Download Midterm Review -- Astronomy Unit

ESS 100 (Stapleton)
Midterm Review – Astronomy Unit
Name: _________________________________
Part 1: Objects In Space
1.
List the planets, in order from closest to the sun to farthest from the sun.
2.
What is the name for an object in space that is made of dust and ice and is often called a “dirty snowball?”
3.
What is the source of the sun’s energy?
4.
What is the name for millions or billions of stars held together by gravity?
a. nebula
b. supernova c. Solar System
d. Universe
e. Galaxy
5.
Which planets have rings?
a. Some inner planets b. All inner planets
c. Some outer planets d. All outer planets
6.
Which planets are the coldest? Why?
7.
This is a cloud of dust and “frozen gas” that may evolve into a solar system.
a. comet
b. Galaxy
c. nebula
d. constellation
8.
Which planets are mostly gas?
a. Inner planets
b. Outer planets
c. neither
How many stars are in a binary system?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 10
d. 1,000
9.
10.
What shape is the Milky Way galaxy?
a. Irregular
b. Elliptical
c. Spiral
11.
What is at the center of a black hole?
a. nothing (blackness) b. a huge star
d. nothing but gravity e. lost socks
f. constellation
e. 1,000,000
f. 1,000,000,000
c. a dense point of matter
12.
If the tail of a comet points to the right, what does that mean?
a. The comet is moving to the right
b. The comet is moving to the left
c. The sun is to the right of the comet
d. The sun is to the left of the comet
13.
Chunks of rocks floating in space outside the Earth’s atmosphere:
a. Meteorites b. Meteors
c. Asteroids
14.
Chunks of rocks falling through the Earth’s atmosphere:
a. Meteorites b. Meteors
c. Asteroids
15.
Chunks of rocks that fell from outer space and are now sitting on the Earth’s surface:
a. Meteorites b. Meteors
c. Asteroids
16.
What is the name for the giant explosions that occur on the Sun?
17.
What is the closest galaxy to us, other than the Milky Way?
18.
Where is the asteroid belt? Describe its precise location.
23.
If black holes are truly black, how can scientists “see” that they are there?
24.
The Big Dipper is a circumpolar constellation. Explain what makes it circumpolar?
Part 2: Formation of the Solar System
25.
In the earliest stage of our Solar System’s life, it was not called a Solar System. It was a cloud of dust and
gas called…
a. Galaxy
b. Supernova c. Comet
d. Nebula
e. Star Cluster
26.
How would you describe our solar system’s motion during its very earliest stages, when it was still just a
cloud of dust and ice?
a. Motionless b. Slowly rotating
c. Rapidly Rotating
d. Moving away from the sun
27.
Before the sun was born, the early solar system began to shrink and heat up.
a. Why did it shrink?
b. Why did it heat up?
28.
Our Earth is orbiting the Sun. This orbit represents a balance; we do not fly away from the sun, and we do
not fall into the sun. What is preventing us from flying away from the sun?
a. Gravity
b. Momentum/inertia
c. Our magnetic field d. Attractions between Protons and Electrons
29.
What is preventing us from falling into the sun?
a. Gravity
b. Momentum/inertia
c. Our magnetic field d. Attractions between Protons and
Electrons
30.
The diagram on the right shows an orbiting “object.” If the string
breaks at the position shown in the picture, in which direction
will the object travel?
a. ↑ b. ↓ c. ← d. →
31.
If the Earth were suddenly released from its orbit around the sun,
what type of path would it follow?
a. A wavy line b. A spiral
c. A U-turn
d. A straight line
32.
When the speed of our Solar System’s rotation first began to increase, what shape did the solar system
become?
33.
Nuclear Fusion is the process that powers our sun. In order for nuclear fusion to begin in our solar
system, what type of environment was necessary?
a. Low Pressure and Cold
b. High Pressure and Heat
c. Rapid Spinning
d. Plenty of Rock and Metal
34.
In the equation, E=mc2, the letter “c” represents:
a. speed of light
b. earth’s crust
c. mass
35.
d. cooling
4.6 Billion years ago, the solar system was primarily dust and ice. The ice is often referred to as “frozen
gases.”
a. The dust was made of two kinds of materials. List one of those materials.
b. The ice was made primarily of two elements (kinds of materials). List one of those elements.
36.
Nuclear fusion powers our sun. What is the main fuel that our sun uses in the nuclear fusion process?
37.
What material is produced when the fuel from #14 fuses in our sun?
38.
