1. The average distance from Earth to the sun is
1 ly
1 million km
1 million mi.
1 billion km
1 AU

2. A typical galaxy like our Milky Way galaxy contains
primarily planets.
gas only
stars (some with planets), gas and dust
a single star and planets.

3. Which is the greatest distance?
Earth to the moon.
Earth to the sun.
Earth to the Asteroid Belt.
Earth to the Kuiper Belt

4. In the diagram below, what is the diameter of Jupiter?
about 350,0about 350,000 km
about 700,000 km
about 14,000 km
about 140,000 km

5. If we say that an object is 1,000 light-years away we see it
as it looked 1,000 years ago.
as it would appear to our ancestors 1,000 years ago.
as it looked 1,000 light-years ago.
as it is right now, but it appears 1,000 times dimmer.

6. Which sequence is correct when ordered by increasing size?
Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, clusters of galaxies
Solar System, Earth, galaxy clusters, Milky Way Galaxy
Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System, galaxy clusters
Galaxy clusters, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth

7. How is a planet different than a star?
Planets are larger than stars.
Planets reflect light while stars produce light.
Stars move faster in the sky than planets.
Planets are brighter than stars.

8. The celestial equator is
the path that the sun appears to follow on the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the sun.
the dividing line between the north and south celestial hemispheres.
a line around the sky directly above Earth's equator.
a and b.
b and c.

9. The ____ is the point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer who can be at any point on the Earth..
north celestial pole
nadir
zenith
celestial equator

10. The apparent visual magnitude of a star is a measure of the star's
size.
intensity.
distance.
color.
temperature.

11. The wobbling precession of the rotation axis of Earth is caused by
the force of gravity from the sun and moon on Earth's equatorial bulge.
the force of gravity from the sun and Jupiter on the Earth-moon system.
the magnetic field of Earth.
the formation and subsequent melting of glaciers during the ice-ages.
the impact of asteroids.

12. You visit a latitude of 28° N
You visit a latitude of 28° N. What is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial pole? ANSWER 2
62°
28°
40°
23° 5° 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

13. straight north straight east straight south straight west
An observer in the Northern Hemisphere at our lattitude takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration below depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
straight north
straight east
straight south
straight west

14. straight north straight east straight south straight west
An observer in the Northern Hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration below depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
straight north
straight east
straight south
straight west

15. The lower the number the greater the apparent visual magnitude
The lower the number the greater the apparent visual magnitude. (negative numbers are greater than positive numbers) The star Vega has an apparent visual magnitude of 0.03 and the star HR 4374 has an apparent visual magnitude of It has been determined that both stars are at the same distance from Earth. Thus, Vega MUST _____________.
be closer to Earth than HR 4374.
be farther from Earth than HR 4374.
produce less energy/second than HR 4374.
produce more energy/second than HR 4374.

16. Table 2-1 [Table] Refer to Table 2-1
Table 2-1 [Table] Refer to Table 2-1. Which star in the table would appear the SECOND brightest to an observer on Earth?
a Cet
a CMa
Nim
r Per
d Dra
Star Name
Apparent Visual Magnitude
d Dra
3.07
a Cet
2.53
r Per
3.98
Nim
8.07
a Cma
-1.46

17. Table 2-1 [Table] On Earth, the unaided eye can see apparent visual magnitudes < Refer to Table 2-1. Which star in the table would not be visible to the unaided eye of an observer on Earth?
a Cet
a Cma
Nim
r Per
d Dra

18. How much of the night sky is NORTH of the celestial equator?
Less than one-half, because of the tilt of the equator to the ecliptic plane.
More than one-half, because of the precession of the poles.
Exactly one-half.
Depends on the season.

19. If the Sun passes directly overhead on at least one day per year, then
you are within 23½° latitude of the equator.
you are within 66½° latitude of the equator.
you must be exactly on the equator.
you could be anywhere because this occurs at least once per year at any location on the Earth.

20. Stars in the same constellation
probably formed at the same time.
must be part of the same cluster of stars in space.
must have been discovered at about the same time at the same location in space.
may actually be very different distances away from the observer and from each other.

21. If the Earth's period of rotation doubled, but the period of revolution stayed the same each night would be
twice as long and the number of days per year would reduce in half
half as long and the number of days per year would double

22. The diagram below shows three approximate locations of the sun along the western horizon. Which number indicates the location of the sun at on June 21st for an observer in the Cleveland Ohio area? 1 2 3

23. The diagram below shows three approximate locations of the sun along the western horizon. Which number indicates the location of the sun at sunset on the vernal equinox and autumnal equinoxes(respectively) for an observer at a latitude of 48° S?
1,3
2,3
3,2
2,1
2,2

24. Northern Hemisphere winters are colder than Northern Hemisphere summers because
Earth is closer to the sun during the summer than it is during the winter.
the snow that falls in the northern latitudes cools Earth during the winter.
the light from the sun shines more directly on the Northern Hemisphere during the summer.
the period of sunlight is longer during the summer than during the winter.
c and d

25. ______________ is the point in Earth's orbit where Earth is closest to the sun.
Aphelion
Perihelion
Precession
The winter solstice

26. The planet of our solar system that are never visible to the naked eye are
Pluto.
Mercury and Venus.
Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Neptune

27. On the autumnal equinox the sun is
on the celestial equator and moving north with respect to the equator.
on the celestial equator and moving south with respect to the equator.

