Astro 7N Exam 1 Verified Questions with Complete Solutions, Exams of Astronomy

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Astro 7N Exam 1 Questions with Complete Solutions

1. What two properties of a planet affect the gravity we feel on its surface?

A: radius and distance from the Sun B: radius and temperature C: mass and distance from the Sun ➔ D: mass and radius E: mass and temperature

2. Two planets have the same radius. If Planet A is 5 times more massive than Planet B, how does gravity differ on the surfaces of the two planets?

A: gravity is 5 times stronger on Planet B ➔ B: gravity is 5 times stronger on Planet A C: gravity is 25 times stronger on Planet A D: gravity is 25 times stronger on Planet B E: gravity is equal on Planet A and Planet B

3. Say that there were a planet X in our Solar System with a mass 1/4 the mass of Earth and a radius 1/2 the radius of Earth. How will the gravity on its surface compare to the surface gravity of Earth?

A: surface gravity on planet X is 2 times weaker than on Earth B: surface gravity on planet X is 2 times stronger than on Earth ➔ C: surface gravity on planet X is the same as on Earth D: surface gravity on planet X is 8 times stronger than on Earth E: surface gravity on planet X is 4 times weaker than on Earth

4. A planet in a nearly circular orbit with its rotation axis tilted by 5 degrees relative to its orbital plane around its star would ...

A: have longer days and nights than those of Earth B: have very severe seasons compared to Earth C: have shorter years than those of Earth D: have shorter days and nights than those of Earth ➔ E: have seasons that are not very different from each other as compared to Earth's.

7. When is the waning gibbous moon highest in the sky?

A: about 9:00am ➔ B: about 3:00am C: about noon D: about midnight E: about 3:00pm

8. What phase is the Moon in, when observed by the person standing on the Earth in the diagram above?

A: New ➔ B: Third Quarter C: Waning Gibbous D: Full E: First Quarter

9. At what time will the Moon set on the day of a Solar eclipse?

A: Sunrise. B: Noon. ➔ C: Sunset. D: Midnight. E: It will not set at all. It will be up for 24 hours.

10. Stars that are in the same constellation ...

A: appear in all different directions around the sky. B: are all at close to the same distance from us. ➔ C: are likely to be at very different distances from us. D: are all in our Solar System. E: are all in orbit around the same larger star.

11. The "North Star" is a star in the constellation of Ursa Minor, which lies just above the North pole of Earth. Which of the following is true?

A: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation in the winter but not in the summer. B: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation in the summer but not in the winter. ➔ C: Ursa Minor is not a Zodiac constellation. D: The Zodiac constellations are located near the axis below the South pole. E: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation all year.

12. A particular Zodiac constellation is high in the sky at midnight in April. Where will it be in October?

A: high in the sky at midnight ➔ B: near the Sun in the daytime sky C: near the horizon a couple of hours after sunset D: near the horizon a couple of hours before sunrise E: visible at midnight, but only from the Southern hemisphere

13. What do you expect the spectrum of an object that is 1,000,000 Kelvin to be like?

A: It should peak at radio wavelengths. B: It should peak at violet wavelengths. ➔ C: It should peak at X-ray wavelengths. D: It should give off less total light than the Sun. E: It should give off about 10 times more total light than the Sun.

18. In the diagram above, what is happening in the box in the center?

A: helium gas is emitting photons at specific wavelengths B: a continuous spectrum is being produced C: electrons are being absorbed by hydrogen gas ➔ D: hydrogen gas is absorbing photons at specific wavelengths E: photons are being emitted at specific wavelengths

19. A star is a hot, dense gas surrounded by a cooler, low density atmosphere. What type of spectrum will a star create?

A: blackbody spectrum ➔ B: absorption spectrum C: continuous spectrum D: hydrogen spectrum E: emission spectrum

20. What makes a transition from a lower energy state to a higher energy state when a photon is absorbed into an atom?

A: proton B: photon C: neutron ➔ D: electron E: graviton

21. An emission line is produced when:

A: a proton passes from a higher to a lower energy level. B: a proton passes from a lower to a higher energy level. C: an electron passes from a lower to a higher energy level. ➔ D: an electron passes from a higher to a lower energy level. E: radiation passes through the outer layers of a star.

