Download taken from horizons 7th edition chapter 1 tutorial quiz

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TAKEN FROM HORIZONS 7TH EDITION CHAPTER 1 TUTORIAL QUIZ
-----------------------------------------------------------------------1.
If the solar system is scaled down so that the Sun is represented by a
basketball,
a. a ping-pong ball located 500 feet away would properly represent Jupiter.
b. another basketball located one mile away would properly represent the next nearest star.
c. a bean located 10 feet away would properly represent Earth.
d. a grain of sand located 5 miles away would properly represent Pluto.
answer: a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------2.
In order to determine the number of miles in a light-year, one must
multiply the speed of light by
a. 186,000.
b. the number of seconds in a year.
c. the number of kilometers in a mile.
d. the length of the AU.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------3.
Why is one able to claim that Pluto is not always the most distant
planet from the Sun?
a. Pluto is not really a planet, but a moon that orbits Neptune. So it
alternately travels to the far side of Neptune, to the near side, and so on.
b. Astronomers, using the Hubble Space Telescope, recently discovered
Planet X, located beyond Pluto.
c. One cannot make such a claim, because Pluto is always the most
distant planet from the Sun.
d. Pluto's orbit around the Sun is so elliptically-shaped that Pluto is occasionally within Neptune's orbit
around the Sun.
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answer: d
-----------------------------------------------------------------------4.
A "light-year" can be defined as
a. the distance between the Sun and the nearest star.
b. the distance that light travels during the time that Earth revolves
around the Sun once.
c. the time required for light to travel between Earth and the Sun.
d. the distance that Earth travels in one year as it orbits the Sun once.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------5.
From smallest to largest (edge to edge), the objects should be ordered
as follows:
a. Proxima Centauri, Moon, Earth, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group of
galaxies.
b. Proxima Centauri, Local Group of galaxies, Earth, Moon, Milky Way
galaxy.
c. Earth, Moon, Proxima Centauri, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group of
galaxies.
d. Moon, Earth, Proxima Centauri, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group of
galaxies.
answer: d
-----------------------------------------------------------------------6.
The distance from Earth to the nearest star beyond the Sun is about
a. approximately 9 light-minutes.
b. approximately 93,000,000 miles.
c. 250,000 astronomical units.
d. 100 times the Earth-Sun distance.
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answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------7.
The symbol 10^9
a. is the approximate number of stars in the universe.
b. represents the number 1,000,000,000.
c. is the number of miles in a light-year.
d. is one-hundred thousand billion.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------8.
Assuming the Sun is 930,000 miles in diameter, and Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 93 million
miles, how many times greater is Earth's distance from the Sun than the Sun's diameter?
a. 10
b. 1,000
c. 10,000
d. 100
answer: d
-----------------------------------------------------------------------9.
While expressing the distances of the planets in the solar system from
the Sun, astronomers prefer to use the unit of measurement of
a. astronomical units.
b. kilometers.
c. light-years.
d. miles.
answer: a
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If the Sun is located 8 light-minutes from Earth, it is located ________ from Neptune.
a. 4 light-hours
b. 4 light-years
c. 32 light-minutes
d. 30 light-hours
answer: a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------11.
When we observe the nearest star to the Sun (Proxima Centauri), we
frequently say
a. it is a given number of astronomical units away from us.
b. we are observing the light that left the star about 4.2 years ago.
c. we are observing another galaxy.
d. it is another star in our solar system.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------12.
At the largest scale observed by astronomers, superclusters of galaxies appear to be distributed
a. in a pattern of filaments that enclose empty voids.
b. along straight lines.
c. in the Local Group.
d. entirely at random, with no clear organization or pattern.
answer: a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------13.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Light from the nearest star to the Sun takes about 17 years to reach Earth.
b. In addition to that of Pluto, the orbit of Mercury is particularly
non-circular.
c. The Sun seems to be located in a particularly crowded (with stars)
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part of our galaxy.
d. Light from the Sun takes approximately 8 minutes to reach Neptune.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------14.
One of the great discoveries in astronomy during this Century is that
a. at the largest scale, galaxies are randomly distributed in space.
b. our galaxy is only one of many billions in the universe.
c. our galaxy is alone amongst the other galaxies; it is not part of a
cluster of galaxies.
d. our star, the Sun, is located outside of the Milky Way.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------15.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. The nearest star to our Sun is Mercury.
b. The size of a star image on a photograph tells us the size of the star.
c. There are about 100 billion stars in our galaxy.
d. Our star, the Sun, is unique, having characteristics unlike any other star.
answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------16.
Why does the scientific community prefer to use the metric system over
the system (e.g., feet and miles) Americans normally use in our everyday lives?
a. The metric system can deal with larger numbers than the other system, and astronomy
always deals with large numbers.
b. The metric system allows for much easier calculations.
c. The metric system is more accurate.
d. None of these choices. The scientific community does not prefer to
use the metric system because everything in science is based upon
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inches, feet and miles.
answer: b
-----------------------------------------------------------------------17.
What do Earth and the universe have in common?
a. They are both evolving.
b. They both shine by reflected light.
c. They are both about the same size.
d. They both have a hot core.
answer: a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------18.
If we represented Earth by a 3-inch ball, the thickness of its
atmosphere would be about that of the thickness of a
a. piece of thread.
b. standard pencil.
c. silver dollar.
d. dime.
answer: a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------19.
The astronomical unit (AU) is
a. 1.5 x 10^11 kilometers in length.
b. used mostly for expressing the great distances to the stars.
c. 150 million kilometers in length.
d. defined as the diameter of Earth's orbit around the Sun.
answer: c
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20.
The Milky Way Galaxy
a. contains our Sun, which is located about two-thirds of the way from
the center to the edge.
b. contains about one-hundred billion stars.
c. all of these choices.
d. is a fairly large galaxy, but is not unique.
answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------21.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. The origin of filaments and voids is well understood.
b. Scientific notation refers to the use of the light-year for
expressing distances in space.
c. Filaments are the largest structures known.
d. Planets have never been discovered orbiting other stars.
answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------22.
If two observations of the stars Sirius and Arcturus are made at 6-month intervals,
Sirius reveals a greater parallax because Sirius is
a. more distant than Arcturus.
b. hotter than Arcturus.
c. closer to us than Arcturus.
d. more massive than Arcturus.
answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------23.
If a star is more distant than about 150 light-years from Earth,
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a. its apparent visual magnitude is greater than +6.
b. its absolute visual magnitude cannot be determined.
c. its apparent and absolute visual magnitudes are the same.
d. its distance cannot be determined by trigonometric parallax.
answer: d
-----------------------------------------------------------------------24.
The total number of galaxies in the Local Group
a. is 21.
b. includes mostly spiral galaxies.
c. is uncertain.
d. is centered on our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
answer: c
-----------------------------------------------------------------------25.
The largest known structure in the universe is
a. the Great Wall.
b. the Milky Way galaxy.
c. a massive black hole.
d. the Great Attractor.
answer: a
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