Practice Test Unit 4 Part 2: Astrophysics and Fictitious Forces

Front

What is artificial gravity?

Back

Artificial gravity is a simulated gravitational force created in a spacecraft or space station, typically through rotation or acceleration.

Front

How can we create artificial gravity in space?

Back

By spinning the space station.

Front

True or False: Any object with mass has gravity.

Back

True

Front

What is the Coriolis Effect?

Back

The Coriolis Effect is the apparent deflection of moving objects when viewed in a rotating reference frame, affecting weather patterns and ocean currents.

Front

What causes hurricanes to rotate clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?

Back

The Coriolis Effect.

Front

Why do hurricanes always rotate in the same direction at a given location but water draining from a sink does not?

Back

The Coriolis Effect usually applies to large scales but not small ones.

Front

Why is artificial gravity called 'artificial'?

Back

Because the force being felt is really centripetal acceleration, not gravity.

Front

What is centripetal acceleration?

Back

Centripetal acceleration is the acceleration directed towards the center of a circular path, necessary for an object to maintain circular motion.

Front

What is the difference between mass and weight?

Back

Mass is the amount of matter in an object, while weight is the force exerted by gravity on that mass.

Front

What is the role of mass in gravitational force?

Back

The gravitational force between two objects increases with the mass of the objects.