ASTR 104 – January 2008 Wintersession – Test 1
Multiple-Choice Questions
(1) How wide are the largest mirrors currently in use for visible light telescopes?
a. 30 cm (12 in) across.
b. 2.5 m (100 in) across.
c. Over 10 m (30 ft) across.
d. About 300 m (1000 ft) across.
(2) In the course of one day, which objects rise in the East and set in the
West?
a. Just the Sun.
b. The Sun and the Moon.
c. The Sun, the Moon, and the planets.
d. All celestial objects (except for circumpolar ones).
(3) Which astronomical objects move with respect to the celestial sphere?
a. Only the Sun and the Moon ever move.
c. The planets, the Sun, the Moon, and small objects like asteroids and comets;
Stars practically don't move.
b. Nothing really moves on the celestial sphere, but all objects appear
to move because of the Earth's rotation.
d. All objects do, but planets and stars move in different directions.
(4) What is a refracting telescope?
a. One that focuses incoming light with a primary lens rather than a mirror.
b. One that uses an extra lens to collect more light on the primary mirror.
c. One that produces blurred images because of the spreading of light.
d. One that produces negative images (dark stars on light backgrounds).
(5) Around what time did Copernicus and Tycho Brahe live?
a. The 1500's.
b. The 1800's.
c. The 5th century BC.
d. The 2nd century AD.
(6) What is the meridian?
a. The point directly overhead in the sky.
b. The line in the sky from North to South going through the Zenith.
c. The point on the celestial sphere where the Sun is on March 21st.
d. The line along which the Sun moves from sunrise to sunset.
(7) Which ancient people first emphasized the need for developing models
to explain the way planets move?
a. The Mesopotamians.
b. The Greeks.
c. The Chinese.
d. The Egyptians.
(8) Which of the following were ancient astronomers looking for,
but failed to see?
a. Sunspots on the Sun's surface.
b. Moons around Jupiter.
c. Parallax for stars.
d. Comets with tails.
(9) What is the main reason the Hubble Space Telescope gives
great images?
a. It is outside the Earth's atmosphere.
b. It has the largest mirror ever built.
c. It is closer to the stars than Earth-bound telescopes.
d. It has the most sophisticated instruments currently in use.
(10) What is a plasma?
a. Matter which has been heated so much that most atoms are
ionized.
b. A solid which is so cold that all atoms are stuck together.
c. A liquid which is so sticky that it is almost a solid.
d. A gas which is about to condensate into a liquid.
(11) If you looked at the sky from the Space Station outside
the Earth's atmosphere, which objects would twinkle?
a. Stars would twinkle, but not planets.
b. Planets would twinkle, but not stars.
c. Neither stars nor planets.
d. Both stars and planets.
(12) The main reason for building telescopes with very
wide primary mirrors is that
a. We get a larger magnification of the images.
b. We can see a larger portion of the sky at the same
time.
c. We get brighter, sharper images of astronomical objects.
d. They are not affected by atmospheric turbulence.
(13) Do we consider Kepler's laws for the solar system
to be correct?
a. Basically yes, because except for small corrections
they have passed all tests.
b. No, because those laws do not follow the teaching
of Aristotle.
c. No, because Kepler in part used guesswork to arrive
at those laws.
d. No, because the model he proposed is heliocentric.
(14) If you watched the sky for several hours one night,
which of these stars would not change position?
a. Sirius.
b. Polaris.
c. Alpha Centauri.
d. None, they would all change position over time.
(15) Which of the following produce an emission line
spectrum?
a. Hot spectroscopes.
b. Hot solids, liquids, and very dense gases.
c. Hot thin gases.
d. Cool gases and liquids.
(16) Can amateur astronomers make new astronomical
discoveries today?
a. Yes, but they have to connect their small
telescopes into large networks.
b. Yes, for example by spotting unexpected objects
like novas or asteroids.
c. No, because their telescopes are too small
compared with professional ones.
d. No, because amateurs do not have access to
good observation sites.
