Download AST 101 Final Exam DO NOT open the exam until

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AST 101 Final Exam
DO NOT open the exam until instructed to do so!
Instructions: Put your first and last name on the top of this page. You will have two and a half hours
to complete the exam. You may not use any notes or reference materials, which includes a calculator which
would not help you. All students must remain in the exam room until at least half an hour has passed from the
start of the exam. All answers to the test questions must be written in the answer grid below. ANSWERS ON
THE QUESTION PAGES OF THE EXAM WILL NOT BE COUNTED. When you are finished, provided
half an hour has passed, hand in your answer sheet, and leave the exam room. You may keep the questions
page for your own reference, or to burn in celebration.
Each multiple choice question is worth 2 points. Plan your time accordingly!
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1.) What is a Star System?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
A collection of stars that form a familiar looking image in the sky.
A large group of stars, ranging from anywhere between a few million, to several hundred billion stars.
A way of identifying the locations of the stars in the sky.
A star and all of the planets and other objects which orbit it.
2.) Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the celestial sphere model of the universe?
a.) The celestial sphere model is an incorrect view of the universe, but is a useful tool for studying the
locations and motions of the stars.
b.) The motion of the Sun and Moon could not be explained by the celestial sphere model, and served as
proof that it was incorrect
c.) According to the celestial sphere model, the star ”Polaris” always appears in the northern sky because it
is close to the north celestial pole, and so its position barely changes.
d.) The celestial sphere model was initially proposed because we couldn’t tell if one star was farther away
than another, and their relative positions to each other never seemed to change.
3.)Which of the horizon view diagrams below correctly identifies a star locateted at an altitude angle of 10◦
in the North Western sky?
4.) What are the properties of the zenith?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
It is the point directly overhead of an observer.
The zenith is the same regardless of which direction you are looking.
Both a.) and b.)
None of the above
5.) Do the constellations we see at night depend on where we are on the Earth?
a.) Yes, because we can’t see through the planet’s surface, and so only a limited amount of the sky is viewable
from any one latitude on the Earth.
b.) Yes, because when it is daytime here, it is night on the other side of the planet, so people on the same
latitude can see two different sets of stars.
c.) No, because the Earth spins on its axis.
d.) No, because all stars rise in the East and set in the West.
6.) If you were born in January, your birth sign is the Capricorn, because on the day you were born, the
Sun appeared to be in the Capricorn constellation. Based on this information, during which month will you
be able to best observe the Capricorn constellation with your naked eye? Hint: At what time of day do you
want to see this Constellation to be able to see it with your naked eye?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
January
February
July
December
7.) Bob and Mary’s astronomy 101 class room is incredibly hot, and strange sound bursts keep happening and
startling the students and the instructor. After the instructor has a nervous break down and leaves the room,
Bob and Mary start complaining about the heat. Bob remarks ”I wish the Earth didn’t have an ellipsoidal
orbit, so that it would be Spring all year!”. What should Mary say to Bob to demonstrate her mastery of
astronomy?
a.) ”You’re right, it would make the season of the Earth the same all year round if its distance from the Sun
was always the same!”
b.) ”You’re wrong, if the Earth orbited in a perfect circle, the seasons would be even MORE erratic!”
c.) ”You’re wrong, the seasons have nothing to do with the Earth’s distance from the Sun, they’re caused by
the Earth’s tilt on its axis!”
d.) ”You’re wrong, the seasons are caused by changes in the surface temperature of the Sun!”
8.) This past Saturday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. However, we all know that the
hottest weather of summer doesn’t really start until July and August. Why is the longest day not the hottest
day if that’s the day we get the most direct sunlight?
a.) The solstice IS the hottest day of the year, we just don’t notice because people tend to be outside more
in July for vacations and holidays.
b.) Even though the Earth is getting the most direct sunlight, it is not always at the points in its orbit where
it is closest to the Sun, which is the real cause of the heat of summer.
c.) The summer solstice isn’t the day that the Earth gets the most direct sunlight.
d.) Even though we’re getting the most direct sunlight, it takes time for the ground and ocean to heat up,
which are what really cause summer weather.
