Download Sample Exam 1

PHYS1014/1013 Physical Science
Spring 2014
Professor Kenny L. Tapp
Sample Exam 1
Join Professor Tapp for coffee to ask questions and go over the
Sample Exam. Frequently check our course website for updates on
times to meet at the Starbucks in the OCCC Atrium.
1. Which of these lunar features is the oldest?
a. maria basins
c. rayed craters like Copernicus
b. lunar highlands
d. lunar soil
2. The belt (orbit) of the asteroids is located between ____________.
a. Saturn and Uranus
b. Earth and Mars
c. Venus and Mercury
d. Jupiter and Mars
3. Galileo observed several features using the telescope. Which one of the following did he NOT
discover?
a. sunspots
b. phases of Venus
c. Jupiter’s 4 largest moons
d. the 2 moons of Mars
4. ____________ refers to the bright head of a comet.
a. Lima
b. Toma
c. Coma
d. Lira
5. The Cassini gap is associated with the planet ____________.
a. Neptune
b. Jupiter
c. Saturn
d. Venus
6. The true shape of the planetary orbits was discovered by ________.
a. Johannes Kepler b. Galileo
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Copernicus
7. All planets revolve ______________ around the Sun.
a. Clockwise
b. Counter-clockwise
c. They don’t.
8. Which planet in our solar system is known for its rings?
a. Mercury
b. Earth
c. Jupiter
d. Saturn
9. The angular distance north or south of the celestial equator is called ________.
a. occultation
b. precession
c. declination
d. right ascension
10. This scientist was the first to use the telescope in astronomy.
a. Sir Isaac Newton b. Galileo
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Nicolaus Copernicus
11. When Earth is closest to the Sun, its location is referred to as the ________ position.
a. occultation
b. perihelion
c. aphelion
d. perturbation
PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
12. Pluto is now classified as a ________ in our solar system.
a. terrestrial planet
b. Jovian planet
c. dwarf planet
d. comet
13. _____________ has a hot, turbulent atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide.
a. Earth
b. Jupiter
c. Mercury
d. Venus
14. ____________ has the great, dark spot on its surface.
a. Mars
b. Neptune
c. Venus
d. Uranus
15. ___________ are found both on Mars and Earth.
a. erosional features related to flowing water
c. heavily cratered landscapes preserved from the planet’s history
b. water-rich atmosphere
d. oceans
16. Which one of the following is NOT true of Jupiter?
a. largest and most massive planet
b. a rotational speed slower than Mercury
c. dominantly composed of hydrogen
d. a very dense atmosphere
17. Micrometeorites are found on the surface of the Earth, what are they called prior to impact?
a. meteoroids flying through space, meteors as they cross the Earth’s atmosphere
b. meteors flying through space, meteoroids as they cross the Earth’s atmosphere
c. asteroids
d. footballs
18. The nightly motion of objects across our sky is caused by …
a. the revolution of Earth around the Sun.
b. the rotation of the Earth on its axis.
c. the motion of the solar system around the galaxy.
d. the rotation of the whole celestial sphere of stars around the fixed Earth.
19. What are the main constituents of the jovian planets?
a. rocky minerals an dwater, as on Earth
b. hydrogen and helium
c. ammonia and methane
d. nitrogen and methane
20. Most of the Moon's craters were produced by ___________.
a. the impact of debris (meteoroids)
b. volcanic eruptions
c. faulting
d. radial implosions
21. Which of the following statements concerning ring satellites of the planets is true?
a. They are thin, solid disks revolving around the parent planets in polar orbits.
b. They consist of concentrations of particles generally smaller than 10 meters in diameter.
c. They have orbits that do not coincide with the equatorial planes of the parent planets.
d. They are present around Saturn and Jupiter, but not around Uranus and Neptune.
22. The smallest PLANET in the solar system is __________.
a. Venus
b. Pluto
c. Mars
d. Mercury
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
23. Saturn’s rings are clusters of relatively small, individual particles; the rings observed on Jupiter
are violent storm clouds swirling above the polar regions of the planet.
a. True
b. False
24. Why do we see essentially the same face of the Moon at all times?
a. because the Moon does not rotate
b. because the Moon’s rotational and orbital periods are equal
c. because the Sun illuminates only one half at a time
25. The celestial equator is …
a. a line around the sky directly above Earth’s equator.
b. the path that the sun appears to follow on the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the sun.
26. What is the most abundant component (at 82%) of Jupiter’s atmosphere?
a. Hydrogen
b. Helium
c. Methane
d. Ammonia
27. What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
a. chunks of ice and rock
c. methane gas
b. hydrogen
d. old NASA satellites and other space junk
28. What is the likely cause of the 98 degree tilt of Uranus’ axis?
a. A collision with a large body early in the evolution of the solar system.
b. Distorted magnetic poles due it its large molten iron core.
c. Fluid wave dynamics due to its large molten core.
d. Neptune’s effect on Uranus’ gravitational field.
