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Astro C10 Jeopardy (Midterm #1 Review)
Nicholas McConnell
Fall 2006
Rules for students:
1. Arrange yourselves in five groups, with approximately equal numbers in each group.
If you are in a big group, it is in your interest to move to a smaller one, because then you
will get a bigger cut of your new group’s candy.
2. There are five questions in each of 6 categories. The questions range in value from 1
piece of candy to 5 pieces of candy (apparently a piece of candy in Astro C10 Discussion
is worth $100--$200 if we are playing Double Jeopardy).
3. Each question will be initially read to the group that selects it. That group has 30
seconds to discuss before they pose a response to the question. Each turn, a different
person from your group should pose the group’s “final answer”. If necessary, I will
select a person at random from your group to give the response. Responses do NOT
have to be in question form.
4. If the question is answered incorrectly or passed on, it will be open to the other four
groups. The first group to “buzz in” by waving the sheet of paper with Alex Trebek’s
face will have 15 seconds to answer. Again, only one person should pose the response.
5. At that point (whether the question was answered correctly or not), the last group to
respond will get to pick a category and candy value for the next question.
6. No person may respond twice until everyone in his/her group has responded once.
7. The first person to arrive at section (or the person seated closest to the doorknob if you
beat me there) will get to pick the initial category and candy value to start off the game.
8. I will give out “partial credit candy” for some responses.
9. Candy should be shared democratically within your
group.
Category #1: Light and Spectra
1 piece: Which moves faster through a vacuum: blue light or red light?
2 pieces: What spectral features tell us about an object’s chemical composition?
3 pieces: If a 5-nm photon has an energy of 6 Trebeks, what is the energy of a 10-nm photon?
4 pieces: In the lab, Trebekium emits a spectral line at 350 GHz. The same line appears in a star’s
spectrum at 351 GHz. What does this tell us about the star?
5 pieces: What is the temperature of an object whose peak wavelength is 2.9 x 10 -7 m?
Category #2: Telescopes and the Atmosphere
1 piece: Where do we put telescopes when we want to get rid of all atmospheric effects?
2 pieces: What is the difference between a reflecting telescope and a refracting telescope?
3 pieces: How much more light does a 12-m telescope collect than a 3-m telescope?
4 pieces: True or false (and why?): By putting bigger and bigger telescopes on Lick Observatory, we can
always improve our resolution.
5 pieces: Why is the sky blue during the day, but red near the setting sun?
Category #3: The Moon, Eclipses, and the Celestial Sphere
1 piece: If the moon was full two nights ago, what phase is it now?
2 pieces: What part of the sun does a total solar eclipse allow us to see?
3 pieces: Why do solar and lunar eclipses occur as infrequently as they do?
4 pieces: If you live on the equator, how much of the celestial sphere can you see over the course of a year?
5 pieces: What phase is the moon during a total lunar eclipse? Is it visible, and if so, what color is it?
Category #4: Solar System Orbits
1 piece: What is the shape of orbits in the solar system? Where is the sun?
2 pieces: Why do we experience seasons on Earth?
3 pieces: What is the relationship between orbital speed and distance from the sun?
4 pieces: Planet Calvin orbits the star Suzie at a distance of 2 A.U., with a period of 2 years. What is the
orbital distance of Planet Hobbes, which has a 4-year period?
5 pieces: What are the Ptolemaic and modern explanations for retrograde motion of planets?
Category #5: The Terrestrial Planets
1 piece: Name the four terrestrial planets.
2 pieces: Describe the surface temperature on Mercury.
3 pieces: Mercury’s surface has many more craters than the Earth’s. Why?
4 pieces: Is it likely that humans will turn Earth into the next Venus?
5 pieces: How do we think the moon formed, and what evidence suggests this?
Category #6: Gas Giants
1 piece: Name the four gas giants in the Solar System.
2 pieces: Name two properties that make the gas giants different from the terrestrial planets.
3 pieces: How do planetary rings form?
4 pieces: What process causes the interiors of Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa to heat up (causing volcanoes
on Io and occasional upflows of liquid water on Europa)?
5 pieces: How is living on Uranus analogous to living in Alaska or Norway?