9.) Suppose today is the day of the New Moon. Since during the New Moon all of the Sun’s light hits the side
of the Moon facing away from us, we can’t actually see this phase of the moon because it looks completely
black in the sky. If you wait two weeks to try and see the Moon, how successful will you likely be?
a.) Not successful. In two weeks, the Moon will be in the New Moon phase again, and hence impossible to
see.
b.) Not successful. The amount of the Moon we see depends on where we are on Earth. You’d need to go
south from here to see the Moon, no matter how long you wait!
c.) Not successful. In two weeks, the Moon will be in the Full Moon phase, which means the Earth’s shadow
will block out the moon in a lunar eclipse, making it totally impossible to see.
d.) Very successful! In two weeks, the Moon will be in the Full Moon phase, and easily visible at night.
10.) In the diagram below, select the location the Moon must be in for an observer on the Earth to see a
Waning Gibbous phase. In this diagram, you are looking down on the Earth from above its north pole, just
as we always have during class!
11.) What is the modern explanation for the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?
a.) Because the planets travel at different speeds, they can pass each other in their orbits, which makes the
planet appear to change directions to an observer on one of the planets.
b.) The planets each exist on their own grand celestial sphere, and on that sphere they rotate on a circle.
c.) The planets’ motions are changed by the gravitational influence of the other, larger planets, dragging
them around.
d.) It is an optical illusion caused by stellar parallax.
12.) The Greeks contributed many great ideas to astronomy and the nature of science. One perhaps ”unfortunate” contribution was the idea of celestial perfection. What is this idea?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
The objects in the sky should orbit in perfect circles.
The objects in the sky should be perfect and without blemishes.
The objects in the sky are subject to a separate set of rules than here on Earth.
All of the above.
13.) The Ptolmey Model is not very simple or aestheticall pleasing, and yet persisted for over a thousand
years. Why was this model so highly regarded and enduring?
a.) Ptolmey was regarded as a master of astronomy, and so the model was trumpted as a triumph just
because it came from him.
b.) The Greeks made so many advancements in science and astronomy that it was assumed that all of their
models were correct, including Ptolmey’s.
c.) The successful naked eye observation of stellar parallax confirmed that the planets must orbit in circles
within circles.
d.) The model’s predictions about future observations were incredibly precise, and didn’t become noticably
wrong until a millenium later.
14.) Which of the following is not a philosophical idea the Greek’s contributed to science?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Math can be used to make predictions about the world.
The things we see should be explainable with natural causes.
Ideas from experts matter more than idea from amateurs.
Ideas about the world should match observations, or else they must be discarded.
15.) What was Copernicus’ biggest contribution to astronomy?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
He developed three laws of planetary motion that correctly descibe the workings of the Solar System.
He brought back the idea of a Sun-Centered model of the Solar System.
He collected the most accurate astronomical data the world had ever had.
He invented the telescope, and used it to make many key observations about the objects in the sky.
16.) Which of these observations made by Galileo suggested that the Sun must be the center of the Solar
System, with most other objects orbiting around it?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Mountains on the Moon.
A full set of phases of the planet Venus.
Stars in the Milky Way cloud.
Moons around Jupiter.
17.) Suppose a new planet named ”Searacoose” was found orbiting the Sun out past Neptune. Based on
Kepler’s three laws, what statements could you make about this planet?
a.) The planet would be smaller than Neptune in size and mass, since more distant planets are always smaller
(Kepler’s Second Law).
b.) The planet would take longer than Neptune to orbit the Sun, and would move slower than Neptune
because it is farther from the Sun than Neptune (Kepler’s Third Law).
c.) Both a.) and b.)
d.) None of the above.
18.) Suppose a comet is trapped in orbit around the Sun with a very elongated(stretched out) eliptical orbit.
Based on Kepler’s laws, where will the comet be for most of the time during its orbit?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
It will spend more time closest to the Sun.
It will spend more time farthest from the Sun.
It will spend equal amounts of time close to and far from the Sun.
There is no way to know without knowing the speed of the comet.
19.) Newton’s idea of gravity explained how an apple would fall from a tree and hit him on the head. What
else did Newton’s gravity explain?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
How objects could orbit other objects, such as planets orbiting the Sun.
