PH109 Exploring the Universe, Test 1, Spring 01
NAME______
Please indicate the best answer to the following questions on the answer sheet provided. Each question is worth 2 points.
1. The curious thing about the magnitude scale is:
a) brighter stars have smaller numbers, b) redder stars have larger numbers
c) close stars have smaller numbers, d) brighter stars have even numbers
2. The average distance from Earth to the sun is
a) 1 ly, b) 1 million km, c) 1 million miles, d) 1 AU
3. Seen from the northern latitudes, the star Polaris
a) is never above the horizon during the day, b) always sets directly in the west.
c) is always above the northern horizon, d) is never visible during the winter.
4. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere watches the sky for several hours. Due to the motion of Earth, this observer notices that the stars near the north celestial pole appear to move
a) counter clockwise, b) clockwise, c) from left to right, d) from right to left
5. With respect to the stars, the sun moves
a) about one degree westward each day, b) about one degree eastward each day
c) about 360 degrees westward each day, d) about 360 degrees eastward each day
6. Galileo's observations of the gibbous phase of Venus proved
a) that Venus orbited the sun, b) that Earth orbited the sun
c) that all of the planets orbited the sun, d) that the moon orbited Earth
7. What is the ratio of the light gathering power of a 10 m telescope to that of a 1 meter telescope
if the light gathering power is proportional to the area of the lens (mirror)?
a) 10 to 1, b) 1 to 10, c) 100 to 1, d) 1 to 100, e) 3.2 to 1
8. When looking down upon the Earth from the North Celestial Pole, in what direction does it rotate?
a) counter clockwise, b) clockwise, c) cannot determine, d) does not appear to rotate
9. Approximately what is the azimuth (AZ) and elevation (EL) of the planet Venus located 1/3 of the way up in the southwest?
a) AZ=230o, EL=30o, b) AZ=30o, EL=230o, c) Az =110o, EL=30o, d) AZ=30o, EL=110o
10. The celestial equivalent of longitude is
a) declination, b) the horizon, c) precession, d) right ascension
11. The line which divides the celestial sphere into northern and southern hemispheres is the
a) ecliptic, b) celestial equator, c) meridian, d) horizon
12. What time is it when the Sun is on the meridian?
a) noon, b) midnight, c) sunset, d) sunrise
13. On the first day of winter, the Sun is at the
a) solstice, b) equinox, c) nadir, d) zenith
14. Which one of Kepler's laws explains what happens when a twirling ice skater brings their arms towards their center?
a) the planets follow ellipses, b) P2 = a3, c) equal areas in equal times, d) Fg=GMM/d2
15. Aliens abduct me but then set me down at a different place on the Earth (I think). I observe the diurnal motion of the stars and note that they rise straight up in the East go overhead and set straight in the West. Where am I?
a) North Pole, b) South Pole, c) Equator, d) Can’t Tell
16. I wake up in the middle of the night and notice that it is 12:00 midnight and that the Moon is on my meridian. What is the phase of the Moon that I see?
a) new Moon, b) first quarter, c) full Moon, d) third quarter
17. What is "seeing"?
a) It is a measure of the quality of a telescope's optical system.
b) It is a measure of the image quality due to the stability of the air.
c) It is a standard by which astronomers compare and contrast their own eyesight
d) It is a difference related strictly to cold- and warm-weather observing.
18. When the Moon casts its shadow on the Earth, this is called a
a) lunar eclipse, b) solar eclipse, c) new Moon, d) Full Moon
19. Why is the KFVS12 television tower as tall as it is
a) make sure signal can travel over the trees
b) get above the interference of the Earth
c) the wavelength is that long
d) to keep high energy waves away from the operators
20. In the figure at the right what is the phase of the Moon at the location labeled “g”
a) New, b) 1st quarter, c) Full, d) 3rd Quarter
21. In the figure at the right, what time of day is it at the location labeled “c”
a) Noon, b) sunset, c) midnight, d) sunrise
22. Which constellation contains stars which “point” to the north star
a) Big Dipper, b) Orion, c) Little Dipper, d) Northern Cross
23. The special thing about the North star is that it is
a) always on the North horizon, b) contained in a constellation which forms a “N”
c) is near the celestial pole, d) one of the brightest stars in the sky
24. I have determine that the North Celestial Pole is about 35 degrees above the Northern horizon. What can I say about my location?