22. Bright lines in an emission spectrum represent:

➔ A: particular energies of light that are emitted from a distant object B: photons absorbed when an electron jumps from a higher to a lower energy C: flaws in the telescopes and spectroscopes that astronomers use to measure spectra D: regions from which light travels more rapidly and reaches us more quickly E: photons absorbed when an electron jumps from a lower to a higher energy level

23. The faintness of an object that a telescope can observe is mostly determined by the ...

A: wavelength of light being observed B: eyepiece it uses C: the expertise of the astronomer in focusing light ➔ D: diameter of the opening of the telescope E: magnification of the telescope

24. In what ways does a 5 meter telescope outperform a 1 meter telescope?

A: All objects observed by the 5 meter will appear larger. ➔ B: Its images are 25 times brighter than a 1 meter. C: It will produce better "seeing" than the 1 meter. D: It can observe light with a wavelength 5 times longer than the 1 meter. E: It will not suffer from spherical aberration like the 1 meter.

25. A mountain top is a good location for optical telescopes because the site ...

A: has cold weather which improves the performance of the instruments B: is closer to astronomical objects C: has warm weather which improves the performance of the instruments ➔ D: is above much of the atmosphere E: has high altitude which expands the glass in the mirror and makes it smoother

31. A planet is in orbit around the Sun. The semimajor axis of the orbit is 5 Astronomical Units (AU). Use P^2 = a^3 to calculate the period of the orbit, in years.

A: 5 years B: 0.2 years C: 135 years D: 125 years ➔ E: 11.2 years

32. In the above diagram, how should the parameters of the white curve be changed in order that it matches the observed distance versus time graph of Callisto?

A: increase a and decrease P ➔ B: increase P and shift the curve C: decrease a and decrease P D: shift the curve and increase a E: decrease P and decrease a

33. How do most craters on moons form?

A: by volcanic activity B: running water C: by seismic activity (earthquakes) D: earthquakes ➔ E: impact of asteroids

34. Which planet has a temperature of 800 degrees Fahrenheit on the side facing the Sun and – 290 degrees Fahrenheit on the side opposite the Sun?

A: Mars B: Venus C: Earth D: Jupiter ➔ E: Mercury

35. How many Earth years does it take Uranus to orbit the Sun?

➔ A: 84 B: 1 C: 0. D: 2. E: 0.

36. Meteors are ...

➔ A: asteroids or comet debris that pass into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up B: a group of rocky objects between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn C: comets that are vaporized when they pass very close to the Sun D: comets that escape the Solar System without being vaporized by the Sun E: a group of rocky objects between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

37. Which feature of Neptune is most responsible for its blue color?

➔ A: methane in its atmosphere B: auroral activity due to its strong magnetic field C: excess energy emitted by the interior D: winds blowing at speeds almost that of sound E: large oceans covering most of the surface

38. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A: Neither Uranus or Neptune have ring systems. ➔ B: The planet Saturn has more than 30 moons. C: There is no evidence to suggest that either Jupiter or Saturn has a liquid metallic or rocky core beneath its gas layers. D: The Great Red Spot is a dust storm near the South polar cap of Mars. E: Jupiter’s solid surface lies just below the cloud layers visible from Earth.

44. Where on the Venn diagram, above, does the clue “Tail always points away from the Sun” belong?

A B ➔ C D E

45. Which of the following is NOT required in order to classify a Solar System object as a planet (instead of a dwarf planet)?

A: It must not be a moon around another object. B: It must be massive enough to be nearly round. C: It must orbit the Sun. D: It must clear the region around its orbit. ➔ E: It must be larger than all of the moons in the Solar System

46. Which of the following planets looks the most like the Earth's Moon?

➔ A: Mercury B: Venus C: Neptune D: Uranus E: Mars

47. Which is NOT a characteristic of a comet?

A: tails point away from the Sun B: tails become more prominent when comet is close to the Sun C: highly elliptical orbit ➔ D: most orbit the Sun in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter E: they move slowly across the sky

48. Which of the following is the cause of an aurora?

A: collisions of plates on Earth that float on the surface of denser fluid below B: Greenhouse gases that trap infrared radiation inside an atmosphere C: The ozone layer that prevents UV radiation from entering an atmosphere D: Rapid spinning of a planet that mixes up its magnetic field lines ➔ E: Solar wind particles that hit the atmosphere of a planet