Astronomy exploring the cosmos exam 1
sun moves from _______ to ________.
east to west
Sun's apparent path through the celestial sphere.
ecliptic
Highest Altitude to Lowest Altitude
summer solstice, spring equinox, winter solstice
the period between new moons
synodic month
The sky varies with _________ but not ___________.
latitude, longitude
An object that orbits a planet.
moon or satellite
An interstellar cloud of gas and/or dust
nebula
what phase is moon in during a solar eclipse
new moon
the wobbling of the pole
nutation
A moderately large object that orbits a star; it shines by reflected light. May be rocky, icy, or gaseous in composition.
planet
• An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.
Newton's 1st Law
This means that if the same force is applied to two objects with different masses, the less massive object will be accelerated more F=ma
Newton's Second Law
For any force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force
Newton's Third Law
The ___ official constellations cover the celestial sphere.
88
A diver can flip faster by folding her legs into her chest. This is due to (a) conservation of angular momen- tum (b) conservation of energy (c) Newton's third law of motion (d) Kepler's first law (e) Newton's law of gravity
A
During a lunar eclipse, what phase is the Moon in? (a) full (b) first quarter (c) new (d) last quarter
A
If we put a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, which means it has an orbital pe- riod of 23 hours and 56 minutes, but another satellite collides with it causing it to slow down, what will happen to its orbital period? (a) The orbital period will increase (b) The orbital period will decrease (c) The orbital period will not change (d) Any of the above can happen de- pending on the mass of the collid- ing satellite
A
If you are standing at a latitude of -60 (30 north of the South Pole), and a see a star located 20 above the northern horizon, in which direction will it ap- pear to move in the sky over the next hour? (a) south (b) north (c) east (d) west (e) it will remain in the same place in the sky
D
Imagine we've discovered a planet or- biting another star at 1 AU every 6 months. The planet has a moon that orbits the planet at the same distance as our Moon, but it takes 2 months. What can we infer about this planet? (a) It is less massive than the Earth (b) It is the same mass as the Earth (c) It is more massive than the Earth (d) We cannot answer the question without knowing the mass of the star (e) We cannot answer the question without knowing the mass of the moon
A
One number is said to be an "order of magnitude" larger than another number if Choose one: A. it is 10 times larger. B. it is 5 times larger. C. it is 3 times larger. D. it is 100 times larger. E. it is 2 times larger.
A
Scientific notation is Choose one: A. convenient shorthand for expressing very large or very small numbers. B. footnotes in scientific papers. C. the documentation of experimental results. D. the use of Greek symbols to express scientific concepts. E. formulas that express mathematical relationships.
A
Synodic and sidereal months differ because of Choose one: A. the Earth's orbit. B. the different number of days in each calendar month. C. the Moon's orbit. D. the fact that Earth's year is not exactly 365 days. E. the Sun's orbit.
A
What do Stonehenge and other me- galiths have in common? (a) they were used by their societies to determine important days of the year (summer solstice, spring equinox, etc) (b) they were used by their societies to predict solar eclipses with great accuracy (c) they were built by their soci- eties with inspiration from extra- terrestrial civilizations
A
When standing in Athens, Ohio at night, where is the zenith of the sky? (a) straight up (b) about 40 degrees above the north- ern horizon (c) on the eastern horizon (d) below the horizon, it is only visible during the day
A
Which of the following describes Kepler's approach and contributions to astronomy? Choose one: A. He constrained his models of planetary motion with the positional data from Tycho Brahe. B. He maintained the use of epicycles in planetary motion. C. He correctly showed that planetary orbits were based on geometric shapes called platonic solids. D. He ignored all the work of important astronomers who preceded him. E. He understood that planetary motions resulted from mutually attractive gravitational force.
A
Why do stars appear to move through the sky in giant arcs? (a) The Earth is rotating on its axis. (b) They are located in a crystalline sphere which turns around the Earth. (c) They orbit the Sun like the Earth. (d) The Earth is moving past the stars at high speed.
A
Why is it warmer in summer in the northern hemisphere? (a) The Earth's axis is tilted so that the north pole is angled toward the Sun in the summer (b) The Sun emits more light during the summer (c) The Earth is closer to the Sun dur- ing the summer (d) The Earth rotates slower during the summer, causing a longer day
A
You are observing distant object A of 30 arcseconds in diameter. From your understanding of the small-angle formula, and compared with your observation of A, which of these statements is always true? Choose one: A. A smaller object at a greater distance will appear smaller. B. A smaller, less distant object will appear larger. C. A smaller object at the same distance will appear the same size. D. A larger object at the same distance will appear the same size. E. A larger, less distant object will appear smaller.
