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ASTR 1105 MIDTERM – Project Packet (200 points total) MAY 2016 Dr. Shawn T. Cruzen SHORT ANSWER 5 points each (Questions 1-15) 1. Define and describe the steps of the scientific method. 2. Describe the method by which Eratosthenes first measured the circumference of the Earth. 3. State completely each of Newton’s three laws of motion. Give an example of each one from everyday life. 4. Describe six properties of objects in space that can be measured using spectroscopy. 5. What two effects, caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis, are responsible for our seasons? 6. What are solstices and equinoxes and when do they occur? 7. Other than the Solar Nebula theory, describe two early models of cosmogony. Explain why these models fell out of favor with astronomers. 8. Describe five types of lunar surface features, and describe the process by which each was formed. 9. Describe in detail three major surface features on the planet Mars. 10. Describe briefly the leading model for the process of the formation of the Moon. 11. Describe the factors that determine whether a planet will have a significant magnetic field? What is the name given to the process that generates these fields? Why are magnetic fields on planets important to us as humans that might visit other worlds? Which of the eight planets in our solar system do NOT have substantial magnetic fields? For each one, explain why. 12. What happened to all the water on Venus and why does it not have oceans like the Earth? (Remember, it wasn’t always as hot as it is today!) 13. Describe in detail the formation of the Jovian planets (including two major phases), emphasizing how their formation differs from the terrestrials. 14. Why was Pluto’s “planet-hood” downgraded? 15. Describe the basic classifications of asteroids and meteors. SHORT ESSAY 10 points each (Questions 16-25) 16. Describe the telescopic discoveries made by Galileo explaining how EACH one supported the Copernican model and contradicted the Aristotelian model. 17. State completely each of Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion. Draw a diagram illustrating each one. 18. Describe Solar Nebula theory and the formation of our solar system in as much detail as you can using terminology from the notes. 19. Draw and label a diagram with the Sun, Earth and Moon that demonstrates the lunation cycle. Include the appropriate names of the lunar phases (as viewed from Earth) for each of the eight positions of the Moon described in the notes. Then, in a small box next to each phase, sketch a drawing of how the Moon would appear if photographed from Earth during that phase. Label all of the sketches with the directions East (E) and West (W). 20. Draw and label diagrams with the Sun, Earth and Moon that demonstrate the geometry of both a total lunar eclipse and a total solar eclipse. Include both umbral and penumbral regions. 21. Describe in detail the Runaway Greenhouse Effect on Venus. Use a diagram to illustrate the process. 22. Define high tides, low tides, spring tides and neap tides. Draw and label diagrams with the Sun, Earth and Moon that demonstrate the geometry of both spring and neap tides. 23. Describe ten physical properties of the planet Mercury describing how each is either like or unlike the Moon. 24. Describe recently acquired evidence for the presence of water on or near the surface of Mars. 25. Illustrate and label the main components for three basic telescope designs. NUMERICAL PROBLEMS: SHOW ALL OF YOUR WORK!! 5 points each 26. The orbital eccentricity of the planet Neptune, which has a nearly circular orbit, is e = 0.0097. The radius of its orbit is approximately 30.1 AU. (a) What is the major axis of Neptune's orbit in Astronomical Units (AU)? (b) What is the distance between the center of the Sun and the second focus of Neptune’s orbit in kilometers? (c) Is this distance greater or less than the distance between the Earth and the Sun? Remember: 1 AU = 1.5 x 1011 meters and e = (Distance Between Foci)(Major Axis) 27. The orbit of Comet Cruzen (ha!) has a period of 100 years. a) Use Kepler's 3rd Law in the form P12 P22 = R13 R23 to find the semimajor axis of the comet's orbit in Astronomical Units (AU). b) Convert the answer into meters. (Hint: 1 AU = 1.5 x 108 km) 28. Two planets orbit a distant star. One revolves at a distance of 12AU and one at a distance of 3AU. The planet at 3AU from the star has a period of 72,000 hours. (a) Is the star more or less massive than our Sun? Why? (b) What is the period of the 12AU planet? 29. Use Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation to calculate what your weight would be on the surfaces of all eight planets in our solar system plus the Moon and the dwarf planet Pluto. (Jovian planets obviously don’t have surfaces, so use their given diameters from the textbook.) 30. (a) The focal length of a refracting telescope is 275 cm and it has a 25mm eyepiece. What is the magnification this instrument? (b) If the diameter of a refracting telescope is increased by 50%, what is the change in the light gathering power? (c) For a wavelength of 6500 Angstroms, how much better is the resolving power of a 200-cm telescope than a 75-cm telescope. m = (F.L. Telescope) (F.L. Eyepiece) Surface Area = r2 R.P. = 2 x 10-3 (/d)