Astro 115 Spring 2000 Lynda Williams
Sample Test 1
Some questions are missing the graphic - you can get an idea of what the problem is like. Also, some exponents dropped out on a few probelms... still...these are what the problems will be like.
1. How many centimeters are there in one kilometer?
a. 100
b. 1000
c. 10,000
d. 100,000
e. 1 x 106
2. How many kilometers are there in a meter?
a. 100
b. 1000
c. 10,000
d. 0.01
e. 0.001
3. The average distance from Earth to the sun is
a. 1 ly
b. 1 million km
c. 1 million miles
d. 1 billion km
e. 1 AU
4. If the nearest star is 4.2 light-years away, then
a. the star is 4.2 million AU away.
b. the light we see left the star 4.2 years ago.
c. the star must have formed 4.2 billion years ago.
d. the star must be very young.
e. the star must be very old.
5. The Andromeda Galaxy is at a distance of 2.2 million light years. What does this statement tell us about the Andromeda Galaxy?
a. The Andromeda Galaxy is located within the Milky Way Galaxy
b. The Andromeda Galaxy is not part of the Local Group.
c. The light from the Andromeda Galaxy has taken 2.2 ´ 106 years to reach Earth.
d. The Andromeda Galaxy can be no more than 2.2 million years old.
e. The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.
6. A galaxy contains
a. primarily planets.
b. lots of gas and dust but very few stars.
c. lots of gas, dust, and stars.
d. a single star and planets.
e. thousands of superclusters.
7. The radius of the moon's orbit is about ________ times larger than the radius of Earth.
a. 0.6
b. 6
c. 60
d. 600
e. 6000
8. The Milky Way Galaxy
a. contains about 100 billion stars.
b. is about 100 light-years in diameter.
c. is the largest known object in the universe.
d. all of the above
e. contains about 100 billion stars, and is the largest known object in the universe.
9. 2.9 x 107 is the same as
a. 2.9 thousand
b. 29 thousand
c. 290 thousand
d. 2.9 million
e. 29 million
10. 4.63 x 109 is the same as
a. 4,630,000,000
b. 463,000,000
c. 46,300,000
d. 4,630,000
e. 4.63 million
11. If light takes 8 minutes to reach Earth from the sun and 1.3 hours to reach Saturn, what is the distance from the sun to Saturn?
a. 1.3 AU
b. 10.4 AU
c. 9.75 AU
d. 1.3 ly
e. 0.16 ly
12. Earth has a radius of about 6400 km, the sun has a radius of about 7.0 ´ 105 km, and a rubber ball has a radius of 6.4 cm. If you were to construct a scale model of the solar system using the rubber ball to represent Earth, what is the radius of a ball needed to represent the sun in your model?
a. 7.0 ´ 105 cm
b. 7.0 cm
c. 700 cm
d. 70 cm
e. 7000 cm
13. Precession of the rotation axis of Earth is caused by
a. the force of gravity from the sun and moon on Earth's equatorial bulge.
b. the force of gravity from the sun and Jupiter on the Earth-moon system.
c. the magnetic field of Earth.
d. the formation and subsequent melting of glaciers during the ice-ages.
e. the impact of asteroids.
14. What is the approximate latitude of the observer in the diagram below?
<<<GRAPHIC>>>
a. 20° N
b. 20° S
c. 70° N
d. 70° S
e. 0°
15. What is the approximate latitude of the observer in the diagram below?
<<<GRAPHIC>>>
a. 90° N
b. 90° S
c. 50° N
d. 50° S
e. 0°
16. You live at a latitude of 28° N. What is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial pole?
a. 62°
b. 28°
c. 40°
d. 231/2°
e. 5°
17. Which star in the table below would not be visible to the unaided eye of an observer on Earth?
<<<GRAPHIC>>>
a. a Cet
b. a CMa
c. Nim
d. r Per
e. d Dra
18. Which star in the table below would appear the brightest to an observer on Earth?
<<<GRAPHIC>>>
a. a Cet
b. a CMa
c. Nim
d. r Per
e. d Dra
19. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere watches the sky for several hours. Due to the motion of Earth, this observer notices that the stars near the north celestial pole appear to move
a. counter clockwise.
b. clockwise.
c. from left to right.
d. from right to left.
e. nearly vertically upward.