28. When Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, which occurs?
a lunar eclipse
a solar eclipse
an annular eclipse
a terrestrial eclipse

29. A solar eclipse that occurs when the moon's umbra reaches Earth's surface and blocks out all of the sun’s light is called a(n) ____ eclipse.
total solar
partial solar
annular solar
penumbral solar

30. A totally eclipsed moon glows coppery red because
the moon' surface is made of iron ore which is red in color.
red light is cooler than blue light.
during a lunar eclipse the sun is cooler than normal and its light is more red.
only red light is able to pass completely through Earth's atmosphere and reach the moon.

31. The lowest amount of solar energy per square meter upon the surface of Earth in the northern hemisphere is on or about
December 21, the winter solstice.
March 21, the vernal equinox.
September 21, the autumnal equinox.
June 21, the summer solstice.

32. Newton concluded that a force from the Earth had to act on the moon because
the moon moved at a constant velocity in a straight line.
a force is needed to pull the moon outward.
a force is needed to accelerate the moon toward Earth away from straight-line motion.

33. The age of the moon is approximately:
4.5 billion years
2.5 million years
15 billion years
unknown

34. The phase of the Moon on a particular night is determined by the
season of the year.
speed of the Moon in is orbit.
relative positions of the Sun, Earth, & Moon.
distance from the Earth to the Moon.

35. Which phase of the Moon occurs between the first quarter and full moon?
new moon
waxing gibbous
waning crescent
waning gibbous

36. On a clear night when an observer in Los Angeles sees a first quarter Moon an observer in London would see
a full moon.
a first quarter moon.
a new moon.
a third quarter moon.

37. Earth’s core Earth’s mantle Earth’s crust Mars
The composition of the Moon most closely resembles _____ leading to the theory that the moon was formed from a huge collision of an object with the Earth after it accreted and differentiated during formation.:
Earth’s core
Earth’s mantle
Earth’s crust
Mars

38. The periods of the Moon’s rotation and revolution are equal
The periods of the Moon’s rotation and revolution are equal. This results in:
lunar eclipses
lunar phases
neap tides
the same side always facing earth

39. Retrograde motion
is observable for planets located between Earth and the sun.
is observable for planets more distant from the Sun than is Earth.

40. Galileo's telescopic observations of a complete set of phases of Venus proved
that Venus orbited the sun.
that Earth orbited the sun.
that all of the planets orbited the sun.
that Venus had an atmosphere.

41. were the same kind of object. were not perfect spheres.
Galileo's telescopic discoveries of mountains on the moon and spots on the sun were controversial because they suggested that the sun and moon
were the same kind of object.
were not perfect spheres.
were inhabited.
orbited each other.

42. The force of gravity from one object extends to infinity never going to zero and works for atomic level observations, planetary motion, black holes and dark matter hypothesis. When we say that gravitation is universal we mean that
the Earth exerts gravitational force on objects on its surface
the Earth exerts a gravitational force on its moon and vice versa
the Earth, moon and sun exert gravitational forces on each other
all material objects in the universerse exert gravitational forces on one another.

43. ellipse epicycles terraforms gravity loops
The diagram below illustrates a portion of the model for the universe described by Ptolemy. The small circular paths the planets travel as they orbit the sun are referred to as
ellipse
epicycles
terraforms
gravity loops

44. In pre-Copernican astronomy, it was almost universally believed that
the planets traveled in elliptical orbits about the Earth.
the center of the universe was the Sun with the Milky Way representing other distant planets.
the Sun was at the center of the universe.
the Earth was at the center of the universe.

45. The orbit of the planet Jupiter is ellipse with the Sun at one focus
The orbit of the planet Jupiter is ellipse with the Sun at one focus. What is located at the other focus?
Nothing
Earth
Saturn
Jupiter

46. A which labeled interval of its orbit would the planet move with the greatest velocity since Kepler's second law states plantary orbits are not a constant speed, thus a planet should move at its greatest speed when closest to the sun? A B C D

47. Which correctly identifies the location of the asteroid belt?

48. Which correctly identifies the location of the Kuiper belt?

49. Astronomers build telescopes on tops of mountains because
there is less air to dim light.
the seeing is better.
a and b

50. A ____ has a few million light sensitive diodes in an array typically about a half-inch square that allows images to be digitized and computerized.
photometer
charge-coupled device
spectrograph

