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1) Using scientific notation, I would write the average distance from Earth to the Sun as:
a) 150 million km
b) Millions and millions of miles
c) 1.5×108 km
d) 150,000,000 km
2) The age of the Solar System is:
a) Only about 5,000 years
b) About 80% of the age of the universe
c) Only about one tenth of the age of the universe
d) About one third of the age of the universe
3) The Meridian is:
a) The projection of the Earth’s north pole upon the celestial sphere.
b) The line starting due north of you, passing overhead, and ending due south.
c) The point directly overhead of you.
d) The path of the Sun in the sky.
4) Which of the following would characterize a good scientist?
a) A good scientist would never form an idea about how things work before he/she
had extensive data on which to base the idea.
b) A good scientist knows how things really work, and uses that knowledge to ignore
any experimental data that obviously points to the wrong conclusion.
c) A good scientist realizes that we understand almost nothing about how anything
in the universe really works.
d) A good scientist probably has an idea of what an experiment will show, but is
willing to change the idea if the experimental results disagree with it.
5) The daily rising and setting of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars is called:
a) prograde motion
b) diurnal motion
c) retrograde motion
d) sidereal motion
6) In June:
a) The Earth is in a part of its orbit in which the northern hemisphere is tilted
towards the Sun.
b) The Sun is nearest the Vernal Equinox in the sky.
c) The Earth is at the part of its orbit where it is closest to the Sun. d) The Sun is undergoing retrograde motion.
7) An art student decides to build a model Solar System to set up on campus. She wants to use a beachball-sized sphere of bronze to represent the Sun. What size of object would she need to represent Jupiter?
a) A basketball.
b) A grain of sand.
c) A marble.
d) A tennis ball.
8) What is the Ecliptic?
a) The intersection of the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun with the celestial
sphere.
b) The projection of Earth’s equator onto the sky.
c) The projection of Prime Meridian of Earth onto the sky.
d) The line passing from due south of you, passing overhead, and ending due north
of you.
student in our class travels to the equator. From there:
9) A
a) He can never see more than about half of the stars in the sky, and none of them
are circumpolar.
b) He can see all of the stars in the sky, and none of them are circumpolar.
c) He can see all of the stars in the sky, and all of them are circumpolar.
d) He can never see more than half of the stars in the sky, and all of the stars that he
can see are circumpolar.
10) What is retrograde motion?
a) The daily motion of all objects in the sky.
b) The west-to-east motion of planets relative to the stars in the sky, caused by their
orbital motions around the Sun.
c) The east-to-west motion of planets relative to the stars as either they pass by
Earth, or Earth passes by them, while both orbit the Sun.
d) The apparent motion of the planets along the ecliptic, caused by the orbital motion
of Earth around the Sun.
11) What is a Synodic Day?
a) The time from one noon to the next.
b) The time from one full moon to the next.
c) The time for Earth to spin 360o around its axis.
d) The time for the Sun to spin 360o around its axis.
12) The average distance between the Earth and the Sun is:
a) 1010 kilometers.
b) One parsec.
c) 106 meters.
d) One astronomical unit.
13) I decide to travel to Alaska by car, and each night I look at the stars where I stop. As I travel northward:
a) I can see a larger fraction of all of the stars in the sky, and the north celestial pole
is higher in the sky.
b) I can see a smaller fraction of all the stars in the sky, and the north celestial pole is
lower in the sky.
c) I can see a smaller fraction of all the stars in the sky, and the north celestial pole is
higher in the sky.
d) I can see a larger fraction of all the stars in the sky, and the north celestial pole is
lower in the sky.
14) What is “absolute zero?”
a) The temperature at which pure water freezes.
b) The coldest temperature found anywhere in the universe.
c) The temperature at which highly purified helium gas freezes.
d) An unattainable temperature at which there is no thermal energy present.
15) You see a total eclipse of the Moon. What phase would the Moon be in about two weeks later?
a) New.
b) First Quarter.
c) Full.
d) Third Quarter.
16) Mars will display retrograde motion when:
a) It is at inferior conjunction (between Earth and Sun).
b) It is at superior conjunction (on the far side of the Sun from Earth).
c) It is at maximum westward elongation (as far west from the Sun in the sky as
possible, as viewed from Earth).
d) It is near opposition (opposite the Sun in the sky as viewed from Earth).
17) While writing this exam, I looked out of my window at sunset and saw the Moon almost directly overhead. What phase was it in?
a) New.
b) First Quarter.
c) Full.
d) Third Quarter.
18) A Solar eclipse can occur:
a) Every New Moon.
b) Every Full Moon.
c) Every Full Moon when the Moon is on the Meridian.
d) Every Full Moon when the Moon is on the ecliptic.
e) Every New Moon when the Moon is on the ecliptic.
