Download Sem one 2011 review KEY

Semester One Final Exam Review
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1.
How is the origin of solar systems related to the formation of stars? SS comes from remnants of previous stars, and the process of
contraction of a nebula to form stars also forms planets.
2.
Why are the outer planets of our solar system composed primarily of lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium? Driven off of the inner
planets early in the ss formation by the heat of the sun, leaving only rocky bits.
3.
Explain the process of nuclear fusion - the energy of the stars. Great heat forces elements to physically combine into different elements, and
some of the mass is converted into energy, following Einstein’s famous formula: E=mC 2
4.
What are the phases of the moon, in order? New, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning
crescent, new.
5.
What causes phases of the moon? (A drawing is required as well as a written response.) Short answer: viewing angle from Earth.
6.
Explain the process of a super nova. In massive stars the fusion goes so far that it creates a large iron core in the expanding red super giant
star. As it expands and then quickly contracts, the matter of the perimeter crashes into the hot iron core, and then is launched in all
directions in a massive ejection of mass known as a super nova.
7.
How is the “red shift” used in astronomy? To determine the direction of movement of distant stars.
8.
The big bang has some supporting evidence. Explain it here. Seems to be expanding from a central point, the oldest stars in space- quasars,
pulsars- are on the “leading edge” of the expanding material
9.
What are the differences between an open universe and a closed universe? Open= Big bang then expansion forever. Closed or oscillating=
Big bang, big crunch, repeat.
10. What does the HR diagram tell us about stars? Relationship between temperature and luminosity (brightness)
11. Place the following color of stars in order from coolest to hottest: yellow, red, blue. Red, yellow, blue
12. What is “absolute magnitude” when referring to stars?
13. Draw the sun, and label the layers.
14. What is a protostar? A new star forming, when fusion has begun.
15. What is a black hole, and how is it formed? End of a super massive star, following a super nova, when the gravity is so great that the matter
shrinks to something the size of a planet or smaller, with such great gravity that even light cannot escape it.
16. What causes the moon to shine in our night sky? Reflected sun light.
17. What causes a lunar eclipse? (Draw a picture!!) SUN Earth moon; the shadow of earth falls on the Moon.
18. What two forces must balance to make a star stable? Expansion from the heat of fusion, contraction from gravity.
19. Why is it predicted that our star, the Sun, will not end up as a black hole? It is not massive enough, and will be a white dwarf instead.
20. Why does everything in the universe seem to rotate, or revolve around something else? As small bits of matter crash together they hit at
angles, causing them to spin. This process repeats as the collective size grows- recall the square dancing demo.
21. What kind of star(s) are smaller than Earth? Neutron is the safe answer, although some other dwarfs can be too.
22. What does a spectrograph do? Shows light broken into its component parts; used in astronomy to figure out the elements in a distant star.
23. What percentage of stars are “main sequence” stars, as identified on the HR diagram? ~90%
24. What does parallax do for astronomers? Explain the process. Determines the distance to stars using their apparent shift in position as we
watch from earth in winter and then 186 million miles away from that spot in summer.
25. How many Earths could fit inside the sun? ~1million
26. What are sunspots? Storms on the suns surface that are cooler than the surrounding area.
27. What is solar wind? Charged particles and energy emitted from the sun and all stars. It interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field to create
“northern lights”.
28. Within a star matter is converted into different matter and energy.
29. As the process described in the previous question occurs, what happens to the gravity of the star? Decreases
30. The most common element in an average star is Hydrogen
31. The color of a star represents its temperature and direction of movement relative to the viewer.
32. How do we know that the Earth is not at the center of our solar system? All of the planets revolve around the Sun, not the Earth.
33. Why do we always see the same side of the Moon? The Moon’s orbit around Earth takes the same amount of time as its’ rotation on its
axis.
34. What is the order of the planets, starting nearest the Sun and moving out? MVEMJSUN
35. A nebula is evidence of what event in stellar evolution? Supernova
36. What is a constellation? A connect the dots picture in the sky made of stars.
37. What is a light year? The DISTANCE light can travel in one year; a convenient method of measuring huge distances in space.