20. Seen from the northern latitudes, the star Polaris
a. is never above the horizon during the day.
b. always sets directly in the west.
c. is always above the northern horizon.
d. is never visible during the winter.
e. is the brightest star in the sky.
21. An observer on Earth's equator would find
a. Polaris directly overhead.
b. Polaris 40° above the northern horizon.
c. the celestial equator coincides with the horizon.
d. the celestial equator passing directly overhead.
e. that the ecliptic coincides with the horizon.
22. The celestial equator is
a. a line around the sky directly above Earth's equator.
b. the dividing line between the north and south celestial hemispheres.
c. the path that the sun appears to follow on the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the sun.
d. Both a line around the sky directly above the Earth's equation, and the dividing line between the north and south celestial hemispheres.
e. Both a line around the sky directly above Earth's equator, and the path that the sun appears to follow on the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the sun.
23. The ________ is the point on the celestial sphere directly above any observer.
a. north celestial pole
b. south celestial pole
c. zenith
d. celestial equator
e. asterism
24. The _____________ is 18 years and 111/3 days long.
a. sidereal period
b. synodic period
c. eclipse season
d. saros cycle
e. eclipse year
25. The sun moves
a. about one degree westward each day.
b. about one degree eastward each day.
c. about 360 degrees westward each day.
d. about 360 degrees eastward each day.
e. along the celestial equator.
26. The diagram below shows three approximate locations of the sun along the western horizon. Which number indicates the location of the sun at sunset on December 21 for an observer at a latitude of 48° S?
<<<GRAPHIC>>>
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. The sun will set in the east for an observer in the southern hemisphere.
e. The sun will not set on December 21 at this latitude.
27. At what two celestial locations do the celestial equator and ecliptic coincide?
a. winter solstice and summer solstice
b. vernal equinox and autumnal equinox
c. they coincide at all points because they are the same.
d. north celestial pole and south celestial pole
e. zenith and east point
28. The sun is on the celestial equator at the times of
a. the vernal equinox and the summer solstice.
b. the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox.
c. the summer solstice and the winter solstice.
d. the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
e. the sun is on the ecliptic and is never on the celestial equator.
29. The ecliptic is
a. the center line of the zodiac.
b. the projection of Earth's orbit on the sky.
c. the apparent path of the sun around the sky.
d. all of the above
e. none of these
30. The point in Earth's orbit when Earth is farthest from the sun is known as
a. aphelion.
b. perihelion.
c. precession.
d. the winter solstice
e. Both aphelion, and the winter solstice.
31. The point in Earth's orbit when Earth is closest to the sun is known as
a. aphelion.
b. perihelion.
c. precession.
d. the winter solstice
e. Both aphelion, and the winter solstice.
32. The planet(s) of our solar system that are never visible to the naked eye are
a. Pluto.
b. Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto.
c. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
d. Neptune and Pluto.
e. Mercury and Venus.
33. On the vernal equinox the sun is
a. 231/2° north of the celestial equator.
b. 231/2° south of the celestial equator.
c. on the celestial equator and moving north with respect to the equator.
d. on the celestial equator and moving south with respect to the equator.
e. closest to the north celestial pole.
34. A solar or lunar eclipse will occur
a. when the sun is near the line of nodes of the moon and the moon is new or full.
b. any time the moon is new or full.
c. when the sun is near the solstice and the moon is new or full.
d. half way through an eclipse year.
e. when the sun is near the equinox and the moon is new or full.
35. An eclipse season is the period of time during which the
a. moon crosses a node in its orbit.
b. sun crosses a node in the moon's orbit.
c. line of nodes crosses the moon's orbit.
d. the moon is new or full.
e. the moon is visible during the day.
