SMT 314 - Introduction to Cosmology » Fall 2020 » Exam 1

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Question #1
During winter, the North Pole has how many hours of darkness?
A.   0 hours
B.   12 hours
C.   24 hours
D.   it varies year to year
Question #2
According to Kepler’s 1st Law, the orbits of planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #3
Scientific results must be:
A.   believed by at least 50% of all scientists
B.   hypothetical
C.   believed by 100% of all scientists
D.   controversial
E.   reproducible
Question #4
The orbital period and distance of a planet from the Sun can be used, with Newton's version of Kepler's third law, to estimate the mass of the Sun.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #5
When we observe objects outside of the Solar System, their distance in light-years is the same as the time it takes for their light to reach our eye in years (i.e. distance in light-years equals travel time in years).
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #6
Select all correct answers: December 21-22 is:
A.   3 - 4 days before Christmas
B.   the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere
C.   when the north pole is pointed away from Polaris
D.   when the southern hemisphere is much closer to the Sun
E.   the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
F.   the Summer Solstice in the southern hemisphere
Question #7
In the southern hemisphere, the stars appear to move across the sky:
A.   in circles
B.   from West to East
C.   from East to West
D.   randomly
Question #8
Galileo's observation of Venus's phases proved:
A.   Both Venus & Mars had epicycles.
B.   Venus rotated about Earth.
C.   Copernicus was wrong.
D.   Venus revolved about the Sun.
Question #9
For a lunar eclipse, the Moon is in the shadow of which object?
A.   Moon
B.   The Moon is not in a shadow.
C.   Earth
D.   Sun
Question #10
Motion of light at the constant speed of light tells us:
A.   We see distant objects as they were long ago.
B.   Light moves instantly from all objects to Earth.
C.   Light causes many optical illusions.
D.   Different colors of light travel at different constant speeds.
Question #11
We see the Sun and stars move from east to west in the sky. What is actually happening?
A.   the stars rotate about the Earth
B.   whole constellations move together
C.   Earth rotates under the stars
D.   in daytime only the Sun moves
Question #12
Select all of the correct answers. An AU is:,,
A.   is the distance from the Earth to the Moon
B.   varies dependant upon the time of year
C.   used primary to measure things within the solar system
D.   a measurement of distance
E.   the distance from the center of the Sun to the center of the Earth
Question #13
As the semi-major axis increases (distance from the Sun), the length of the orbital period tends to increase.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #14
A light-year is a unit of:
A.   volume
B.   velocity
C.   length
D.   time
Question #15
Which one of the following is the main reason why Earth has seasons?
A.   The tilt of Earth's axis of rotation causes the Sun to pass higher in the sky during the day in one hemisphere than in the other, thereby giving more daylight hours and more heating per hour per surface area.
B.   The tilt of Earth's axis of rotation causes one hemisphere of the planet to be substantially closer to the Sun during the day than the other hemisphere. Because it is closer to the Sun, it receives much more solar energy per hour.
C.   Earth's orbit is elliptical. We have summer when we are closer to the Sun and winter when we are farther from the Sun.
D.   It has seasons so that sunbathers will know when to go to the beach, and skiers will know when to go skiing.
E.   Over the course of the Year, the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation varies from 23.5° to 0° in such a way as to bring more heating per hour in the summer than the winter.
Question #16
Critical Thinking: If Earth's axis of rotation were perpendicular to Earth's orbital plane (i.e., if Earth's axis wasn't tilted), there would be no major seasonal variation at a given location on Earth throughout the year.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #17
The retrograde motion of Venus across the sky:
A.   Is caused by the motion of Venus along an epicycle whose center orbits the Sun
B.   Was used by Galileo to explain the complete set of phases of Venus that he observed through his telescope
C.   Is caused by the "backward" rotation of Venus about its own axis
D.   Is caused by the gravitational tug of other planets on Venus
E.   Is caused by the change in perspective as Venus catches up with, and passes, Earth while both planets orbit the Sun
Question #18
In Ptolemy's geocentric theory of the Solar System, Venus could not go through the complete set of phases observed by Galileo.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #19
If the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis were 40° instead of 23.5°, which of the following statement regarding what an observer at latitude 40° would experience would be false?
A.   Summer days would be even hotter, on average.
B.   There would be a longer combined spring and summer period.
C.   The days and nights would each remain roughly 12 hours long around March 22 and September 22, the equinoxes.
D.   The summer would have even longer days and even shorter nights.
E.   The Sun would pass essentially overhead (the zenith) around June 22, the summer solstice.
Question #20
Equinoxes have exactly 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #21
Which is NOT a necessary part of the Scientific Method of Inquiry?