A
You observe the full Moon just rising in the east. What time of day is it? Choose one: A. sunset (about 6:00 p.m.) B. noon (about 12:00 p.m.) C. sunrise (about 6:00 a.m.) D. midnight (about 12:00 a.m.) E. midafternoon (about 3:00 p.m.)
A
Which of Galileo's observations disputed the perfect nature of the heavens above the sublunar region? Choose one or more: A. sunspots B. mountains on the Moon C. phases of Venus D. Galilean moons E. individual stars in the Milky Way
A & B
the study of everything in the Universe which is beyond the atmosphere of the Earth
Astronomy
A. Any group of stars can be called a constellation. B. A constellation includes a group of stars within specific boundaries in the same region of the sky. C. The stars within a constellation are all located at the same distance from Earth. D. The stars that form a constellation must be in a configuration resembling an animal or human. E. The stars within a constellation are all about the same brightness.
B
If you were in space, located between the Moon and Earth and equidistant from both objects, what would happen to you? (a) you would accelerate toward the Moon (b) you would accelerate toward the Earth (c) you would stay there, with the pull of gravity from each object cancel- ing out
B
What is the effect on the force of gravity between two objects if the mass of one object remains unchanged while the distance to the second object and the second object's mass are both doubled? Choose one: A. It depends on the local value of G. B. It always decreases. C. It depends on the specific values of the two quantities. D. It always increases. E. It cannot be determined.
B
Which observers on Earth can see Polaris on a clear night? Choose one: A. all observers on Earth B. only observers in the Northern Hemisphere C. only observers in the Western Hemisphere D. only observers in the Southern Hemisphere E. only observers above the Arctic Circle
B
Which of the following is not a form of potential energy? (a) coal (b) light being emitted by a fluores- cent light-bulb (c) mass (d) a ball balanced on top of a shelf (e) a AA battery
B
Which of the following statements about scientific theories is not true? (a) A theory is a model designed to explain a number of observed facts (b) A theory can never be proved be- yond all doubt; we can only hope to collect more and more evidence that might support it (c) A theory must make predictions that can be checked by observation or experiment (d) If even a single new fact is discov- ered that contradicts what we ex- pect according to a particular the- ory, then the theory must be re- vised or discarded (e) A theory cannot be taken seri- ously by scientists if it contradicts other theories developed by scien- tists over the past several hundred years
B
Why is a sidereal day shorter than a so- lar day? (a) The precession of the Earth's axis gradually changes the length of the solar day. (b) Because the Earth orbits the Sun as it rotates, Earth must make slightly more than one full rotation between successive noons. (c) Because the Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle, the length of the so- lar days varies and is sometimes longer than a sidereal day. (d) The Sun rotates much as the Earth does, but more slowly, so that a solar day is longer than a sidereal day.
B
Which of the following statements about solar eclipses is/are correct? Choose one or more: A. Solar eclipses can only occur at full Moon. B. A total eclipse is possible because the Sun and Moon sometimes appear to be identical in size. C. A solar eclipse is visible to everyone on Earth equally. D. Prediction of solar eclipses became possible only with the advent of computers. E. Not all solar eclipses achieve totality.
B & E
founded nebulas
Brache
If we measure that star 1 is four times as far away from us as star 2, without any other knowledge about the stars we know that (a) star 2 is half the size of the star 1 (b) star 2 is twice as bright as star 1 (c) star 2 is older than star 1 (d) we are seeing further back into the history of star 2 than we are star 1 (e) star 2 is moving away from us while star 1 is moving toward us
D
2. Why does Mars appear to occasionally move backwards in the sky? (a) Mars has a very elliptical orbit, causing it to occasionally reverse the direction it is orbiting the Sun (b) Mars is orbiting the Earth on a epicycle, and appears to move backwards when the smaller circle is turning turning in the opposite direction of the larger circle (c) BecausetheEarthhasashorteror- bital period, when it passes Mars, Mars appears to move backwards in the sky (d) Jupiter's gravity pulls Mars back- wards in its orbit when the two planets are lined up
C
During a lunar occultation (aka solar eclipse), what phase is the Moon in? (a) full (b) first quarter (c) new (d) last quarter
C
If we were to shine a beam of light at the stars nearest to us (other than the Sun), how long would it take the beam to reach the stars? (a) a few days (b) a few months (c) a few years (d) a few centuries (e) more than a million years
C
If you are standing on a scale in an ele- vator and your notice your weight sud- denly decreases by a few pounds, what should you conclude? (a) The elevator is moving at a con- stant velocity upwards (b) Your diet suddenly decided to start working (c) The elevator is accelerating down- wards (d) The elevator is moving at a con- stant velocity downwards (e) The elevator is accelerating up- wards
C
In the law of gravity, G is Choose one: A. the gravitational force specific to the Solar System. B. immeasurable. C. a constant related to the strength of the gravitational force. D. the gravitational force specific to Earth. E. a value that differs depending on the objects that are nearby.
