astro exam

astro_exam.docx

1. When you look at distant stars, you see them how?

a. as they were in the past b. as they are at the present time

c. as they will be in the future d. no stars can be seen

2. Suppose a star’s light would take 800 years to reach us but the star has only been shining for 300 years. Can we see the star?

a. yes, the star’s light reached us 500 years ago b. yes, the star’s light reached us 300 years ago

c. no, the starlight is still traveling toward us d. yes, starlight travels infinitely fast

3. Suppose a star exploded 900 years ago. Also, suppose that the star’s light took 400 years to reach the Earth. When did astronomers here on Earth see the explosion?

a. 400 years ago b. 500 years ago

c. 900 years ago d. 1,300 years ago

4. Suppose a star’s light takes 800 years to reach us and the star exploded 300 years ago. What is true?

a. we will see the explosion in another 300 years b. we saw the explosion 500 years ago

c. we saw the explosion 300 years ago d. we will see the explosion in another 500 years

5. “Asterism” relates to “constellation figure” the same way that steering wheel relates to what?

a. skateboard b. windshield

c. hand d. car

6. A constellation named the “half–man–half–bull” would have been invented when?

a. in the modern, scientific era b. in ancient times, thousands of years ago

c. constellations do not have names d. no way to know

7. What objects have a random arrangement?

a. fixed chairs in the LMC planetarium b. stars in the American flag

c. stars in the night sky d. holes in the blue wall panels of the planetarium

8. The word ending “icide” means “killer,” as in “pesticide.” So, what does “astericide” mean?

a. star killer b. light killer

c. planet killer d. night killer

EARTH REVOLUTION

9. How do we say that a fire fighter airplane flies around a forest fire in a big, closed, oval–shaped path?

a. airplane rotates around the forest fire b. airplane revolves around the forest fire

c. airplane precesses around the forest fire d. airplane librates around the forest fire

10. What object revolves around what other object?

a. Earth revolves around the Sun b. Sun revolves around the Earth

c. Earth revolves around the Moon d. Earth revolves on its own axis

11. The Earth revolving is like what?

a. basketball bouncing up and down b. basketball spinning on the tip of a finger

c. punching bag swinging back and forth d. toy train going around a little, oval track

Use this diagram to answer questions 12, 13, and 14. The proportions in the diagram are exaggerated for clarity. The picture is a top view looking down onto the Earth’s north pole from above.

Sun

Earth

12. At the position shown above, the Earth is just about to move through what position?

a. perihelion b. apogee

c. aphelion d. perigee

13. If the Earth starts at perihelion, then the Earth will be at position X in how long?

a. 3 months b. 6 months

c. 9 months d. 3 weeks

14. The Earth is at what position on its orbit every year in July?

a. at position X b. at its closest position to the Sun

c. no one knows d. at its farthest position from the Sun

15. What causes nearly vertical, direct sunlight to shine down onto the ground in our northern hemisphere in the summer each year?

a. Earth’s north pole tilts toward the Sun b. Earth’s north pole tilts way from the Sun

c. Earth is at perihelion d. Earth is at its closest position to the Sun

MOON’S REVOLUTION

Use this diagram to answer questions 16 and 17. The proportions in the diagram are exaggerated for clarity. The picture is a top view looking down onto the Earth’s north pole from above.

Moon

Earth sunlight

16. If the Moon starts at apogee on its orbit, then how long does it take to get to position Y?

a. 1 week b. 3 weeks

c. 2 weeks d. 1 month

17. If the Moon starts at position X on its orbit, then one week later, the Moon is where?

a. position Y b. apogee

c. aphelion d. perigee

Use this picture of a waning crescent Moon to answer question 18.

18. Which curved edge of the phase is the terminator?

a. right edge b. left edge

c. there is no terminator d. no way to know

Use this picture of a first quarter Moon to answer question 19.