In our solar system, there are terrestrial (“rocky”) planets, and there are gas giants. The gas giants have
very thick gas layers, while the rocky planets have relatively thin atmospheres.
a. Where are the “rocky” planets in our solar system?
b. Explain why the rocky planets do not have large gas layers.
Part 3: Formation of The Earth
39.
Scientists think that the early Earth was completely molten. According to the video, what caused the
Earth to heat up to the point that it melted completely?
a. spinning
b. nuclear fusion
c. plate movement
d. radioactive rocks
40.
As soon as the Earth melted, layers began to form. Why did the Earth’s materials separate into different
layers?
a. Plate tectonics shifted the material.
b. Dense materials sank to the core.
c. Cooling of the Earth caused layers to separate.
d. Nuclear fusion in the Earth created iron in the core.
41.
What method did scientists use to figure out the actual age of the earth?
a. Radiometric dating
b. Measuring the Earth’s size
c. Measuring the heights of mountains
d. Measuring the Earth’s temperature
43.
Scientists used rock samples to find the true age of the earth. Where did they get those samples?
a. The Earth’s Surface b. Meteorites c. Deep inside Earth
d. Amazon.com
44.
Based on the most accurate measurements, how old is the Earth?
a. 1.5 billion years
b. 2.5 billion years
c. 3.5 billion years
d. 4.5 billion years
45.
There is not as much iron in the moon as there is in the Earth. This is a clue suggesting that the moon
formed from material that came from ____________________________________________________.
a. Earth’s crust b. Earth’s Core
c. Meteors
d. The Asteroid Belt
46.
Scientists think that much of the Earth’s water came from________________________.
a. Aliens
b. Inside the Earth
c. Bacteria
d. meteorites
47.
The discovery of ___________________ in meteorites suggest that the building blocks of life came from
space.
a. DNA
b. Amino acids
c. Bacteria
d. Living Cells
48.
Before about 3.5 billion years ago, there was no oxygen on the Earth. Scientists think the Earth’s oxygen
was first produced by _________________________________________________________________?
a. Volcanoes b. Trees
c. Breathing Organisms
d. Blue-green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
49.
Where did most of our planet’s coal, oil, and gas deposits come from?
a. Decaying plants
b. Skeletons
c. Meteors
d. The Moon
Part 4: Star Lifetimes
50.
Which of the waves on the right has the longest wavelength?
A
B
C
D
E
51.
List the colors of the rainbow in order, from shortest wavelength to longest
wavelength.
52.
Rank these star colors from hottest to coolest: orange, white, blue, red, yellow
53.
What do all main sequence stars have in common?
a. They are red giants.
b. They are white dwarfs.
c. They all die as supernovae.
d. They are medium sized stars.
e. Their nuclear fuel is hydrogen.
54.
What is the heaviest element that can be created by fusion in a very large star?
a. Hydrogen
b. Helium
c. Carbon
d. Oxygen
e. Iron
#55-58. Matching Choices:
a. Neutron Star
d. Black Hole
b. Supernova
e. Red Giant
c. White Dwarf
f. Main sequence Star
55.
Right now, our sun is best described as a:
a
b
c
d
e
f
56.
In its next stage of life, our sun will become a:
a
b
c
d
e
f
57.
In its last stage of life, our sun will be a:
a
b
c
d
e
f
58.
Very massive stars become supergiants. After the supergiant stage, what happens next in a massive
star’s life?
a
b
c
d
e
f
59.
When a star is destroyed in a supernova, which of the following is not a possible fate of the leftover
material?
a. It can form a neutron star.
b. It can turn into a main sequence star.
c. It can form a black hole.
d. It can be recycled into another nebula.
60.
In the diagram on the
right, which star is a red
giant?
A
B
C
D
E
61.
In the diagram on the
right, which star is a
white dwarf? A
B
C
D
E
62.
In the diagram on the
right, which star is most
similar to our sun?
A
B
C
D
E
63.
Which of the stars in the diagram are main sequence stars? (select all that apply) A
B
64.
When we observe the light from a star that is moving away from us, the light waves are:
a. unchanged
b. blue-shifted
c. red-shifted
C
D
E
65.
Briefly describe two pieces of evidence that support the Big Bang theory.
Evidence:
Evidence:
66.
The early universe was mostly Hydrogen and Helium. Now there are at least 92 different elements on
Earth. Where did all of the other elements (other than Hydrogen and helium) come from?
a. How were the lighter elements created? These “lighter” elements include carbon, oxygen, nitrogen,
phosphorus, iron and all of the other elements that are lighter than iron.
b. How were the heaviest elements (heavier than iron) created?