A.   expressing the results as a "law" or "principle"
B.   collecting data
C.   making an educated guess
D.   comparing results with expectations
E.   a careful analysis of data
Question #22
What is critical reasoning?
A.   Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
B.   Considering the credibility of the sources.
C.   Not believing everything you hear.
D.   All of these.
Question #23
Which phase of the Moon comes 3 days before or after the Full Moon?
A.   gibbous
B.   crescent
C.   Full Moon
D.   quarter
Question #24
Although Johannes Kepler developed three laws of planetary motion, Sir Issac Newton developed a physical understanding of these laws.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #25
Isaac Newton’s greatest contribution to astronomy was an understanding of (pick 1 only):
A.   gravity.
B.   elliptical orbits.
C.   the Sun is at the center of the universe.
D.   the Milky Way is full of stars.
Question #26
Which one of the following statements is true during totality for both total solar and total lunar eclipses?
A.   They last about the same amount of time.
B.   They can be viewed safely with the naked eye, for the entire event.
C.   They look reddish primarily due to the refraction and scattering of light passing through the Earth's atmosphere.
D.   They can be observed from an entire hemisphere on Earth.
E.   They occur when the Sun or Moon are in Earth's shadow.
Question #27
Which statement is false?
A.   If you lived on Mercury, you would notice that Earth exhibits retrograde motion for a while every year.
B.   According to Kepler's first law, the orbit of planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus; there is no object at the second focus.
C.   Our observations of a full or gibbous Venus provide evidence against the Ptolemaic, Earth-centered model of the Solar System
D.   Copernicus' model of the Solar System was accepted shortly after being proposed, because it provided significantly more accurate positions of the planets than did the Ptolemaic system.
E.   As seen from Earth's surface, planets rise in the east and set in the west, even when they undergo retrograde motion.
Question #28
Which one of the statements about lunar eclipses is false?
A.   The Moon is still visible during a total lunar eclipse because of light going through the Earth's atmosphere.
B.   At a given time, a total lunar eclipse is visible only from a small part of the Earth's surface.
C.   Lunar eclipses are predictable.
D.   Lunar eclipses don't occur monthly, because the inclination of the Moon's orbit around the Earth relative to the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
E.   Total lunar eclipses last longer than total solar eclipses
Question #29
Venus and Mercury are sometimes visible at a position in the celestial sphere, diametrically opposite of the Sun (i.e. at midnight).
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #30
Why can’t a solar eclipse be seen every month from the Earth?
A.   The Moon has a chaotic orbit. (The Moon has more mass on one side.)
B.   The Moon's orbit is an elliptic.
C.   The Moon's orbit is not the solar ecliptic.
D.   The Moon orbits about the Sun and is independent of Earth.
Question #31
How do planets revolve about the Sun?
A.   in ellipses in random directions
B.   as far apart as possible
C.   bound by gravity of the planets
D.   around the Sun in roughly the same plane
Question #32
Pick one answer only: The most readily observed motion of a celestial object is produced by
A.   the revolution of the Earth.
B.   the rotation of the Earth.
C.   the motion of the Sun around the galaxy.
D.   the motion of the planets across the sky.
Question #33
Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is on what date?
A.   June 20-21
B.   September 21-22
C.   December 20-21
D.   March 20-21
Question #34
Select only one answer: The Moon
A.   may appear anywhere in the sky.
B.   generally appears opposite the Sun.
C.   always appears within a few degrees of the celestial equator.
D.   always appears within a few degrees of the solar ecliptic.
Question #35
At mid-northern latitudes (California), the full moon passes higher in the sky in winter than in summer.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #36
Astrology is a pseudoscience, originally related to astronomy, that has been shown to be incorrect.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #37
The Earth rotates once a(n) ____________ and revolves once a(n) _____________.
A.   month; year
B.   day; year
C.   month; day
D.   year; day
Question #38
Earth's Moon revolves:
A.   never, because the same face always faces Earth.
B.   never. It also doesn't revolve about anything.
C.   roughly once a month
D.   once an Earth day
Question #39
What does “rising and setting” of stars mean?
A.   Stars move around the Earth
B.   Stars appear to rise above the horizon (or fall beneath) as the Earth rotates
C.   Like the Sun, stars move up over the horizon during the daytime
D.   Rising is dawn and setting is dusk
Question #40
Constellations are groups of stars that are relatively close to each other on the celestial sphere, but may be very far away from each other in space.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #41
Patterns of stars in the sky, clusters, and constellations, help us to identify:,,
A.   our astrological future
B.   star groups are stars close together
C.   star groups are stars close together
D.   north, and seasons; as Earth rotates
E.   Greek legends

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