C
The fact that a feather falls to the floor when dropped slower than a hammer does is an example of (a) why Newton's law of gravity is wrong (b) feathers have less mass than ham- mers and so accelerate slower due to gravity (c) the feather has a smaller combined net force acting on it compared to the hammer (d) the feather, being lighter than the hammer, takes more energy to ac- celerate
C
The mass of Jupiter can be calculated by (a) knowing the Sun's mass and mea- suring how Jupiter's speed changes during its elliptical orbit around the Sun. (b) knowing the Sun's mass and mea- suring the average distance of Jupiter from the Sun. (c) measuring the orbital period and distance of one of Jupiter's moons (d) measuring the orbital speed of one of Jupiter's moons
C
What is wrong with the statement "the period of Mars' orbit about the Sun is 5 light-years?" (a) Mars has an orbital period shorter than 5 light-years (b) Mars has an orbital period longer than 5 light-years (c) A light-year is a unit of distance, not time (d) Mars is not made of light, so time can only be measured in normal years
C
Which of the following did Galileo not do? (a) demonstrated that not everything orbits Earth by showing that Jupiter has 4 moons (b) demonstrated that heavenly bod- ies are not perfect by showing that the Moon has craters (c) invented the telescope (d) showed that objects do not natu- rally come to a stop by rolling balls across a flat surface (e) demonstrated that Venus orbited the Sun by showing that Venus has the same type of phases as does the Moon
C
Which of the following is not one of Newton's laws of motion? (a) The rate of change of momentum of an object is equal to the net force applied to the ob ject (b) For any force, there always is an equal and opposite reaction force (c) Any object thrown upwards at any velocity will eventually come down and hit the Earth (d) In an absence of a net force, an ob- ject moves with constant velocity (e) All of the above are from Newton's laws of motion
C
Which of the following is the most correctly written in standard scientific notation? Choose one: A. 140 × 1024 B. .0014 × 1028 C. 1.4 × 1026 D. 14.0 × 1025 E. 0.14 × 1027
C
Proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system
Copernicus
Consider a number (x) that is 4 orders of magnitude larger than another (y). Which accurately describes the value of x compared to y? Choose one: A. It is 1,000 times larger. B. It is 400 times larger. C. It is 4 times larger. D. It is 10,000 times larger. E. It is 10 times larger.
D
From which location are the same constellations above the horizon at any time of the year? Choose one: A. No such location exists. B. the equator C. New York City D. the North Pole E. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
D
In the simple version of the scientific method, which of the following is the correct order of actions that scientists take in their studies? Choose one: A. observation, theory, hypothesis, test, results, retest, results B. hypothesis, test, results, retest, observation, potential theory C. theory, observation, hypothesis, test, results D. observation, hypothesis, test, results, retest, results, potential theory E. theory, test, results, hypothesis, revised theory
D
What causes the seasons? Choose one: A. The elliptical shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun causes the Earth to be closer to the Sun during the summer than the winter. B. The tilt of the Earth's rotation axis to its orbit around the Sun causes the hemisphere tilted toward the Sun to be warmer than the opposite hemisphere because it is physically closer to the Sun. C. The Sun varies in brightness throughout the year due to cyclical changes in the number of sunspots on its surface. D. The tilt of the Earth's rotation axis to its orbit around the Sun causes parts of the Earth to experience more direct illumination from the Sun and longer days during the summer than the winter.
