lecture final

Question 1

A solar eclipse can only happen during a:

Answer 1

new moon.

Question 2

Kepler’s first law worked, where Copernicus’ original heliocentric model failed, because Kepler described the orbits as

Answer 2

elliptical, not circular.

Question 3

Why are most large telescopes reflectors, not refractors?

Answer 3

Reflectors do not suffer from chromatic aberration like refractors do.
Large, very clear lenses are harder to cast than more tolerant mirror blanks.
Large mirrors need only one optical surface, achromats four surfaces to grind.
Large lenses deform under their own weight, but mirrors can be supported.
All of the above are correct.

Question 4

What gas is the primary constituent of our atmosphere?

Answer 4

nitrogen

Question 5

Which of these was NOT seen telescopically by Galileo?

Answer 5

stellar parallax

Question 6

Kepler’s second law implies what about planetary motion?

Answer 6

A planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun.

Question 7

In what part of our atmosphere do we live?

Answer 7

troposphere

Question 8

The place in a planet’s orbit that is closest to the Sun is called

Answer 8

perihelion

Question 9

The greatest contribution of the Greeks to modern thought was:

Answer 9

the development of scientific inquiry and model building

Question 10

Earth’s magnetic field:

Answer 10

prevents charged particles in the solar wind from reaching the surface.

Question 11

When the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky, its phase is

Answer 11

full.

Question 12

One advantage of the Hubble Space telescope over ground based ones is that

Answer 12

in orbit, it can operate close to its diffraction limit at visible wavelengths.

Question 13

Which of the following have an icy composition?

Answer 13

comets

Question 14

If new Moon fell on March 2nd, what is the Moon’s phase on March 14th?

Answer 14

waxing gibbous

Question 15

A year is defined as

Answer 15

the time it takes for Earth to complete an orbit around the Sun.

Question 16

If the Moon rose tonight at 6 PM, then tomorrow it will rise about:

Answer 16

7 PM.

Question 17

Which of these was NOT a telescopic discovery of Galileo?

Answer 17

the moons of Saturn

Question 18

What are constellations?

Answer 18

Groups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere

Question 19

What is true about solar system densities?

Answer 19

The denser planets lie closer to the Sun.

Question 20

The most famous prehistoric astronomical observatory is:

Answer 20

Stonehenge.

Question 21

Which of the following is a contribution to astronomy made by Galileo?

Answer 21

Jupiter has four moons orbiting it.
Venus appears almost fully lit when it lies on the far side of the Sun.
The Moon has craters, mountain, valleys, and dark flat areas on its surface.
The astronomical telescope can show us far more detail than the eye can.
all of the above

Question 22

What is the primary purpose of an astronomical telescope?

Answer 22

To collect a lot of light and bring it to a focus.

Question 23

Which major atmospheric component is chiefly a product of life processes?

Answer 23

oxygen

Question 24

Which planet by itself contains the majority of mass of all the planets?

Answer 24

Jupiter

Question 25

Planetary orbits

Answer 25

WRONG

Question 26

The principal greenhouse gases in our present atmosphere are:

Answer 26

water vapor and carbon dioxide.

Question 27

The plane in which almost all planets orbit the sun is called the:

Answer 27

ecliptic.

Question 28

The planet's orbital period is:

Answer 28

the time it takes to return to the same location in the sky, relative to the Sun.

Question 29

The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world" is

Answer 29

Ceres.

Question 30

The process occurring when photons bounce off a polished surface is called:

Answer 30

reflection.

Question 31

Which of these is not a product of plate tectonics and hot spots?

Answer 31

the Grand Canyon's eroded depths

Question 32

Which design is subject to chromatic aberration?

Answer 32

refractor

Question 33

Most asteroids are found:

Answer 33

between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Question 34

Diffraction is the tendency of light to:

Answer 34

spread around corners.

Question 35

A lunar eclipse can only happen during a:

Answer 35

full moon.

Question 36

The critical part of the atmosphere for protecting life on the ground from excessive ultraviolet radiation is the:

Answer 36

ozone layer.

Question 37

From the center outward, the correct order is:

Answer 37

solid metallic inner core, molten metal outer core, silicate mantle and crust.

Question 38

A meteorite is

Answer 38

a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground.

Question 39

Which statement about the first quarter moon is FALSE?

Answer 39

From the Earth, it appears 25% sunlit.

Question 40

Which of the choices below correctly lists things in order from largest to smallest?

Answer 40

Universe, Local Group, Milky Way, Solar System

Question 41

In order to determine the mass of a planet by applying Newton's laws of motion and gravity, the planet must have

Answer 41

moons.

