front 1 Constellations appear to move across the sky at night because | back 1 the Earth spins on its axis. |
front 2 What causes Earth’s seasons? | back 2 23.5 tilt of Earth’s rotational axis |
front 3 What is the path that the Sun, Moon, and planets follow through the constellations? | back 3 the ecliptic |
front 4 How long does it take the Sun to complete one circuit of the ecliptic? | back 4 one year |
front 5 How long does it take the Moon to go around the ecliptic? | back 5 one month |
front 6 Stars in a constellation are | back 6 in the same part of the sky |
front 7 A total lunar eclipse occurs | back 7 during the full moon phase |
front 8 The vernal equinox marks the beginning of | back 8 spring |
front 9 Conditions are favorable for a solar eclipse | back 9 about every six months at new moon. |
front 10 The angle of parallax increases as | back 10 the baseline gets larger. |
front 11 Precession is caused by | back 11 the gravitational pull of the Moon. |
front 12 Considering the Moon’s phases, everyone on Earth sees | back 12 the same phase in 24 hours. |
front 13 Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn show retrograde motion because | back 13 Earth moves faster in its orbit. |
front 14 How did the geocentric model account for day and night on Earth? | back 14 The Sun orbited Earth. |
front 15 Epicycles were used in Ptolemy’s model to explain | back 15 why retrograde motion occurred. |
front 16 The geocentric model was supported by Aristotle because | back 16 stars don’t seem to show any parallax. b) we don’t feel as though Earth moves. c) objects fall toward Earth, not the Sun. d) we don’t see an enormous wind. e) All of the above were valid reasons. |
front 17 The heliocentric model assumes | back 17 the Sun is the center of the solar system. |
front 18 Copernicus’ important contribution to astronomy was | back 18 he did not assume planets moved in ellipses. |
front 19 Who published the first astronomical observations made with a telescope? | back 19 galileo |
front 20 Which of Galileo’s initial observations was most challenging to established geocentric beliefs? | back 20 d) satellites of Jupiter |
front 21 Which hero of the Renaissance postulated three “laws” of planetary motion? | back 21 Kepler |
front 22 Kepler’s 1st law of planetary orbits states that | back 22 planets orbit the Sun. b) orbits are noncircular. c) orbits are elliptical in shape. d) All of the above are stated. |
front 23 Earth is closer to the Sun in January. From this fact, Kepler’s 2nd law tells us | back 23 b) Earth orbits faster in January. |
front 24 Kepler’s 3rd law relates a planet’s distance from the Sun and its orbital | back 24 period |
front 25 Newton’s law of gravity states that the force between two objects | back 25 d) increases with mass. |
front 26 Which of these is NOT a form of electromagnetic radiation? | back 26 c) sound |
front 27 The distance between successive wave crests defines the ________ of a wave. | back 27 wavelength |
front 28 The frequency at which a star’s intensity is greatest depends directly on its | back 28 temperature |
front 29 Rigel appears as a bright bluish star, whereas Betelgeuse appears as a bright reddish star. Rigel is ______ Betelgeuse. | back 29 d) hotter than |
front 30 If a light source is approaching you, you will observe | back 30 its spectral lines are shorter in wavelength. |
front 31 The wavelengths of emission lines produced by an element | back 31 are identical to its absorption lines. |
front 32 Analyzing a star’s spectral lines can tell us about all of these EXCEPT | back 32 c) its transverse (side-to-side) motion. |
front 33 What types of electro-magnetic radiation from space reach the surface of Earth? | back 33 visible light & radio waves |
front 34 Which of the following has a fundamentally different nature than the other four? | back 34 photon |
front 35 Modern telescopes use mirrors rather than lenses for all of these reasons EXCEPT | back 35 reflecting telescopes aren’t affected by the atmosphere as much. |
front 36 Seeing in astronomy is a measurement of | back 36 the image quality due to air stability |
front 37 Diffraction is the tendency of light to | back 37 bend around corners and edges. |
front 38 Resolution is improved by using | back 38 c) larger telescopes & shorter wavelengths. |
front 39 An advantage of CCDs over photographic film is | back 39 ) they don’t require chemical development. b) digital data is easily stored & transmitted. c) CCDs are more light sensitive than film. d) CCD images can be developed faster. e) All of the above are true. |
front 40 Radio dishes are large in order to | back 40 a) improve angular resolution. |
front 41 Adaptive optics refers to | back 41 b) reducing atmospheric blurring using computer control |
front 42 Radio telescopes are useful because | back 42 observations can be made day & night. b) we can see objects that don’t emit visible light. c) radio waves are not blocked by interstellar dust. d) they can be linked to form interferometers. e) All of the above are true. |
front 43 Infrared telescopes are very useful for observing | back 43 cool stars & star-forming regions |
front 44 The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) offers sharper images than ground telescopes primarily because | back 44 d) HST orbits above the atmosphere. |
front 45 Which of the following are terrestrial planets? | back 45 ) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars |
front 46 The major difference(s) between the terrestrial and jovian planets involve(s) | back 46 e) mass and density. |
front 47 Which of the following defines density? | back 47 b) mass divided by volume |
front 48 The angular diameter of an object | back 48 b) decreases if the object is farther away. |
front 49 Compared with terrestrial planets, jovian planets share all of the following characteristics EXCEPT | back 49 e) slower rotation. |
front 50 Pluto seems to be more similar to | back 50 d) the moons of jovian planets. |
front 51 Most asteroids are found | back 51 c) between Mars and Jupiter. |
front 52 The asteroid belt is evidence of | back 52 ) ancient material from the formation of the solar system |
front 53 Compared to asteroids, comets show all of these properties EXCEPT | back 53 a) their densities are higher. |
