Astrophysics and Planetary Science: Predictions and Models, Exams of Astronomy

Download Astrophysics and Planetary Science: Predictions and Models and more Exams Astronomy in PDF only on Docsity! PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 1 1 Many primitive cultures have a model of the Sun’s motion in which the Sun passes underneath a ‡at earth. This model predicts a. nothing at all about how the Sun will appear. b. that people in the far North or South might not see the Sun for many days. c. that everyone on Earth sees the Sun rise and set each day. 2 Sarah reports that she saw a green star close to the star Betelgeuse. Actually she did not even look there. The most likely outcome of her fraud is that: a. Nobody bothers to check her observation and she becomes famous as the discoverer of the …rst green star. b. Other people look near Betelgeuse. They do not see the green star, and attack her report as a mistake or a fraud. c. Nobody bothers to check her observation and nobody believes her either. d. Other people look near Betelgeuse. They the star and con…rm her report. She becomes famous as the discoverer of the …rst green star. 3 In addition to measuring the positions of all the planets all the time, Tycho Brahe measured them to an accuracy of a. 1/60 degree of arc. b. 1/3600 degree of arc. c. …ve degrees of arc. d. 1/10 degree of arc. e. one degree of arc. 4 What total force will cause an object with a mass of 2kg to gain 5 meters per second every second? a. 2 Newtons. b. 10 Newtons. c. 490 Newtons. d. 9.8 Newtons. e. 5 Newtons. 5 Galileo is generally aknowledged to be the …rst to a. build a telescope. b. design a telescope. c. observe distant objects with a telescope. d. observe the heavens with a telescope. 6 Aristarchus measured the angle between the Sun and the Moon when exactly half of the Moon was illuminated. If the Sun were actually just two or three times as far away as the Moon, he would have found that angle to be a. less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure. b. less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure. c. greater than 90 degrees. d. exactly 90 degrees. 7 Comets are usually made of a. styrofoam and possibly poster paint. b. gold and possibly silver. c. concrete and possibly marble. d. rock and possibly iron. e. ice and possibly frozen gas. PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 2 8 Pythagoras proposed that the Earth was round probably because he a. had heard that constellations were visible in Egypt that could not be seen from Greece. b. felt that the gods favored a spherical shape over a ‡at one. c. was politically opposed to the ‡at-Earth faction. d. thought that the sphere was the simplest and most elegant shape. 9 As the two foci of an ellipse are brought together, the shape of the ellipse becomes a. more like a circle around the foci. b. more like a line between the foci. c. more like a sphere around the foci. d. more like a triangle drawn around the foci. 10 A solar sail is a large sheet of light-re‡ecting plastic spread on an extremely low-mass framework and attached to a spacecraft. Sunlight exerts a force on the sail and moves the spacecraft. Suppose the spacecraft has a total mass of 100kg (including the sail) and sunlight exerts a total force of 2N on the sail. What will be the acceleration of the spacecraft? a. 50m/s2: b. 0.2m/s2: c. 0.02m/s2: d. 2m/s2: e. 100m/s2: 11 The time from one solar noon to the next is a. Slightly less than 24 hours. b. Exactly 24 hours. c. Slightly more than 24 hours. 12 Most Kuiper Belt objects can best be described as a. ‡ying rocks or possibly ‡ying mountains. b. dirty snowballs or possibly ‡ying icebergs. c. ‡ying lakes or possibly ‡ying oceans. d. small stars or possibly large moons. 13 Newton’s explanation of Kepler’s Laws relied upon a force that a. acts only on heavenly bodies. b. acts only on inorganic matter. c. acts on planets but not on comets. d. acts on all objects. e. acts only on planets. 14 Asteroids are a. always found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. b. always found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. c. usually found in.the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. d. usually found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 5 29 Compared to a sidereal month, the time from one full Moon to the next is a. longer by four minutes. b. exactly the same. c. longer by 2.5 days. d. shorter by four minutes. e. shorter by 2.5 days. 30 The stars that form the Big Dipper (in England it is called the Plough) are a. all at very di¤erent distances from the Earth. b. mostly at nearly the same distance from the Earth, but with exceptions. c. all at nearly the same distance from the Earth. 31 When Newton calculated the magnitude of the acceleration of Earth’s Moon, and compared it to the acceleration of falling objects on the surface of the Earth, he found that a. The Moon’s acceleration was larger. b. The Moon’s acceleration was smaller. c. the accelerations were the same. 32 The Summer Solstice is the time when a. the sun crosses the Celestial Equator. b. the noon sun is highest in the sky. c. the noon sun is lowest in the sky. 33 In the picture that we used in class, with the Sun above the top of the picture and the Earth shown with its North Pole facing you, the part of the Earth that is experiencing sunset would be a. to the right of the North Pole in the picture. b. to the left of the North Pole in the picture. c. above the North Pole in the picture. d. below the North Pole in the picture. 