final mutiple choice

Question 1

Comets consist largely of?
a. hydrogen
b. iron
c. ice and dust
d. rocks

Answer 1

C. Ice and dust

Question 2

The tail of a comet?
a. is constant in size
b. always points away from its direction of motion
c. always points toward the sun
d. always points away from the sun

Answer 2

D. always points away from the sun

Question 3

The planet nearest to the sun is:
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Saturn
d. Neptune

Answer 3

A. Mercury

Question 4

The smallest of the following planets is:
a. Mars
b. Saturn
c. Jupiter
d. Uranus

Answer 4

A. Mars

Question 5

The planet closest to the earth in size and mass is:
a. Mercury
b. Mars
c. Venus
d. Uranus

Answer 5

C. Venus

Question 6

The largest of the following planets is:
a. Mars
b. Saturn
c. Jupiter
d. Uranus

Answer 6

C. Jupiter

Question 7

A planet with virtually no atmosphere is:
a. mercury
b. Jupiter
c. Mars
d. saturn

Answer 7

A. Mercury

Question 8

The planet that appears the brightest in the sky is:
a. Venus
b. Jupiter
c. Mars
d. Saturn

Answer 8

A. Venus

Question 9

A dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide is found on:
a. mercury
b. mars
c. Venus
d. the moon

Answer 9

B. Venus

Question 10

A planet with no known satellites/moons is:
a. Venus
b. Jupiter
c. Saturn
d. Uranus

Answer 10

A. Venus

Question 11

The rings of Saturn:
a. are gas clouds
b. are sheets of liquid
c. are sheets of solid rock
d. consists of separate particles

Answer 11

d. consists of separate particles

Question 12

The planet with the most mass is:
a. earth
b. saturn
c. jupiter
d. neptune

Answer 12

C. Jupiter

Question 13

A planet that consists largely of hydrogen and helium is:
a. mercury
b. Venus
c. Mars
d. Jupiter

Answer 13

D. Jupiter

Question 14

At new moon the moon is:
a. between the earth and the sun
b. on the opposite side of the earth from the sun
c. on the opposite side of the sun from the earth
d. to the side of a line between the earth and the sun

Answer 14

A. between the earth and the sun

Question 15

Eclipses of the sun occur at:
a. new moon
b. full moon
c. first or last quarter
d. anytime

Answer 15

A. new moon

Question 16

Eclipses of the moon occur during:
a. new moon
b. full moon
c. first and last quarter
d. anytime

Answer 16

A. new moon
b. full moon

Question 17

The moons maria is what?
a. bodies of water like the earths oceans
b. solid lava flows
c. lava flows pulverized by meteorized impacts
d. hardened sediments

Answer 17

c. lava flows pulverized by meteoroid impacts

Question 18

The sun is:
a. unusually small star
b. unusually large star
c. rather ordinary star
d. rather unordinary star

Answer 18

C. rather ordinary star

Question 19

The surface temperature of the sun is approximately:
a. 600k
b. 6000K
c. 6 million K
d. 14 million K

Answer 19

B. 6000K

Question 20

the suns atmosphere:
a. extends out into the solar system
b. consists mainly of oxygen and nitrogen
c. consists of burning hydrogen
d. is relatively cool

Answer 20

A. extends out into the solar system

Question 21

Sunspots are:
a. dark clouds in the sun’s atmosphere
b. regions somewhat cooler than the rest of the sun’s surface
c. regions somewhat hotter than the rest of the sun’s surface
d. of unknown nature

Answer 21

B. regions somewhat cooler than the rest of the sun’s surface

Question 22

The duration of the sunspot cycle is approximately:
a. 27 days
b. 3 years
c. 6 months
d. 11 years

Answer 22

D. 11 years

Question 23

sunspot activity does not affect:
a. shortwave radio communication
b. the aurora
c. The earth’s magnetic field
d. volcanic eruptions

Answer 23

D. Volcanic eruptions

Question 24

The temperature of the sun’s interior is believed to be about:
a. 600K
b. 6000K
c. 14 million K
d. 14 billion K

Answer 24

C. 14 million K

Question 25

Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun, is at a distance of about a. 4 light years away b. 400 light years away c. 4 million light years away d. 4 billion light years away

Answer 25

A. 4 light years away

Question 26

The color of a relatively cool star is: a. white b. blue c. yellow d. red

Answer 26

D. Red

Question 27

A typical white dwarf star is about the size of a. a large building b. the earth c. the moon d. jupiter

Answer 27

B. the earth

Question 28

When the hydrogen supply in a typical main-sequence star begins to run out, other nuclear reactions occur and the star becomes a: a. red giant b. supernova c. white dwarf d. neutron star

Answer 28

A. red giant

Question 29

A star like the sun eventually becomes: a. black hole b. supernova c. white dwarf d. neutron star

Answer 29

C. white dwarf

Question 30

A star that explodes as a supernova: a. has a mass much greater than that of the sun b. has mass much smaller than that of the sun c. has a mass about equal to that of the sun d. may have any mass

Answer 30

A. has a mass much greater than that of the sun

Question 31

The brightest of the following types of stars is a: a. red giant b. supernova c. white dwarf d. neutron star

Answer 31

B. supernova

Question 32

A pulsar is not a. he remnant of a supernova explosion b. rotating rapidly c. composed largely of neutrons d. as large as the earth

Answer 32

D. as large as the earth

Question 33

A black hole appears black because a. it is too cool to radiate b. it is surrounded by an absorbing layer of gas c. its gravitational field is too strong to permit light to escape d. its magnetic field is too strong to permit light to escape

Answer 33

C. its gravitational field is too strong to permit light to escape

Question 34

Black holes are remnants of: a. stars with small masses b. stars with large masses c. white dwarfs d. black dwarfs

Answer 34

B. stars with large masses

Question 35

The milky way is: a. a gas cloud in the solar system b. a gas cloud in the galaxy of which the sun is a member c. the galaxy of which the sun is a member d. a nearby galaxy

Answer 35

C. the galaxy of which the sun is a member

Question 36

Our galaxy is approximately: a. 4 light years across b. 15,000 light years across c. 130,000 light years across d. 4 million light years across

Answer 36

C. 130,000 light years across

Question 37

The number of stars in our galaxy is roughly a. 2,000 b. 2 billion c. 2 million d. 200 billion

Answer 37

D. 200 billion

Question 38

Our galaxy has: 1 main spiral arm b. 2 main spiral arms c. 3 main spiral arms d. 4 main spiral arms

Answer 38

D. 4 main spiral arms

Question 39

Our galaxy is shaped roughly like a fried egg whose diameter is about: a. twice its thickness b. 10 times its thickness c. 100 times its thickness d. 1 million times its thickness

Answer 39

B. 10 times its thickness

Question 40

Clouds are luminous gas and dust in our galaxy are called: a. galactic cluster b. galactic nebulas c. quasars d. cosmic rays

Answer 40

B. galactic nebulas