Question 42

What is the resolution of a telescope?

Answer 42

WRONG ts ability to make distant objects appear much closer to us

Question 43

The rotation periods of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are difficult to determine because

Answer 43

their surface features are obscured by their atmospheres.

Question 44

What celestial line is a product of the Earth's orbit around the Sun?

Answer 44

Ecliptic

Question 45

The tail of a comet always points

Answer 45

away from the Sun and becomes longest and brightest at perihelion.

Question 46

Which of the following are the Jovian planets?

Answer 46

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune only

Question 47

The smallest sort of interplanetary matter is called

Answer 47

interplanetary dust.

Question 48

The crust of the Earth is covered by about ________ water in the hydrosphere.

Answer 48

70%

Question 49

While watching a star, you see it moves 15 degrees across the sky. How long have you been watching it?

Answer 49

1 hour

Question 50

Why is the sky blue?

Answer 50

the atmosphere scatters the light from the Sun

Question 51

Tycho Brahe's contribution to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were

Answer 51

his detailed and accurate observations of the planet's position.

Question 52

The primary purpose of a telescope is to

Answer 52

collect a large amount of light and bring it into focus.

Question 53

When water vapor condenses out at the cool tops of convection cells, what happens?

Answer 53

clouds form

Question 54

How do the densities of the jovian and terrestrial planets compare?

Answer 54

All terrestrials are more dense than any of the jovians.

Question 55

About how many stars are visible on a clear, dark night with the naked eye alone?

Answer 55

a few thousand

Question 56

A mountain top is an especially good site for infrared telescopes since:

Answer 56

the cold weather helps the sensitivity of infrared detectors. there you are closer to celestial objects. you are above most of the carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere. less air above means better seeing in many cases. All of the above are factors.

Question 57

If you are in the Moon's umbral shadow, then you will witness

Answer 57

a total solar eclipse.

Question 58

When the sun rises it is located in the constellation Gemini. When the sun sets later that same day it will be

Answer 58

in the constellation Gemini.

Question 59

Which characteristic listed below describes the jovian planets?

Answer 59

low density

Question 60

The jovian planets

Answer 60

all have rings around their equators.

Question 61

The Law of Universal Gravitation was developed by:

Answer 61

Newton.

Question 62

Pluto's orbit takes it closer to the Sun than Neptune for part of its orbit.

Answer 62

true

Question 63

Which of the Galilean moons is the densest and most geologically active?

Answer 63

Io

Question 64

Why does Venus appear so bright to the eye?

Answer 64

As seen from Earth, the disk of Venus can appear larger than any other planet's. Venus is closer to the Sun, so gets more intense sunlight. It gets closer to us than any other planet does. The planet's cloud-cover is highly reflective, reflecting 60% of the sun's light. All of the above are correct.

Question 65

Shepherd satellites are defined as:

Answer 65

moons that confine a narrow ring.

Question 66

Meteor showers are the result of debris left behind by the passage of a decaying comet.

Answer 66

True

Question 67

Earth and Venus are often called sister planets; in which ways are they most alike?

Answer 67

size, density, and surface gravity

Question 68

What is the main constituent of the atmosphere of Venus?

Answer 68

carbon dioxide

Question 69

Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because:

Answer 69

it never gets more than 28 degrees from the Sun's glare.

Question 70

Which of the following contributes to Venus being so hot?

Answer 70

Its atmosphere is much denser than the Earth's. It has very little axial tilt so the equator is always directly exposed to the Sun. It is closer than Earth to the Sun. Its atmosphere is made chiefly of carbon dioxide. All of the above are factors.

Question 71

Which of the jovian moons is the largest and also the largest moon in the solar system, even bigger than Mercury?

Answer 71

Ganymede

Question 72

The atmospheric pressure on Venus:

Answer 72

is much higher than on Earth.

Question 73

Saturn is less dense than water.

Answer 73

True

Question 74

How many planet Earths could fit inside the Sun?

Answer 74

a little over a million

Question 75

Which planet had the Great Dark Spot in 1989, but had lost it by 1995?

Answer 75

neptune

Question 76

One of the effects of Mercury's very slow spin is

Answer 76

extreme variations in its surface temperature.

Question 77

How does the density of Jupiter compare to the terrestrial planets?

Answer 77

Its density is less than any terrestrial.

Question 78

About what percent of the incoming energy from the Sun' reaches Earth's surface?

Answer 78

50-70%

Question 79

What is true of the Moon's orbital and rotational periods?

Answer 79

They are equal.

Question 80

The orbits of most asteroids

Answer 80

lie entirely beyond the orbit of Mars.