Why the tides on Earth occur.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
All of the above.
20.) You are watching TV in the year 3014, and an ad for a new weight less plan comes on. The plan has
you go to the distant planet ”Weightlossian”, which is larger in size than the Earth, but has a much smaller
mass than the Earth. The advertisement boasts that you’ll have shed pounds the moment you set foot on
the planet. Based only on this claim, should you sign up for the weight loss program?
a.) No! Your weight is the force you feel due to gravity, so of course you’ll weigh less on a bigger, lighter
planet. What’s important is your mass, which won’t change at all!
b.) No! Your weight is the force you feel due to gravity, so you’ll actually weigh MORE on a planet that is
bigger than the Earth, even though it’s a lighter planet! The advertisement must be lying!
c.) Yes! Your weight doesn’t change based on what planet you’re on, so if you lose pounds as soon as you
get there, something they do must help you lose weight.
d.) Yes! Why would an advertisement lie to you?!
21.) It takes visible light approximately 8 minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun. Suppose the Sun also
emitted some X-ray’s with a frequency 1000 times that of visible light. How long will it takes these X-rays to
reach the Earth, assuming they could pass through our atmosphere?
a.) 8 seconds
b.) 8 minutes
c.) 80 minutes
d.) 8000 minutes
22.) If you look at a chart of the electromagnetic spectrum, with each type of light listed in order of frequency
with the lowest frequency light listed first, the list would be Radio < Microwave < Infared < Visible < Ultra
Violet < X-Ray < Gamma-Ray. How would the list change if instead I asked you to list the types of light in
order according to wavelength with the highest wavelength light listed first?
a.) The list would flip from what it currently is, with Gamma-Rays listed first, X-Rays listed second, etc.
b.) Certain types of light would be omitted, because they have a frequency but do not have a wavelength,
such as radio waves.
c.) The order would be random, since each frequency corresponds to many different wavelengths.
d.) The list would remain the same.
23.) What do we mean when we say that a star acts like a black body?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
The surface of the star reflects no light, and all light coming from that star is due to its various emissions.
The star is dead, and is no longer emiting light.
The star is completely cold, and appears black on thermal images.
We know very little about the star, and so its nature is a mystery.
24.) Why does the metal coil of an electric stove glow bright orange when it is heated up?
a.) The heat of the metal is causing the surface to catch fire, and the orange glow is coming from these
microflames.
b.) The Doppler effect makes the coil look like its moving away, ”red shifting” it to the orange and red end
of the spectrum.
c.) The heat of the metal is causing it to emit thermal radiation, and it emits more red, orange, and yellow
light than blue green or purple light.
d.) The color of the hot metal is determined by the kind of metal. Different stoves glow with different colors,
including blue and green!
25.) How do we determine the temperature of distant objects like stars?
a.) We send a probe to the objects surface and use a thermometer.
b.) We look at its emission spectrum and compare it to black body curves.
c.) We measure the temperature of the air here on Earth, and assume that the temperature here is the same
as on the Sun, which in turn will be the same temperature of all other stars.
d.) There is no way to know the temperature of a distant object.
26.) Suppose a photon of light hits an electron orbiting the nucleus of an atom. Which of the following
statements about what would happen next is true.
a.) No matter what frequency the photon has, the electron will absorb the photon and jump to a higher
energy level.
b.) No matter what frequency the photon has, the electron will not absorb the photon, and the photon will
just pass by.
c.) If the photon has just the right frequency, the electron will absorb it and jump up to a higher energy
level. Otherwise, the photon will pass right through.
d.) If the photon has just the right mass, the electron will be knocked out of the atom. Otherwise, the photon
will just bounce right off the electron.
27.) How are we able to look at an objects emission spectrum to determine its chemical composition?
a.)
b.)
the
c.)
d.)
Each element has its own unique set of energy levels, so the light emitted by each element is unique.
The light emitted by a sample casts a shadow on the ground, which lets us see the atoms that make up
sample.
We can match the samples emission spectrum to the correct blackbody curve.
There is no way to know the chemical composition of a sample.