36. Spring tides occur
a. at new moon and first quarter moon.
b. at first quarter and third quarter moons.
c. at new moon and full moon.
d. at third quarter and full moons.
e. at noon and midnight.
37. ___________ occur when the moon is first or third quarter.
a. Neap tides
b. Spring tides
c. Total solar eclipses
d. Annular eclipses
e. A coppery red moon will
38. The __________ moon is visible above the western horizon a couple of hours before sunrise.
a. waning gibbous
b. waxing gibbous
c. waxing crescent
d. waning crescent
e. new moon
39. A waxing crescent moon is visible
a. near the eastern horizon just before sunrise.
b. near the eastern horizon just after sunset.
c. near the western horizon just before sunrise.
d. near the western horizon just after sunset.
e. from sunset until sunrise
40. The moon moves about _________ eastward in the sky each night.
a. 1°
b. 5°
c. 13°
d. 27.3°
e. 29.5°
41. A totally eclipsed moon glows coppery red because
a. the moon' surface is made of iron ore which is red in color.
b. red light is cooler than blue light.
c. during a lunar eclipse the sun is cooler than normal and its light is more red.
d. only red light is able to pass completely through Earth's atmosphere and reach the moon.
e. The moon appears red during a total solar eclipse, not a total lunar eclipse.
42. The first quarter moon rises
a. at about noon.
b. at sunset.
c. at sunrise.
d. at about midnight.
e. during the second week of each calendar month.
43. Total lunar eclipses always occur at the time
a. of new moon.
b. of full moon.
c. either equinox.
d. either solstice.
e. that the sun is directly overhead.
44. When will the full moon be highest above the southern horizon for an observer in the Northern Hemisphere?
a. at midnight near the summer solstice
b. at midnight near the vernal equinox
c. at midnight near the winter solstice
d. at midnight near the vernal equinox
e. The angle between the southern horizon and the full moon at midnight does not change with the seasons.
45. The moon has an angular diameter of 0.5°. What is the moon's angular diameter in minutes of arc?
a. 0.5
b. 30
c. 50
d. 1800
e. 60.5
46. Which of the following people did not accept a heliocentric model for the universe?
a. Kepler
b. Copernicus
c. Tycho
d. Galileo
e. Newton
47. The book "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium"
a. describes how Galileo's observations and Kepler's calculations proved the Copernican theory.
b. describes the construction of Galileo's telescope and his observations.
c. is a dialog written to convince the general public of the merits of the Copernican theory.
d. first described the Copernican theory.
e. describes the Tychonian theory.
48. Ptolemy's model of the universe
a. was heliocentric.
b. included elliptical orbits.
c. contained epicycles.
d. all of the above
e. none of these
49. Tycho's universe was the same as the Copernican universe except that
a. Earth did not move.
b. the sun did not move.
c. the moon orbited the sun.
d. the orbits were elliptical with the sun at one focus.
e. the orbits followed uniform circular motion.
50. When we say that gravitation is universal we mean that
a. it is important in all aspects of science.
b. it could be deduced from the appearance of the universe.
c. for every force there is an equal and opposite force.
d. the force of gravity from one object extends to infinity.
e. it is a property of all matter.
51. Kepler's first law of planetary motion implies that
a. a planet moves at a constant speed at all points in its orbit.
b. the distance that a planet is from the sun depends on the mass of the planet.
c. uniform circular motion is adequate to describe the motion of all planets.
d. the distance between the planet and the sun changes as the planet orbits the sun.
e. planets closer to the sun than Earth will show retrograde motion.
52. Gravity obeys an inverse square relation. This statement implies that the force due to gravity between two masses
a. will increase as the distance between the two masses increases.
b. will decrease as the square of the distance between the two masses increases.
c. will cause the two masses to move away from each other.
d. will cause the two masses to move in a straight line.
e. will cause the two masses to orbit each other.
53. The force due to gravity between two objects depends on
I. the mass of each object.
II. the distance each object is from Earth.
III. the distance between the two objects.
IV. the speed of light.
a. I & II
b. I & III
c. II & IV
d. I, II, & III
e. I, II, III, & IV