Download Astronomy Triemester Review Sheet 2015

Astronomy Trimester Review Sheet
(This is a study guide, not the only source of testable questions)
Chapter 1: The Daytime Sky
1. Describe the apparent daily motion of the Sun.
2. Describe how a shadow changes position and shape as the Sun moves across the daytime sky.
3. Are celestial objects like stars and planets in the daytime sky?
4. What is the relationship between latitude and the angular height of the Sun?
5. Explain how angular height of the Sun in different parts of the country correlate with
sunburns. What is the critical angle?
6. Explain how something as simple as a fist can be used to locate objects in the sky?
7. What is the significance of a 15 or 10 degree measurement?
Chapter 2: The Nighttime Sky
1. How would you describe the motion of the stars visible at night?
2. How would the motion of stars change if viewed from the equator, Michigan, the North Pole?
Draw a picture for each to help your answer.
3. If you watched these same stars night after night, what would change?
4. Describe a circumpolar star. What is another name for a circumpolar star? Give an example.
5. What are constellations (two meanings)?
6. Draw and name the different phases of the moon. What accounts for the different phases?
7. Describe/draw/label solar and lunar eclipses.
Chapter 3: The Celestial Sphere: A Model of the Sky
1. What is the celestial sphere?
2. Why do we call the celestial sphere a model?
3. Draw a model of the celestial sphere. Make sure to label the North and South Celestial Poles,
Declination, and Right Ascension.
4. Define vernal equinox, autumnal equinox, summer solstice and winter solstice.
5. Draw and describe the path of the Sun viewed throughout the year from one spot.
6. Explain what factors are involved in causing the seasons.
Chapter 4: Distances, Sizes, and Angles
1. Describe how the apparent size of an object differs from its actual size.
2. What is the size/distance ratio? What does it mean?
3. How can the size/distance ratio be used to estimate the size or distance to an object?
4. What is a resolution limit?
5. What ratio has an angular size of 1?
6. Review Activities 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3.
7. How can angular size be used to find it size/distance ratio?
Sample problems
1. If a person has a “finger width” to “eye-to-finger distance” ratio of 1/50, and the width of their
little finger just covers a building that is 240m tall, how far away (distance) from the
building is the person?
A. 12,000m
C. 10m
B. 480m
D. 24,000m
2. Using the “finger width” to “eye-to-finger distance” ratio from above (1/50) determine the
diameter of a star cluster if it is blocked by one width of your little finger and you know it is
350 light years away.
A. 2 light years
C. 7 light years
B. 25 light year
D. 20,000 light years
3. The smallest size/distance ratio that John Glenn can see is 1/3300. This means that John can be
no further away than 3,300 km from two objects, separated by 1km, and still see them as two
distinct objects. If John were to move so that he was 4,000 km from the objects, the objects
would appear to John as______________
A. two separate objects C. three objects.
B. one object
D. none of the above
4. Using John’s ratio of 1/3300, how far apart would two lights have to be for John to see them
as two distinct lights if he was 9,900km from the objects?
A. 20km
C. 3km
B. 30km
D. 9km
5. If a 10cm object must be placed 600cm away to have an angular size of 1o, how far must a
20cm object be placed?
A. 350cm
C. 20000cm
B. 150cm
D. 1200cm
6. The nucleus of the Andromeda galaxy is estimated to be about 30,000 light years in diameter
and appears one finger width wide. Using a “finger width” to “eye-to-finger distance” ratio of
1/50, how many light years away is this galaxy? Show all your work.
7. Steve is standing along the side of the road looking at an approaching car. His smallest
size/distance ratio is 1/3000. Would Steve be able to tell if the approaching object is a car or
motorcycle if the lights were 1.5 meters apart and he was 4000 meters from the car? Show your
work.
8. What if the light in the above question were 1.25 meters apart? Show your work.
9. The Moon is about 400,000 km from the Earth. What is the diameter of the smallest crater
that you could distinguish on the Moon’s surface? Use a size/distance ratio of 1/3500. Show
your work.
10. The size distance ratio for 1o is 1/60. How far away from an observer should a 24mm object
be placed to have a angular size of 1o?
