lOMoARcPSD|11429598 AS101 Test Ex Module #1 Astronomy I Our Place in the Cosmos (Wilfrid Laurier University) StuDocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 Module 1: Question 1: Which of the following is largest? A. Size of a typical galaxy B. 1 Astronomical unit C. Distance to the nearest star (other than our sun) D. 1 light year E. size of Pluto’s orbit Question 2: On the Cosmic Calendar about when did the solar system begin to form? Answer: Sometime around Labour Day – September 1 Question 3: Which of the following statements does not use the term light year in an appropriate way? Answer: It will take me light-years to complete this homework assignment. Question 4: On the Cosmic Calendar (where the age of the universe in condensed into the equivalent to one calendar year) most of recorded history takes up what portion of the “year”? Answer: the last few seconds of the year Question 5: Which of the following is furthest from the Sun? A. a comet in the Kuiper belt B. an asteroid in the asteroid belt C. a comet in the Oort cloud D. Pluto E. Neptune Question 6: What is an Astronomical Unit (AU)? a. 1.5 x 108 kilometres (km). b. 1.5 x 1011 metres c. 150 million kilometres d. The average distance between the Sun and the Earth. e. All of the above Question 7: Which of the following best describes the Milky Way Galaxy? Answer: A spiral galaxy with a disk about 80,000 light-years in diameter and containing between Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 100 billion and 1 trillion stars Question 8: Which of the following statements about the sizes of stars is most true? Answer: Rigel, the bluish star representing the left foot of Orion, is considerably larger than the Sun Question 9: The nearest star to the Sun (and us) is Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf in the Alpha Centauri system. How far away from the Sun is Proxima Centauri? Answer: 4.2 light-years Question 10: Which of the following is closest to the Sun? a. Mercury b. Earth c. Saturn d. Pluto e. A comet in the Oort Cloud Question 11: What is light year? Answer: The distance light travels in one year Question 12: On the Cosmic Calendar when did the big bang occur? Answer: January 1 Question 13: The order of the planets beyond Earth, away from the Sun, is Answer: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto Question 14: Which of the following statements about sidereal and solar days is not true? Answer: The time it takes for the Moon to make one circuit of our sky is one solar day. Question 15: Which of the following correctly describes the meridian in your sky? Answer: a half-circle extending from your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south Question 16: Which of the following statements about the ecliptic plane is not true? Answer: It is the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth. Question 17: What makes the North Star, Polaris, special? Answer: It appears very near the north celestial pole. Question 18: Which of the following statements about the Celestial Sphere is not true. Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 Answer: The Celestial Equator lies in the Ecliptic Plane Question 19: The ecliptic is the apparent path of the Sun moving how? Answer: eastward among the stars Question 20: What is the ecliptic? Answer: The Sun's apparent path along the celestial sphere Question 21: You are standing on the Earth's equator at midnight. Which way is Polaris, the North star? Answer: on the northern horizon Question 22: Suppose you live on the Moon. How long is a day (i.e., from sunrise to sunrise)? Answer: a lunar month Question 23: Which of the following statements about the Moon is true? Answer: The Moon's distance from the Earth varies during its orbit. Question 24: We can't detect stellar parallax with naked-eye observations. Which of the following would make parallax easier to observe? Answer: increasing the size of the earths orbit Question 25: Patterns of stars in constellations hardly change in appearance over times of even a few thousand years. Why? Answer: The stars in our sky actually move rapidly relative to us thousands of kilometres per hour but are so far away that it takes a long time for this motion to make a noticeable change in the patterns in the sky. Question 26: Each cycle of the Earth’s precession takes about Answer: 26,000 years Question 27: What happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet? Answer: The planet appears to move westward with respect to the stars over a period of many nights. Question 28: If the Moon was in its same orbital plane but twice as far from Earth, which of the following would happen? Answer: Total eclipses of the Sun would not happen. Question 29: The tilt of the Earth’s axis causes the seasons because Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 Answer: the rays of light strike the ground more directly in summer Question 30: On the vernal and autumnal equinoxes a. every place on Earth has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness b. the Sun rises due east and sets due west c. the Sun’s path is coincident with the celestial equator d. all of A, B and C Question 31: The number of days in a month is associated with Answer: Lunar Phases Question 32: Suppose the date is June 21 and the Sun never sets, just touching your northern horizon at midnight. Where are you? Answer: The Arctic Circle Question 33: Right ascension is expressed in Answer: Hours, minutes and seconds from 0 to 24 hours Question 34: The problem with the Julian calendar was that it was Answer: Too short by 11 minutes in a year Question 35: The calendar we use now is called the Answer: Gregorian after Pope Gregory Question 36: Latitude in stellar coordinates is known as Answer: Declination Question 37: Day and night are caused by Answer: the rotation of the Earth on its axis Question 38: Mars is in opposition with the Earth when it is Answer: Perfectly in line with the Sun and Earth with the Earth between the Sun and Mars. Question 39: If you lived at the North Pole at night the stars would Answer: never rise or set but move in circles around Polaris, the North Star. Question 40: Which of the following is the reason for the solar day being longer than a sidereal day? Answer: the combined effect of the rotation of the Earth and its orbit about the Sun Question 41: which of the following statements about lunar phases is true? Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 Answer: it is possible to have 2 full moons during January but not during February Question 42: which of the following celestial phenomena is the smallest? Answer: the orbit of the moon Question 43: Suppose you lived at the Earth’s equator. Which of the following statements would not be true? Answer: the celestial equator goes through your sky from due east on your horizon, through 50 degrees altitude in the south, to due west on the horizon Question 44: When you observe a star for a period of a few hours, you notice that it moves across the sky. What is responsible for this motion? Answer: Earths rotation on its axis Question 45: The order of the planets, from the sun outward, is Answer: mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Question 46: One light-year is closest to what distance Answer: ten million kilometers Question 47: Which of the following is the best reason for the leap years Answer: the combined effect of the rotation of the earth and the precession of the earth’s axis Question 48: The apparent visual magnitude of star A is +2 and the apparent visual magnitude Of star B is +1. Based on this information which statement below must be true Answer: light output distance cannot be determined from a stars apparent visual magnitude alone Question 49: Which of the following would appear brightest in the night sky Answer: The full moon Question 50: What conditions are required for a lunar eclipse Answer: the phase of the moon must be full, and the nodes of the moons orbit must be nearly aligned with the earth and the sun Question 51: The size of a hockey rink is best measured in what units Answer: meters Question 52: If the moon is setting at midnight, the phase of the moon must be Answer: first quarter Question 53: Which of the following statements is true? Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 Answer: Answer is both B and C Statements were - Both the northern and southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight on the equinoxes - The northern hemisphere receives the most direct sunlight on the summer solstice Question 54: Which of the following best describes the tropic of Cancer Answer: it is a place where the sun is directly overhead at noon on the summer solstice Question 55: The sun is rising in the east and will be on your meridian in 2 hours. What time is it currently? Answer: 10 am Question 56: While in Bracebridge, ON where the latitude is 45 degrees, at the spring equinox (about March 21st) the sun follows the path where it Answer: rises due east, crosses the meridian at an altitude of 45 degrees in the south, and sets due west Question 57: What conditions are required for a solar eclipse Answer: the phase of the moon must be new, and the nodes of the moons orbit must be nearly aligned with the earth and the sun Question 58: Which of the following is the furthest from the sun? Answer: Proxima Centauri Question 59: If it is midnight in waterloo it is Answer: daytime in Sydney, Australia Question 60: The lunar month is longer than the sidereal month because Answer: the moon has to complete more than one full orbit around the earth to complete the cycle of lunar phases Question 61: Which of the following celestial phenomena is the largest Answer: the milky way galaxy Question 62: How long does it take light from the surface of the sun to get to earth? Answer: a few minutes Question 63: Which of the following has your address in the correct order? In this question the Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|11429598 local group also means thee local Clusters Answer: you, Earth, Solar system, Milky Way, Local Group, Local super cluster Question 64: The size of our galaxy in light years is closest to which of the following numbers Answer: 100000 Question 65: Which statement below most accurately describes modern constellations? Answer: there are 88 well-defined regions on the celestial sphere Question 66: the solar system consists of Answer: the sun and its planets, asteroids and comets Question 67: what is the largest object in the solar system? Answer: The sun Question 68: In our journey outward from the Sun, what is a feature you notice about the spacing of the planets. Answer 69: the inner planets are grouped together relatively close to the sun while the planets from Jupiter to Neptune are spaced much further apart. Question 70: Each of the following shows a constellation followed by a bright star. In all cases but one, the star is part of the constellation. Which one is a mismatch? Answer: Canis Minor, Polaris Question: Which of the following statements about the Moon is false? Answer: The side of the moon we never see from Earth is always in darkness. Question: On the summer solstice in June, the Sun will be directly above ________ and all locations north of _____________ will experience daylight all day. Answer: The Tropic of Cancer: The Arctic Circle Question: If you see the Moon rising in the Earth just as the Sun is setting in the west then the phase of the Moon is Answer: Full Downloaded by jakaj wjjw (marium16.2003@gmail.com)