28.) Which of the following is a reason that we put modern telescopes in space?
a.) Putting a telescope in space eliminates chromatic aberrations, allowing us to safely use refracting telescopes.
b.) Putting a telescope in space means it will be closer to the stars, and so it can get a better view of them.
c.) Both a.) and b.)
d.) None of the above.
29.) What challenges do we face when using a refracting telescope on the Earth to view visible light?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
The refracting telescope suffers from chromatic aberrations.
The atmosphere bends and distorts light.
Cloud cover and sunlight make observations impossible at certain times.
All of the above.
30.) Which terrestrial planet has the thickest atmosphere?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Jupiter
31.) Which statement about Uranus is correct?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
It spins on its side relative to the other planets.
It has a giant red spot on its surface, which is a large storm roughly three times the size of Earth.
It has giant, beautiful rings that are visible with the naked eye when viewed from Earth.
It has a large crack on its surface.
32.) Rank the following objects in the Solar System according to their distance from the Sun, with the closest
objects listed first: the terrestrial planets, the Kuiper Belt, the Jovian planets, the Oort Cloud
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Terrestrial Planets < Kuiper Belt < Jovian Planets < Oort Cloud
Kuiper Belt < Jovian Planets < Oort Cloud < Terrestrial Planets
Terrestrial Planets < Jovian Planets < Kuiper Belt < Oort Cloud
Oort Cloud < Jovian Planets < Kuiper Belt < Terrestrial Planets
33.) Why do most of the objects in the Solar System orbit the Sun in the same direction, and in roughly the
same plane?
a.) The orbits of the objects of the solar system are random; the fact that they all orbit the same way is a
freak coincidence.
b.) The orbits of the objects of the solar system was initially random, but the gravity of the larger objects
eventually dragged them all to orbit in the same direction.
c.) The objects of the Solar System formed from a spinning disc of gas and dust, and all orbit in the direction
that disc was spinning and in the original plane of the disc.
d.) The Objects of the Solar System were initially all random, until a passing star disrupted their orbits and
forced them all to move in the direction that the star was traveling.
34.) Why is there such a neat division between the terrestrial and Jovian planets?
a.) The region close to the Sun was so hot that only rocks and metals could form solids, leaving very little
material for the terrestrial planets to form from. Far from the Sun, colder materials like ice could form solid,
so the Jovian planets formed much bigger cores, which were capable of trapping nearby gas.
b.) Initially, all of the planets were Jovian planets, but the terrestrial planets had their gassy surfaces ripped
away by a super nova.
c.) The Jovian planets are more negatively charged, and so got pushed farther away from the positively
charged Sun.
d.) The locations of the terrestrial and Jovian planets is random; the neat division is a freak coincidence.
35.) We think most moons formed like planets did, from left over material which formed a ring of material
around their planet which eventually formed a moon. How then do we explain a moon with a very large
inclination in its orbit, or which orbits backwards around its planet?
a.) The orbits of moons is random, so no explanation is needed.
b.) The moon is actually a comet or asteroid that passed by the planet and got caught in its gravitational
pull into orbit.
c.) The moons are constantly stretched and contracted by their planet’s gravity.
d.) The gravitational interference of other nearby planets.
36.) What do the backwards spinning of Venus, the sideways spinning of Uranus, the small yet dense size
and mass of Mercury, and the Earth’s Moon all have in common?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
They are all anomalies in our Solar System that we cannot yet explain.
They are all interesting features of the terrestrial planets.
They are all anomalies best explained by a collision early in the Solar System’s development.
They have nothing in common.
37.) How can we determine the age of an object?
a.) If we know how much of an unstable element the object should have, and measure how much of this
unstable element it does actually have, we can use our knowledge of the decay rate to calculate how long the
decay took to happen.
b.) We examine the objects emission spectrum and match it to the correct black body curve.
c.) We use the Doppler Effect; older objects are more ”red shifted” than newer objects.
d.) We have no way of knowing how old an object is.
38.) Approximately how old are the planets of the Solar System?
a.) 2014 years
b.) 4,500 years
c.) 4.5 billion years
d.) We do not know the age of the planets.