19. Which edge of the phase is the limb?

a. there is no limb b. no way to know

c. right edge d. left edge

20. In terms of what orbits what, the Earth relates to the Sun the same way that the Moon relates to what?

a. Sun b. Earth

c. itself d. Jupiter

21. What is the Moon’s limb?

a. boundary line between light and dark b. sharp points at the ends of a crescent

c. Moon’s horizon against the background sky d. circle that divides north from south

22. What is the Moon’s terminator?

a. boundary line between light and dark b. sharp points at the ends of a crescent

c. Moon’s horizon against the background sky d. circle that divides north from south

23. In a crescent Moon like the phase that is shown for question 18 above, what is the name for the sharp points at the top and bottom of the crescent shape?

a. terminators b. limbs

c. cusps d. vertices

Continued

Use this picture of a waxing crescent Moon to answer questions 24 and 25. The spots are background stars.

V X

24. Could star W ever really be seen where it is shown in the picture?

a. no b. yes

c. only if it were summer d. no way to know

25. Which star could never really be seen where it is shown in the picture?

a. star Z b. star W

c. star Y d. star X

SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

26. A meteorologist who looks at dark red clouds at sunset in the Mohave desert is an example of what step of the scientific process?

a. classification b. observation

c. generalization d. explanation

27. Suppose a meteorologist says, “We could measure dust in the air during a dark red cloud at sunset.” This statement represents what step of the scientific process?

a. classification b. prediction

c. observation d. proposition

28. Suppose a meteorologist says, “Pretty much all the dark red clouds happen about a week after a volcano erupts somewhere across the Pacific.” This statement represents what step of the scientific process?

a. generalization b. observation

c. classification d. explanation

29. Suppose a meteorologist says, “This is due to comet dust; but, there is no way to detect comet dust, so there is nothing that you can predict from it.” What is wrong with this explanation?

a. it is supernatural b. does not allow a prediction

c. it is not simple d. there is nothing wrong with it

30. What is true about the observation step of the scientific process for all scientists, not just astronomers?

a. scientists use all of their five senses b. scientists are not allowed to use any tools

c. scientists are only allowed to use their eyes d. scientists only look through microscopes

31. Which of the following is the least certain, most speculative kind of explanation?

a. model b. hypothesis

c. theory d. natural law

32. What is true about the cycle of the scientific process?

a. prediction is the last step and then you stop b. prediction comes right after observation

c. you go through the cycle once and then you stop d. prediction is followed by observation

LIGHT

33. The brightness of a light wave is caused by the wave’s what?

a. wavelength b. polarization angle

c. amplitude d. speed

Here is a reference list of different light waves.

Taller = brighter

Shorter wavelength V I B G Y O R Longer wavelength

Gamma ray X–ray Ultraviolet Visible Infrared Microwave Radio wave

Lower = dimmer

34. Suppose you start with a blue light wave and you make it taller in height and longer in wavelength. The light wave becomes what?

a. dimmer indigo b. brighter indigo

c. dimmer green d. brighter green

35. Imagine that you could not see violet light waves but you could see infrared light waves. What would be the middle of your new, hypothetical visible spectrum?

a. yellow b. blue

c. ultraviolet d. red

36. What change do you carry out on a violet light wave in order to make it disappear from view?

a. reflect it off a mirror b. make it taller in amplitude

c. make it shorter in wavelength d. make it longer in wavelength

37. Suppose just for this question only that you could see every kind of light wave from gamma ray to radio wave. Imagine you start with an ultraviolet light wave and you make it taller in height and shorter in wavelength. The ultraviolet light wave changes into what?

a. brighter X–ray b. brighter violet

c. dimmer X–ray d. dimmer violet

38. What is a light wave’s amplitude?

a. its length, how stretched from left to right it is b. its speed, how fast it goes

c. its height, how tall it is d. its direction, what path it follows

39. What happens to a light wave when you make it taller in height?

a. it becomes dimmer b. it becomes brighter

c. it travels faster d. it changes color

40. What is a visible spectrum?

a. spectrum made of X–ray and ultraviolet light b. light path through a lens

c. spectrum made of infrared and microwave light d. rainbow

41. Why do we say that astronomers do not discriminate against any kind of light?

a. they never use visible light waves b. they never use any invisible light waves

c. they use all parts of the complete light spectrum d. they never use any kind of light

