ASTR 1000 CU Boulder

Which of the following is correct?

a. Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 1 AU.

b. Earth has a perfect circular orbit around the Sun with a radius of 1 AU.

c. The maximum Earth-Sun distance is 1 AU.

d. The minimum Earth-Sun distance is 1 AU.

a. Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 1 AU.

Which of the following is incorrect about stars?

a. The Sun is a star

b. Stars are bright objects in the night sky

c. Stars move relative to each other

d. Nuclear fusion makes a star shine.

b. Stars are bright objects in the night sky

Which of the following statements about the universe is true?

a. The universe is expanding from its center.

b. The size of the observable universe depends on the age of the universe.

c. There is nothing outside the observable universe.

d. All stars in the universe were formed at approximately the same time.

b. The size of the observable universe depends on the age of the universe.

The celestial sphere is

a. the central spherical region of the Milky Way Galaxy, dense with stars.

b. a spherical galaxy, centered on the Sun.

c. a useful illusion used to map the stars and other objects in the sky. d. the star-sphere discovered by the Greeks and other ancient civilizations which shows the physical location in space of the nearby stars. e. another name for our spherical Sun.

c. a useful illusion used to map the stars and other objects in the sky.

When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is ________ in the Southern Hemisphere.

a. winter

b. fall

c. spring

d. summer

a. winter

The Northern and Southern hemispheres have equal illumination from the Sun

a. on the June and December solstices.

b. on the March and September equinoxes.

c. on all four of the equinoxes and solstices.

d. only on the March equinox.

e. at all times.

b. on the March and September equinoxes.

The time from one new moon to the next is approximately

a. one week.

b. two weeks.

c. three weeks.

d. one month.

e. two months.

d. one month.

If the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth was perfectly aligned with the ecliptic plane (instead of being tilted by about 5°), a solar eclipse would be visible on some parts of Earth

a. once a day.

b. never.

c. about once a month.

d. about once every six months.

e. about once a year.

c. about once a month.

Which of the following statements about lunar eclipses is true?

a. There are three types of lunar eclipse: full, partial, and annular.

b. A lunar eclipse happens when Earth casts its shadow on the Moon. c. People at different locations on Earth see different types of lunar eclipses at the same time

d. Lunar eclipses happen at the first and third quarter moon phases

b. A lunar eclipse happens when Earth casts its shadow on the Moon.

What causes the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?

a. It is an illusion created as we pass by a planet in our orbit (or the planet passes by us).

b. It occurs when the planets reverse the direction of their orbits around the Sun.

c. It is caused by the motion of planets around small circles that in turn go around bigger circles.

d. It is something we see only for planets that orbit the Sun in the opposite direction of Earth.

a. It is an illusion created as we pass by a planet in our orbit (or the planet passes by us).

Which of the following stars would exhibit the largest amount of stellar parallax?

a. the star that is nearest to us

b. the star that is farthest from us

c. the star that is brightest in our sky

d. the star that is dimmest in our sky

e. the star that is moving at the highest speed relative to Earth

a. the star that is nearest to us

Kepler's second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, implies that

a. a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.

b. a planet has a constant speed as it orbits the Sun.

c. the period of a planet does not depend on its mass.

d. planets have circular orbits.

a. a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.

Which of the following claims can be tested by scientific means?

a. People born when the Sun appears in the constellation Leo have larger average incomes than other people.

b. Abraham Lincoln's final thoughts were about the fate of his country. c. Physical laws are made by God.

d. Blue is the best color for walls.

a. People born when the Sun appears in the constellation Leo have larger average incomes than other people.

Which of the following is an example in which you are traveling at constant speed, but not at constant velocity?

a. free falling

b. driving backward at exactly 50 km/hr

c. decelerating from 100 km/hr to 50 km/hr

d. driving around in a circle at exactly 100 km/hr

d. driving around in a circle at exactly 100 km/hr

Which of the following statements is not true?

a. You weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, because your mass is smaller on the Moon

b. You weigh less on the Moon, because gravity on the Moon is smaller than on Earth.

c. You weigh less on the Moon, because the mass of the Moon is smaller than Earth.

d. You weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, but your mass is the same everywhere

a. You weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, because your mass is smaller on the Moon

Which law explains why a skater can spin faster by pulling his arms closer to his body, or spin slower by spreading his arms out?

a. the law of gravity

b. Newton's third law of motion

c. the law of conservation of momentum

d. the law of conservation of angular momentum e. the law of conservation of energy

d. the law of conservation of angular momentum

A comet has an elliptical orbit around the Sun. Its total orbital energy is

a. greatest when it is farthest from the Sun.

b. greatest when it is closest to the Sun.

c. the same throughout its orbit.

c. the same throughout its orbit.

