ASTRONOMY EXAM 1

Question 1

When we see Venus in its full phase, what phase would earth be in as seen by a hypothetical?

Answer 1

FULL

Question 2

Keplers second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that

Answer 2

A planet travels faster when its nearer to the sun and slower when its farther from the sun

Question 3

T/F: Tycho used his high accuracy observations to conclude that the earth revolves around the sun

Answer 3

F

Question 4

T/F: Columbus was the first person to discover that the earth is round

Answer 4

F

Question 5

Galileo challenged the idea that objects in the heavens were perfect by

Answer 5

observing sunspots on the sun and mountains on the moon

Question 6

How many laws of planetary motion did Kepler have?

Answer 6

3

Question 7

The name of the seven days of the week are based on

Answer 7

the seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellations

Question 8

which of the following statements about an ellipse is NOT true

Answer 8

the focus of an ellipse is always located precisely at the center of the ellipse

Question 9

the great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to

Answer 9

create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the center

Question 10

when did Ptolemy live

Answer 10

about 2000 years ago

Question 11

Galileo observed which of the following phases of Venus

Answer 11

full, crescent, gibbous, new

Question 12

which of the following was NOT observed by Galileo

Answer 12

stellar parallax

Question 13

he discovered that the orbits of planets are ellipses

Answer 13

Kepler

Question 14

his model put the sun in the center, but was not very accurate because the orbits were perfect circles

Answer 14

Copernicus

Question 15

consider the elliptical orbit of a comet around the sun. where in its orbit is the comet moving the fastest?

Answer 15

when its closest to the sun

Question 16

when did humans first learn that earth is not the center of the universe

Answer 16

within the past 500 years

Question 17

the point along a planets orbit where it is closest to the sun is called the orbits

Answer 17

perihelion

Question 18

which planet hosts the Galilean moons

Answer 18

Jupiter

Question 19

Why did the greeks conclude that the Earth was stationary, and that the sun and the planets orbited around the Earth

Answer 19

They did not observe any change in the seperation of stars during Earth’s orbit

Question 20

a galaxy is

Answer 20

a collection of a few hundred million to a trillion or more stars, bound together by gravity

Question 21

during a lunar eclipse the Moons phase must be

Answer 21

full

Question 22

T/F: in the northern hemisphere , the day that the sun is up the longest in the sky is on the June solstice

Answer 22

True

Question 23

T/F: As earth orbits the sun, its axis is tilted from the vertical by 23-1/2 degrees, with the North Pole always tipped toward the sun

Answer 23

False

Question 24

How long does it take the earth to complete one orbit around the sun

Answer 24

one year

Question 25

if the moon is 3rd quarter phase, what shape does it have in the sky

Answer 25

a half circle

Question 26

what is the ecliptic

Answer 26

the path the sun appears to trace around the celestial sphere each year

Question 27

how long does it take our solar system to complete one orbit around the Milky Way Galaxy

Answer 27

230 million years

Question 28

why is it summer in the northern Hemisphere when it is winter in the southern Hemisphere

Answer 28

the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and receives more direct sunlight

Question 29

T/F: if you lived on the moon, you’d see full earth when we see new moon

Answer 29

T

Question 30

you observe a full moon rising at sunset, what will you see 6 Hours later

Answer 30

a full moon on or near your meridian

Question 31

how does earth;s varying distance from the sun affect our seasons

Answer 31

it doesn’t, earth’s orbital distance plays no significant role in the seasons

Question 32

if we have a new moon today, when will we have the next full moon

Answer 32

in about two weeks

Question 33

what do astronomers mean by a constellation

Answer 33

a constellation is a region in the sky as seen from earth

Question 34

which of the following has your “cosmic address”

Answer 34

you, Earth, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Local Supercluster

Question 35

when is a comets orbital speed at its maximum

Answer 35

when its closest to the sun

Question 36

what part of the electromagnetic spectrum, do the biggest telescopes on earth operate

Answer 36

radio

Question 37

what is a asterisms

Answer 37

pattern of the stars

Question 38

what is a constellation

Answer 38

a area of the sky

Question 39

what is a equinox

Answer 39

where a planets sub-solar point passes through the equator

Question 40

what is the phases of the moon

Answer 40

new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter, waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning crescent and waning gibbous.

Question 41

what is a lunar eclipse

Answer 41

SUN< EARTH< MOON

Question 42

what is kepler’s 3 laws

Answer 42

(1) planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun as a focus, (2) a planet covers the same area of space in the same amount of time no matter where it is in its orbit, and (3) a planet’s orbital period is proportional to the size of its orbit (its semi-major axis).

Question 43

what is newton’s 3 laws

Answer 43

In the first law, an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it. In the second law, the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. In the third law, when two objects interact, they apply forces to each other of equal magnitude and opposite direction