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Astronomy 101, Exam #3
Name___________________________________________________________________
No notes, No books; You can use calculators. Pick the best answer for each question.
Constants that you may need to know:
c = 3 x 108 m/s
1 AU = 1.49 ×1011 meters
1 light year = 9.46 × 1015 meters
h = 6.626 x 10-34 J●s
G = 6.67 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2
g = 9.8 m/s2
σ = 5.67 x 10-8 W m-2 K-4
mass of Earth = 5.97 × 1024 kg
mass of Moon = 7.35 x 1022 kg
radius of Earth = 6.38 × 106 m
1 nm = 1 x 10-9 meters
mass of Sun = 1.99 x 1030 kg
mass of Jupiter = 1.90 x 1027 kg
radius of Jupiter = 7.15 × 107 m
radius of Moon = 1.74 × 106 m
Use the flowing information for questions 1-3: ●You are immortal.
●You initially have a 500 gram block. It contains exactly 100 grams of 12C, exactly 100
grams of 239U, exactly 100 grams of 40K, exactly 100 grams 87Rb, and exactly 100 grams
of 60Co.
●12C is a stable isotope, 239U has a half-life of 23 minutes,
40
K has a half-life of 1.25 x 109 years, 87Rb has a half-life of 4.7 x 1010 years, and
60
Co has a half-life of 5.27 years.
1) After 5 x 106 years, which isotope will you have the highest abundance of?
A) 12C
B) 239U
C) 40K
D) 87Rb
E) 60Co
2) After 30 years, which isotope will you have the lowest abundance of?
A) 12C
B) 239U
C) 40K
D) 87Rb
E) 60Co
3) Assume all of these isotopes were originally found in a meteorite when it formed. A
scientist wants to determine the formation age using two different isotopic systems.
Which two parent isotopes would scientists use to determine the formation age of the
meteorite?
A) 12C and 239U
B) 239U and 60Co
C) 40K and 87Rb
D) 239U and 87Rb
E) 40K and 60Co
Astronomy 101, Exam #3
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4) Which is true about P- and S-waves?
A) P-waves cannot travel through liquids while S-waves cannot travel through
solid material.
B) P-waves can travel through liquids while S-waves cannot travel through solid
material.
C) P-waves and S-waves cannot travel through liquids.
D) P-waves cannot travel through solid material while S-waves cannot travel
through liquids.
E) P-waves travel faster through a solid than S-waves.
5) Who was the first person to walk on the Moon?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Buzz Aldrin
Stan Love
Neil Armstrong
Tom Jones
John Glenn
6) A large portion of the Moon’s surface was thought to be completely molten. This
molten part of the Moon was called a …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Igneous Sill
Lava Sea
Magma Ocean
Volcano
Pangea
7) Why is part of the core of the Earth thought to be liquid?
A)
B)
C)
D)
P-waves cannot pass through the core
The density of the Earth is larger than the Moon
S-waves cannot pass through the core
The Earth must have incorporated a large abundance of liquid helium when it
formed
E) Volcanoes in the Earth allow water to sink to the core
8) The interstellar cloud that formed the Sun was primarily …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
oxygen and silicon
nitrogen and helium
helium and carbon
hydrogen and helium
iron and silicon
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9) Which planet has the smallest density?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury
Earth
Neptune
Mars
Venus
10) Which gas is considered a greenhouse gas?
A) N2
B) I
C) He
D) CH4
E) Ar
11) The two most abundant elements in Saturn are …
A) oxygen and carbon.
B) iron and hydrogen.
C) nitrogen and oxygen.
D) hydrogen and helium.
E) iron and helium.
12) What is an expected difference between a sample from the Lunar Highlands and a
sample of mare from Mare Imbrium?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The sample of the Lunar Highlands will be more aluminum-rich
The sample of the Lunar Highlands will be darker
The sample of the Lunar Highland will be denser
The sample of the Lunar Highlands will be more pyroxene-rich
The sample of the Lunar Highlands will have a younger formation age.
13) Which of these objects could potentially produce the largest Doppler shifts on the
spectral lines of a star?
A)
B)
C)
D)
A planet with the mass of Jupiter that is 0.1 AU from the star
A planet with the mass of Earth that is 1 AU from the star
A planet with the mass of Earth that is 10 AU from the star
A planet with a mass that is ten times that of Jupiter that is 1 AU from the
star
E) A planet with a mass that is ten times that of Jupiter that is 0.5 AU from
the star
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14) The two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust are …
A) oxygen and silicon.
B) iron and aluminum.
C) nitrogen and carbon.
D) hydrogen and helium.
E) calcium and titanium
15) Plate tectonics describes …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
the large scale motions of Earth's asthenosphere.
the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere.
The convection in the Earth’s core
The capture of charged particles in the Van Allen Radiation belts
The formation of the Moon’s crust
16) Which is not true about the Earth’s atmosphere?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation
warms the surface of the Earth through heat retention
reduces temperature extremes between day and night.
Contains more oxygen than argon
Contains more carbon dioxide than oxygen
17) The mission to discover Earth-like planets is called the …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Apollo mission
Kepler mission
Newton mission
Einstein mission
Copernicus mission
18) Why are Jupiter-sized planets easier to discover around other stars than Earthsized planets using the Doppler method?