D
What is meant in science by a hypoth- esis? (a) a natural phenomenon that re- quires explanation (b) an explanation for a phenomenon that makes a prediction (c) a historical theory that has been proven inaccurate (d) a tentative understanding of a nat- ural phenomenon (e) a pseudoscientific idea
D
What was the primary advantage of Copernicus' Sun centered solar system model over Ptolemy's Earth centered solar system model prior to the time of Kepler (a) it made more accurate predictions of the positions of planets than Ptolemy's model (b) it removed the need for epicycles in the planetary orbits that were needed in Ptolemy's model (c) it explained why he could see stars move in the sky, which would remain stationary in Ptolemy's model (d) it had the planets moving slower the further they were from the Sun, rather than having the seem- ingly random orbital speeds that were present in Ptolemy's model
D
Which of the following does not describe a contribution that Galileo made to science? Choose one: A. He laid the groundwork for the practices of modern science, including observation and experimentation as the best processes for understanding nature and the Universe. B. He used his observations of the phases of Venus to argue that this planet clearly orbits the Sun, not Earth. C. He argued that objects of unequal mass will fall at the same rate. D. He theorized that there was a mutually attractive force proportional to distance to explain how and why planets orbit the Sun. E. With his discovery of the moons of Jupiter, he demonstrated that there was more than one center of motion in the Universe.
D
Which of the following values are the same whether one is standing on Earth or on the Moon? Choose one or more: A. one's weight B. the acceleration due to gravity C. one's weight-to-mass ratio D. the value of G E. one's mass
D & E
A lunar eclipse can occur at which Moon phase(s)? Choose one or more: A. third quarter B. all options are correct C. new Moon D. first quarter E. full Moon
E
Based on Kepler's laws of planetary mo- tion, which of the following statements is not true? (a) a planet which orbits further away from the Sun moves slower in its orbit (b) the Earth moves the fastest when it is closest to the Sun during its orbit (c) the orbital period of planetary or- bits increases with the mean dis- tance a planet has from the Sun in its orbit (d) all planets orbit the Sun in an el- lipse, with one of the focus points of the ellipse located inside the Sun (e) all of the above statements are true
E
One of the earliest practical uses of astronomy was the timing of crop planting by Choose one: A. lunar eclipses. B. the appearance of comets. C. solar eclipses. D. the appearance of specific planets. E. the appearance of specific constellations.
E
Warmer summertime temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are due partly to Choose one: A. the tilt of the Northern Hemisphere away from the Sun. B. the Sun radiating more energy in summer. C. Earth being closer to the Sun in summer. D. a lower angle of the Sun's rays. E. longer days.
E
What is meant in science by verifiable observations? (a) observations that support a scien- tific theory (b) observations that a hypothesis does not have to predict (c) statements that anyone would agree are obvious (d) observations that can be inter- preted in only one way (e) statements that a person can, with the appropriate equipment, verify themself
E
Which aspects of astrology have been scientifically proven to be correct? (a) The sign you are born under deter- mines your personality. (b) The positions of the planets in the constellations can allow you to foretell the future. (c) While the future is never certain, a horoscope based on the stars can let you know what actions you can take today to improve your life. (d) All of the above. (e) None of the above.
E
Which of the following is not an ex- ample of an object undergoing acceler- ation? (a) A car going from 30 mph to a stop (b) A satellite in orbit around Earth (c) An airplane making a right turn (d) A boat bobbing on a wave (e) All of the above are objects under- going acceleration
E
Which of the following statements is consistent with Kepler's second law? Choose one: A. All planets move at the same speed when nearest the Sun. B. "Equal time, equal area" implies that planets move at constant speed in orbit. C. The orbital speed of a planet decreases when the planet is nearest the Sun. D. Orbits are actually areas, not paths. E. Planets always move faster when they are close to the Sun than when they are farther away.
E
did NOT invent telescope but was first to use it in astronomy
Galileo Galilei
First thought of the idea of gravity
Isaac Newton
planets move in ellipses
Kepler
The orbit of each planet around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus
Kepler's First Law
As a planet moves around its orbit, a line connecting the planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times
Kepler's Second Law
More distant planets orbit the Sun at slower average speeds, obeying the relationship P^2 = a^3
Kepler's Third Law
A star and all the material that orbits it, including its planets and moons
Solar system
A large, glowing ball of gas that generates heat and light through nuclear fusion
Star
time for Moon to orbit Earth once with same stars lined up
sidereal month
artificial groupings of stars which are projected near each other on the sky
constellations
what phase is moon in during a lunar eclipse
full moon
A great island of stars in space, all held together by gravity and orbiting a common center
galaxy
one tropical year
the time between successive winter solstices
The sum total of all matter and energy; that is, everything within and between all galaxies
universe
sidereal
with respect to the stars
