stars. Star A has an emission line from a known element at 600 nm. Star B has emission lines from the same atom, but the emission line is occurring at 650 nm. One possible explanation for this observation is that star A is

moving toward us faster than star B

Ring material

must constantly be renewed or the rings fade

Which of the following cannot be directly detected using a telescope

neutrinos

If the Sun is located at one focus of Earth's elliptical orbit, what is at the other focus

nothing

When two atomic nuclei come together to form a new species of atom, it is called

nuclear fusion

When a comet is far from the sun, which feature(s) does it have

nucleus

An empirical science is one that is based on

observed data

If you want to find naturally occurring volatile materials that formed with the Solar System, you should look

on the outer parts of the solar system

Approximately how often does a spectacularly active, visible comet appear in Earth's sky

once every 10 years

The net result of the proton-proton chain of nuclear reactions is that four protons are converted into

one helium nucleus, as well as energy, positrons, and neutrinos

Where are asteroids found

only between Mars and Jupiter

The energy that fuels the Sun is generated

only in its core

Titan is a high-priority candidate for the search for life outside Earth primarily because it has

organic material

The moon probably formed

out of a collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object.

The ____ in our atmosphere is a direct consequence of the emergence of life

oxygen

If photosynthesis were to disappear on Earth,

oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere

If you found absorption form ____ in the spectrum of a planet, you could conclude that it might contain some form of life

oxygen, methane, or water vapor

The time it takes a planet to complete one full orbital revolution is commonly known as its

period

Kepler's third law is a relationship between an orbiting object's

period and semi-major axis

The layers of the Sun's atmosphere, from innermost to outermost, are

photosphere, chromosphere, corona

Retrograde motion is seen when ____ due to Earth's motion

planets change the direction in which they move across the night sky

Which of the following will remove ('smooth out') features on a planet's surface

plate tectonic activity

Most asteroids are closest in shape to

potato

Hydrostatic equilibrium is a balance between

pressure and gravity

Gas giants that have larger radii than Jupiter but that are also less massive are called

puffy jupiter

The Doppler shift can be used to determine the ____ of an object

radial velocity

Which of the following methods provides the most accurate measurement of a distant planet's radius

radial-velocity method

The best way to use a telescope to look for life on other planets is to

search for absorption from oxygen in their atmospheres

The average distance between a planet and the Sun is given by the ____ of its elliptical orbit

semi-major axis

The time it takes for a planet to come back to the same position relative to the Sun is called its ____ period

sidereal

Present-day erosion on the surface of the Moon is primarily caused by

solar radiation

According to the conservation of angular momentum, if an ice skater starts spinning with her arms out wide, then slowly pulls them close to her body, she will

spin faster

Newton's first law states that objects in motion

stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force

On which day of the year does the Sun reach its northernmost point on the celestial sphere

summer solstice

At approximately what time does a full Moon rise

sunset (6 pm)

Exoplanets a few times the size of Earth are commonly found in other solar systems, and are called

super-Earths

During summer above the Arctic Circle

the Sun cannot be seen

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

the accelerations are the same

What is a secondary atmosphere

the atmosphere that remains after the planet has formed

The strength of a meteor shower (that is, the number of visible meteors per hour) strongly depends on

the current season at the viewer's location

The aperture of a telescope is which of the following

the diameter of the primary lens/mirror

Why do the outer giant planets have massive gaseous atmospheres of hydrogen and helium while the inner planets do not

the outer planets grew massive quickly enough to gravitationally hold on these gases before the solar wind dispersed the accretion disk

Which of the following layers of the Sun makes up the majority of its interior

the radiative zone

If you go out at exactly 9 P.M. each evening over the course of one month, the position of a given star will move westward by tens of degrees. What causes this motion?

the revolution of the Earth around the Sun

The ecliptic is the path produced by the apparent motion of ____ in the sky

the sun

Astronauts orbiting Earth in the space shuttle experience so-called weightlessness in space because

they are in constant free fall around Earth

Why are Jupiter and Saturn not perfectly spherical

they rotate rapidly

How do astronomers take such detailed, close-up pictures of ring systems

they send satellites to the outer planets to take pictures for us

The surface of the Sun appears sharp when we look at it in visible light because

thin compared to the other layers in the Sun

Astronomers can use ground-based telescopes to observe in the majority of which of the following parts of the electromagnetic spectrum

visible and radio

Of what are Saturn's rings primarily made

water ice

Which of the following materials can be found within planetary rings in our solar system

water ice

Which of the following properties of an astronaut changes when he or she is standing on the Moon, relative to when the astronaut is standing on Earth

weight

When is the Sun most luminous

when there are a maximum number of sunspots

Which of the following is a factor that helps explain Earth's lack of craters compared to the Moon

wind erosion

If Earth's axis were tilted by 5 degrees instead of its actual tilt, how would the seasons be different than they are currently

winters would be warmer

No matter where you are on Earth, stars appear to rotate about a point called the

zenith

The point on the sky directly above an observer is called the

zenith

For the first 1 billion years of Earth's evolution, the fraction of oxygen in its atmosphere was approximately

zero