TELESCOPES

42. When it comes to light rays and lenses, what is the word that means, “bend?”

a. absorb b. diffract

c. interfere d. refract

43. What part of a refracting telescope collects light from an object and makes a small image?

a. objective lens b. eyepiece

c. primary mirror d. secondary mirror

Continued

44. Here are two views of an asteroid seen with two different telescopes. Telescope 2 has more of which power?

Telescope 1 Telescope 2

(dim)

a. magnifying power b. light–gathering power

c. diffracting power d. telescopes have no powers

45. In telescopes, what causes the problem of spherical aberration?

a. lens glass absorbs too much light b. lens glass has bubbles in it

c. lens sags under its own weight d. lens surfaces are shaped incorrectly

46. In telescopes, what problem happens when a lens’ glass has bubbles in it?

a. spherical aberration b. unwanted refraction

c. gravitational flexing d. extinction

47. Suppose a computer–driven grinding machine is polishing and shaping a lens’ surfaces. If the machine suddenly gets out of adjustment and malfunctions, then what problem does this cause?

a. unwanted refraction b. extinction

c. spherical aberration d. gravitational flexing

48. An analogy would be “refract” relates to “light ray” the same way that what word relates to “paper clip?”

a. bend b. break into two pieces

c. drop d. melt

49. What happens when you focus light rays?

a. you eliminate all but one of the rays b. you make each ray split into two new rays

c. the rays come together at one point d. the rays all travel parallel to each other

50. With light rays, what is the name for a point where all the rays come together?

a. vanishing point b. dispersion point

c. diffraction point d. focal point

SOLAR SYSTEM INVENTORY

51. With regard to size, “planet” relates to “planetoid” the same way that “mansion” relates to what?

a. dog house b. city

c. neighborhood d. national park

Continued

Use this Venn Diagram to answer questions 52 and 53.

Made of rock

U W

X Z

City–sized Made of snow

52. Where on the diagram would a comet be placed?

a. area U b. area W

c. area Y d. area T

53. Where on the diagram would a rock moonlet be placed?

a. area U b. area T

c. area X d. area Y

Use this concept table to answer questions 54 and 55.

This table deals with a planet, moon, planetoid, and moonlet. You sort those four objects onto the table.

Smaller Bigger

Orbits a planet W X

Orbits the Sun Y Z

54. Where on the table would a moon be placed?

a. area W b. area Z

c. area Y d. area X

55. Where on the table would a moonlet be placed?

a. area Y b. area W

c. area Z d. area X

56. What describes hydrogen gas?

a. one of the substances at the Earth’s core b. the only substance in interplanetary space

c. one of the substances in interplanetary space d. one of the substances in Pluto’s atmosphere

57. What word sums up the Sun in comparison to other stars?

a. ordinary b. the biggest

c. the hottest d. the most luminous

58. What bodies are both city–sized?

a. comets and moonlets b. asteroids and large moons

c. planetoids and dwarf planets d. planetoids and small moons

SOLAR SYSTEM PLANETS

59. Besides Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris, what is the remaining dwarf planet?

a. Arcturus b. Aldebaran

c. Procyon d. Ceres

60. What is true about the closest planet to the Sun?

a. it is the hottest planet b. it is not the hottest planet

c. it is the biggest planet d. it is the slowest planet in its revolution

61. What describes Mars?

a. blue b. hottest

c. red d. biggest

This diagram shows the Sun along with the first four planets from the Sun and their orbits. The path of a space probe is also shown. Use this picture to answer question 62.