A) Jupiter-sized planets have extensive ring systems
B) Jupiter-sized planets eject material into their star
C) The higher masses of Jupiter-sized planets tend to produce smaller
gravitational forces on stars than Earth-like planets at the same distances
to the star
D) Jupiter-sized planets produce tremendous amount of radio waves that can
be detected from Earth
E) The higher masses of Jupiter-sized planets tend to produce larger
gravitational forces on stars than Earth-like planets at the same distance to
the star
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19) Which is not a difference between terrestrial planets and Jovian planets?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Terrestrial planets are closer to the Sun than Jovian planets
Terrestrial planets have fewer moons than Jovian planets
Jovian planets have rings while terrestrial planets do not have rings
Terrestrial planets have smaller densities than Jovian planets
Jovian planets are primarily gaseous while terrestrial planets are primarily
rocky
20) Which object has the smallest density?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Metallic iron
Liquid water
water ice
olivine
pyroxene
21) Which country launched the first spacecraft that landed on the Moon?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Great Britain
India
Japan
United States
Soviet Union
22) Why does the Moon has so many more craters than the Earth? Give the best reason.
A) The Moon is bigger than the Earth
B) The Moon formed earlier than the Earth
C) The Moon does not have an appreciable atmosphere
D) The Moon’s surface is less dense than the Earth’s surface
E) The Moon is closer to the Asteroid Belt
23) The Asthenosphere is …
A) the process where hot rock rises and cooler rock falls
B) the plate boundary where one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic
plate
C) the supercontinent that existed before the component continents separated
from it.
D) the mechanically weak region of the upper mantle of the Earth.
E) a type of mineral.
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24) Pyroxene is …
A) the process where hot rock rises and cooler rock falls
B) the plate boundary where one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic
plate
C) the supercontinent that existed before the component continents separated
from it.
D) the mechanically weak region of the upper mantle of the Earth.
E) a type of mineral.
25) Convection is …
A) the process where hot rock rises and cooler rock falls
B) the plate boundary where one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic
plate
C) the supercontinent that existed before the component continents separated
from it.
D) the mechanically weak region of the upper mantle of the Earth.
E) a type of mineral.
26) The core of the Earth is predominately made out of …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Si
Fe
O
Ni
Al
27) The transit method discovers planets around other stars by …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Looking for decreases in the brightnesses of the stars
Looking for Doppler shifts of spectral lines
Looking for increases in the brightnesses of the stars
Looking for collisions between the planets and the stars
Looking for X-ray emissions from the planets
28) A protostar becomes a star when ..
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
It becomes the size of Jupiter
It can fuse hydrogen into helium to produce energy
It can fuse helium into carbon to produce energy
It has more hydrogen than helium in its interior
It reaches a temperature above 100,000 Kelvin
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29) Most of the lunar material that brought back to Earth was brought back by what
country?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Soviet Union
United States of America
Japan
India
China
30) A naturally occurring, homogeneous inorganic solid substance having a definite
chemical composition and characteristic crystal structure is called ..
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The lithosphere
A mineral
A granite
A sille
A volatile
31) Why doesn’t the greenhouse effect increase the temperature of the Moon’s
surface?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The Moon has essentially little to no atmosphere
The Moon’s atmosphere is primarily oxygen
The Moon’s atmosphere is primarily helium
The Moon’s atmosphere is primarily calcium
The Moon is closer to the Sun than the Earth
32) Lunar regolith refers to …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The solid Lunar core
Powdery material on the surface of the Moon
The water found on the South Pole of the Moon
Mountains on the surface of the Moon
Collapsed lava tubes on the surface of the Moon
33) Which country or countries have had citizens walk on the surface of the Moon?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Just the United States
Just the Soviet Union
Just Japan
Just the United States and the Soviet Union
Just the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan
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34) The lunar geological timescale divides the history of Earth's Moon into five
generally recognized periods. The boundaries of these periods are defined by …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The presence or absence of calcite on the surface
The presence or absence of particular fossils
The occurrences of particular impact craters
The presence or absence of sedimentary rocks on the surface
The presence or absence of an atmosphere
35) Which of these planets is not considered a terrestrial planet?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury
Mars
Venus
Earth
Uranus
36) The age of the solar system is generally believed to be approximately …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
13.7 billion years old
9.2 billion years old
4.6 billion years old
3.7 billion years old
2.5 billion years old
37) From visually looking at photographs of the Moon, why would you say that the
Lunar Highlands are older than the Lunar Maria?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The Lunar Highlands are darker in color
The Lunar Highlands are more heavily cratered
The Lunar Highlands have a higher proportion of olivine
The Lunar Highlands have a higher abundance of Titanium
The Lunar Highlands contain higher abundances of water
38) When the Sun leaves the main sequence, it will ultimately become a …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Black hole
White dwarf
Supernova
Neutron star
Brown dwarf
Astronomy 101, Exam #3
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39) Which is true about the Earth?
A) The most abundant element in the Earth’s core and crust are both iron.
B) The density of the Earth’s core is lower than the density of the Earth’s crust
C) The temperature of the Earth’s crust is lower than the temperature of
the Earth’s core
D) The most abundant element in the Earth’s core and crust are both silicon.
E) The most abundant element in the Earth’s core and crust are both oxygen.
40) The giant impact hypothesis proposes that …
A) The Earth’s oceans formed from the impact of the young Earth and a large
comet
B) The Earth’s core formed from the impact of the young Earth and an iron
asteroid
C) The Moon formed as a result of a collision between the young Earth and a
Mars-sized body
D) The Moon formed as a result of a collision between the young Earth and
Mars
E) Venus formed after a result of a collision between the young Earth and a
Mars-sized body