19) Water boils at
a) 100 K
b) 0 K
c) 373 K
d) 1000 K
20) What causes seasons on Earth?
a) Earth is closer to the Sun in summer than in winter.
b) Earth’s spin axis is tilted relative to its orbit, and the angle between the spin and
orbit changes over the course of the year, so that we get more or less direct
sunlight.
c) Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle, and Earth moves more quickly when it is
closer to the Sun, which gives Earth more energy.
d) Earth’s spin axis is tilted relative to its orbit, and so the northern and southern
hemispheres get more or less direct light, depending upon where we are in our
orbit.
21) Which of the following situations describes an acceleration?
a) A car going around a curve at a constant 30 mph.
b) An astronaut weightless in the space station orbiting Earth.
c) A car moving downhill into the wind, starting at 30 mph and ending at 50 mph.
d) Wait a minute, all of those answers describe something that is accelerating!
22) Which of the following is the best Newtonian description of orbital motion of objects around Earth?
a) It is a natural state of bodies moving around the Earth.
b) It is a natural motion for objects to undergo when they are too far from Earth to
feel its gravity.
c) It is a violation of the natural state of rest for ordinary matter.
d) It is a combination of them falling towards Earth while simultaneously moving
“sideways.”
23) According to Newton’s Second Law of motion, when I push on an object, the
acceleration that object undergoes depends upon
a) The strength of the reaction force that the object exerts on me.
b) The mass of the object.
c) How quickly the object was moving before I started pushing on it.
d) The object’s location in space.
e) Both a) and b).
24) Mercury is on an elliptic orbit around the Sun. As it moves closer to the Sun:
a) Its orbital speed decreases, to conserve angular momentum.
b) Both its orbital speed and angular momentum increase.
c) It must keep moving at the same speed, in order to conserve linear momentum.
d) Its orbital speed increases, conserving angular momentum.
25) We speak of astronauts in orbit 300 miles above Earth as being “weightless.” This is because
a) They are so far away from the center of Earth that they feel essentially no gravity from Earth.
b) They feel Earth’s gravity, but are in a kind of free-fall as they orbit, along with everything around them in their spacecraft.
c) There is no gravity in space.
d) They are not truly weightless, but that far from Earth’s surface, they feel a much
reduced gravity as compared to that at Earth’s surface.
26) So as to deflect it from hitting Earth, scientists attach a rocket to an asteroid, which speeds it up slightly in its orbit around the Sun. What will happen?
a) It will fall straight into the Sun.
b) Its orbit will be taken far out of the ecliptic.
c) It will move onto an elliptical orbit, farther away from the Sun on average than its current orbit.
d) It will move onto a faster orbit, the same distance from the Sun as it is now.
27) A horse is pulling a sled across a field. Which of the following pairs of forces is an
action-reaction pair by Newton’s Third Law?
a) The force of the horse pulling on the sled and the drag force of the ground on the
sled.
b) The force of the sled on the ground and the force of the horse’s hooves on the
ground.
c) The force of the horse on the sled and the force of the ground on the horse.
d) The force of the horse on the sled and the force of the sled on the horse.
28) On another planet
a) Both my weight and mass might be different than on Earth, depending upon that
planet’s mass and radius.
b) My weight would be the same as on Earth, but my mass might be different.
c) My mass would be the same as on Earth, but my weight might be different.
d) Both my mass and weight and mass would be the same as on Earth.
another planet:
30) What do I mean when I say that energy is conserved?
a) Energy can be transferred from one object to another, but it the form of the energy
(kinetic, or potential) cannot change.
b) Energy cannot change its form, from kinetic to potential.
c) Energy can be transferred from one object to another, and change its form, but the
total amount of energy cannot change.
d) The total amount of energy possessed by an object cannot change.
31) If the distance between Earth and Moon were to be two times larger than it is now, then, compared to now, the force of gravity between them would be
a) Two times larger.
b) Four times larger.
c) Two times smaller.
d) Four times smaller.
32) Most asteroids are found:
a) In the inner Solar System.
b) Between Mercury and the Sun.
c) In the outer Solar System, beyond the orbit of Neptune.
d) Sharing orbits with either Jupiter or Saturn.
astronaut travels into deep space, where gravity can be ignored. While on a
33) I drop a book onto the floor. What has happened?
a) The potential energy of the book decreased.
b) The kinetic energy of the book increased while it fell.
c) Overall energy was lost.
d) All of the above.
e) Both a) and b).
34) The atmosphere of Venus:
a) Consists primarily of nitrogen, with clouds of water vapor and ice.
b) Consists primarily of carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid.
c) Consists primarily of carbon dioxide, with clouds of frozen carbon dioxide. d) Venus has no atmosphere.
35) If you viewed the Solar System from above the North Pole of Earth, the planets would orbit the Sun in which direction?
a) Clockwise.
b) Counterclockwise.
c) Counterclockwise, except for Venus and Uranus.
d) Both clockwise and counterclockwise.
36) How do we know that Earth was once completely molten?
a) Earth is experiencing ongoing volcanic activity.
b) It is differentiated, with heavy elements in the center and lighter ones further out.
c) The energy output of the Sun was once so great as to melt the terrestrial planets.
d) The Earth once generated a magnetic field.
