ASTRONOMY FINAL EXAM REVIEW

Intro Unit

  1. How many stars are in our solar system? How many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy?
  1. If a star is 8.5 light years away, what does that mean about the light I see tonight?
  1. The speed of light is approximately ______.
  2. The average distance from the Earth to the sun. ______
  3. The spiral galaxy that contains the Earth and sun. ______
  4. The sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets are the major parts of this. ______
  5. A unit of distance determined by how far light travels in a set period of time. ______
  6. A luminous globe of gas held together by its own gravity and supported by the internal pressure generated by nuclear fusion. ______

History of Astronomy

9. From the “History of Astronomy” unit, name the early astronomers that supported a geocentric model of

the universe, and those that accepted a heliocentric model of the universe:

10. What is the difference between mass and weight?

Our Solar System

  1. Where are most of the moons in our solar system located?
  1. Planets, asteroids, and comets all orbit the ______.
  2. What is the main difference between planets and dwarf planets?

Earth’s Motions and Seasons

  1. What causes day and night?
  1. The closest point of a planet’s orbit around the sunis called ______.
  1. What happens to the length of days in the Northern Hemisphere between June 21 and September 21?
  1. Which direction does the earth rotate on its axis?
  1. The two forces that keep celestial bodies in orbit are ______and ______.

For # 19-21, identify if the observation is caused by Earth’s ROTATION or REVOLUTION:

  1. The sun rises in the morning.
  2. The constellations visible in the southern sky in February are different than those visible in August.
  3. The constellation Auriga is right overhead at 8 pm and sets below the horizon near dawn.

The Moon

  1. How does the rotational period of the moon compare to the time it takes to orbit the Earth?
  1. During which phase of the moon can a total lunar eclipse occur?
  1. What is the difference between the “far side” of the moon and the “dark side” of the moon?
  1. What causes the appearance of the moon’s phases as seen from Earth?
  1. Which of these factors does nothave an impact on crater size? Circle one:

Velocity of impactor mass of impactor size of impactor phase of the moon upon impact

  1. Describe or draw the locations of the Earth, Sun, and Moon during a lunar eclipse:
  1. Describe or draw the locations of the Earth, Sun, and Moon during a solar eclipse:

The Night Sky and the Celestial Sphere

  1. Star A has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.3 and star B has an apparent magnitude of 5.3. Which star appears brighter? How do you know?
  1. The ______is the point on the celestial sphere directly above the observer.
  1. What is the difference between the apparent visual magnitude and the luminosityof a star?
  1. If you watched the night sky for several hours, what would you observe about the movement of stars in the south near the celestial equator? What would you observe about the movement of Polaris? Why?
  1. What is the declination of the celestial equator?
  1. What is the modern definition of constellations?
  1. The brightness of a star as seen by human eyes on Earth. ______
  2. A constellation so close to one of the celestial poles that it never sets or rises.

______

  1. The circular visual boundary between the sky and Earth.______
  2. An imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth to which the celestial objects seem to be attached: ______
  3. One of the ancient stellar patterns identified by name, usually originating from Greek mythology, or one of the 88 regions of the sky as defined by the IAU. ______
  1. The path the sun follows along the sky over the course of the year, also marks the Earth’s orbit

______

  1. A recognizable pattern of stars such as the Big Dipper or the Winter Triangle, may cross the borders of a

constellation. ______

Telescopes and The Electromagnetic Spectrum

  1. The ______effect indicates if an object is moving toward or away from an observer.
  1. Name the different types of light on the electromagnetic spectrum, from least energetic to most energetic:
  1. Hot objects will emit light at ______wavelengths, while cool objects will emit light at ______wavelengths.
  2. Light can behave as both a ______and as a ______.
  1. A ______is a quantum (particle) of electromagnetic radiation that carries energy.
  1. Light is a form of ______.
  1. Can we see all wavelengths of light? ______
  1. The amount of energy a photon carries depends on its ______and ______
  1. Which wavelengths are shorter than visible light?
  1. Which type of electromagnetic radiation has the lowest energy?
  1. Waves with higher energy tend to have ______wavelengths and ______frequencies
  1. Which of the properties of a telescope is LEAST important? ______
  1. The diagram on the right shows a ______telescope.

The Sun and Other Stars

  1. Where were atoms of elements such as helium and carbon formed?
  1. What types of stars end their lives as supernovae?
  1. The sun is composedof mostly which two elements? ______and ______
  1. Stars produce light through nuclear fusion. Fusion converts ______into ______
  1. What information is plotted on an H-R Diagram?
  1. Astronomers can learn about the ______of a star by studying its color and spectrum.