AST 1001 FINAL EXAM POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Newton showed that Kepler's laws are ___. A. the key to proving that Earth orbits our Sun B. natural consequences of the law of universal gravitation C. seriously in error D. actually only three of seven distinct laws of planetary motion

B. natural consequences of the law of universal gravitation

Kepler's third law, =, means that A. planets that are farther from the Sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets. B. the period of a planet does not depend on its mass. C. all orbits with the same semi-major axis have the same period. D. a planet's period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit. E. All of the above are correct.

E. All of the above are correct!

Considering Einstein's famous equation, E=mc2, which of the following statements is true? A. You can make mass into energy if you can accelerate the mass to the speed of light. B. A small amount of mass can be turned into a large amount of energy. C. It takes a large amount of mass to produce a small amount of energy. D. Mass can be turned into energy, but energy cannot be turned back into mass. E. One kilogram of mass represents 1 joule of energy.

B. A small amount of mass can be turned into a large amount of energy.

The angular separation of two stars is 0.1 arcseconds and you photograph them with a telescope that has an angular resolution of 1 arcsecond. What will you see? A. The two stars will appear to be touching, looking rather like a small dumbbell. B. The photo will seem to show only one star rather than two. C. The stars will not show up at all in your photograph. D. You will see two distinct stars in your photograph.

B. The photo will seem to show only one star rather than two.

Which of the following gases, which we can detect (if present) in the infrared spectra, would be a strong indicator of life on another planet? A. methane B. ozone C. water vapor D. carbon dioxide E. sulfruci acid

B. ozone

According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size? A. the law of universal gravitation B. the law of conservation of angular momentum C. Eistein's E=mc2 D. the law of conservation of energy

B. the law of conservation of angular momentum

If we use 1 millimeter to represent 1 light-year, how large in diameter is the Milky Way Galaxy? A. 100 millimeters B. 1 kilometer C. 100 meters D. 100 kilometers E. 1 million millimeters

C. 100 meters

According to fossil evidence, how far back in time did life on Earth exist? A. About 545 million years B. About 65 million years C. About 3.5 billion years or more D. About 2 billion years

C. About 3.5 billion years or more

Why do some scientists say that the Moon may have been important for the evolution of life on the Earth? A. It shielded the Earth during the heavy-bombardment phase of the early solar system. B. There is no known connection between the Moon and the evolution of life on the Earth. C. It stabilized the earth's axis tilt, preventing large climate changes. D. It created the ocean tides, and life most likely started in tide pools. E. Meteorites from the Moon brought microscopic life to Earth.

C. It stabilized the earth's axis tilt, preventing large climate changes.

Compare the energy and speed of infrared and visible light. Which of follow is true? A. Visible light has higher energy, and moves faster. B. Infrared light has higher energy, but the same speed. C. Visible light has higher energy, but the same speed. D. Infrared light has higher energy, but moves faster.

C. Visible light has higher energy, but the same speed.

For most of history, the lack of observable stellar parallax was interpreted to mean that ____. A. stars were too far away for parallax to be measured with available technology. B. stars must all lie at the same distance from Earth, on the celestial sphere. C. Galileo's theories of the universe were essentially correct. D. Earth is stationary at the center of the universe.

D. Earth is stationary at the center of the universe.

If a hydrogen emission line appears at 656.2 nm in the lab, what can we say about a cloud of hydrogen gas, with an emission line at 680.2nm? A. The location of the emission line has nothing to do with speed. B. It is approaching us. C. It is neither receding nor approaching us. D. It is receding away from us.

D. It is receding away from us.

How did oxygen get into Earth atmosphere? A. It was captured from the solar nebula. B. It came from chemical reactions with surface rocks. C. It was outgassed from volcanoes. D. It was released by life through the process of photosynthesis.

D. It was released by life through the process of photosynthesis.