What unit of measurement is typically used to measure distances in the solar system?
Astronomical unit
Absolute zero is: 273°C, 0°F, 0°C, 0° Kelvin, or 32°F?
0° Kelvin
Which of the following never goes in retrograde motion: Jupiter, the Sun, Mars, Venus, or Saturn?
The Sun
Which ancient Greek philosopher argued in favor of an earth centered, or geocentric, universe?
Aristotle
Which direction does a quarter moon rise?
East
Which of the following is not a conserved quantity: mass energy, momentum, radiation, or angular momentum?
Radiation
Which element was formed when the re-ionization occurred: helium, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, or neon?
Helium
Which ancient Greek philosopher introduced multiple circles on circles to explain retrograde motion?
Apollonius
Which person took 30 years of data and this data was used by his apprentice to established laws of motion for planets: Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, or Newton?
Brahe
Elements heavier than iron are made and what event?
Supernova
Who observed the phases of Venus, finally putting an end to the geocentric model of the solar system?
Galileo
What is a group of stores defining a region in the sky called?
Constellation
What latitude will you rotate the fastest around the earth’s axis: 0°, 23.5°, 45°, 66.5°, or 90°?
0°
In which of the following cases would you feel weightless: while falling off the roof, while traveling through space in an accelerating rocket, while falling from an airplane with your parachute open, while walking on the moon, or while riding along the highway in a car?
While falling from the roof
The names of the seven days of the week are based on the
Seven naked eye objects that appear to move among the constellations
Which of the following scenarios does a net force acting on an object: a car rolling down a hill at a constant velocity, a car going down a straight, level street at a constant speed, a car falling through the sky with the air drag force equal to the force due to gravity, a car going up a hill while losing kinetic energy, or a car loaded on a truck, with a constant momentum?
A car going up hill while losing kinetic energy
Is the celestial sphere a physical thing?
No
Does it physically make sense to have negative temperatures?
No
What do the structures of Stonehenge, the Templo Mayor, and the Sun Dagger all have in common?
They were all used by ancient peoples for astronomical observations.
When we look into the band of light in our sky that we call the Milky Way, can we see distant galaxies? Why or why not?
No, because the stars, gas, and dust of the Milky Way block us from seeing them.
How would you describe a scientific model?
A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena.
You fall off the international space station. You quickly take off your backpack and throat away from the international space station. Your knowledge of which law saved your life?
Newtons third law
What is a circumpolar star?
A star that is always above your horizon.
You’re standing on the moon. Is your mass the same as it would be on earth?
Yes
The tides on earth are an example of
The universal law of gravitation
What happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet?
The planet appears to move westward with respect to the stars over a period of many nights.
How can we measure the mass of Jupiter without actually touching it?
We can measure the orbital period and distance of one of Jupiter’s moons.
How do we know that the universe is expanding?
Virtually every galaxy is moving away from us and more distant galaxies are moving away from us at a faster rate than closer ones
Which of the following is a leap year: 3000, 3100, 3200, 3300, or 3400?
3200
Why were ancient peoples unable to detect stellar parallax?
They did not have the ability to measure very small angles.
The ultimate source of energy that powers the sun is
Mass energy of hydrogen fusing into helium
Kepler’s second law, which states that as a planet moves around orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that
A planet travels faster when it is nearer to the sun and slower when it is farther
The fact that the New Horizons spacecraft continues to speed out of the solar system, even though its rockets have no fuel, is an example of
Newton’s first law of motion
The suns daily path across the sky
Ecliptic
What is causing the earth’s rotation to slow down?
Tidal friction
Fill in the missing part of your address: earth, solar system, local group, ________, local supergroup, universe.
Milky Way galaxy
Other than circular, name a type of orbital shape allowed by the gravitational force.
Elliptical
What phase must the moon be in for a solar eclipse to occur?
New Moon
The average distance from Earth to the sun is known as a/an
Astronomical unit (Au)
The product of an object’s mass and velocity is known as the object’s
Momentum
What phase of the lunar cycle occurs after the waning gibbous phase?
Third-quarter
What is the term used for the velocity needed for an object to escape the Earth’s gravity?
Escape velocity
As long as an object is not gaining or losing mass, a net force on the object will cause a change in
Velocity
What is the name of the calendar used in the United States and a good portion of the rest of the world?
Gregorian
On the day that Kentucky experiences the spring equinox, what season is starting in Australia?
Fall
What ancient Greek philosopher finalized the geocentric model around 150 A.D., and it was used for around 1500 years?
Ptolemy
If more direct sunlight is hitting the northern hemisphere of the earth, name one of the two seasons we could be experiencing.
Spring
He discovered what we now call Newton’s first law of motion.
Galileo
The two moons of a planet are an equal distance from the center of the planet, but one of them has twice the mass of the other. How are their or be periods related to each other?
Moon 1 = Moon 2