38. Why are different constellations visible in the night sky throughout the year? (A picture might help you with this one.) The difference in
Earth’s position over a year changes what we can see because it is daylight when some constellations are in the sky. Those overhead during
the day change from season to season.
39. The constellation’s locations are very predictable, with little change from day to day. Planets, on the other hand, seem to change location at
a much greater rate. How do you explain this weird truth? They are much closer to us, so small movements are easier to perceive.
40. What causes a star to radiate heat and light? Fusion
41. What makes a Neutron star so dense? The electrons and empty spaces are not between the atoms of the star, but instead on the outside of
the entire star.
42. What is the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion? Fusion: H+H=He + energy; Fission: Uranium splits into “daughter”
elements and releases energy and radiation.
43. What element is the main ingredient of most stars? Hydrogen
44. Some stars in the sky that we can see have been gone for many years. How can this be? They are light years away, and the light that left
them in our direction is still visible to us.
45. Most of the stars we see in the night sky are part of which galaxy? Milky Way
46. A telescope can make it possible to see very distant objects because of magnification and light gathering ability
47. Which color of star is hotter, blue or red? Blue
48. What force pulls the original star materials (gasses and dust) together? Gravity
49. Is the Earth closer to the Sun in northern hemisphere’s winter or summer? Why? Closer in winter, but cooler then because the 23.5 degree
tilt of the Earth is away from the sun.
50. What causes the “phases” of the moon? Viewing angle from earth
51. Which planet is the hottest? Why? Venus; not a s close as Mercury, but with a thick atmosphere that retains the heat.
52. How is astronomy different than astrology? Astronomy is the study of space, while astrology is a pseudo science that is a belief system.
53.Which is bigger, the moon or the sun? Sun
54.What evidence supports the Big Bang theory? Answered earlier in the packet.
55.Why do astronauts come back to Earth weaker than when they left? The lack of gravity makes every physical activity easier- they are not
working out like they do on earth, and they lose muscle mass because of it.
56. Why are days longer in summer than in winter in the northern hemisphere? Again due to the tilt of the earth. In summer we tilt towards the
sun so we receive more direct rays and for a longer period of time.
57. How long does it take Earth to rotate once on its axis? 24 hours
58. How long does the moon take to revolve once around the Earth? ~27.3 days
59. What is the difference between a Jovian planet and a Terrestrial planet? Jovian: made mostly of gas; Terrestrial: made mostly of rock.
60. Define:
Tide- bulge in large masses of water on Earth caused by gravitational attraction towards the Moon.
Perigee- Point in orbit when the moon is closest to the earth.
Wane- get or appear smaller.
Lunar Eclipse- Answered earlier in the packet.
Gibbous Moon- between the full and quarter moon.
Spring Tides- Extra high high tide and extra low low tide; occurs when the gravity of the sun and moon are in alignment.
61. Which phase of the moon immediately follows the First quarter moon? Answered earlier in the packet.
62. What is the gravity of the moon, compared with Earth’s gravity? The moon’s gravity is about 1/6th Earth’s gravity.
63. How are the creation and destruction of tectonic plates related? Both refer to tectonic movement.
64. Describe the most widely accepted theories of the origin of the moon. Simultaneous formation with earth, Bit of earth smashed off by a large
meteor, Captured satellite
65. The moon appears to rotate from east to west around the Earth, but it is an illusion. Explain why the illusion happens. The Earth spins so
much faster than the moon orbits us that it looks like it goes from east to west around us, but when you notice its position night to night you see it
is really going west to east.
66. Given two telescopes one meter long, why is the focal length greater on the reflector than on the refractor? It has 2 times the focal length and
so double the magnification of a refractor.
67 As planets revolve around the Sun, their speed changes. When is it the fastest? (A diagram might help.) When they are closest to the Sun.
