PH109 Exploring the Universe, Test #1, Fall 2011
Please indicate the best answer to the following questions on the answer sheet provided.
1) 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.
2) When a 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.
3) Which planet orbits fastest around the Sun?
a) Mercury, b) Venus, c) Earth, d) Jupiter
4) Which person invented Calculus?
a) Galileo, b) Kepler, c) Newton, d) Calculus
5) 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.
6) When the sun appears to cross the equator from the south to the north this is called
a) the crossing, b) spring, c) fall, d) summer
7) 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
8) 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
9) Which color of the rainbow bends the most?
a) Violet, b) Yellow, c) Orange, d) red
10) 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
11) If the Earth were inclined less 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
12) 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
13) 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 moved with respect to the stars,
d) the Roman kingdom of the time had seven regions
14) What do we call the event when the Moon's shadow falls on the Earth's surface
a) lunar eclipse, b) solar eclipse, c) evening solstice, d) shadow time
15) The point directly over an observer's head is that observer's
a) equator, b) pole, c) zenith, d) meridian
16) Your body radiates most strongly in what part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
a) visible, b) radio, c) infrared, d) ultra violet
17) 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.
18) 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.
19) 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
20) The angular distance of an object from the horizon is its
a) latitude, b) declination, c) altitude, d) right ascension
21) What time of day does the third quarter Moon rise?
a) sunset, b) sunrise, c) noon, d) midnight
22) What is the approximate azimuth (az) elevation (el) of Jupiter just as it rises?
a) az= 140o, el= 10o b) az= 90o, el= 10o c) az= 270o, el=10o d) az=0o, el=10o
23) 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
24) The autumnal equinox occurs in the month of
a) December, b) March, c) June, d) September
25) Local noon corresponds to the time when the Sun is at the
a) zenith, b) meridian, c) nadir, d) ecliptic
26) 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
27) I wake up at midnight and see that the Moon is on my western horizon. What is the phase do I see?
a) new Moon, b) first quarter, c) full Moon, d) third quarter
28) 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
29) All large modern telescopes are
a. Refractors, b. Cassegrains, c. Reflectors, d. Coudes
30) 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
31) A device that breaks light up into it various colors is called:
a) an atom smasher, b) spectrometer, c) telescope, d) camera
32) The radio part of the spectrum is most sensitive to which component of the universe:
a) stars, b) warm clouds, c) black holes, d) gas
33) The reason for the seasons is the fact that:
a) the Earth’s orbit is not circular, b) the Earth’s axis is tipped to its orbit,
c) the Sun is closer to Earth in the summer, d) global climate change
34) As the temperature of a black body increases, what happens to the peak in its blackbody spectrum?
a) it moves towards the blue, b) it moves towards the red, c) it stays the same, d) it becomes more peaked.
35) The tropic of Cancer is where:
a) you get cancer, b) northern limit of the Sun’s travel, c) a southern country, d) a star in the constellation of Cancer defining the astrologic symbol
36) In comparison to the temperature of the surface of the Sun, how hot is the filament of an incandescent light bulb?
a) the same, b) cooler, c) hotter, d) about degrees Kelvin
37) Why do electrons have discrete orbits?
a) they are not discrete but continuous, b) because they are waves,
c) because they are particles, d) because they are not protons.
38) This kind of telescope is cheaper to make
a) Refractor, b) Reflector, c) Cassegrains, d) Segmented
39) Astronomer make their own stars for adaptive optics by:
a) thermal nuclear reactions, b) using Aurora, c) using chemicals, d) lasers
40) If I combine several telescopes together to synthesize a larger telescope I have created a:
a) spectrometer, b) interferometer, c) teleometer, d) reflector