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Astronomy 1 > Astronomy Fall Semester Exam Review 2022 > Flashcards

Astronomy Fall Semester Exam Review 2022 Flashcards

1
Q

It takes approximately ___________ for Earth to rotate once on its axis.

A

24 hours

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2
Q

It takes the Earth approximately ________ to travel around the sun once.

A

365 days

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3
Q

The Earth’s orbit around the Sun is in the shape of an ___________.

A

Ellipse

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4
Q

During which season is Earth closest to the Sun?

A

Winter

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5
Q

The Earth’s axis is tilted ________ degrees.

A

23.5

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6
Q

_________ occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is oriented directly towards or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to appear to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes.

A

Solstices

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7
Q

The northern hemisphere experiences the fewest daylight hours on ___________.

A

December 21

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8
Q

During the summer solstice, sunlight strikes the Earth most directly at the ____________.

A

Tropic of Cancer

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9
Q

How many hours of daylight does Earth experience during the vernal equinox?

A

Approximately 12

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10
Q

During the winter solstice, the ____________ experiences 24 hours of daylight.

A

South Pole

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11
Q

The principal culture that transferred Greek astronomical knowledge to Renaissance Europe was:

A

Islamic

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12
Q

The most accurate Greek attempt to explain planetary motion was the model of:

A

Ptolemy

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13
Q

The greatest contribution of the Greeks to modern thought was:

A

The development of scientific inquiry and model building

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14
Q

On which of these assumptions do Ptolemy and Copernicus agree?

A

All orbits must be perfect circles

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15
Q

According to Copernicus, the retrograde motion for Mars must occur:

A

at opposition, when the Earth overtakes Mars and passes between Mars and the Sun

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16
Q

Which was a contribution to astronomy made by Copernicus?

A

He laid out the order and relative motion of the known solar system.

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17
Q

Which of these observations of Galileo refuted Ptolemy’s epicycles?

A

the complete cycles of Venus’ phases

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18
Q

A fatal flaw with Ptolemy’s model is its inability to predict the observed phases of

A

Mercury and Venus

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19
Q

Kepler’s first law worked, where Copernicus’ original heliocentric model failed, because Kepler described the orbits as:

A

Elliptical, not circular

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20
Q

The most famous prehistoric astronomical observatory is:

A

Stonehenge

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21
Q

What contribution to astronomy was made by Tycho Brache?

A

His observations of planetary motion with great accuracy proved circular orbits could not work.

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22
Q

According to Kepler’s third law, the square of the planet’s period in years is:

A

proportional to the cube of its semi-major axis in A.U.

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23
Q

What does Kepler’s third law imply about planetary motion?

A

Planets further from the Sun orbit at a slower speed than planets closer to the Sun.

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24
Q

Today we rely largely on what technique to precisely measure distances in the solar system?

A

Radar echo timings

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25
Q

The Law of Universal Gravitation was developed by:

A

Newton

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26
Q

The force of gravity between two objects:

A

increases with the masses of the bodies, but decreases with the square of the distances between them.

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27
Q

Kepler’s second law implies what about planetary motion?

A

A planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun.

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28
Q

The number of waves passing the observer per second is:

A

the frequency in Hertz

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29
Q

Both sound waves and electromagnetic radiation:

A

transfer energy

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30
Q

What does the phenomenon of diffraction demonstrate?

A

the wave nature of light

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31
Q

Which of these is constant for ALL types of electromagnetic radiation in a vacuum?

A

Velocity

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32
Q

Electromagnetic radiation:

A

can behave both as a wave and a particle

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33
Q

Of all the forms of electromagnetic radiation, the one with the lowest frequency is:

A

Radio waves

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34
Q

Colors appear different to us because of their photons’ different:

A

frequencies

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35
Q

Which type of radiation can be observed well from Earth’s surface?

A

Visible

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36
Q

The wavelength at which a blackbody radiated most depends on its:

A

Temperature

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37
Q

What is spectroscopy?

A

An analysis of the way in which atoms absorb and emit light

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38
Q

Typical stellar spectra appear as:

A

a rainbow, but with some dark lines mixed in

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39
Q

The three laws dealing with the creation of various spectra are due to:

A

Kirchhoff

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40
Q

An incandescent light (glowing tungsten filament) procedures:

A

a continuous spectrum, with the peak giving the temperature of the filament

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41
Q

An emission spectrum can be used to identify an:

A

atom

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42
Q

In Bohr’s model of the atom, electrons:

A

only make transitions between orbitals of specific energies

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43
Q

A heavy neutral atom, such as iron, produces many spectral lines compared to light elements like hydrogen and helium. Why?

