Download Simon P. Balm Astronomy 5, Test #1, Sample Questions

Simon P. Balm
Astronomy 5, Test #1, Sample Questions
1. Which of the following do the atoms 14N and 15N have in common?
A) total number of protons and neutrons
B) number of protons
C) total number of neutrons and electrons
D) number of neutrons
2. How many electrons are present in the ion of the isotope of oxygen, 188O3-?
A) 8
B) 18
C) 11
D) 5
3. The process of planet formation in the early solar system is best described by which of
the following terms?
A) crystallization
B) precipitation
C) consolidation
D) condensation
4. Which constellation is the "Big Dipperrrr" found in?
A) Ursa Major
B) Orion
C) Canis Major
D) Ursa Minor
5. The methods of modern science were originated by the
A) Egyptians
B) Babylonians
C) Mayans
D) Greeks
6. The expansion of the Universe is due to the
A) expansion of stars within galaxies
B) motion of galaxies through space
C) expansion of space between galaxies
D) expansion of space within galaxies
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7. The astronomical unit (AU) is defined to be equal to the
A) diameter of the Earth
B) average distance between the Earth and Sun
C) average distance between the Sun and the planet Pluto
D) distance between the Sun and the nearest star
8. The number of stars in the observable Universe
A) cannot be estimated
B) is approximately equal to the population of the Earth at the turn of the 21 st century
C) is approximately equal to the total number of sand grains on every beach on Earth
D) is infinitely large
9. The temperature scale most often used by astronomers is the
A) Kelvin scale.
B) Celsius scale.
C) Fahrenheit scale.
D) Richter scale.
10. Human beings mostly emit which kind of electromagnetic radiation?
A) ultraviolet
B) microwave
C) infrared
D) visible
11. Occam's Razor states that if we have two models that agree equally well with
observations we chose the one which
A) is most complex
B) is accepted by most scientists
C) has been around the longest
D) is simplest
12. The main characteristics of our solar system are
A) four small planets close to the Sun, four large planets far from the Sun and one
small planet furthest from the Sun
B) two small planets close to the Sun, six larger planets much farther from the Sun.
C) two large planets close to the Sun, three small planets next out, and four large
planets farthest from the Sun.
D) four small planets close to the Sun, four large planets far from the Sun.
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13. A scientists tries to determine why a particular car is getting a much lower gas mileage
than claimed by the manufacturer by systematically designing experiments to test
possible causes for the problem. This is an example of
A) discovery science
B) pseudoscience
C) non-science
D) hypothesis-driven science
14. In the scientific method, what immediately follows a prediction
A) an observation
B) a question
C) a hypothesis
D) a test
15. The portrayal of nearly all aliens in movies and on TV as being humanoid is
A) realistic since the human form has several unique qualities that make it a good
choice for any advanced civlilzation
B) probably unrealistic since the human form is most likely a result of the particular
conditions and events that ocurred on the Earth
C) based on the fact that it would be impossible for us to understand anything that
wasn't very similar to a human
D) based on the fact that the human form is the only possible form for an advanced
civilization
16. When electromagnetic radiation is created it is said to be
A) reflected
B) refracted
C) emitted
D) absorbed
17. According to Kepler's 2nd Law of planetary motion, a planet moves fastest in its orbit
when it is
A) in between perihelion and aphelion
B) at perihelion
C) undergoing retrograde motion
D) at aphelion
18. Which planet lies between the planets Saturn and Neptune?
A) Mars
B) Pluto
C) Uranus
D) Jupiter
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19. The distance between adjacent peaks of an electromagnetic wave is referred to as its
A) energy
B) speed
C) wavelength
D) frequency
20. Apparent retrograde motion occurs when a planet appears to
A) be stationary with respect to background stars
B) move westward with respect to background stars
C) move due north with respect to background stars
D) move eastward with respect to background stars
21. An isotope of the element Manganese (Mn) has an atomic number of 25 and a mass
number of 55. Assuming the atom is neutral, this means it has
A) 25 protons, 30 electrons and 25 neutrons.
B) 25 protons, 25 electrons and 30 neutrons.
C) 25 protons, 25 electrons and 55 neutrons.
D) 55 protons, 55 electrons and 25 neutrons.
22. Which of the following are found in the nucleus of an atoms?
A) protons and electrons
B) protons and neutrons
C) protons only
D) electrons and neutrons
23. The Hubble distance-velocity relationship states that
A) the farther away a galaxy is from the Local Group of galaxies, the faster it is
traveling toward this group.
B) all galaxies are being repelled by the pressure from the very hot central "engine" of
the universe, the ones closest to the center traveling fastest.
C) all galaxies are being pulled toward a central gravitational attractor in the universe,
the closest ones to the center traveling fastest.
D) the farther a galaxy is from our galaxy, the faster it appears to be traveling away
from it.
24. Astronomy has shown us that the fundamental laws of physics are
A) the same in our solar system but different beyond the solar system
B) the same everywhere in the universe
C) completely random and unpredictable
D) different on other planets in our solar system
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25. One arcminute is equal to
A) 1/60 arcsecond.
B) 1/60 degree.
C) 1/60 of a full circle.
D) 60 degrees.