Sun

space probe path

62. The planets lie along the space probe path in what order?

a. Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus b. Earth, Mercury, Mars, Venus

c. Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars d. Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury

63. Which planet is closer to the Sun, Saturn or Neptune?

a. Neptune is closer b. both are equally far

c. Saturn is closer d. neither planet’s distance is known

64. Which planet is the Goldilocks planet because it is not too hot or too cold to have liquid water?

a. Mars b. Earth

c. Venus d. Mercury

Use this Venn Diagram to answer questions 65 and 66.

Dwarf planets

U W

X Z

Jovian Planets Terrestrial Planets

65. Where on the diagram would the property of having many moons be placed?

a. area Y b. area U

c. area Z d. area X

66. Where on the diagram would the property of having slow rotations be placed?

a. area W b. area U

c. area Y d. area Z only

Use this concept table to answer questions 67 and 68.

Few moons Many moons

Dwarf size W X

Medium or giant size Y Z

67. Where on the table would Uranus go?

a. area W b. area X

c. area Y d. area Z

68. Where on the table would Mars go?

a. area Z b. area Y

c. area X d. area W

EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

69. What does “extravehicular” mean?

a. an additional vehicle b. inside a vehicle

c. outside a vehicle d. larger than a vehicle

70. There are how many stars in our Galaxy?

a. 200 billion b. 200 million

c. 200 thousand d. 200

Suppose you look at one specific color in a star’s light and you observe that the color varies as follows.

January 1 green

January 3 yellow

January 5 orange

January 7 red

January 9 orange

January 11 yellow

January 13 green

January 15 yellow

January 17 orange

January 19 orange

January 21 orange

January 23 yellow

January 25 green

January 27 yellow

January 29 orange

January 31 red

71. For the planet that orbits around the star, what is the planet’s orbital period?

a. 30 days b. 2 days

c. 12 days d. 24 days

72. Between January 1 and January 31, how many times does the planet orbit around the star?

a. 2 1/2 times b. 2 times

c. 3 times d. 30 times

Use this graph of brightness vs. time for a star to answer questions 73 and 74.

Star brightness

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Hours

73. Does this star have a planet in this example?

a. no way to know b. no

c. graphing brightness cannot detect planets d. yes

74. The star is how many times as big as its planet in this example?

a. 8 times as big b. 4 times as big

c. 3 times as big d. the star does not have a planet

75. Suppose you look up into the night sky and you see 80 stars. Of those 80 stars, how many stars are actually alien solar systems with their own planets?

a. 1 star has planets b. 79 stars have planets

c. 40 stars have planets d. 80 stars have planets

STAR DISTANCES

76. To find a star’s distance, you would observe the star in April, and then in what month? NOTE: When we say “distance,” we mean distance from the Earth.

a. later in the same April b. October

c. one year later in April d. May

77. If a star has a smaller parallax shift, then does it have a smaller or a larger distance from the Earth?

a. no way to know b. smaller distance

c. any parallax shift would mean the same distance d. larger distance

Use this table of stars and their parallaxes to answer question 78. NOTE: “arcsec” is the unit of parallax.

Star Parallax (arcsec)

S 0.50

T 0.30

U 0.80

V 0.70

78. Which star in the table is the second closest to the Earth?

a. star V b. star S

c. star U d. star T

Continued

Here are two views of four stars seen through a telescope six months apart. The two views are from the ground looking up into the sky. Remember that parallax shifts for nearby stars are directly to the right. Use these telescope views to answer questions 79 and 80.

First night Six months later

79. Of the four stars above, which star is the closest to the Earth?

a. star K b. star N

c. star L d. star M

80. Between star L and star M, which star is closer to the Earth?

a. no way to know b. star L

c. star M d. parallax shifts do not tell star distances

Use this table of stars and their parallaxes to answer question 81.

Star Parallax (arcsec)

E 0.50

F 0.10

J 0.70

K 0.20

81. Which star in the table is the second farthest away from the Earth?

a. star E b. star F

c. star J d. star K

Continued

STAR PROPERTIES

Use this table of stars and their apparent magnitudes to answer questions 82 and 83.

