Astronomy1: Midterm 3 Practice Exam
True/False (+2 points each)
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false. On your scantron mark A for true and B for false.
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1. Light is both a particle and a wave.
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2. Blue light has more energy than red light.
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3. The Sun rotates faster at the equator than at the poles.
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4. When the frequency of the light increases, the energy increases.
Multiple Choice (+2 points each)
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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5. What percentage of the mass of our Solar System is the Sun?
a. 25.45%
b. 70.57%
c. 99.85%
d. 49.95%
6. Which of the following forms of radiation has the highest energy and is completely blocked by the Earth’s
atmosphere?
a. gamma rays
b. ultra-violet
c. microwave
d. visible light
e. radio
7. When a low density gas is heated up and only a few wavelengths are bright, it is called a/an:
a. emission line spectrum
b. absorption line spectrum
c. continuous spectrum
8. What type of radiation does our Sun mostly produce?
a. infrared
b. gamma rays
c. white light
d. ultraviolet
e. radio
9. Who was the first to prove that white light is the sum of all wavelengths?
a. Galileo Galilei
b. Annie Cannon
c. Isaac Newton
d. Albert Einstein
10. In the nuclear fusion of hydrogen, when 4 hydrogen atoms combine, they form
a. iron
b. oxygen
c. carbon
d. helium
____ 11. Which of the following is the correct listing of the seven main colors of the rainbow from the shortest
wavelength first to the longest wavelength last?
a. violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red
b. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
c. violet, indigo, green, blue, red, orange, yellow
d. red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo, violet
e. blue, indigo, violet, yellow, green, orange, red
____ 12. What kind of spectrum do stars mostly emit?
a. emission line spectrum
b. continuous spectrum
c. absorption line spectrum
d. high density spectrum
____ 13. During its lifetime, the heaviest element that is created inside a high mass star is
a. oxygen.
b. copper
c. iron.
d. hydrogen.
e. helium.
____ 14. Which type of radiation do humans and objects cooler than the stars mostly emit?
a. x-ray
b. infrared
c. gamma rays
d. ultraviolet
e. visible
____ 15. The term that best describes all the possible forms of light that exist is called:
a. the rainbow specrum.
b. the photo-electric spectrum.
c. the electromagnetic spectrum.
d. the visible spectrum.
____ 16. Who was the first to observe sunspots?
a. Annie Cannon
b. Albert Einstein
c. Galileo Galilei
d. Isaac Newton
____ 17. Approximately how fast does light travel?
a. .343 km/s
b. 3x105 km/s
c. 250 km/s
d. 1.12 x 108 km/s
____ 18. What is the best way to determine the velocity of an object?
a. by its color
b. by its spectral type
c. by its doppler shift
d. by using the prism experiment
____ 19. Which spectral type is our Sun?
a. O
b. F
c. M
d. K
e. G
Completion (+1pt)
Complete each sentence or statement.
20. A cloud of gas and dust that represents the birth stage of stars is called a: _______________
21. What is a system of at least two stars in orbit around the center of mass called? ______________
22. What kind of light is also called visible light? _______________
Short Answer (+2 pts)
23. What is the definition of the wavelength of light. You can describe it and/or include a CLEAR drawing.
24. Describe in detail what causes meteor showers to occur on the Earth.
Short Answer (+3-5 points each)
25. Describe a) What causes sunspots to appear to be dark? b) How long is the sunspot cycle? c) What causes the
sunspots to oocur on this regular cycle? (+4pts)
26. a) What caused dinosaurs (and 2/3 of all species) all over the world to become extinct. To earn full credit,
please be specific. b) When did this extinction occur? (+3pts)
Essay (+8 pts)
27. a) What will happen to a low mass star like our Sun after it uses up all its hydrogen in the core? (to earn full
credit, you need to describe the properties of and name the old age and elderly stage of the star) b) Contrast
this with what will happen to a high mass star after it uses up all its hydrogen in the core?(to earn full credit,
you need to describe the properties of and name the old age and elderly stage of the star)