Astronomy A100 Midterm 2
Fall 2007
______Name
Multiple Choice (3 points each):
Please circle your answers as they will be your only record of the answers you have given on the test. Please then mark the answer in the appropriate bubble on the scan sheet. Be sure to include your name. Use only a #2 pencil. If your pencil breaks, or you do not have one, a pencil will be provided at the front of the room.
Good luck!
1)How many days of sunlight per 29.5 day lunar month does the far side of the moon (sometimes called the “dark” side) get?
a)0 days
b)~ 1 day
c)~ 7.4 days
d)~ 14.7 days
e)Depends on what mood the witches are in.
2)If the earth was a basketball 1 foot in diameter (actual diameter of Earth is 8000 miles), then how far from the earth would the moon be (the moon is 250,000 miles from earth in actuality)?
a)1 foot
b)30 feet
c)0.3 miles
d)30 miles
e)As far as a ghost can move in 1 hour.
3)If the moon is 30 degrees from the sun, and is in a waxing crescent phase, then what time of day will it rise?
a)6 AM
b)6 PM
c)8 AM
d)4 AM
e)Midnight on Halloween.
4)What causes the phases of the moon?
a)The rotation of the moon which makes the far side (aka “dark” side) face the earth.
b)The moon’s orbit around the earth combined with the half of the moon lit up by the sun.
c)The shadow of the earth.
d)Phases of the moon are random and/or non-existent.
e)A magical spell cast by Warlocks.
5)The highlands of the moon have far more craters than the lunar Mare. What does this tell you about the lunar Mare?
a)The rocks from the Mare are younger than the rocks from the Highlands.
b)The lunar Mare is shielded from impacts by the Highlands.
c)The lunar Mare are actually at higher elevations than the supposed “Highlands”.
d)All of the above.
e)Goblins have poured caramel into the craters of the Mare.
6)Can you view the moon during the day with your naked eye?
a)Yes, all the time.
b)Sometimes, but only during certain phases of the moon.
c)No, NEVER!
d)The moon won’t be viewable during the day until Halloween of 3267.
7)Tides are caused by:
a)winds
b)the rapid rotation of the earth
c)the centrifugal force which results from the earth orbiting the sun
d)gravitational pull from the moon and sun
e)the howling of banshees
8)During which phase of the moon do you get a solar eclipse?
a)New moon
b)1st quarter moon
c)Full moon
d)3rd quarter moon
e)Blood moon
9)During which phase of the moon do you get a lunar eclipse?
a)a) New moon
b)1st quarter moon
c)Full moon
d)3rd quarter moon
e)Blood moon
10)Why does the stratosphere get warmer as you go upwards?
a)Because you get closer to the sun
b)Because of tidal interactions with the moon
c)Because Ozone absorbs solar UV rays
d)Because of the Greenhouse Effect
e)Because fire breathing dragons live in the stratosphere
11)3.9 billion years ago, when life first started, how much molecular Oxygen (O2) was there in the atmosphere?
a)trace amounts
b)more than today
c)same amount as today
d)Trick! The earth is only 3 billion years old.
12)According to geological evidence, how many extinction events have there been in the history of the earth?
a)0
b)1
c)2
d)More than 2
e)The geologists have all been turned into pumpkins!
13)The carbon dioxide levels over the past 100 years have:
a) risen steadily
b)remained constant
c)dropped steadily
d)gone up and down but have stayed close to an average amount
e)only been detectible during Halloween.
14)Global warming is:
a)another term for the greenhouse effect
b)due to the strengthening of the greenhouse effect
c)due to the hole in the ozone layer
d)A term politicians have invented. All scientific evidence shows that “global warming” does not exist.
e)due to the brewing of witches potions
15)The resolution of a telescope is most directly determined by:
a)its diameter
b)its collecting area
c)its magnification
d)how much light it collects
e)the number of faeries trapped inside the telescope
16)Oxygen atoms on the earth:
a)are rapidly created and destroyed
b)are neither created nor destroyed, but merely change what molecule they are in
c)didn’t exist until photosynthesis converted carbon atoms into oxygen atoms starting about 2 billion years ago
d)don’t exist in any form
e)are used by warlocks to create love potions.