front 54 What causes a meteor shower? | back 54 c) Earth runs into the debris of an old comet littering its orbit. |
front 55 Any theory of the origin of the solar system must explain all of these EXCEPT | back 55 the direction that planets orbit the Sun is opposite to the Sun’s spin. |
front 56 The condensation sequence theory explains why | back 56 c) terrestrial planets are different from jovian planets. |
front 57 Astronomers have detected most extrasolar planets by observing | back 57 a) the “wobble” of their parent stars using spectroscopy. |
front 58 Extrasolar planets the size of Earth have NOT been seen yet with current techniques because | back 58 large planets orbiting near to their stars are more easily detected |
front 59 The Moon’s internal structure is similar to Earth’s, but the Moon lacks | back 59 d) It lacks all of the above. |
front 60 The principal greenhouse gases in our present atmosphere are | back 60 c) water vapor and carbon dioxide. |
front 61 Without the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere | back 61 b) the Earth’s oceans would be frozen. |
front 62 The region around Earth where the magnetic field traps charged particles is the | back 62 c) Van Allen radiation belts. |
front 63 At what lunar phase would the variation between high & low tides be greatest? | back 63 e) both new and full moon |
front 64 What force riveted the Moon’s near side to constantly face Earth? | back 64 c) Earth’s tidal force |
front 65 Lunar maria are found | back 65 b) mostly on the side facing Earth. |
front 66 A planetary atmosphere with ozone could protect surface dwellers from | back 66 a) ultraviolet radiation. |
front 67 Which of these is NOT a result of the Earth’s magnetic field? | back 67 b) The giant impact theory |
front 68 Mercury’s surface most resembles which of these? | back 68 a) the Moon’s far side |
front 69 Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because | back 69 it is never more than 28° from the Sun. |
front 70 How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare? | back 70 Neither body has a permanent atmosphere. |
front 71 Mercury has extreme high and low temperatures between night and day because | back 71 it has no atmosphere to moderate temperatures over the globe. |
front 72 Which statement about the rotations of Mercury & the Moon is FALSE? | back 72 Like our Moon, Mercury does not rotate at all, keeping the same side facing the Sun |
front 73 Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the densest atmosphere? | back 73 Venus |
front 74 The greenhouse effect on Venus is due to ______ in its atmosphere. | back 74 c) carbon dioxide |
front 75 Venus’ surface shows all of the following EXCEPT | back 75 a) many impact craters of all sizes. |
front 76 What effect does the greenhouse effect have on the surface environment of Venus? | back 76 to raise the surface temperature by hundreds of degrees Celsius |
front 77 Which of the following inner solar system bodies has the largest volcanoes? | back 77 d) Mars |
front 78 Venus and Mars probably evolved differently from Earth because | back 78 ) they orbit at different distances from the Sun |
front 79 The weakness of the magnetic field of Mars is because | back 79 b) its core may no longer be molten. c) its core contains less iron than our Earth. |
front 80 What was the most likely source of the water that formed the huge outflow channels of Mars? | back 80 b) catastrophic but rare flooding |
front 81 Both Jupiter and Saturn | back 81 a) have liquid metallic hydrogen in their interiors. b) have rings. c) emit more energy than they absorb from the Sun. d) rotate very rapidly. e) All of the above. |
front 82 Jovian planets share all of the following traits EXCEPT | back 82 a) a low-density gaseous core. |
front 83 Jupiter and the other jovian planets are noticeably oblate because they have | back 83 c) rapid rotation and a fluid interior. |
front 84 What is the probable source of the variations in Jupiter’s belts and zones? | back 84 b) differential rotation and underlying zonal flow |
front 85 What is the source of Jupiter’s large magnetic field? | back 85 e) metallic hydrogen swirling in its interior |
front 86 Saturn radiates even more excess energy than Jupiter because | back 86 helium rain gives off heat as it falls toward Saturn’s center. |
front 87 The two outer jovian planets appear bluish in color because | back 87 b) methane absorbs red light. |
front 88 Which of these is TRUE about the seasons on Uranus? | back 88 a) Its strange tilt produces extreme seasonal variations. |
front 89 The magnetic fields of which two planets are most unusual? | back 89 e) Uranus and Neptune |
front 90 As their distance from Jupiter increases, the four Galilean satellites show a consistent | back 90 d) decrease in density. |
front 91 The surface of which jovian moon most resembles the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean? | back 91 a) Europa |
front 92 What is thought to cause Io’s volcanism? | back 92 c) tidal stress from Jupiter and Europa |
front 93 How was the ring of Jupiter discovered? | back 93 b) by Voyager I as it passed Jupiter |
front 94 The Roche limit is defined as the critical | back 94 distance from a planet, inside of which a moon can be tidally destroyed. |
front 95 Shepherd satellites are defined as | back 95 moons that confine a narrow ring. |
front 96 Why are the rings of Saturn so bright? | back 96 They are made of relatively new ice |
front 97 Which moon in the solar system shows a dense atmosphere? | back 97 Titan |
front 98 Which of the Uranian moons displays the widest range of surface terrains, suggesting some catastrophic disruption? | back 98 Miranda |
front 99 The rings of Neptune | back 99 a) were confirmed by Voyager 2 in 1989. b) appear both narrow and diffuse. c) all lie within Neptune’s Roche limit. d) often appear as clumpy ring arcs, rather than complete and symmetrical rings. e) All of these are correct |
front 100 Neptune’s moon Triton shows | back 100 b) volcanic features similar to those on Io. |
front 101 Many astronomers believe Pluto is perhaps best classified as | back 101 a large Kuiper belt object |
front 102 Which of these moons are most exciting to exobiologists? | back 102 b) Titan and Europa |