Introduction to Astronomy exam

1.

The original Big Bang model had three major problems. The ‘fix’ that solved them is known as _________.

2.

When light from a hot solid, liquid, or dense gas passes through a cooler gas, it will produce a/an _________ spectrum.

3.

One name that has been given the mysterious force apparently responsible for driving the acceleration of the universe’s expansion is _________.

4.

The area on the H-R diagram where “normal” stars can be found is known as the _________.

5.

Although Copernicus’ model of the solar system correctly placed the sun at the center, it still provided inaccurate predictions because it maintained that the planets’ orbits were _________.

6.

A spiral galaxy like the Milky Way has three major components: the disk, the bulge, and the _________.

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7.

The more massive a white dwarf is, the (larger/smaller) _________ its diameter will be.

8.

The strength of an object’s gravitational pull on another is determined by its _________ and the distance between them.

9.

Comparing a yellow star, a blue star, and a red star, we could determine just from color that the hottest star was the ________ one.

10.

Rotation curves of spiral galaxies show that stars’ orbital speeds don’t drop off with distance from the galactic center as expected, and thus imply the existence of __________.

11.

The main sequence includes the following kinds of stars:

A) Hot, blue, small, massive ones and cool, red, large, low-mass ones

B) Hot, blue, large, massive ones and cool, red, small, low-mass ones

C) Hot, red, small, massive ones and cool, blue, large, low-mass ones

D) Hot, red, large, massive ones and cool, blue, small, low-mass ones

12.

Which of the following was not an era in the history of the universe?

A) Planck

B) Nucleosynthesis

C) Gravitation

D) Galaxies

13.

The phases of the moon are caused by

A) The change of the moon’s distance to Earth during its orbit.

B) The different face the moon turns toward Earth during its orbit.

C) The alignment of the Earth/moon/sun system casting shadows on the moon’s surface.

D) The alignment of the Earth/moon/sun system making a different portion of the moon’s daylight side visible to Earth.

14.

Spectra help us determine the composition of astronomical objects because

A) Each element, compound, or ion has a different set of spectral lines.

B) Each element, compound, or ion has a different peak wavelength.

C) Each element, compound, or ion has a different redshift.

D) Each element, compound, or ion has a different brightness.

15.

Dark energy is the most important factor in the _________ universe scenario for the fate of the universe.

A) Accelerating

B) Coasting

C) Critical

D) Recollapsing

16.

The outer planets are more massive than the inner planets because

A) There were ices as well as rock and metal from which they could form.

B) They gained mass fast enough to capture gas from the solar nebula.

C) Both of the above

D) Neither of the above

17.

The three basic types of galaxies are

A) Spiral, elliptical, and dwarf.

B) Spiral, elliptical, and irregular.

C) Spiral, giant, and irregular.

D) Spiral, giant, and dwarf.

18.

A planet orbiting a star feels a force due to the star’s gravity that

A) Increases with the square of the star’s mass and decreases with the distance.

B) Decreases with the square of the star’s mass and increases with the distance.

C) Increases with the star’s mass and decreases with the square of the distance.

D) Decreases with the star’s mass and increases with the square of the distance.

19.

Massive main sequence stars

A) Have hot cores, use their hydrogen rapidly, and go supernova after a short life.

B) Have hot cores, use their hydrogen slowly, and go supernova after a long life.

C) Have cooler cores, use their hydrogen rapidly, and eject their outer layers as planetary nebulae after a short life.

D) Have cooler cores, use their hydrogen slowly, and eject their outer layers as planetary nebulae after a long life.

20.

Hubble’s law gives us an indirect way to measure a galaxy’s

A) Luminosity.

B) Temperature.

C) Mass.

D) Distance.

21.

We can determine an object’s temperature from its thermal (or “blackbody”) spectrum by finding the wavelength at which it emits the most electromagnetic radiation.

A) True

B) False

22.

A solar eclipse occurs during full moon.

A) True

B) False

23.

We can still see radiation left over from the Big Bang today as the cosmic microwave background.

A) True

B) False

24.

After its core hydrogen is depleted, a red main sequence star will go supernova after its red giant phase.

A) True

B) False

25.

The oldest stars in the Milky Way are found in the disk.

A) True

B) False

26.

Astronomers believe there is enough dark matter in the universe to slow its expansion gradually toward a stop.

A) True

B) False

27.

Galileo’s findings from his telescopic observations were revolutionary because he showed that the heavens were not perfect.

A) True

B) False

28.

If the sun had begun fusion later, so it did not clear the solar nebula of its remaining gas so soon, Uranus and Neptune might have become as large as Jupiter and Saturn are now.

A) True

B) False

29.

If the sun somehow instantaneously became a 1 solar mass black hole, the Earth would soon spiral into it as part of an accretion disk.

A) True

B) False

30.

According to Hubble’s law, the redshift of a distant galaxy is directly related to its temperature.

A) True

B) False

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