A

Because of the larger number of electrons and corresponding energy levels, more transitions are possible

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44
Q

Why are molecular lines more complex than elemental spectral lines?

A

Molecules can vibrate and rotate as well

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45
Q

The observed spectral lines of a star are all shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. Which statement is true?

A

This is an example of the Doppler Effect

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46
Q

Which of the following is the largest distance?

A

The orbit of the Earth around the Sun

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47
Q

Which of the following objects is furthest away from the Sun?

A

Mars

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48
Q

Which of the following is a star?

A

The Sun

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49
Q

Which of the following is the largest?

A

The universe

50
Q

Which of the following are considered to be clues to how the solar system was formed?

A

All the planets move in the same direction around the Sun, and in the same plane.

51
Q

Which of the following are considered to be clues to how the Milky Way was formed?

A

All the stars move in the same direction around the center of the galaxy and in the same plane

52
Q

Approximately, how many stars are there in the Milky Way?

A

10^11

53
Q

Approximately, how many galaxies are there in the universe?

A

10^11

54
Q

Which of the following is the smallest object listed?

A

An atom

55
Q

What is a nucleus made of?

A

Protons and neutrons

56
Q

Which of the following lists objects from largest to smallest?

A

Rock - Molecule - Atom - Nucleus - Proton - Quark

57
Q

Which of the following lists distances from shortest to longest?

A

Distance from the Earth to the Moon - Distances from the Earth to the Sun - Distance from the Sun to Pluto - Distance from our Sun to the nearest star

58
Q

What model did Copernicus propose?

A

A model where the Sun is at the center of the universe and all objects rotate around it

59
Q

In order for a theory to be considered a “Scientific Theory” it must have the following characteristics

A

Prediction - Falsifiability - Explanation

60
Q

Which of the following is an example of evidence that showed Ptolemy’s model for the universe was incomplete?

A

The fact that moons orbited Jupiter

61
Q

Light can be described as a…?

A

Particle and a wave

62
Q

What is the name of the light particle?

A

The photon

63
Q

Which of the following lists the light from the most energetic to least energetic?

A

Gamma Ray - X Ray - Ultraviolet - Visible Light - Infrared - Microwaves - Radio Waves

64
Q

Which of the following lists the wavelength of light from longest to shortest?

A

Radio waves - Microwaves - Infrared - Visible Light - Ultraviolet - X Ray - Gamma Rays

65
Q

How far away is the Sun from our Earth?

A

8 light minutes

66
Q

Which of the below numbers closely approximates the distance from our Sun to the nearest star?

A

4 light years

67
Q

As a light source moves away from us the light will appear to be shifted to what color?

A

More to the red side of the spectrum

68
Q

Christian Doppler discovered a principle which applies equally to light and sound. Which of the following choices best describes this principal?

A

When a source of waves if approaching an observer the wave will be “squashed up” and when the source of waves is receding from an observer the wave will be “stretched out”

69
Q

According to Einstein’s theory gravity is not a force but rather is described as….?

A

A consequence of the fact that space-time is not flat

70
Q

General relativity makes predictions about what realm of the universe?

A

The very large (sizes bigger than people)

71
Q

In the analogy of a rubber sheet and weighted sphere used to describe general relativity, what does the rubber sheet represent?

A

Space-time

72
Q

What are the four dimensions proposed by relativity?

A

The three spatial dimensions (length, width, height…or x, y, z) and time

73
Q

What is the fundamental experiment that was able to differentiate between Newton’s theory of gravity and Einstein’s theory of general relativity?

A

The experiment that tested if a star could bend the path of light

74
Q

Which of the following interactions listed could not be correctly described with Newton’s laws of gravity?

A

The interaction of light and stars

75
Q

Which of the following has a bigger gravitational impact on you?

A

The Earth

76
Q

What does the term “dark matter” mean?

A

A type of matter that does not interact much with light but whose presence can be inferred because it does influence other matter through its gravity

77
Q

If there were no dark matter in galaxies, how should stars in a galaxy move?

A

A star on the outer portions of a galaxy would go around the center of the galaxy slower than a star near the center

78
Q

Electrons are attracted to

A

Positively charged objects

79
Q

What is the mediator of the electromagnetic force?

A

The photon

80
Q

We can think of a force between electrically charged particles as being…?

A

Caused by the exchange of “virtual” photons

81
Q

What is a consequence of the electrons orbits being quantized?