39.) Which of the following is NOT a way to detect the existance of an exo-planet?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
We look for the position of a distant star to ”wobble”.
We look for a regular switch between red shifted and blue shifted light from a distant star.
We look for evidence of Stellar Parallax from a distant star.
We look for the light of a distant star to dim regularly.
40.) So far, most of the exoplanets we have found have been quite large, and very close to the star around
which they orbit. Our solar system is different; we have many small planets, and the larger planets are all
much farther from the Sun. Why do we think this is?
a.) Large planets over time will swallow the other planets in a star system and become much larger and
closer to their star. Our Solar System is newer, so this simply hasn’t happened here yet.
b.) Our star has a much higher temperature that every other star, and so Jovian could form closer to their
stars in other star systems.
c.) The methods we have for detecting exo-planets work best for large planets close to their stars. Planets
are likely much more diverse than what we’ve found so far, our methods are just not well suited for finding
them yet.
d.) Our Solar System formed from a collapsing Nebula, while every other star system formed through a
different process.
41.) Why do the terrestrial planets have magnetic fields?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
The convective motion of the solid and molten rocks beneath their surfaces.
The rotation of the planets about their axes.
The motion of their moons.
Wind currents in their atmospheres.
42.) Nearly every moon and planet in our Solar System shows evidence of heavy amounts of asteroid and
comet impacts on their surfaces. While the Earth is no exception, it seems as though the Earth has less
visible damage from these impacts than other terrestrial worlds. Why is this?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
The Earth’s volcanism has helped erase many of the early craters.
The Moon shields the Earth from many collisions that would have hit the planet.
Jupiter’s high mass draws most of the objects passing through the Solar System to it instead/
All of the above.
43.) True of False: Unlike the Terrestrial planets, the Jovian planets do not have layers; they are made of
the same material in the same form from their surface down to their core.
a.) True
b.) False
44.) Where do the Jovian planets get their interesting colors from?
a.) The planets act as black bodies, and emit light based off their temperature.
b.) They have different cloud layers, and each cloud layer reflects only certain types of light. Jupiter and
Saturn have a cloud layer that reflects orange light, and Uranus and Neptune have a layer that reflects blue
and green light.
c.) Their distance from the Sun. Blue light is the only light capable of reaching far enough to be reflected
off of Uranus and Neptune’s otherwise white surface.
d.) These colors are artist representations; all the Jovian planets share Jupiter’s orange color.
45.) According to an episode of ”The Universe”, on which planet would you find Olympus Mons, the largest
volcano in the Solar System?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Mercury
Earth
Mars
Io
46.) According to an episode of ”The Universe”, how might Saturn’s rings have formed?
a.) Left over material from the formation of Saturn was captured in orbit.
b.) Saturn was thrown out into the Kuiper Belt, where it captured icy material, and was then pulled back
into place.
c.) A comet crashed into the surface of Saturn, and blew the ice from Saturn’s surface into orbit.
d.) An icy moon was ripped apart, and its core was thrown into Saturn, leaving only the icy remnants behind.
47.) According to an episode of ”The Universe”, True or False: based on the orbital resonance that is believed
to have occured between Jupiter and Saturn, the planets in the Solar System we see today are the ONLY
planets that formed in the Solar System.
a.) True
b.) False
48.) According to an episode of ”The Universe”, why is Mercury so small and dense?
a.) Close to the Sun, only a small amount of material was present to form a planet.
b.) Mercury originally formed as a normal terrestrial planet, but a collision blew off much of its surface,
leaving only the small, dense core behind.
c.) When Mercury’s atmosphere disappeared, much of the planets surface was blown away by solar wind.
d.) Heavy volcanism threw much the material of its surface into the Sun.
49.) In order to claim that you act ”scientifically”, what should you do when confronted with evidence that
contradicts a belief you have about the world?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Toss aside the evidence in favor of your own personal experience.
Immediately toss aside your previous view, with no further investigation.
Examine the evidence yourself, and try to verify that it is authentic and correct.
Listen to an expert who supports your opinion.
50.) What has this course been about?
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)
Astrology (Nope!)
Astrology (Try again!)
Astrology (One more time!)
Astronomy (There ya go!)