68. Draw a seismograph.
69. Draw an H-R Diagram
70. What force causes the planets to maintain their orbits around the sun? Gravity
71. How was the solar system formed? Answered earlier in the packet.
72. Why might it be very important to know the constellations? Too find your way if lost.
73.What is matter? Anything that has mass and volume.
74. The Doppler effect and the red shift are similar. Explain this. Both involve the compression or expanding of waves caused by a body in
motion.
75. Why are most small meteors that enter Earth’s atmosphere not dangerous to us? Burn up in the atmosphere, never reaching the surface.
76. What are the three biggest challenges facing a colony of humans on the moon? No oxygen, temperature extremes, too little water.
77. How many tectonic plates are there? 15, 8 major ones
78. What is “cosmology”? The study of the origin of the universe.
79. Which phase of the moon immediately follows the full moon? Waning gibbous
80. Explain the “oscillating universe theory”. Big bang, Big Crunch, repeat.
81. What is a “main sequence star” found in the HR diagram? The description of the majority of a star’s existence, 90% of its time is spent as a
main sequence star, from when it is a protostar until it is about to expire.
82. What determines the fate of a star? (Why do some become red giants and others become white dwarfs?) Mass, which causes them to have
different temperatures.
83. Compare and contrast reflector and refractor telescopes. Refractors guide light through a primary lens, and focus it on another lens in the
ocular (eye piece). Reflectors bounce light from the rear of the scope to the ocular up front, making the focal length of the scope longer.
84. Why is the Sun hot? fusion
85. Why is H20 so important to the climate of Earth?
86. Draw the following constellations that we studied:
Pleides
Cassiopia
Capricornus
Ursa Major
Sagittarius
Ursa Minor
Scorpius
Polaris
Aquila
Orion
Cygnus
Canis Major
Lyra
Canis Minor
Pegasus
Gemini
Draco
Auriga
Leo
Taurus
87. How is telescope magnification calculated? Focal length of scope divided by the size of the eyepiece.
88.
21.4 ml= .00214 Dl ( KHDmdcm will be provide on the exam)
89.
.0009Km = ______90______cm
90 .To measure mass in the metric system, the standard unit is the grams.
91.To measure volume in the metric system, the standard unit is the liter.
92. To measure distance in the metric system, the standard unit is the meter.
93. A centimeter is about…..half an inch
94. A liter is about ….a quart
95. T / F
96.
Stars are about the same size as the earth.
99.99cg = .9999_g
97. If the Sun becomes a red giant star, as it may well be one day, what will happen to the Earth? Fried!
98. If the Sun were a blue star rather than a yellow star, the temperature on Earth would change. Would that change be an increase or decrease in
temperature? Much hotter
99. Data is generated during which step of the scientific method? Experiment
100. “I think that a barking dog is less likely to bite than a quiet dog.” What part of the scientific method does this represent? hypothesis
101. “When I tested my idea about barking dogs, the quiet dog bit me.” What part of the scientific method does this represent? Results
102. A manufacturer claims that their product can “kill germs that can cause bad breath”. Design an experiment to test their claim. Be certain to
include controls and variables.
103. How old is the universe? 8-15 billion years old
104. Which is faster, the speed of light or the speed of sound? light
105. Why are people weightless in space? No gravity pulling them to a large object like earth
106. How do you change units within the metric system? Divide or multiply by a factor of ten.
107. What constellation help you find the North star? Cassiopeia or Ursa Major are easiest.
108. Summer is warmer than winter because… we are tilted towards the sun.
109. On five topographic maps identify the following:
a. Map name-(Lower right corner)
b. Contour interval- (Middle bottom)
c. Declination- (Lower left corner, larger degree number)
110. Be prepared to identify the following by sight:
Anticline Syncline
Horn Tarn Cirque
Circular Hogback Butte Unconformity
Terminal Moraine Esker Meander
Playa lake Alluvial fan Fault block
Sand bar Continental Shelf and Continental slope
Promontory Oxbow lake Delta
Caldera Braided stream Sill and Dike.
Hogback Fault block
Mesa Butte Lava flow