Download Astronomy 1010 final review sample topics

Astronomy 1010 final review sample topics
1. What is the galaxy?
a.) a large number of stars; they are attracted to each other by gravity
b.) a planet and one or more moons; they are attracted to each other by gravity
c.) the sum total of all matter and energy that exists; the material is attracted to each other by gravity
d.) a star, and a collection of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets; they are attracted to each other by gravity
2. From the point of view of a person at the Earth’s equator (not from the point of view of the someone floating in
space):
a.) each night stars move in the sky in the direction of going from east to west and each successive night the
stars are slightly displaced relative to where they were the night before
b.) stars do not move in the sky during a single night, but instead each successive night the stars are slightly
displaced relative to where they were the night before
c.) stars do not move in the sky during a single night and do not move from one night to the next
3. There are lunar eclipses and there are solar eclipses, but neither of these occurs when the moon is in the quarter
moon phase. Why is that?
4. Some ancient cultures used solar calendars, some ancient cultures used lunar calendars, and some ancient cultures used both. Lunar calendars have a typical length of time that they keep track of. That length of time is
approximately:
a.) 60 minutes
b.) 24 hours
c.) 30 days
d.) 365 days
5. Imagine an interstellar gas cloud that is slowly spinning, but shrinking in size. While it is shrinking:
a.) its radius increases and its rotation rate stays the same
b.) its radius decreases and its rotation rate decreases
c.) its radius decreases, but its rotation rate stays the same
d.) its radius decreases, but its rotation rate increases
6. Based on Newton’s version of Kepler’s 3rd Law [p2 = 4π 2 a3 /G(M1 + M2 )], we can conclude that planets that
are further from the Sun:
a.) have shorter rotation periods than planets that are closer to the Sun
b.) have longer rotation periods than planets that are closer to the Sun
c.) have shorter orbital periods than planets that are closer to the Sun
d.) have longer orbital periods than planets that are closer to the Sun
7. Consider the light emitted by “blackbody” objects, such as stars and planets. Imagine two stars, the Sun and
another star whose radius is 1/2 the Sun’s radius and whose temperature is twice the Sun’s temperature. The
brightest part of the Sun’s spectrum (specifically, the peak in its spectrum):
a.) is at a shorter wavelength than that of the other star
b.) is at the same wavelength as that of the other star
c.) is at a longer wavelength than that of the other star