34 Which of the following statements is falsi…able? a. The Minoans were the best civilization on Crete. b. The Minoans were a civilization on Crete. c. The Minoans were the …rst civilization on Crete. d. The Minoans were not the best civilization on Crete. e. The Minoans were not the …rst civilization on Crete. 35 A planet with a large system of moons would have to be a a. Kuiper Belt object. b. Jovian Planet. c. terrestrial planet. 36 Suppose that you drop a wooden ball and an iron ball, both the exact same diameter, from the same height at the same time. Aristotle would predict that a. both balls would hit the ground at exactly the same time. b. the iron ball would hit just slightly before the wooden one. c. the wooden ball would hit …rst on a short drop while the iron ball would hit …rst on a long drop. d. the wooden ball would hit just slightly before the iron one. e. the iron ball would hit the ground long before the wooden ball. PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 6 37 In the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System, a. the Earth was …xed and the planets and the Sun moved on epicycles which, in turn, went around the Earth. b. the Sun was …xed and the Earth and all of the planets moved on epicycles which, in turn, went around the Sun. c. the Sun was …xed and the Earth and all of the planets moved on elliptical orbits around the Sun. d. the Earth was …xed, the Sun moved around the Earth, and the planets moved on epicycles which, in turn, went around the Sun. 38 The stars, as seen from the Earth, appear to be attached to a. the Celestial Net, a mesh of wires surrounding the Earth. b. the Heliopause, an o¤-center surface surrounding the Sun. c. the North Celestial Pole. d. the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth. e. the top of the Earth’s atmosphere. 39 As seen from North America, the constellation Orion a. sets in the northwest. b. sets in the west and southwest. c. sets in the northeast. d. never sets. e. sets in the east and southeast. 40 When Galileo dropped a wooden ball and a heavier iron ball at the same time, he found that a. the iron ball always hit long before the wooden one. b. the wooden ball always hit long before the iron one. c. both balls always hit at exactly the same time. d. sometimes the wooden ball hit …rst, sometimes the iron one hit …rst. 41 A unit of mass is the a. meter per second. b. meter per second per second. c. meter. d. kilogram. e. Newton. 42 Galileo said that a moving object with nothing pushing or pulling on it will always a. keep moving at the same speed. b. speed up. c. slow down and stop. d. follow a circular path. 43 At midsummer in Murmansk (which is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle), you would expect the Sun to a. rise and set twice a day. b. stay below the horizon, all day, every day. c. rise and set every day. d. stay above the horizon all day, every day. PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 7 44 Astronomy is known for claiming to have measured many things that cannot possibly be probed directly. These measurements are made by combining actual measurements with a. arrogant claims. b. …ctitious measurements. c. wild guesses. d. well-tested models. 45 In one day, the position of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere a. Moves eastward along the ecliptic by 15. b. moves westward along the ecliptic by 1. c. moves westward along the ecliptic by 15. d. does not change at all. e. moves eastward along the ecliptic by 1. 46 An arti…cial satellite such as the International Space Station stays up because a. its speed weakens the pull of gravity. b. it is beyond the reach of Earth’s gravity and is weightless. c. the Earth curves out from under it as fast as it falls. 47 The earliest known measurement of the circumference of the Earth used a. noon Sun angles to determine the longitudes of two di¤erent locations. b. the duration of a lunar eclipse to determine the angle swept out by the Moon during the eclipse. c. noon Sun angles at two locations to determine the angle between the Earth radii to those locations. d. the angle between the Sun and the quarter Moon to determine the angle between the Sun radii to the Earth and Moon. e. the angle between the Sun and the quarter Moon at two locations to determine the angle between the Earth radii to those locations. 48 Aristotle pointed out that assuming that gravity pulls everything toward a common center a. implies that a spherical Earth would be unstable. b. is impossible since things far from that center would be pulled sideways. c. explains why the Earth is spherical. d. explains why the Earth is ‡at. 49 The planet Neptune was located because a. its gravity disturbed the orbit of Uranus. b. it caused Mars to deviate from Kepler’s Laws. c. its orbit was not elliptical. d. it lost a satellite which became Pluto. e. it caused the Sun to wobble. 50 In the ancient Greek theory of gravity, everything was attracted to the center of the universe. In Newton’s theory of gravity, everything was attracted a. to every other object in the universe. b. only to massive heavenly objects such as the Sun, Moon, planets, and the Earth. c. only to the Sun. d. only to the center of the Earth. PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 10 Answer Key: HX1P1 Preview Exam No.2 1 Choice c. (that everyone on Earth sees the Sun rise and set each day.) 2 Choice b. (Other people look near Betelgeuse. They do not see the green star, and attack her report as a mistake or a fraud.) 3 Choice a. (1/60 degree of arc.) 4 Choice b. (10 Newtons.) 5 Choice d. (observe the heavens with a telescope.) 6 Choice a. (less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure.) 7 Choice e. (ice and possibly frozen gas.) 8 Choice d. (thought that the sphere was the simplest and most elegant shape.) 