26. Which is the only terrestrial planet to have a giant moon?
A) Mars
B) Venus
C) Mercury
D) Earth
27. The technique of collecting radiation and splitting it up into its components so it can be
analyzed is referred to as
A) astrometry
B) colormetry
C) photometry
D) spectrometry
28. The most distant galaxies in the universe are
A) gazillions of light years away
B) millions of light years away
C) trillions of light years away
D) billions of light years away
29. Galileo discovered that Venus goes through a cycle of phases like the Moon. This
suggested that
A) the Sun moved about the Earth
B) Venus moved about the Earth
C) Venus moved about the Sun
D) the Earth moved about the Sun
30. If a radio message were sent towards a star 10 light years away in 2010 and a reply were
sent back immediately on receipt of the message by intelligent beings from a planet near
that star, in what year would we receive a reply?
A) 2010
B) 2030
C) 2100
D) 2020
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31. If you decrease the frequency of an electromagnetic wave, what happens to its
wavelength?
A) remains constant
B) decreases
C) increases
D) becomes zero
32. In our Milky Way galaxy, the Sun is located
A) in the galactic bulge
B) at the galactic center
C) in the disk
D) in the halo
33. How does the speed (in a vacuum) of a high frequency electromagnetic wave compare
with a low frequency electromagnetic wave?
A) the lower frequency wave has the higher speed since is has the longest wavelength
B) the higher frequency wave has the higher speed
C) the lower frequency wave has the higher speed since speed is inversely related to
frequency
D) the two waves have exactly the same speed since the speed of light is constant
34. Biologists has found that life on Earth can
A) only survive on the surface of the Earth
B) survive only in presence of sunlight
C) survive over a wide range of environmental conditions
D) survive over only a very narrow range of environmental conditions
35. Which law states that an object will remain at rest or move in a straight line unless a
force acts?
A) Newton's 1st Law
B) Kepler's 1st Law
C) Kepler's 2nd Law
D) Newton's Universal Law
36. In science, explanations of observed behavior are referred to as
A) facts
B) hypotheses
C) models
D) beliefs
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37. According to the nebular theory for the formation of the solar system
A) planets should be rotating in the opposite direction to the direction they orbit the
Sun
B) planets should be rotating in the same direction as they orbit the Sun
C) no prediction is made as to the directions of rotations of the planets
D) planets can be rotating in any random direction compared to the direction they orbit
the Sun
38. In the process of nuclear fusion,
A) two or more nuclei fuse or stick together to form a heavier nucleus whose
combined mass is slightly greater than the original nucleus
B) a heavy nucleus breaks apart into a number of smaller nuclei whose combined
mass are less than the original nucleus
C) two or more nuclei fuse or stick together to form a heavier nucleus whose
combined mass is slightly less than the original nucleus
D) two or more nuclei fuse or stick together to form a heavier nucleus which has
exactly the same mass as the original nucleus
39. Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation was used to discover which planet?
A) Uranus
B) Neptune
C) Jupiter
D) Venus
40. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun, 149,600,000 km can be written in
shorthand notation as
A) 1.496 × 107 km.
B) 1.496 × 109 km.
C) 1.496 × 106 km.
D) 1.496 × 108 km.
41. How would the number 1.34 x 10-7 be written in standard notation?
A) 0.00000000134
B) 0.000000134
C) 0.0000000134
D) 0.00000134
42. Newton discovered that light
A) is made of different colors
B) has a constant speed in a vacuum
C) is made of particles
D) behaves like waves
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43. For most of human history it was believed that Earth was at the center of the Universe.
This idea is referred to as
A) eccentric
B) egocentric
C) geocentric
D) heliocentric
44. Which of the following kind of electromagnetic radiation has a higher frequency that
ultraviolet radiation?
A) visible
B) microwaves
C) infrared
D) X-rays
45. The observed change in wavelength due to the Doppler effect occurs
A) only when the temperature of an object changes.
B) only when the light source has a tangential motion (perpendicular to the line of
sight).
C) only when the light source has radial motion (toward or away from the observer).
D) whenever the light source is moving with respect to the observer (regardless of
direction).
46. The light year is defined to be the
A) time it takes for light to travel from the nearest star to the Earth
B) distance light travels in one year
C) average distance between the Earth and the nearest star
D) time it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth
47. Approximately how many stars are there in the Milky Way galaxy?
A) a few hundred thousand
B) a hundred billion
C) a few hundred million
D) a trillion
48. Which of the following is NOT a naked-eye planet?
A) Earth
B) Saturn
C) Mercury
D) Mars
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49. Among the other planets, probably the most likely place to find evidence for life either
now or in the past is
A) Venus
B) Jupiter
C) Mercury
D) Mars
50. A hydrogen atom in a low-density, hot gas gives off what type of spectrum?
A) a uniform spectrum containing all colors
B) a series of emission lines at uniform wavelength spacings
C) a uniform spectrum crossed by numerous dark absorption lines
D) a series of emission lines spaced in a mathematical sequence
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Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
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24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
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31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
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46.
47.
B
C
D
A
D
C
B
C
A
C
D
D
D
D
B
C
B
C
C
B
B
B
D
B
B
D
D
D
C
B
C
C
D
C
A
C
B
C
B
D
B
A
C
D
C
B
B
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48. A
49. D
50. D
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