37) How is the thermal energy of a gas different from the kinetic energy of a baseball?
a) Thermal energy is potential energy that can be turned into kinetic energy.
b) Unlike the kinetic energy of the ball, the thermal energy of the gas cannot be
converted into any other form of energy.
c) Thermal energy does not need to be conserved, unlike the kinetic energy of the
ball.
d) Thermal energy is associated with random motions, unlike the kinetic energy of
the ball.
38) The atmosphere of Mercury consists mostly of:
a) Nitrogen, with sulfuric acid clouds.
b) Nitrogen and oxygen.
c) Carbon dioxide.
d) Mercury has no atmosphere.
39) We can measure ages of different regions of the lunar surface using:
a) Radioactive dating of rocks from the Moon.
b) Crater density measurements.
c) Chemical dating of the lava flows.
d) All of the above.
e) Both (a) and (b).
40) Which of the following happened first during Earth’s formation?
a) Large amounts of gas were pulled in by the gravity of the young Earth.
b) Formation of the Moon.
c) The collision of the young Earth with large, solid objects in nearby orbits.
d) The formation of larger solid objects from small objects by collisions.
41) Why did the Jovian planets form farther from the Sun than the terrestrial planets?
a) It was colder farther from the Sun, allowing the formation of ice and the buildup
of larger solid objects that could then pull in the surrounding gas.
b) The gas and dust farther from the Sun had less angular momentum, and so could
more easily be pulled in to form large planets.
c) There was much more rocky dust farther from the Sun than closer in, and so the
growing planets had more raw material.
d) We now believe that it was just random chance that the planets happened to form
in their relative locations.
42) Jupiter is made up mostly of
a) Rock and ice.
b) Carbon and iron.
c) Carbon dioxide and methane.
d) Hydrogen and helium.
e) We don’t know, because we have never brought samples of Jupiter to Earth for
analysis.
43) Why do we believe that the formation of our Solar System may have been triggered
by a nearby supernova event?
a) The great energy of a supernova is the only energy source known that is strong
enough to compress an interstellar gas cloud.
b) A black hole, left from the supernova, has been found only a few light years from
Earth.
c) The supernova blast wave is what caused the Solar nebula to take on a flattened,
disk-like shape.
d) In some meteors, we find the decay products of short-lived radioactive elements
that were formed in a supernova explosion.
44) Because the Moon has lower average density than the Earth, we know that:
a) The Moon’s gravity is stronger than that of Earth.
b) The Moon must have formed elsewhere in the Solar System.
c) The Moon must never have been completely molten.
d) The Moon has a smaller iron core, as a fraction of its total mass.
45) The fact that we see fewer craters per square kilometer on Mercury than in the Lunar highlands tells us that:
a) The surface of Mercury is younger than the lunar highlands.
b) Liquid water caused much erosion when Mercury was young.
c) Mercury experienced fewer impacts than the Moon, because it is closer to the Sun.
d) Mercury once had a dense atmosphere.
46) How do we believe our Moon formed?
a) It formed elsewhere in the Solar System, and was captured by Earth’s gravity when it passed close by the young Earth.
b) It formed alongside Earth, by the same process as Earth.
c) It formed from the debris thrown out when a Mars-sized object collided with the
young Earth.
d) It formed “behind” Earth, from debris that just missed colliding with Earth as
Earth formed.
47) What evidence do we have for planets currently forming around other stars?
a) We see disks of gas and dust around some young stars, some with gaps that may
be caused by large planets.
b) Although it is impossible to see Terrestrial planets, we do have images of Jovian
planets forming around nearby stars.
c) We cannot form images of planets around nearby stars, but in almost all cases, we
see “extra” light (more than from the star), coming from hot, young planets.
d) We have no evidence of planets forming around other stars.
48) As the gas cloud from which the Solar System formed contracted, it formed a spinning disk because:
a) It could only contract so far towards its spin axis, because of angular momentum
conservation, but could contract much further along its spin axis.
b) The supernova that triggered the collapse of the cloud caused it to be flattened in
the direction facing the blast wave from the supernova.
c) The shape of the magnetic field in the cloud forced it into a pancake shape.
d) It was slightly flattened to begin with, and the flattening increased during the
collapse because of the increasing gravity.
49) We discover a star similar to the Sun that has a planet similar to Jupiter orbiting only
0.2 astronomical units from the star.
a) We are not surprised, because Jovian planets can form any possible distance from
a star.
b) We are surprised, because we think that all planetary systems must be almost
identical to our own.
c) We are surprised, because we think that Jovian planets must form relatively far
from their parent stars.
d) We are not surprised, because we know very little about how planets form, and
planets may form around other stars by very different processes from those by which our Solar System formed.
For the next six questions, associate the type of planet with the given property. Use the following letters:
a) = Terrestrial planets, b) = Jovian planets, c) = both, d) = neither
50) Many moons.
51) Farther from the Sun.
52) Less massive.
53) Orbit the Sun counterclockwise.
54) Made up mostly of lighter elements.
55) Differentiated, with heavier material towards the center.
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