Astronomy Quiz 1

1.8 × 10^4

(6 × 10^5) × (3 × 10^-2) =

hypothesis; theory

A _________ becomes a _________ when repeated testing of its predictions does not disprove it.

after many repeated attempts to falsify it fail

A hypothesis may become a theory

distance

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

scientists gather new data that contradict its predictions

A scientific theory can be shown to be wrong if

a detailed description in terms of known physical laws or theories

A theoretical model is

tied to known physical laws, a hypothesis that has withstood many attempts to falsify it, able to make testable predictions

A theory is

billion

Based on data from the WAMP project, our universe is estimated to be approximately 13.7 _________ years old.

the cosmological principle

Because of _____________, we can conclude that gravity works the same way on Earth as it does on Mars.

not a scientific idea

In science an idea that cannot be tested is

the galaxy in which we live

Milky Way is the name of

are the same everywhere in the universe

One of the central assumptions in astronomy is that the physical laws of nature

4.4 years

One of the nearest stars is Alpha Centauri, whose distance is 4.4 light-years. The time it takes light to travel from Alpha Centauri to us is

write very large and very small numbers in a convenient way

Scientific notation is used in astronomy primarily because it allows us to

8 minutes

The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 1.5 × 10^11 m, and light from the Sun takes approximately _________ to reach Earth. (The speed of light is 3 × 10^8 m/s.)

2.5 million years

The distance to the nearest large spiral galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, is 2.4 × 10^22 m. How long does it take light to travel from Andromeda to us? (The speed of light is 3 × 10^8 m/s.)

hydrogen and helium

The early universe was composed mainly of which two elements?

made up of dark energy that permeates space.

The majority of the energy in our universe is

dark matter.

The majority of the mass in our universe is made up of

15000

The number 1.5 × 10^4 is:

1.23 × 10^5

The number 123,000 written in scientific notation is

gain confidence in theories by failing to prove them wrong

The scientific method is a process by which scientists

speculative but unscientific idea because it is not testable and therefore not falsifiable

The statement "our universe is but one of a multitude of isolated universes" is best characterized as a

carbon, iron, oxygen, calcium

Which is an important element in the composition of your body that was produced by nuclear fusion inside a star or an explosion of a star?

Occam's razor

_________ is the idea that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct one.

Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Local Group, Laniakea Supercluster, the universe

if you were to specify your address in the universe, listing your membership from the smallest to largest physical structures, it would be