PH109 Exploring the Universe, Test #1, Fall 2008
Please indicate the best answer to the following question on the answer sheet provided.
1) Mike brags that he can touch a glowing light bulb without burning his fingers. What is probably true?
a) Mike has no feelings in his hands, b) Mike is exaggerating,
c) the bulb type is fluorescent, d) the bulb type is incandescent.
2) When an electron in an atom moves from a higher energy orbit to a lower energy orbit what happens?
a) light is absorbed, b) light is emitted, c) the color becomes redder, d) the color becomes bluer.
3) When source moving towards an observer emits a beam of light, how is it perceived by a observer?
a) the light is brighter, b) the light is dimmer, c) the light is bluer, d) the light is redder.
4) The two types of waves that can travel down a slinky are:
a) transverse and longitudinal, b) latitudinal and longitudinal.,
c) azimuth and elevation, d) linear and non-linear
5) Which planet orbits fastest around the Sun?
a) Mercury, b) Venus, c) Earth, d) Jupiter
6) Which person invented Calculus?
a) Galileo, b) Kepler, c) Newton, d) Ptolemy
7) Polaris, the North Star, does not appear to move in the sky because:
a. The stars are fixed relative to each other.
b. It lies approximately over the northern axis of the Earth.
c. It is too nearby for its motion to be discernible.
d. It is located directly overhead for everyone on Earth.
8) When the sun appears to cross the equator from the north to the south this is called
a) the crossing, b) spring, c) fall, d) summer
9) If we are at the autumnal equinox and I notice the sun is directly overhead at noon what can I say
a) my latitude is 23.5 degrees north, b) my latitude is 23.5 degrees south,
c) I am at the equator, d) I am at the north pole
10) Viewed looking down upon the North Pole, the Earth would be seen rotating:
a) clockwise, b) counter-clockwise, c) neither, it doesn't rotate, d) north to south
11) The phases of the moon are caused by
a) the moon moving in and out of Earth's shadow
b) different fractions of the moon being illuminated by the sun
c) different degrees of darkness on the moon
d) different amounts of the illuminated half of the moon being visible from Earth
12) Star “a” appears bluish white in color, while star “b” appears reddish in color. This tells you that
a) star a is less luminous than star b, b) star a is hotter than star b,
c) star a is more luminous than star b, d) star a is cooler than star b
13) If the Earth were inclined more on its axis than it currently is, what would be the consequences?
a) more drastic seasons, b) a longer year, c) less drastic seasons, d) no solstices or equinoxes
14) A planet in a highly elliptical orbit has its greatest speed when
a) it is closest to the Sun, b) when it is furthest from the Sun
c) when the Sun is on the equator, d) when the Sun is on the solstice
15) Why are there seven days of the week on our current calendars?
a) seven was the only number which was easily divided into the number of months of the year,
b) seven was considered a "magic" number,
c) that was how many celestial objects in the sky moved with respect to other objects,
d) the Roman kingdom of the time had seven regions
16) What do we call the event when the Earth's shadow falls on the Moon's surface
a) lunar eclipse, b) solar eclipse, c) evening solstice, d) shadow time
17) The point directly over an observer's head is that observer's
a) equator, b) pole, c) zenith, d) meridian
18) 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.
19) 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.
20) 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
21) What did Galileo observe with the planet Jupiter that helped change the view of our solar system?
a) Jupiter had a giant “Red Spot” that rotated around the planet.
b) Jupiter was in orbit slower than the Earth.
c) Jupiter had four moons in orbit around it.
d) Jupiter was not perfect but had moving clouds of gas.
22) The apparent path of the sun around the celestial sphere against the background of the stars during the year is
a) Celestial meridian, b) ecliptic, c) sun's diurnal circle, d) celestial equator
23) The angular distance of an object from the horizon is its
a) latitude, b) declination, c) altitude, d) right ascension
24) What time of day does the first quarter Moon rise?
a) sunset, b) sunrise, c) noon, d) midnight
25) What is the approximate azimuth (az) elevation (el) of Mars just as it rises?
a) az= 140o, el= 10o b) az= 90o, el= 10o c) az= 270o, el=10o d) az=0o, el=10o
26) Retrograde motion is when
a) planets stop their forward motion in their orbit and perform a loop in the sky
b) planets that orbit the Sun in a clockwise direction suddenly go counter clockwise.
c) the apparent loop a planet makes in the sky when overtaken by another planet
d) when planets are held back one grade instead of advancing
27) In the absence of excitation, electrons in an atom tend to be
a) in any allowed orbit , b) in the lowest allowed orbit, c) in the nucleus, d) not in the atom at all
28) You can identify the Northern Star because
a) it is near the North Celestial Pole, b) it is red in color,
c) it is the brightest star in the North, d) it is in the center of a rich star field.
29) The vernal equinox occurs in the month of
a) December, b) March, c) June, d) September
30) The sun is lowest (least declination) at the
a) vernal equinox, b) winter solstice, c) autumnal equinox, d. summer solstice
31) All wave phenomena are characterized by a wavelength, a frequency, and a velocity. They are related by the equation C =where C is the velocity of the wave, is the wavelength, and is the frequency. If I double the frequency of a wave, what happens to the wavelength
a) it stays the same, b) it increases by 2, c) it decreases by 2, d) it increases by 4
32) Local noon corresponds to the time when the Sun is at the
a) zenith, b) meridian, c) nadir, d) ecliptic
33) A shift in the direction of an object caused by a change in the position of an observer is called
a) parallax, b) precession, c) the Coriolis effect, d) epicycle motion
34) I wake up at sunrise and see that the Moon is on my western horizon. What is the phase of the Moon that I see?
a) new Moon, b) first quarter, c) full Moon, d) third quarter
35) Why are there 12 months in a year on our current calendar?
a) the year is easily divisible into 12 parts, b) 12 was considered a "magic" number,
c) there are 12 lunar cycles in a year, d) because there are 12 Zodiac signs in the sky
36) The average distance from Earth to the sun is
a)1 ly, b) 1 million km, c) 1 million miles, d) 1 AU
37) All large modern telescopes are
a. refractors, b. Cassegrains, c. Reflectors, d. Coudes
38) A police officer tells me that I my blue shift velocity exceeded posted limits. What does he mean?
a) you were speeding away from him, b) you were speeding toward him,
c) you were stopped, d) you were going too slow
39) 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
40) A device that breaks light up into it various colors is called:
a) an atom smasher, b) spectrometer, c) telescope, d) camera