Which of the following does not change as a planet orbits the Sun?

a. Its momentum

b. Its angular momentum

c. Its velocity

d. Its acceleration

b. Its angular momentum

Which of the following caused the Moon to show (nearly) the same face to the Earth at all times?

a. tidal force

b. spring tides

c. conservation of energy

d. atmospheric drag

a. tidal force

Which of the following is not an observed pattern of motion in our solar system?

a. Most planets orbit the Sun at the same speed.

b. All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction.

c. Most planetary orbits lie nearly in the same plane.

d. Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit.

a. Most planets orbit the Sun at the same speed.

Which of the following is NOT a pattern of motion in our Solar System?

A. Most planets rotate in the same direction they orbit.

B. Most planetary orbits lie in the same plane.

C. Most planets orbit in the same direction.

D. Almost all large moons orbit their planet in the same direction as the planet's rotation.

E. The planets orbit the Sun in a direction opposite that of the Sun's rotation.

E. The planets orbit the Sun in a direction opposite that of the Sun's rotation.

Which of the following is NOT correct about the exceptions to the patterns in the solar system

A. Jupiter has an abnormally large moon Ganymede.

B. Earth has an abnormally large moon comparing to its own size.

C. Venus rotates in the opposite direction.

D. Uranus rotates on its side.

A. Jupiter has an abnormally large moon Ganymede.

The frost line of the solar system was located approximately between

A. the Sun and the present-day orbit of Mercury.

B. the present-day orbits of Mercury and Venus.

C. the present-day orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

D. the present-day orbits of Venus and Earth.

E. the present-day orbits of Uranus and Neptune.

C. the present-day orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

According to the nebular theory, what are asteroids and comets?

A. leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets

B. chunks of rock or ice that condensed long after the planets had formed

C. the shattered remains of collisions between moons

D. the shattered remains of collisions between planets

A. leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets

In essence, the nebular theory holds that

A. our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.

B. nebulae are clouds of gas and dust in space.

C. the planets each formed from the collapse of its own separate nebula.

D. the planets formed as a result of a near-collision between our Sun and another star.

A. our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.

From center to surface, which of the following correctly lists the interior layers (defined by density) of a terrestrial world?

A. core, mantle, crust

B. mantle, core, crust

C. mantle, crust, core

D. core, crust, lithosphere

A. core, mantle, crust

The jovian planets are thought to have formed as gravity drew hydrogen and helium gas around planetesimals made of __________.

A. only rocks and metals

B. only ices

C. rocks, metals, and ices rocks

C. rocks, metals, and ices rocks

Which of the following best describes differentiation in planetary geology?

A. Gravity separates molten materials according to density.

B. Different types of minerals form a conglomerate rock.

C. One planet's surface evolves differently from another planet's surface.

D. One part of a planet's surface evolves differently from another part of the same planet's surface.

A. Gravity separates molten materials according to density.

Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today?

A. accretion

B. differentiation

C. radioactivity

D. tidal heating

C. radioactivity

Which of the following is NOT a cooling process for planetary interiors:

A. Convection

B. Conduction

C. Radiation

D. Differentiation

D. Differentiation

Which of the following best describes convection?

A. Rocks sink in water.

B. Warm material expands and rises while cool material contracts and falls.

C. Warm material gets even warmer and cool material gets even cooler.

D. A liquid separates according to density, such as oil and water separating in a jar.

B. Warm material expands and rises while cool material contracts and falls.

Volcanism is more likely on a planet that

A. is closer to the Sun.

B. is struck often by meteors and solar system debris.

C. has high internal temperature.

D. doesn't have an atmosphere or oceans.

C. has high internal temperature.

Which of the following best describes tectonics?

A. the creation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface

B. the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface

C. the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses

D. the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather

C. the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses

Which of the following is NOT evidence of liquid water on ancient Mars:

A. channels that look like dry riverbeds

B. eroded crater rims

C. Spirit and Opportunity rovers have found mineral evidence of water

D. Layered sedimentary rocks

E. Large volcanic mountains

E. Large volcanic mountains

What process has played the greatest role in determining the arrangement of the continents on Earth?

