Worksheetsdiscovering the universe - exam 1
Total questions: 72
Worksheet time: 36mins
Which of the following correctly lists our "cosmic address" from small to large?
earth, solar system, Milky Way, Local group, local supercluster, universe
earth, solar system, local group, local supercluster, Milky Way, universe
earth, Milky Way, solar system, local group, local supercluster, universe
earth, local supercluster, solar system, local group, Milky Way, universe
an astronomical unit is
any planet's average distance from the sun
earth's average distance from the sun
any large astronomical distance
a lightyear
the star Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away. If it explodes tonight,
we'll know because it will be brighter than the full Moon in the sky
we'll know because debris from the explosion will rain down on us from space
we won't know about it until about 600 years from now
we'll never know
if we represent the solar system on a scale that allows us to walk from the Sun to Pluto in a few minutes, then
the planets are the size of basketballs and the nearest stars are a few miles away
the planets are marble-size or smaller and the nearest stars are thousands of miles away
the planets are microscopic and the stars are light years away
the total number of stars in the observable universe is roughly equivalent to
the number of grains of sand on all the beaches on earth
the number of grains of sand on Miami Beach
infinity
the number of lemons to make a jar of lemonade
when the universe is expanding, we mean that
everything in the universe is growing in size
the average distance between galaxies is growing with time
the universe is getting old
the earth is getting smaller
if stars existed by galaxies did not
we would probably still exist anyway
we would not exist because life on earth depends on the light of galaxies
we would not exist because we are made of material that was recycled in galaxies
we would still exist on a different planet
could we see a galaxy that is 50 billion light years away?
yes, if we had a big enough telescope
no, because it would be beyond the bounds of our observable universe
no, because a galaxy could not possibly be that far away
yes, with a satellite
the age of our solar system is about
one-third of the age of the universe
three-fourths of the age of the universe
two billion years less than the age of the universe
5 million years old
the fact that nearly all galaxies are moving away from us, with more distant ones moving faster, helped us to conclude that
the universe is expanding
galaxies repel each other like magnets
our galaxy lies near the center of the universe
there's going to be a massive explosion soon
two stars that are in the same constellation
must both be part of the same cluster of stars in space
must both have been discovered at about the same time
may actually be very far away from each other
the north celestial pole 35° above your northen horizon. this tells you that you are at
latitude 35°N
longitude 35°E
latitude 35°S
longitude 35°W
Beijing and Philedelphia have about the same latitude but different longitudes. Therefore, tonight's night sky in these two places will
look about the same
have completely different sets of constellations
have partially different sets of constellations
look entirely different
in winter, earth's axis points toward the star Polaris. In spring, the asix points toward
Polaris
Vega
Sun
Little dipper
when it is summer in Australia, the season in the US is
winter
summer
spring
fall
if the sun rises precisely due east
you must be located at Earth's equator
it must be the day of either the March or the September equinox
it must be the day of the June solstice
it's the winter solstice
a week after full moon, the moon's phase is
first quarter
third quarter
new
full
the fact that we always see the same face of the moon tells us that the moon
does not rotate
rotates with the same period that it orbits earth
looks the same on both sides
has a man on the moon
if there is going to be a total lunar eclipse tonight, then you know that
the moon's phase is full
the moon's phase is new
the moon is unusually close to earth
the moon
when we see Saturn going through a period of apparent retrograde motion, it means
saturn is temporarily moving backward in its orbit of the saturn
earth is passing saturn in its orbit, with both planets on the same side of the Sun
saturn and earth must be on opposite sides of the sun
saturn and earth must be exactly aligned
in the greek geocentric model, the retrograde motion of a planet occurs when
earth is about to pass the planet in its orbit around the sun
the planet actually goes back in its orbit around earth
the planet is aligned with the moon in our sky
a planet disappears from earth's view
which of the following was not a major advantage of copernicus's sun-centered model over the ptolemaic model?
it made significantly better predictions of planetary positions in our sky
it offered a more natural explanation for the apparent retrograde motion of planets in our sky
it allowed calculation of the orbital periods and distances of the planets
when we say that a planet has a highly eccentric orbit, we mean that
it is spiraling in toward the sun
its orbit is an ellipse with the sun at one focus
in some parts of its orbit it is much closer to the sun than in other parts
it flips in its orbit
earth is closer to the sun in january than in july. therefore, in accord with Kepler's second law
earth travels faster in its orbit around the sun in july than in january
earth travels faster in its orbit around the sun in january than in july
it is summer in january and winter in july
it is night during january and day during july
according to kepler's third law
mercury travels fastest in the part of its orbit in which it is closest to the sun
jupiter orbits the sun at a faster speed than saturn
all the planets have nearly circular orbits
p^3=a^2
galileo's contribution to astronomy included
discovering the laws of planetary motion
discovering the law of gravity
making observations and conducting experiments that dispelled scientific objections to the sun centered model
inventing the names for the planets
which of the following is not true about scientific progress?
science progresses through the creation and testing of models of nature
science advances only through the scientific method
science avoids explanations that invoke the supernatural
which of the following is not true about scientific theory?