A

The atom can only absorb certain distinct amounts of energy corresponding to the difference in the energy levels

82
Q

Which of the following descriptions best describes the electromagnetic force?

A

Electromagnetism is essentially the emission and absorption of photons carrying information

83
Q

Why is it that we are attracted to the Earth through gravity and not electromagnetism if electromagnetism is MUCH stronger than gravity?

A

People and the Earth are electrically neutral

84
Q

How many quarks are there inside the proton?

A

Three quarks

85
Q

What is the particle that is the mediator of the strong force?

A

The gluon

86
Q

What is the significance of the observation of spectral lines in a spectrometer attached to telescopes looking at the stars?

A

This observation provides us with evidence that the stars and our Sun are made up of the same elements thus are sun is not unique

87
Q

What is the most common type of atom in the Sun?

A

Hydrogen

88
Q

What characteristics determine what type of isotope an atom is?

A

The number of protons and neutrons

89
Q

The sensation of being “hot” can be described from the atomic perspective as…

A

Many atoms are colliding with you transferring a lot of energy to you

90
Q

If a bunch of atoms are in thermal equilibrium, then this means that:

A

They all roughly have the same energy

91
Q

If a gas is in thermal equilibrium and the volume its contained in expands, we expect the temperature of the gas to

A

Decrease

92
Q

Which can best describe the data that Hubble observed?

A

The light from distance galaxies is red-shifted

93
Q

What can we conclude from the observed fact that light from distant galaxies appears to be red-shifted?

A

All distant galaxies seem to be moving away from us

94
Q

Which of the following statements describes Hubble’s findings about the distant galaxies?

A

He discovered that the speed at which distant galaxies move away from us increases roughly in proportion to their increasing distance from us

95
Q

Which of the following statements describes the data about galaxies?

A

There appear to be the same number of galaxies in all directions

96
Q

How old does the data predict the universe to be?

A

13.5 billion years old

97
Q

Where does science say the big bang occurred?

A

The big bang describes an explosion which occurred simultaneously everywhere filling all space with every particle of matter rushing away from one another and thus does not have a center

98
Q

The cosmological principle means that:

A

The idea that the universe looks essentially the same to everyone, everywhere in the universe

99
Q

We currently think that the center of the universe is:

A

Essentially nonexistent, because the universe expands like a balloon (of which we are on the surface of) with no real center

100
Q

The current understanding of why objects appear to be moving faster the father they are away from us is currently thought to be because:

A

Because space itself is expanding, and thus the further apart two points are, the faster they appear to be moving relative to each other.

101
Q

An important piece of evidence that the universe is expanding comes from:

A

The wavelength of any ray of light that comes to us from a distant galaxy simply increases in proportion to the distance to that galaxy as the universe expands

102
Q

What is the temperature of the cosmic background radiation?

A

2.7 Kelvin

103
Q

The measurement that the universe looks the same in all directions is thought to be the consequence of what property of the early universe?

A

The fact that it passed through a state of thermal equilibrium

104
Q

Most of the heavy elements in our universe were produced by:

A

Stars

105
Q

The photons in the cosmic background radiation today are mostly:

A

Microwaves

106
Q

Most of the atoms in the universe are hydrogen. The rest are mostly:

A

Helium

107
Q

Photons always break up which of the following?

A

It depends on the energy of the photon

108
Q

Photons in cosmic background radiation are low energy today because

A

The universe is expanding which stretches their wavelength

109
Q

Which of the following constellations is not seen during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere?

A

Orion

110
Q

What northern star can be used to find your latitude in the Norther Hemisphere?

A

Polaris

111
Q

Groupings of stars in the sky that are easy to recognize and have been given names are known as:

A

Constellations

112
Q

What group of stars can be used as a star clock to tell time at night?

A

The Big Dipper

113
Q

Stars that are close to the celestial poles, are up all night and do not rise or set, are called:

A

Circumpolar

114
Q

The Sun, Moon, and planets are always found within a band of constellations known as:

A

Zodiac

115
Q

In which part of the sky is the Big Dipper found?

A

North

116
Q

In the Northern Hemisphere the constellation Orion is best seen in:

A

The winter

117
Q

Which of the following is a constellation of zodiac?

A

Sagittarius

118
Q

How does elevation of the North Star change as you move from equator to the North Pole?

A

Increases

119
Q

Many great minds worked on the problem of determining longitude. Which of the following was the first to solve this problem?

A

John Harrison

120
Q

Which of the following was a key constellation for navigating the Southern Hemisphere?

A

Southern Cross

Astronomy 1 (9 decks)

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