29. The reason that the Moon takes on a crescent shape each month has to do with the ____.
a. Earth’s shadow
b. Sun’s position
c. both of these
d. neither of these
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
Using the diagram below, identify the planets of our solar system.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
Mercury
Uranus
Uranus
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Uranus
Pluto
Uranus
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
Venus
Neptune
Neptune
Mars
Mars
Mars
Neptune
Mercury
Neptune
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
Earth
Jupiter
Jupiter
Earth
Earth
Earth
Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter
39. How many constellations are recognized by name?
a. 53
b. 88
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
Sun
Saturn
Saturn
Venus
Venus
Venus
Saturn
Mars
Saturn
c. 21
d. 45
40. This property of a star can be determined from its color.
a. mass
b. stellar distance
c. volume
d.surface temperature
41. What is the other name for the North Star?
a. Betelgeus
b. Polaris
c. Candace
d. Alpha
c. red giant
d. white dwarf
c. yellow
d. blue
42. This is produced during a supernova event.
a. black hole
b. main-sequence star
43. Which color stars have the coolest surface temperature?
a. red
b. orange
44. In an H-R diagram, we are plotting a star’s
a. apparent magnitude vs. mass
b. temperature vs. color
c. luminosity vs. spectral type
d. absolute magnitude vs. size
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
45. Red giants are brighter than white dwarfs because they
a. are hotter
b. are nearer
c. are bigger
d. rotate faster
46. What will be the Sun’s final destiny?
a. planetary nebula b. black hole
d. red giant
c. pulsar
47. Which of the following will never undergo fusion in any star?
a. helium
b. carbon
c. iron
d. oxygen
48. Which of the following is the correct order of the life cycle of some stars? (these don’t include
all stages)
a. nebula gas cloud, supernova, red giant, black hole
b. white hole, black dwarf, green giant, blue nova
c. protostar, red giant, planetary nebula, neutron star
d. nebula gas cloud, main sequence, red giant, white dwarf
49. What was Shapley’s contribution to astronomy?
A. He determined that a Cepheid variable star’s period of pulsation was related to its brightness.
B. He determined the Sun was not the center of the Universe.
C. He formulated the period-wavelength relation to determine distances to globular clusters.
D. All of the above.
Using the star map below, identify the northern hemisphere’s Circumpolar Constellations.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