Chapter 5: About Light
1. How do astronomers use light?
2. What are the different models used to describe light?
3. What evidence is there to support the different models?
4. What causes the path of a photon to change directions?
5. How are shadows formed? If an object has multiple shadows, what does that tell you about
the number of light sources?
6. Describe the "life cycle" of a photon using the terms reflected, bounce/scatter, absorbed,
transmitted, and emitted.
7. What is the law of reflection?
8. Draw and explain how we see objects.
9. What is the relationship between apparent brightness and distance?
Chapter 6: Mirrors and Lenses
1. How does an object's surface (smooth/rough) affect the way light behaves?
2. What is the speed of light?
3. What is white light?
4. Describe the components of the electromagnetic spectrum.
5. Which wavelength of visible light has the greatest energy?
6. What part of the electromagnetic spectrum has the greatest energy? Least?
7. Describe the difference between refraction and reflecting telescopes.
8. Be able to draw the different types of telescopes discussed in class.
9. Be able to list advantages and disadvantages of each type.
10. What is light gathering power? How does it change with the diameter of the telescope?
Spectroscopy
1. What is spectroscopy?
2. How are spectral line used in astronomy?
3. Describe continuous spectra. What types of objects produce continuous spectra?
4. Describe Absorption and Emission lines.
5. What is the Doppler Effect? How does it relate to Blue and Red Shifts?
The Sun
1. Be familiar with the Sun's vital statistics.
2. Draw and label a cross-section of the Sun.
3. Describe important features of each layer of the Sun.
4. Which layer is considered the "surface" of the Sun? Why?
5. Describe granulation?
6. Draw a picture of convection currents.
7. What layer(s) of the Sun are visible during an eclipse?
8. What are solar winds?
9. List and define features of an active Sun.
10. What is the average time period for sun spots?
11. Describe the process of nuclear fusion taking place in the Sun's core.
Stellar Evolution
1. How does a star form?
2. How is color and spectrum used to help us understand stars?
3. Describe the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Draw a labeled diagram.
4. What are main sequence stars?
5. Describe how all stars begin their life cycles.
6. What fuel source is used to power stars? What happens when that first source is used?
7. Describe how small and large stars move through their life cycles and die.
Use the terms: red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf, supergiant, super nova, neutron
star, black hole, main sequence
8. What is the final element that can be converted in the core of a small star? Large star?
9. What are the stellar remnants left after a star dies? Describe them.
Solar System
1. Describe how the solar system formed?
2. When was the solar system formed? How does the age of the solar system compare to the
age of the Universe?
3. What are the most common elements in the Universe? Why?
4. What is the most widely accepted theory regarding the formation of the Universe?
5. Explain different distance measurements. Which one is most appropriate for use in the solar
system? The universe?
6. Scale model of the solar system
7. Have an understanding of planetary spacing and distance from the Sun using a soccer field as
a model.
8. What shape is used to describe the orbit of planets?
9. Draw and label the orbit of a planet.
10. What is Kepler’s first law?
11. What is orbital eccentricity?
12. Describe how the speed of a planet changes as it moves around the Sun.
13. Draw and Explain Kepler’s second law.
14. What is Kepler’s third law?
15. Explain Newton’s three laws
16. What is conservation of angular momentum?
17. What is the general relationship between distance and gravitational force?
18. Review Solar System chart
19. Be able to compare and contrast planets (Retrograde rotation, size, atmosphere, features,
moons, rings)
20. Asteroids, meteorites, comets – When formed, description, location, types
21. Review Articles – NASA and Killer Asteroids
Galaxies
1. Describe the Milky Way Galaxy. Where are we located in the Milky Way?
2. What might be in the center of the Milky Way?
3. Describe the Hubble Tuning Fork Model.
4. How are galaxies classified?
5. Describe the relationship between spiral arms and a galaxy’s nuclear bulge.
6. What is the difference between a spiral galaxy and a barred spiral galaxy?
7. How do we classify elliptical galaxies?
8. What is a galaxy cluster?
Universe and Extra Terrestrials
1. Overall scale of the Universe.
2. Where might astronomers look for past or current life in our solar system? Why?
3. Explain the Drake equation.
4. How are astronomers searching for extra terrestrial life?