a) you are at the equator, b) you are at a latitude of 35 degrees north of the equator
c) you are at the North Pole, d) you are at a latitude of 55 degrees north of the equator
25. The seasons on the Earth are the result of which effect
a) Earth is closer to the Sun in the Summer and further away in the winter
b) the Earth’s axis is tipped 23.5 degrees with respect to its orbit
c) the Sun’s rays bounce off more particles in the winter before it reaches the Earth
d) the solar cycle produces periodic changes in the Sun’s power output
26. I wake up at sunrise and notice that the Moon is on my meridian. What is the phase of the Moon?
a) new Moon, b) first quarter, c) full Moon, d) third quarter
27. What is the relative size of the Moon to the Earth?
a) 1/4 as big, b) 1/2 as big, c) 1/3 as big, d) 1/10 as big
28. The changing in the direction of the Earth’s rotation axis is called
a) parallax, b) precession, c) it does not change it is fixed, d) the seasons
29. When you hold your finger in front of you and notice its apparent shift with respect to a background object when viewed first through one eye and then the other, you are witnessing
a) dizzy spells, b) Interferometry, c) eclipses, d) parallax
30. One of the major deficiencies of the geocentric model of the solar system was
a) the length of the year was wrong
b) could not explain seasons
c) could not explain retrograde motion well
d) could not explain the tides
31. Which of the following astronomers had a gold nose and died from a ruptured bladder
a) Isaac Newton, b) Tycho Brahe, c) Copernicus, d) Galileo
32. The apparent path the Sun takes through the stars is called the
a) celestial equator, b) constellation, c) meridian, d) ecliptic
33. Given the equation FG = GMm/d2 ,where FG is the force due to gravity, G is a constant, M and m are the two masses, and d is their separation, if two objects suddenly become separated by twice their distance, what happens to the gravitation force between them
a) stays the same, b) increases by a factor of four
c) decreases by a factor of four, d) increases by a factor of two
34. A planet in a highly elliptical orbit has its greatest speed when
a) it is farthest from the Sun, b) it is closest to the Sun
c) it is at the equinox, d) the speed is always the same
35. The point directly over an observer's head is that observer's
a) equator, b) pole, c) zenith, d) node
36. The angular distance of an object from the horizon is its
a) latitude, b) declination, c) altitude, d) azimuth
37. The angular distance of an object from the North is its
a) latitude, b) declination, c) altitude, d) azimuth
38. If the Earth's equator was in the plane of the ecliptic, which of the following phenomena would not occur?
a) day and night, b) the appearance of different constellations at different times of year
c) the seasons, d) the appearance of the planet Mercury in the sky
39. Why were epicycles used in Ptolemy's model of the solar system?
a) to account for the parallaxes of stars,
b) to compensate for the ellipticity of the orbits of the planets
c) to explain the retrograde motions of planets
d) to explain the phenomenon of day and night
40. A hypothetical planet orbits the Sun a distance of 4 AU. If Kepler’s third law state that the square of the period is equal to the cube of the semi-major axis (P2 = a3), what is its orbital period?
a) 4.0 years, b) 3.0 years, c) 5.2 years, d) 8.0 years
41. What was the significance of Galileo's discovery that Venus shows all phases from new to full?
a) it allowed him to find Venus' distance from the Sun
b) it proved to other astronomers that his telescope was working correctly
c) in the geocentric model, only some phases are possible
d) it proved that Venus has an atmosphere
42. What was significant about Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four brightest satellites?
a) it showed that theories that a planet can only have one satellite are wrong
b) it showed that there are some objects which do not orbit the Earth
c) it showed that some satellites have atmospheres
d) it showed that Jupiter is the most massive planet
43. Suppose the same force were applied to objects A and B. Object A is twice as massive as object B. Newton’s 2nd Law states F = ma where F is the force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration. How do the accelerations of A and B compare?
a) the accelerations are the same
b) the acceleration of A is twice as large
c) the acceleration of B is twice as large
d) more information is needed to find the answer
44. How far above and below the equator are the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn?
a) depends on the seasons, b) equal to the observers latitude
c) 23 ½ degrees, d) usually about 35 degrees
45. The analemma is the figure eight shaped figure representing the location of the Sun above the equator at noon through out a year. What accounts for its height
a) Earth is tipped 23 ½ degrees, b) a year has 365 days,
c) a year has 12 months, d) Earth has two high and low tides per day
46. This astronomer invented Calculus to help him solve the equations for planetary motion.
a) Galileo, b) Newton, c) Kepler, d) Braye
47. During the slinky demonstration, what two kinds of waves were demonstrated.
a) fast and slow, b) transverse and perpendicular,
c) transverse and longitudinal, d) lengthwise and longitudinal
48. Why doesn’t the radiation from the KFVS12 TV antenna harm humans?
a) the wavelength is long compared to our size, b) the signal is beamed into space and misses us,
c) the signal does not penetrate buildings, d) our organs do not receive at that frequency
49. When I did the pendulum demonstration while standing still and allowing the pendulum to swing around me, what kind of force was I demonstrating
a) circular force, b) attractive force, c) central force, d) brut force
50. What is the large constellation in the sky high in the south that has a fuzzy star that is the closest star formation region to Earth.
a) Cygnus, b) Big Dipper, c) Cassiopeia, d) Orion