Star Apparent Magnitude

E 8

F 1

G 5

H 3

J 6

82. Which star in the table appears the second brightest to us when we see it in the sky?

a. star J b. star G

c. star H d. star E

83. What star in the table appears 2.5 times as bright as which other star?

a. star G appears 2.5 times as bright as star F b. star E appears 2.5 times as bright as star H

c. star J appears 2.5 times as bright as star H d. star G appears 2.5 times as bright as star J

Use this table of stars and their magnitudes, both apparent and absolute, to answer questions 84 and 85.

Apparent Absolute.

Star Magnitude Magnitude

V 9 7

W 4 1

X 1 3

Y 6 10

Z 2 5

84. Which star in the table appears the brightest in the sky to us when we see it?

a. star W b. star X

c. star V d. star Y

85. Which star in the table is actually the dimmest in reality, i.e., the least luminous?

a. star X b. star W

c. star Y d. star V

Here are two line spectra for two stars. Use these line spectra to answer questions 86 and 87.

Star S

Star T

86. What do the line spectra show about the stars’ temperatures?

a. the stars have the same temperature b. the stars are different temperatures

c. the stars have no temperatures d. line spectra do not tell star temperatures

87. What do the line spectra show about the stars’ sizes?

a. star S is bigger b. both stars are the same size

c. star T is bigger d. line spectra do not tell star sizes

GALAXIES

88. What kind of galaxy is oval–shaped?

a. irregular b. lenticular

c. elliptical d. spiral

89. What kind of galaxy has two lines of stars that wind out from the middle?

a. irregular b. spiral

c. elliptical d. lenticular

90. If you took a spiral galaxy and then you scrambled up its shape into a formless blob with no describable pattern, then what kind of galaxy would you have?

a. SBa b. E0

c. S0 d. Irr

91. What kind of galaxy is this? This is a direct top view, not a view seen from the side or at an angle.

a. Sa b. SBa

c. SBc d. S0

92. What is our home in the Universe?

a. Andromeda Galaxy b. Whirlpool Galaxy

c. Milky Way Galaxy d. Pinwheel Galaxy

HUBBLE LAW

Use this table of galaxies and their redshifts to answer question 93. NOTE; “A” is the unit for redshift.

Galaxy Redshift

W 600 A

X 100 A

Y 800 A

Z 400 A

93. Which galaxy in the table has the fastest recessional speed?

a. galaxy Y b. galaxy X

c. galaxy W d. galaxy Z

Use this table of galaxies and their recession speeds to answer question 94. NOTE: “km/sec” is the unit for a galaxy’s recession speed.

Galaxy Recession Speed (km/sec)

R 70

S 20

T 90

U 40

94. Which galaxy in the table is the farthest from the Earth?

a. galaxy R b. galaxy U

c. galaxy S d. galaxy T

Continued

The sequence of colors of the visible spectrum is

Shorter wavelength Longer wavelength

violet indigo blue green yellow orange red

95. Suppose you have two identical galaxies called S and T with the same actual color of indigo.

Galaxy S has a recession speed of 30 km/sec and appears yellow.

Galaxy T has a recession speed of 40 km/sec and appears what color?

a. yellow b. green

c. orange d. blue

96. How do astronomers describe the phenomenon where all the distant galaxies are receding from us?

a. the galaxies are each expanding b. the Universe is expanding

c. all the atoms in the Universe are expanding d. the Universe is diffusing

97. What was the Big Bang?

a. a supernova b. the birth of the Sun

c. the birth of the Earth d. the birth of the Universe

98. What would allow a soccer player to kick a ball 3 miles?

a. Earth’s dark energy became stronger b. Earth gravity became stronger

c. Earth’s atmosphere became much thicker d. Earth became more massive

99. What would make a soccer player unable to lift a ball?

a. Earth’s dark energy became stronger b. Earth’s antigravity became stronger

c. Earth’s gravity became stronger d. Earth became less massive

100. What does dark energy do to the expansion of the Universe?

a. dark energy has no effect on the Universe b. make it go at a constant rate

c. makes it slow down d. makes it accelerate