Download PH109 Exploring the Universe

PH109 Exploring the Universe
Test 1, Fall, 2003
Please select the best answer to the following questions. All questions are equally
weighted.
1) 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.
2) When Galileo viewed the Moon, what discovery helped change our view of the solar system?
a) Because the Moon rises in the East and sets in the West, its orbit must be opposite that of the
planets.
b) The Moon went through phases like Jupiter did)
c) He observed lunar eclipses which helped him discover Venus.
d) The Moon was not perfect but had craters and mountains.
3) When Galileo viewed Venus, what discovery helped change our view of the solar system?
a) Venus had three moons in orbit around it.
b) Venus had phases like the Moon which required it to orbit the Sun.
c) Venus would orbit the Earth but once a year undergo retrograde motion.
d) Venus was not perfect because it had lots of clouds.
4) When Galileo observed the Sun, what discovery helped change our view of the solar system?
a) The Sun was not perfect and had blemishes on it.
b) The Sun went through phases just like the Moon
c) The Sun had other planets in orbit around it.
d) The Sun would eclipse the Moon every few years.
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. The sun is highest (greatest declination) at the
a) vernal equinox, b) winter solstice, c) autumnal equinox, d) summer solstice
7. 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
8. What problem are adaptive optics used to correct?
a) the opacity of the Earth's atmosphere
b) defects in the optics of the telescope
c. slight errors in the telescope's mount to compensate for the Earth's rotation
d) effects of atmospheric turbulence
9. All large modern telescopes are
a) Refractors, b) Cassegrains, c. Reflectors, d) Coudes
10. Paris is about 1/4 of the way around Earth from Chicago. On a night when people in Chicago
see a first quarter moon, people in Paris see
a) a new moon, b) a first quarter moon, c) a full moon, d ) a third quarter moon
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. The apparent path of the sun around the celestial sphere against the background of the stars
during the year is the
a) celestial meridian, b) ecliptic, c) sun's diurnal circle, d) celestial equator
13. 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
14. 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) more global warming, d) no solstices or equinoxes
15. 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
16. 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
17. I wake up in the middle of nowhere with amnesia) The only thing I can remember is my astronomy
class. I notice at night that the north star appears to be 15 degrees above my northern horizon. What can I
write on the note in the bottle I throw out to sea that will help my rescuers find me?
a) my longitude is 15 degrees, b) my latitude is 15 degrees,
c) my right ascension is 15 degrees, d) my declination is 15 degrees
18. Local noon corresponds to the time when the Sun is at the
a) zenith, b) meridian, c) nadir, d) ecliptic
19. You are standing near a railroad track and a train is moving toward you at 60 mph and blowing its
horn. What will you notice as the train moves past you?
a) As the train approaches, the horn will sound lower in pitch than when it is moving away.
b) As the train approaches, the horn will sound higher in pitch than when it is moving away.
c) There will be no change in the pitch of the horn as it moves by.
d) The horn will get louder as the train moves away from you.
20. 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) eclipse, d) epicycle motion
21. 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
22. The angular distance of an object from the horizon is its
a) latitude, b) declination, c) altitude, d) right ascension
23. What time of day does the full Moon rise?
a) sunset, b) sunrise, c) noon, d) midnight
24. In the course of a year, how much of the universe could you see from the North pole
a) about one fourth, b) one half, c) about three fourths, d) all of it
25. I wake up in the middle of the night and notice that it is 12:00 midnight and that the Moon is on my
west horizon. What is the phase of the Moon that I see?
a) new Moon, b) first quarter, c) full Moon, d) third quarter
26. Given the equation FG = GMm/d2 , if two objects suddenly become separated by twice their distance
(d), 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
27. 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
28. What is the approximate azimuth (az) elevation (el) of a Mars after sunset?
a) az= 140o, el= 30o b) az= 90o, el= 60o c) az= 270o, el=30o d) az=0o, el=30o
29. 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
30. The observed changing positions of the stars during a night is the result of the
a) tilt of the Earth's axis , b) rotation of the Earth on its axis
c) rotation of the stars on their axes, d) revolution of the Earth around the sun
31. A planet in a highly elliptical orbit has its slowest 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
32. What do we call the event when the Sun is located 23.5o north and south of the celestial equator.
a) solstices, b) equinox, c) day of dawns, d) solar eclipses
33. Newton invented this to help him solve Kepler's equations
a) algebra, b) calculus, c) trigonometry, d) protractor
34. 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 the stars,
d) the Roman kingdom of the time had seven regions
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 ability of a telescope to image faint objects depends on the area of its lens. If I double the size of a
circular telescope, what happens to its ability to image faint objects?
a) remains the same, b) increases by two, c) increases by four, d) increase by five
37. 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
38. The average distance from Earth to the sun is
a) 1 ly, b) 1 million km, c) 1 million miles, d) 1 AU
39. The celestial equivalent of lo ngitude is
a) declination, b) the horizon, c) precession, d) right ascension
40. The line which divides the celestial sphere into northern and southern hemispheres is the
a) ecliptic, b) celestial equator, c) meridian, d) horizon