17)Which is the most cost efficient way of getting to Mars (hint Home Work 6)?
a)To build a spaceship in earth orbit that can go directly to Mars.
b)To go from the surface of the earth to lunar orbit and build the spacecraft in lunar orbit.
c)To go to Mars from the surface of the earth.
d)All of these cost about the same.
e)To hire goblins to build the spacecraft.
18)“The cost to go to Mars is probably going to be more than $2 trillion.” Is this statement true?
a)Yes, it will be more than $2 trillion.
b)Partially, the cost will be about $2 trillion.
c)No, the cost will be less than $2 trillion.
d)The person sitting next to me wrote that we cannot possibly get to Mars.
e)Since a princess made this statement, there is no way to be sure.
19)Which of the following objects is moving faster than the escape velocity for the sun?
a)Pluto
b)Voyager 1
c)Mercury
d)All of the above
e)A witch on her broom.
20)Mercury looks a lot like the moon. What does this tell us about Mercury?
a)The surface of Mercury is heavily cratered.
b)The surface of Mercury is very old.
c)Mercury has little to no atmosphere.
d)All of the above.
e)All angels live on Mercury.
21)Why do Mercury and the moon have so many craters?
a)They have little to no atmosphere.
b)They have no water or wind to erode the craters.
c)Their surfaces are very old.
d)All of the above.
e)Skeletons like to dig holes there.
22)How does the density of Mercury compare to the density of:
A SPOON!!! (5X the density of water)
a) Mercury is much less dense.
b) Mercury is about as dense.
c) Mercury is much denser.
d) My neighbor did not answer this question.
e) Only orcs know the answer to this question.
23)Mercury has a density slightly higher than Earth’s density. What does this tell us about Mercury?
a)Mercury has a large core.
b)Mercury is mostly iron.
c)Mercury was probably impacted by a large object which knocked off its lighter mantel material.
d)All of the above.
e)Mercury is home to the scariest ghouls in the universe!
24)Which of the following is the LEADING factor for why Venus is so hot?
a)Venus is 50% closer to the sun than the earth.
b)The atmosphere of Venus is extremely thick.
c)The atmosphere of Venus is 80% Carbon Dioxide.
d)Venus has 50,000 volcanoes.
e)Imps and demons like it that way.
25)What is the surface temperature of the night side of Venus?
a)200 K (fairly cold)
b)300 K (room temperature)
c)373 K (boiling point of water)
d)700 K (very hot)
e)Just cold enough to play with Frosty-the-Snowman.
26)Is there liquid water on the surface of Venus?
a)no
b)yes
c)I am randomly guessing. Please give me a zero for this question.
d)I am copying off of my neighbor. Please give me a zero fro the test.
e)The pixie helping me take this test told me to choose c, but I don’t believe her.
27)Why is Mars cold?
a)Mars was impacted by a giant ball of ice ~ 100 million years ago.
b)Mars has less than 80% Carbon Dioxide in its atmosphere.
c)Mars has a very thin atmosphere.
d)Trick! Mars is red hot!
28)Why is Mars red?
a)rust
b)it is always moving away from us
c)it has red clouds in its atmosphere
d)Mars is very hot
e)Witches on Mars use red caldrons instead of black ones.
29)Which of the following is not a consequence of the freezing and thawing of Mars’s ice caps?
a)The atmospheric pressure fluxuates greatly.
b)Creates global dust storms.
c)Makes the orbit of Mars highly elliptical.
d)These are all consequences.
30)The Martian Ice caps are made of mostly frozen Carbon Dioxide. Where does this Carbon Dioxide come from?
a)The ground.
b)The ocean.
c)The atmosphere.
d)All of the above.
e)The wings of fallen angels.
31)Mark A on your test.
a)mark a
b)mark a
c)mark a
d)mark a
e)the pixie in your ear tells you to mark “a”
SHORT ANSWER: (15 points each)
1) What is the Greenhouse Effect (hint, it is not about things being “trapped”)? For the Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, and Mars, rank the strength of their Greenhouse Effects from strongest to weakest. Also, note the relative strength of each Greenhouse effect (list each as either strong, moderate, tiny, or none).
2) Venus’s surface has less than 1000 craters. What does this tell us about the surface of Venus? Give one possible reason for why Venus’s surface is very young.
3) There are many examples for liquid water on the surface of Mars sometime in its past. Name 2 of these examples. Why is there no liquid water on the surface of Mars today (give 2 separate reasons)?