9 Choice a. (more like a circle around the foci.) 10 Choice c. (0.02m/s2:) 11 Choice b. (Exactly 24 hours.) 12 Choice b. (dirty snowballs or possibly ‡ying icebergs.) 13 Choice d. (acts on all objects.) 14 Choice c. (usually found in.the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.) 15 Choice b. (the stars are so far away that the shifts due to the Earth’s motion are extremely small.) 16 Choice a. (its acceleration will be zero.) 17 Choice d. (the same because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has more inertia.) 18 Choice a. (keep moving if no force acts on it.) 19 Choice a. (an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.) 20 Choice d. (Mercury takes less time to go around the Sun and moves faster than the Earth.) 21 Choice a. (East.) 22 Choice b. (a sidereal day.) 23 Choice b. (funded by a large fraction of the national budget of Denmark.) 24 Choice a. (700kg/m3) 25 Choice b. (4 miles per second.) 26 Choice d. (The Ptolemaic Model is wrong.) 27 Choice c. (It correctly predicted what was observed and thus did not need to be replaced.) 28 Choice a. (a fairly dim star in the constellation Cepheus.) 29 Choice c. (longer by 2.5 days.) 30 Choice b. (mostly at nearly the same distance from the Earth, but with exceptions.) 31 Choice b. (The Moon’s acceleration was smaller.) 32 Choice b. (the noon sun is highest in the sky.) 33 Choice b. (to the left of the North Pole in the picture.) 34 Choice c. (The Minoans were the …rst civilization on Crete.) 35 Choice b. (Jovian Planet.) PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 11 36 Choice e. (the iron ball would hit the ground long before the wooden ball.) 37 Choice a. (the Earth was …xed and the planets and the Sun moved on epicycles which, in turn, went around the Earth.) 38 Choice d. (the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth.) 39 Choice b. (sets in the west and southwest.) 40 Choice d. (sometimes the wooden ball hit …rst, sometimes the iron one hit …rst.) 41 Choice d. (kilogram.) 42 Choice a. (keep moving at the same speed.) 43 Choice d. (stay above the horizon all day, every day.) 44 Choice d. (well-tested models.) 45 Choice e. (moves eastward along the ecliptic by 1.) 46 Choice c. (the Earth curves out from under it as fast as it falls.) 47 Choice c. (noon Sun angles at two locations to determine the angle between the Earth radii to those locations.) 48 Choice c. (explains why the Earth is spherical.) 49 Choice a. (its gravity disturbed the orbit of Uranus.) 50 Choice a. (to every other object in the universe.) 51 Choice c. (North Pole.) 52 Choice d. (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest)) 53 Choice d. (Polaris.) 54 Choice e. (daily motions in the heavens.) 55 Choice b. (rejected by most astronomers as not really any better than the Ptolemaic System.) 56 Choice c. (11:00 p.m. the same day.) 57 Choice c. (science produces revisable facts.) 58 Choice c. (12 Newtons.) 59 Choice d. (A waxing crescent Moon setting in the west.) 60 Choice b. (calculate the distance from the Earth to the Moon.) 61 Choice b. (the bullet.) 62 Choice c. (execute retrograde loops.) 63 Choice b. (one astronomical unit.) PHYS103 Sec 901 Hour Exam No. 1 Preview 2 Page: 12 Solutions 1 Module 001.401 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Flat Earth Model 2 Module 001.203 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty. 3 Module 005.204 The Sky: Power of Observation Tycho’s observations 4 Module 008.508 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass F=ma 5 Module 007.603 Science Model Building Phases of Venus 6 Module 007.304 Science Model Building the Sun 7 Module 010.501 Solar System Overview Comets 8 Module 002.101 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Elegance. 9 Module 005.503 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s First Law 10 Module 008.516 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass a = F/m 11 Module 003.403 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Apparent Motion of the Sun 12 Module 010.602 Solar System Overview The Kuiper Belt 13 Module 009.402 Science Models of Gravity Unifying Physical Law 14 Module 010.404 Solar System Overview Asteroids 15 Module 004.304 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Aristarchus 16 Module 008.304 Science Models of Motion Acceleration 17 Module 009.406 Science Models of Gravity Unifying Physical Law 18 Module 008.502 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass 19 Module 005.501 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s First Law 20 Module 005.604 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s 2nd and 3rd Laws 21 Module 001.101 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Where? 22 Module 003.104 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map 23 Module 005.101 The Sky: Power of Observation Big Science 24 Module 010.301 Solar System Overview The Jovian Planets 25 Module 009.604 Science Models of Gravity Arti…cial Satellites 26 Module 007.601 Science Model Building Phases of Venus 27 Module 006.303 Science Scienti…c Statements The Search for Error 28 Module 003.209 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Names 29 Module 007.509 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon 30 Module 003.204 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Patterns 31 Module 009.202 Science Models of Gravity The Moon and the Apple 32 Module 003.601 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. The Seasons 33 Module 007.403 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading 34 Module 006.102 Science Scienti…c Statements How to test a statement 35 Module 010.304 Solar System Overview The Jovian Planets 36 Module008.105 Science Models of Motion Aristotle