Precession is
A) when the elliptical orbits of planets slip forward with each revolution.
B) the process of planetary evolution.
C) the stage before planets stabilize into a stationary orbit.
D) the wobbling of a planet's axis of rotation.
[Ques. 2] Light is without mass, so how can gravity have an effect on light?
A) The space through which the light passes is curved.
B) Photons actually have a very small mass, so gravity does have an effect on them.
C) When light interacts with particles, it loses some energy, and thus takes on some mass.
D) Gravity has no effect on light.
[Ques. 3] A greater gravitational field causes time to
A) speed up.
B) slow down.
C) fluctuate.
D) Gravity has no measurable effect on time.
[Ques. 4] Local observations made in an accelerated frame of reference cannot be distinguished from observations made in a gravitational field is known as the principle of
A) equivalence.
B) equality.
C) equanimity.
D) interchangeability.
[Ques. 5] If the Sun suddenly became less massive, what would happen to Earth's orbit?
A) Spacetime around the Sun would become flatter, and the Earth, with its current momentum, would exit its orbit around the Sun.
B) Spacetime around the Sun would become less flat, and the Earth would go plunging into the Sun.
C) The Earth's orbital distance from the Sun would increase correspondingly.
D) The Earth's orbital distance from the Sun would decrease correspondingly.
[Ques. 6] The universe as a whole is
A) curved.
B) flat.
C) the shape of a saddle.
D) has yet to be determined, although most astrophysical data points to a flat universe.
[Ques. 7] Spacetime is curved by
A) mass.
B) the force of gravity.
C) quantum fluctuations.
D) the vacuum force.
[Ques. 8] Relativity is the
A) study of how space, energy, and mass are related to time.
B) concept that there are no absolutes that can be postulated.
C) idea that space bends in relationship to the square of the mass contained within it.
D) study of wormholes and time travel.
[Ques. 9] According to cosmic inflation theory, the distribution of galaxies we see today is a consequence of
A) the evolution of dark matter.
B) quantum fluctuations in the exceedingly small early universe.
C) random expansion.
D) some force yet to be identified.
[Ques. 10] According to Alan Guth, magnetic monopoles are not observed in our universe because
A) they are theoretically impossible.
B) space expanded so much that they are exceedingly rare.
C) of the presence of electromagnetic radiation.
D) they easily collapse under the force of gravity.
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