Question 81

Changes in the predicted motion of Uranus led to the search for an eighth planet.

Answer 81

true

Question 82

Why are Saturn's rings so noticeable?

Answer 82

They are made of lots of fresh, bright icy particles from a recent breakup.

Question 83

Pluto is visible to the naked eye on extremely dark nights.

Answer 83

False

Question 84

Uranus and Neptune are very similar in size and mass.

Answer 84

True

Question 85

How does the axial tilt of Mars compare with our own?

Answer 85

It is almost identical to the Earth.

Question 86

What is the name used to describe the dark bands encircling Jupiter?

Answer 86

belts

Question 87

How long does the sunspot cycle last, on average?

Answer 87

about 11 years

Question 88

The luminosity of the Sun is a measure of

Answer 88

the total energy emitted by the Sun in all directions.

Question 89

How many moons does Mars have?

Answer 89

two

Question 90

Venus is almost the same size, mass, and density as the Earth.

Answer 90

True

Question 91

Telescopically, Jupiter is the most colorful and changeable of the planets.

Answer 91

True

Question 92

Compared to Earth, Venus spins very rapidly..

Answer 92

False

Question 93

The percentage (by number of atoms) of the Sun that is Hydrogen is about

Answer 93

91%

Question 94

Mercury's surface most resembles that of which other body?

Answer 94

Moon

Question 95

The Sun is a fairly normal star.

Answer 95

true

Question 96

How long is a day on Mars?

Answer 96

24 hours, 36 minutes

Question 97

Our best data about the surface topography of Venus has come from:

Answer 97

Magellan radar data and radar observations of the planet from Earth.

Question 98

Neptune and Uranus have a bluish tint because:

Answer 98

their atmospheres contain methane, which absorbs red light.

Question 99

The only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune was:

Answer 99

Voyager 2.

Question 100

Most of the time, Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky.

Answer 100

True

Question 101

What is interesting about Saturn's large moon Titan?

Answer 101

It has an atmosphere.

Question 102

The Roche limit is the point at which

Answer 102

WRONG the external tidal forces on an object are strong enough to be felt by the object.

Question 103

Pluto is most similar to

Answer 103

Triton

Question 104

Venus can appear as a crescent through the telescope.

Answer 104

True

Question 105

Essentially, the Great Red Spot is

Answer 105

a large cyclonic storm (hurricane).

Question 106

Ice has been detected near the poles of both the Moon and Mercury.

Answer 106

True

Question 107

Why is Mars red?

Answer 107

The iron in the surface rocks have been oxidized over time.

Question 108

Saturn is the only planet with a ring system.

Answer 108

False

Question 109

The density of the Sun is most similar to which object?

Answer 109

Jupiter

Question 110

The largest shield volcano yet discovered is:

Answer 110

Olympus Mons on Mars.

Question 111

The planet whose pole was facing the Sun when Voyager 2 approached in 1986 was

Answer 111

Uranus.

Question 112

The most abundant component of the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune is

Answer 112

Hydrogen.

Question 113

Mars has an axial tilt more like the Earth's than any other planet.

Answer 113

True

Question 114

Moonquakes on the Moon were detected by:

Answer 114

he seismographs left these by the Apollo astronauts.

Question 115

A moon that goes inside the Roche Limit will

Answer 115

be torn apart by the planet's tidal forces.

Question 116

Venus' surface temperature is fairly uniform, hot on both day and night sides.

Answer 116

True

Question 117

What is interesting about Jupiter's rotation period?

Answer 117

It is the fastest in the solar system.

Question 118

From inside out, which is in the correct order for the structure of the Sun?

Answer 118

radiative zone, convective zone, chromosphere

Question 119

Mars appears from Earth to go through all the phases like Venus.

Answer 119

False

Question 120

The main constituent of the Martian atmosphere is

Answer 120

carbon dioxide.

Question 121

How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare?

Answer 121

Neither body has a permanent atmosphere.

Question 122

What are Saturn's rings?

Answer 122

small icy particles moving in orbit around Saturn

Question 123

The atmosphere of Saturn is composed mostly of:

Answer 123

hydrogen and helium.

Question 124

How does the heat Jupiter radiates compare to the energy it receives from the Sun?

Answer 124

Jupiter radiates back into space about twice the energy it gets from the Sun.

Question 125

Mercury has the widest variation in surface temperatures between night and day of any planet in the solar system.

Answer 125

True

Question 126

What is the result of the Greenhouse effect on the surface environment of Venus?

Answer 126

It has raised the surface temperature by hundreds of degrees Celsius