a theory must explain a wide range of observations or experiments
even the strongest theories can never be proved true beyond all doubt
a theory is essentially an educated guess
when einstein's theory of gravity (general relativity) gained acceptance, it demonstrated that Newton's theory had been
wrong
incomplete
really only a guess
completely right
a car is accelerating when it is
traveling on a straight, flat road at 50 miles per hour
traveling on a straight uphill road at 30 miles per hour
going around a circular track at a steady 100 miles per hour
winning a formula 1 race
compared to their values on earth, on another planet your
mass and weight would both be the same
mass would be the same but your weight would be different
weight would be the same but your mass would be different
which person is weightless
a child in the air as she plays on a trampoline
a scuba diver exploring a deep-sea wreck
an astronaut on the moon
consider the statement "there's no gravity in space.," this statement is
completely false
false if you are close to a planet or moon, but true in between the planets
completely true
compared to its angular momentum when it is farthest from the sun, earth's angular momentum when it is nearest to the sun is
greater
less
the same
the gravitational potential energy of a contracting interstellar cloud
stays the same at all times
gradually transforms into other forms of energy
gradually grows larger
gradually lessens
if earth were twice as far from the sun, the force of gravity attracting earth to the sun would be
twice as strong
half as strong
one quarter as strong
100 times as strong
according to the law of universal gravitation, what would happen to earth if the sun were somehow replaced by a black hole of the same mass?
earth would be quickly sucked into the black hole
earth would slowly spiral into the black hole
earth's orbit would not change
mars orbit would change
if the moon were closer to earth, high tides would
be higher than they are now
be lower than they are now
wouldn't exist
occur three or more times a day rather than twice a day
why is a sunflower yellow?
it emits yellow light
it absorbs yellow light
it creates yellow light
it reflects yellow light
compared to red light, blue light has higher frequency and
higher energy and shorter wavelength
higher energy and longer wavelength
lower energy and shorter wavelength
no wavelength and lower energy
radio waves are a form of
sound
spectrum
light
ray
planetary obits in our solar system are
very eccentric (stretched-out) ellipses and in the same plane
fairly circular and in the same plane
perfectly circular
fairly circular but oriented in every direction
the solar nebula was 98% what?
hydrogen compounds
rock and metal
oxygen
hydrogen and helium
which of the following did not occur during the collapse of the solar nebula?
spinning faster
heating up
concentrating denser materials nearer the sun
what's so unusual about our moon?
it's the only moon that orbits a terrestrial planet
one small step for man, one giant leap for man kind
it's by far the largest moon in the solar system
it's surprisingly large relative to the planet it orbits
which lists the major steps of solar system formation in the correct order?
collapse, accretion, condensation
accretion, condensation, collapse
collapse, condensation, accretion
condensation, accretion, collapse
what's jupiter's main ingredient
hydrogen and helium
oxygen
hydrogen compounds
rock and metal
leftover ice-rich planetesimals are called
comets
asteroids
meteorites
planets
are there any exceptions to the rule that planets rotate with small axis tilts and in the same direction as they orbit the sun?
no
venus is the only exception
venus and uranus are exceptions
pluto is the only exception
about how old is the solar system?
4.5 million years
4.5 billion years
4.5 trillion years
45 hundred years
Which heat source continues to contribute to Earth’s internal heat?
radioactive decay
accretion
absorption
sunlight
In general, what kind of terrestrial planet would you expect to have the thickest lithosphere?
largest planet
smallest planet
planet located far from sun
Which of a planet’s fundamental properties has the greatest effect on its level of volcanic and tectonic activity?
size
distance from sun
distance from earth
rotation rate
Which describes our understanding of flowing water on Mars?
it was important once, no longer
it was never important
it is a major process on the martian surface today
there still is water on mars
What do we conclude if a planet has few impact craters of any size?
the planet was never bombarded by asteroids or comets
its atmosphere stopped impactors of all sizes
geological processes have earased craters
which of the following is a strong greenshouse gas?
nitrogen
carbon dioxide
oxygen
helium
the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere was release by
volcanic outgassing
the greenhouse effect
life
the CO2 cycle
where is most of the CO2 that has outgassed from earth's volcanoes?
escaped to space
locked in rocks
in the atmosphere
underground
which lists the jovian planets in order of increasing distance from the sun?
jupiter, saturn, uranus, pluto
jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
saturn, jupiter, neptune, uranus
jupiter, neptune, pluto, saturn
why does neptune appear blue and jupiter red?
methane in neptune's atmosphere absorbs red light
neptune's air molecules scatter blue light, much as Earth's atmosphere does
neptune is hotter, which means bluer thermal emission
why is jupiter denser than saturn?
it has a larger proportion of rock and metal
it has a larger proportion of hydrogen
its higher mass and gravity compress its interior
some jovian planets give off more energy than they recieve because of
fusion in their cores
tidal heating
ongoing contraction or differentiation
the main ingredients of most moons of the jovian planets are
rock and metal
frozen hydrogen compounds
hydrogen and helium
why is Io more volcanically active than our moon?
its larger
it has a higher concentration of radioactive elements
it has a different internal heat source
which moon shows evidence of rainfall and erosion by some liquid substance?
titan
europa
triton
ganymede
saturn's many moons affect its rings through
tidal forces
orbital resonances
magnetic field interactions
moon phases
saturn's rings
have looked basically the same since they formed along with saturn
were created long ago when tidal forces tore apart a large moon
are continually supplied with new particles by impacts with small moons
Jupiter nudges the asteroids through the influence of
orbital resonances
tidal waves
magnetic fields
crashes
what does pluto most resemble?
a terrestrial planet
jovian planet
comet
a dog owned by a mouse
How big an object causes a typical “shooting star”?
a grain of sand or small pebble
size of a car
a boulder
size of a dog
Which have the most elliptical and tilted orbits?
asteroids
the asteroid belt
kuiper belt comets
oort cloud comets
32. What would happen if a 1-kilometer object struck Earth?
cause mass extinction
revive the dinos
cause widespread devastation and climate change
break up in the atmosphere without causing widespread damage
