LSU 1101 BOYAJIAN HOMEWORKS #1-5

If you have a stuffy nose, a fever, chills, and body aches and a doctor treats you for the flu rather than four separate diseases that account for each of your symptoms, this is an application of

Occam's razor

A "light year" is a way to measure distance. Select one: True False

True

Homosapiens have existed for about 150,000 years. This is 0.09% of the time of the dinosaurs. This means that 1,480,000 years from now we will have lives 1% as long as the dinosaurs. Select one: True False

True

If there is a new Moon out tonight, approximately how long from now will it be in the third quarter phase? Select one: a. 1 week. b. 3 to 4 days. c. 2 weeks. d. 1 month. e. 3 weeks.

a. 1 week

Suppose you live on the Moon. How long is a day (i.e., from sunrise to sunrise)? Select one: a. a lunar month b. a year c. 3.1415 light years d. 23 hours 56 minutes e. 24 hours

a. a lunar month

The presence of gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor in a planet's atmosphere is direct evidence of _________ in a planet's history. Select one: a. volcanic activity b. cometary impacts c. a lack of asteroid impacts d. the greenhouse effect e. high surface temperatures

a. volcanic activity

The altitude of the north is equal to your latitude on Earth. At what latitude on Earth would the north celestial pole be at your Zenith? Select one: a. +60 degrees b. +90 degrees c. +34 degrees d. 0 degrees e. This can never happen

b. +90 degrees

Approximately how long after the Solar System formed did it take for oxygen to get to within 80 percent of its present abundance in Earth's atmosphere? Select one: a. 400 million years b. 4 billion years c. 1 million years d. Oxygen was always a component of Earth's atmosphere e. 1 billion years

b. 4 billion years

Which of the following statements about the celestial sphere is not true? Select one: a. When we look in the sky, the stars all appear to be located on the celestial sphere. b. The "celestial sphere" is just another name for our universe. c. From any location on Earth, we can see only half the celestial sphere at any one time. d. Earth is placed at the center of the celestial sphere. e. The celestial sphere does not exist physically.

b. The "celestial sphere" is just another name for our universe.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when: Select one: a. The moon shadows part of the Sun b. the Moon passes through part of the Earth's shadow. c. The Moon passes through part of the Sun's shadow d. The Earth passes through part of the Moon's shadow e. the Sun appears to go behind the Moon.

b. the Moon passes through part of the Earth's shadow.

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? Select one: a. Earth's rotation on its axis b. the revolution of Earth around the Sun c. The speed of the star through the Galaxy d. Einsteins theory of relativity e. The revolution of the Moon around Earth

b. the revolution of Earth around the Sun

When someone on Earth observes the Moon in the first-quarter phase, someone on the Moon facing Earth observes Earth in the: (hint: draw a picture!) Select one: a. first-quarter Earth phase b. third quarter Earth phase c. new Earth phase. d. crescent Earth phase e. full Earth phase

b. third quarter Earth phase

If photosynthesis were to disappear on Earth, Select one: a. nitrogen would disappear from the atmosphere. b. the atmosphere would become less dense. c. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere. d. the atmosphere would become hotter. e. the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere would decrease.

c. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere.

One of the nearest stars is Alpha Centauri, whose distance is 4.2 × 1016 meters. How long does it take light to travel from Alpha Centauri to us? (Hint: the speed of light is 3 x 108 meters/second) Select one: a. 8.3 minutes b. It is too far away to ever see c. 4.4 years d. 4.4 days e. 140,000,000 years

c. 4.4 Light years

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States with a latitude of +40°. Using the figure below, which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest to the meridian at midnight in mid-November? Select one: a. Aquarius b. Leo c. Taurus d. Pisces e. Scorpious

c. Taurus

n the absence of a greenhouse effect, what would happen to Earth's oceans? Select one: a. They would evaporate b. They would be rapidly absorbed into surface rocks c. They would freeze over d. They would dissociate into ozone and hydrogen

c. They would freeze over

Our universe is approximately 13.7 _________ years old. Select one: a. thousand b. trillion c. billion d. million

c. billion

Which of the following statements is FALSE? Select one: a. Geological features and the chemical composition of some rocks on Mars suggest liquid water flowed on the surface in the past. b. Darker regions of the Moon's surface have fewer craters and are approximately 1 billion years younger than the lighter regions. c. Volcanoes on Mars are larger, on average, than Earth's volcanoes because Mars does not have moving continental plates. d. The surface of Venus has very few craters primarily because asteroids burn up in its thick atmosphere. e. Impact craters on Earth are erased over time because of erosion due to water and the recycling of its crust.

d. The surface of Venus has very few craters primarily because asteroids burn up in its thick atmosphere.

Because of _____________, we can conclude that gravity works the same way on Mars as it does on Earth. Select one: a. the hypothetical statute b. The cosmological principle c. Sagan's planetary principle d. Einsteins special theory of relativity e. Newtons theory of relativity Incorrect

d. Einsteins special theory of relativity

If one thinks about the distance between Earth and the Moon, 384,400 km, approximately how much of that distance would Saturn and its rings take up? Select one: a. much more than this distance b. exactly equal to this distance c. more than half this distance d. less than half this distance

d. less than half this distance

In science an idea that cannot be tested is Select one: a. a principle. b. a hypothesis. c. a theory. d. not a scientific idea.

d. not a scientific idea

Which of the following processes did NOT contribute gas to Earth's secondary atmosphere? Select one: a. volcanism b. accretion c. all of the above contributed gasses to Earth's secondary atmosphere d. oxidation e. comet impacts

d. oxidation

Approximately how often do lunar eclipses occur? (hint: line of nodes) Select one: a. once per month b. twice every 11 months c. once every 11 years d. twice every year e. three times a year

d. twice every year

f you were to specify your address in the universe, listing your membership from the smallest to largest physical structures, it would be: Select one: a. Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea Supercluster, the universe. b. Earth, Local Group, Solar System, Andromeda, the universe. c. Earth, Laniakea Supercluster, Milky Way, Solar System, the universe. d. Earth, Solar System, Local Group, Milky Way, the universe. e. Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Local Group, Laniakea Supercluster, the universe.

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

If it were not for the greenhouse effect on Earth, Select one: a. there would be no oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. b. it would be a much colder planet. c. life as we know it would not have developed on Earth. d. All of the above are results of the greenhouse effect. e. there would be no liquid water on Earth.

e. there would be no liquid water on Earth.

What is the reason Mercury has so little gas in its atmosphere? Select one: a. Its mass is small. b. It is close to the Sun. c. Its escape velocity is low. d. It has a high temperature. e. All of the above.

e. All of the above..

Which of the following statements about the Moon is true? a. The side of the Moon facing away from Earth is in perpetual darkness. b. The moon is only visible at night c. The Moon goes through a cycle of phases because it always has the same side facing Earth. d. If you see a new Moon from North America, someone in South America would see a full Moon. e. The Moon's distance from Earth varies during its orbit.

e. The Moon's distance from Earth varies during its orbit.