Download Quiz # 1 - Tue 09/15/2011

Quiz # 1 - Tue 09/15/2011
Astronomy 100/190Y – Exploring the Universe — Fall 11
Instructor: Daniela Calzetti
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INSTRUCTIONS: Please, write your first and last name and Student ID on the Scantron
sheet. Choose the letter of the response (by firmly marking the bubble on the Scantron with
a PENCIL) that you think best answers the question.
Do not rush your answer. Use of text book and class notes is allowed.
**** Please, look on both sides of the sheet, there are a total of 9 questions. *****
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1. From the smallest to the largest, what is the correct order of the following distances?
(ly=light year; AU=Astronomical Unit)
A. 1 cm, 1 km, 1 ly, 1 AU
B. 1 AU, 1 ly, 1 cm, 1 km
C. 1 cm, 1 km, 1 AU, 1 ly
D. 1 km, 1 AU, 1 cm, 1 ly
E. 1 km, 1 cm, 1 ly, 1 AU
2. From the smallest to the largest, the correct order of the following objects is:
A. Earth’s orbit, Jupiter, Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System
B. Earth’ orbit, Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System, Jupiter
C. Solar System, Earth’s orbit, Milky Way Galaxy, Jupiter
D. Milky Way Galaxy, Jupiter, Earth’s orbit, Solar System
E. Jupiter, Earth’s orbit, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy
3. Each day, from a point of Earth north of the equator, most stars appear to
A. remain stationary overhead.
B. rise in the east and set in the west.
C. rise in the west and set in the east.
D. move to the north.
E. move to the south.
4. What causes seasons on the planet Earth?
A. The periodic changes in the heat retention of the Earth’s atmosphere.
B. The elliptical orbit of the Moon
C. The alignment of the solar and lunar cycles
D. The Earth’s elliptical orbit, which brings it closer and farther from the SUn
E. The tilt of the Earth’s axis.
5. How many pennies are there in $ 4,712?
A. 4.712 x 104
B. 4.712 x 105
C. 4.712 x 106
D. 4.712 x 107
E. 4.712 x 108
6. If the Sun were a grapefruit in this room, the nearest star (Proxima Centauri) would be
A. a peppercorn about 100 m away.
B. a poppyseed about 15 m away.
C. another grapefruit on the other side of campus.
D. another grapefruit on the West Coast.
E. a soccer ball in Hawaii.
7. From Amherst, at latitude 42ON, Polaris (the North Star) hangs about :
A. 23.5 degrees above the Northern horizon
B. 42 degrees above the Northern horizon
C. 47 degrees above the Southern horizon
D. 23.5 degrees above the Southern horizon
E. 52 degrees above the Northen horizon
8. The group of constellations through which the Sun passes as it moves along the
ecliptic is called:
A. zenith
B. celestial equator
C. equinox
D. zodiac
E. precession
9. If you measure the angle between zenith and Polaris to be 50 degrees, you must be
located at:
A. 0 degrees latitude
B. 50 degrees latitude
C. 40 degrees latitude
D. 0 degrees longitude
E. 50 degrees longitude
SOLUTIONS:
1. C
2. E
3. B
4. E
5. B
6. D
7. B
8. D
9. C