A. impact cratering

B. volcanism

C. plate tectonics

D. erosion

C. plate tectonics

What is the main factor that makes Earth more geologically active than the other terrestrial planets?

A. It is larger, so it has retained its internal heat for longer.

B. It is farthest from the Sun, so it receives less light.

C. It has a large Moon, so it is heated by tidal forces.

D. It has far more radioactive material than other planets.

E. It formed much later than the other planets.

A. It is larger, so it has retained its internal heat for longer.

Earth has a relatively strong magnetic field, but Mars does not. Which of the following probably explains why Mars lacks a strong magnetic field today?

A. It rotates too slowly

B. It is too far from the Sun

C. Its core is too cool for convection

D. Its lithosphere is too thick.

C. Its core is too cool for convection

How are wavelength, frequency, and wave speed related for light waves?

A. Longer wavelength means lower frequency

B. Longer wavelength means higher frequency

C. Longer wavelength means higher frequency

D. Longer wavelength means lower frequency

A. Longer wavelength means lower frequency

Which statement about photons is true?

A. An infrared photon has less energy than an x-ray photon, but travels at the same speed.

B. An infrared photon has less energy than an x-ray photon, and travels more slowly.

C. An infrared photon has more energy than an x-ray photon, and travels more quickly.

D. An infrared photon has more energy than an x-ray photon, but travels at the same speed.

A. An infrared photon has less energy than an x-ray photon, but travels at the same speed.

A neutral oxygen isotope atom has 8 protons and 9 neutrons in the atomic nucleus. How many electrons does it have?

A. 8

B. 6

C. 9

D. 17

A. 8

What do we mean when we say that energy levels are quantized in atoms?

A. We mean that the photons can have only discrete values of electrical potential energy in atoms.

B. We mean that the photons can have only continuous values of electrical potential energy in atoms.

C. We mean that the electrons can have only discrete values of electrical potential energy in atoms.

D. We mean that the electrons can have only continuous electrical potential energy in atoms.

C. We mean that the electrons can have only discrete values of electrical potential energy in atoms.

The set of emission lines that we see in a star's spectrum depends on the star's:

A. chemical composition.

B. distance from us

C. surface temperature

D. interior structures

A. chemical composition.

If a hydrogen emission line appears at 656 nm in the laboratory, what can we say about a cloud of hydrogen gas, with an emission line at 680 nm?

A. It is receding away from us.

B. It is moving toward us.

C. It is neither receding nor approaching us.

D. There is not enough information to say anything about the cloud's motion.

A. It is receding away from us.

You observe the same spectral line in two stars that are identical in every way except that one rotates faster than the other. How does the spectral line differ between the two?

A. There is no difference.

B. The line in the faster rotating star is blueshifted.

C. The line in the faster rotating star is redshifted.

D. The line in the faster rotating star is broader.

E. The line in the faster rotating star is narrower.

D. The line in the faster rotating star is broader.

The pressure in the exosphere (highest layer) is ____ that in the troposphere (lowest layer) of Earth

A. higher than

B. lower than

C. the same as

B. lower than

Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works?

A. A planet's surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as thermal radiation in infrared light. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower atmosphere.

B. Greenhouse gases absorb X rays and ultraviolet light from the Sun, and this absorbed radiation then heats the atmosphere and the surface.

C. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared light coming from the Sun, and this absorbed sunlight heats the lower atmosphere and the surface. D. The greenhouse effect is caused primarily by ozone, which absorbs ultraviolet light and thereby makes the atmosphere much hotter than it would be otherwise.

A. A planet's surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as thermal radiation in infrared light. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower atmosphere.

Why is the Coriolis effect so weak on Venus?

A. because Venus rotates so slowly

B. because Venus is so hot

C. because Venus has such a thick atmosphere

D. because Venus has such a strong greenhouse effect

A. because Venus rotates so slowly

All of the following have occurred over long periods of time on Earth. Which one is not thought to have played a major role in long-term changes in Earth's climate?

A. a gradual rise in the atmospheric content of oxygen

B. changes in the Earth's axis tilt

C. changes in the Earth's overall reflectivity

D. changes in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases

A. a gradual rise in the atmospheric content of oxygen

Most of the ultraviolet light and X-rays from Sun reaching Earth are absorbed

A. by the middle and upper atmosphere

B. by the lower atmosphere

C. by Earth surface

A. by the middle and upper atmosphere