(17) Does the speed of a planet along its orbit
vary?
a. No, each planet always moves at the same
speed.
b. Yes, it moves faster when it is closer to
the Sun.
c. Yes, it moves faster when it is farther
from the Sun.
d. Yes, it moves faster when it is moving toward
the Sun.
(18) Which planets were already known before
the telescope was invented?
a. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
b. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
c. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune.
d. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune.
(19) A red apple has that color because
red light is
a. Emitted by the apple.
b. Transmitted by the apple.
c. Reflected by the apple.
d. Absorbed by the apple.
(20) A piece of red glass has that color
when you look through it because red
light is
a. Emitted by the glass.
b. Transmitted by the glass.
c. Reflected by the glass.
d. Absorbed by the glass.
(21) Which of the following can you
do to improve the angular resolution
of
a telescope?
a. Use a reflecting telescope rather
than a refracting one.
b. Increase the diameter of the telescope's
primary mirror.
c. Change the eyepiece to get a larger
magnification.
d. Increase the focal length of the
primary mirror.
(22) What is declination?
a. The downward motion of a star
as it sets below the horizon.
b. The Latin name for a star, based
on the constellation it is located
in.
c. The latitude of the point on
the Earth where a telescope is
located.
d. The angle at which an object
is located above or below the Celestial
Equator.
(23) What kinds of objects can
experience a force of gravity?
a. Every object exerts a force
of gravity on every other one.
b. Only objects that are on or
near the surface of a planet.
c. Only planets moving around
a star, or moons around a planet.
d. Objects in either one of the
two situations in (b) or (c).
(24) Can you apply Kepler's laws
to the orbits of moons around
a planet?
a. Yes, but only if the planet
is orbiting the Sun at the
same time.
b. Yes, because the force involved
is still the force of gravity.
c. No, because Kepler wrote
down his laws only for planets.
d. No, because moons are too
small.
(25) What is Stonehenge?
a. A cave where paleolitic
paintings including stars
were found.
b. A place in Wyoming where
the Indians built a Medicine
Wheel.
c. A circular structure of
tall stones in Southern England.
d. A prehistoric era, during
which the oldest sites were
built.
(26) Approximately how many
stars can we see with the
naked eye,
in very
good viewing
conditions?
a. A few hundred.
b. A few thousands.
c. About 1 million.
d. About 100 billion.
(27) What happens to the
radiation emitted by a
dense object if
its temperature rises?
a. The total amount stays
constant, but its peak
frequency increases.
b. Its peak frequency stays
constant, but the total
amount increases.
c. Both its peak frequency
and the total amount of
radiation increase.
d. It does not change,
but it stops when the object
melts and
falls
apart.
(28) What did Galileo discover
about the Moon?
a. That it revolves around
the Earth, not the Sun.
b. That there are features
such as craters on its
surface.
c. That there are meteors
orbiting around it.
d. That it goes through
different phases every
month.
(29) As a planet revolves
around the Sun, does
the Sun also
move?
a. No, because in this
case the Sun is the
center of
attraction.
b. Yes, the Sun feels
the same pull but it
is so
massive that
it moves
much less.
c. Yes, the Sun feels
the same pull and moves
as
much as the
planet does.
d. Maybe, but there
is no way for us to
find
out because
the Earth
itself
is moving.
(30) Why is Aristarchus
remembered in the
history of Astronomy?
a. He believed in
a heliocentric model
already in the
3rd century BC.
b. He made careful
observations of the
planets and discovered
epicycles.
c. He proved that
the geocentric model
of
the solar system
was correct.
d. He was the first
person who used a
telescope in astronomy.
Short-Answer Questions
(31) What is the ecliptic?
(32) In what ways was Copernicus' model of the Solar System similar or different
from our current one?
(33) What is the difference between a hydrogen atom and a helium atom?
(34) What is the difference between radio waves and visible light waves?
(35) What is a photon?