Draco
Big Dipper
Draco
Big Dipper
Big Dipper
55. Which star is Polaris?
a. &
b. $
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
Little Dipper
Little Dipper
Little Dipper
Little Dipper
Little Dipper
c. @
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Draco
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
Cepheus
Cepheus
Cepheus
Cepheus
Cepheus
d. %
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
56. The Milky Way is an example of which type of galaxy?
A. Elliptical
B. Spiral
C. Irregular
D. Lenticular
57. Which components of our Galaxy best outline the spiral arms?
A. Young stars
B. Globular clusters C. Old stars
D. White dwarfs
58. The Milky Way galaxy is
A. where Earth resides
B. a spiral galaxy
C. going to collide with the Andromeda galaxy in less than 5 billion years
D. all of the above.
59. Why can galaxies evolve from elliptical to spiral, or vice-versa?
A. Collision influences.
B. Gravitational irregularities.
C. Pressure waves generated from Klingon warships.
D. No they can’t Kenny Tapp!
60. The youngest stars in the galaxy are found in the ___________?
A. globular clusters
B. spiral arms
C. halo
D. central bulge
61. With each pass of a comet about the Sun, its mass
A. is appreciably reduced.
B. remains virtually unchanged.
C. increases.
62. The general direction of a comet’s tail is
A. toward the Sun.
B. away from the Sun.
63. In a museum collection, you can likely see a
A. meteoroid but not a meteorite.
B. meteor but not a meteoroid.
C. meteorite but not a meteoroid.
64. A small rock in interplanetary space is called a
A. meteor.
B. meteoroid.
C. meteorite.
D. comet.
65. Asteroids orbit the
A. Sun.
D. all of these.
B. Earth.
C. Moon.
66. When the Sun passes between the Moon and the Earth, we have
A. a solar eclipse.
B. a lunar eclipse.
D. met our end.
67. When we see a half-moon, the position of the Sun is
A. almost directly behind the Moon.
B. almost directly behind the Earth.
C. at right angles to a line from Earth to the Moon.
D. about 45 degrees from a line from Earth to the Moon.
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
68. The predominant gas in the atmosphere of Venus is
A. oxygen.
B. nitrogen.
C. water vapor.
D. carbon dioxide.
69. The predominant gas in the atmosphere of Earth is
A. oxygen.
B. nitrogen.
C. water vapor.
D. carbon dioxide.
70. No greenhouse effect occurs on Mercury because of no
A. daily spin.
B. atmosphere.
C. plant life.
D. cars & factories.
71. The age of the Sun is about
A. 7000 years.
B. 5.5 million years. C. 5.5 billion years. D. 5.5 trillion years.
72. How long does it take for Earth to revolve around the Sun?
A. one day
B. one week
C. one month
D. one year
73. For what reason was Pluto demoted from full planetary status in 2006?
A. Because of objects as large or larger than Pluto in the Kuiper Belt.
B. Because Pluto resides outside of the zone that can truly be described as the solar system.
C. Because Pluto was discovered to be a twin planet system.
D. Because according to Wikipedia, no planet can be smaller than the Earth’s moon.
74. Polaris is always directly overhead
A. the north pole.
B. any location north of the equator.
C. the equator.
75. The star nearest the Earth is
A. the Sun.
B. Alpha Centauri.
C. Polaris.
D. the Moon.
76. A star’s brightness tells us
A. how much energy a star produces.
C. its rotational speed.
B. its surface temperature.
D. both A &B.
77. A star’s color tells us
A. how much energy a star produces.
C. its rotational speed.
B. its surface temperature.
D. both A & B.
78. Which star will emit the shortest wavelength of its peak frequency?
A. A blue star
B. A yellow star
C. A red star
79. Thermonuclear fusion occurs mainly in the
A. cores of stars.
B. outer layers of stars.
D. A green star
C. both, actually.
80. Giant stars
A. are close to exhausting their supply of hydrogen.
B. have already exhausted their supply of hydrogen.
C. are close to exhausting their supply of helium.
D. have already exhausted their supply of helium.
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
81. The longest living stars are those of
A. low mass.
B. high mass.
C. intermediate mass.
82. The H-R Diagram, an important tool of astronomers, relates stellar temperature to stellar
A. distance.
B. mass.
C. color.
D. brightness.
83. A star stabilizes when
A. thermal pressure and gravitational attraction balance each other.
B. the star’s gravity is balanced by the gravitational attraction to neighboring stars.
C. the star first ignites.
D. it reaches temperatures of about 3 million K.
84. What is the determining factor in the stages a star will progress through from birth to death?
A. Its mass
B. Its temperature
C. Its constituents
D. Its relative density
85. How is a larger star like an SUV, while a smaller star is like a hybrid vehicle?
A. The larger the star, the faster it burns fuel.
B. The larger the star, the more likely it is to explode.
C. The larger the star, the shorter its life span.
D. Larger stars have only one source of energy.
86. What will be the predominant element within the Sun after it has died?
A. Helium
B. Nitrogen
C. Carbon
D. Phosphorous
87. Supernova are one of the most extreme events in the known universe. They are caused by
A. the implosion of a white dwarf, which has run out of all its fuel.
B. a supermassive supergiant star undergoing a massive nuclear chain reaction.
C. the collapse of a supermassive supergiant star.
D. Any of the above scenarios are valid.
88. A white dwarf is a former
A. low-mass star.
B. high-mass star.
C. white giant.
89. What determines if a star becomes a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole?
A. The principal factor is mass
B. The principal factor is density
C. The principal factor is temperature
D. The principal factor is luminosity
90. The “redshift” of a galaxy refers to the rate
A. at which it is receding.
C. at which it is spinning.
B. at which it is approaching.
D. of its fusion.
91. Earth is closest to the Sun in January.
A. True
B. False
92. Earth is closest to the Sun in July.
A. True
B. False
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
93. The angular distance north and south of the celestial equator is called right ascension.
A. True
B. False
94. Which of the following colors has the longest wavelength?
A. blue
B. violet
C. green
D. red
95. One of the most common units used to express stellar distance is the
A. mile.
B. meter.
C. light-year.
D. kilometer.
Using the diagram below, identify the different types of galaxies.
96.
97.
98.
99.
a.
a.
a.
a.
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
b.
b.
b.
b.
Spiral
Spiral
Spiral
Spiral
c.
c.
c.
c.
Barred Spiral
Barred Spiral
Barred Spiral
Barred Spiral
d.
d.
d.
d.
Irregular
Irregular
Irregular
Irregular
100. The distance to stars can be determined from
A. fluorescence.
B. stellar parallax.
C. stellar mass.
101. The Sun belongs to this class of stars:
A. black hole.
B. main-sequence star.
C. red giant.
D. white dwarf.
102. The most dense objects in the universe are known as black holes.
A. True
B. False
103. Pluto is now classified as a _____________ in our solar system.
A. terrestrial planet B. Jovian planet
C. dwarf planet
104. The Sun produces energy by converting:
A. oxygen nuclei to carbon dioxide.
C. carbon monoxide to oxygen nuclei.
D. comet
B. oxygen nuclei to nitrogen nuclei.
D. hydrogen nuclei to helium nuclei.
105. Blue stars are cooler than red stars.
A. True
B. False
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PHYS1014/1013 Spring 2014 Professor: Kenny L. Tapp SAMPLE EXAM 1
Using the diagram below, identify the different phases of the Moon.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
a.
New Moon
New Moon
New Moon
New Moon
New Moon
New Moon
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
b.
Waxing Gibbous
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Waxing Gibbous
First Quarter
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Third Quarter
Full Moon
Third Quarter
Third Quarter
112. Which spaceflight landed the first humans on the Moon?
A. Apollo 10
B. Apollo 11
C. Apollo 12
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
d.
Waning Gibbous
Waning Crescent
Full Moon
Waning Crescent
Waning Crescent
Full Moon
D. Apollo 13
END OF SAMPLE EXAM 1
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