51. Photons of red light have a longer wavelength, a lower frequency and thus less energy than photons of blue light. The apparent spectral color shift of the stars in the sky suggest the expanding universe as objects appear to be going away from the central point of the big bang is supported by
a red shift
a blue shift

52. Which of the following sequences of electromagnetic radiation is correct in order of increasing energy?
Gamma rays, X-rays, infrared, radio
Radio, microwave, gamma rays, UV
Visible, UV, X-rays, gamma rays
Visible, microwave, radio, infrared

53. A telescope whose objective is a lens and contains bent glass lenses and no mirrors is a(n) ____ telescope.
Refracting
Reflecting
Deflecting
Compound
Retracting

54. In a reflecting telescope the objective is a ____.
prism
mirror
lens
diffraction grating

55. Observation that supernovae appear fainter than expected at large redshifts.has prompted astronomers to ponder the possible existence of dark energy.
True
False

56. Observation that the universal law of gravitation equation does not allow for sufficient mass to explain some motions have led scientists to ponder the possible existence of dark matter.
True
False

57. Which of the following is the hottest type of star?
blue supergiant
red dwarf
red giant
white dwarf

58. nuclear fission nuclear fusion
Which process tha throws atoms together to make new atoms of larger elements releases huge amounts of energy that causes a star to shine?
nuclear fission
nuclear fusion

59. A theoretical celestial object that has such strong gravitational attraction, light is prevented from escaping its surface is a
black hole
pulsar
nebula
sunspot

60. Accretion is
the adding of material to an object an atom or molecule at a time.
the adding of material to an object by collection of solid particles.
the release of gas from rocks as they are heated.

61. Which one of the following IS a characteristic of Jovian planets?
low average density
very few satellites
craters in old surfaces
small diameters

62. asteroid meteor comet planetesimal
A(n) ____ is a solar system object that enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes very hot due to friction between the object and Earth's atmosphere and does not survive to reach the surface.
asteroid
meteor
comet
planetesimal

63. Wrong! interior stays solid
Once a terrestrial planet had formed from a large number of planetesimals, heat could have melted it and allowed it to differentiate into metallic core of ____density and a rocky mantle or crust of ______ density.
higher; lower
lower; higher
Wrong! interior stays solid

64. The large planetesimals would have grown faster than the smaller planetesimals because
they were moving faster in their orbits than the smaller planetesimals.
their stronger gravity would pull in more material.
there was more material located near them that could be accreted.
the smaller planetesimals were covered by a layer of material that was lost during collisions.

65. The oxygen in Earth's atmosphere
was manufactured inside stars.
was added to the atmosphere by plant life.
has increased since Earth’s origin.
all of these

66. Earth possesses few visible craters and the moon possesses many
Earth possesses few visible craters and the moon possesses many. This is because
Earth formed later than the moon and, therefore hasn't encountered as many meteoroids.
the moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up many of the meteorites before impacting.
erosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on Earth.
only b and c

67. In the giant impact theory of the Moon's origin,
the Moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth
the Earth and its Moon formed from the same cloud of matter
the Moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
the Moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

68. The greenhouse effect keeps Venus hot and the increasing levels of this same gas in Earth’s atmosphere suggests the beginning a global warming. because both
atmospheres contains free oxygen.
atmospheres are predominently carbon dioxide.
surfaces convert infrared into gamma radiation.
surfaces are free of sulfur compounds.

69. The flow patterns found on the surface of Mars and the number of craters on top of them suggest that
Mars is today a liquid water-rich world.
the climate on Mars was different billiond of years ago.
volcanism is occurring on Mars.

70. Which of the solar system objects listed below is most similar to Earth in terms of mass and density?
Mercury
Moon
Venus
Mars
Deimos

71. only CO2 only NH3 CO2, NH3, and O2 H2 and He
The graph below plots the escape velocity of each planet along the vertical axis and its surface temperature along the horizontal. The lines plotted in the figure are the speeds of the fastest gas particles as a function of temperature for various gases. Which of the gases plotted in the diagram could be retained in the atmosphere of Mars perhaps suggesting it could be warmed up and support humans if terra-formed?
only CO2
only NH3
CO2, NH3, and O2
H2 and He

72. The greenhouse effect produces excess heat in a planet's atmosphere by
trapping infrared radiation from escaping into space.
clouds blocking the surface from receiving any infrared radiation.
trapping light gases from escaping into space.
trapping ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere of the planet.

73. Which of the terrestrial planets has the most difficult time retaining an atmosphere because it is too hot?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars

74. Jupiter does not have a hot interior.
convection occurring in its atmosphere.
crustal plates on its surface.
a dynamo effect.

75. Small bodies that orbit planets are called
comets.
moons.
planetesimals.
protoplanets.

76. the Kuiper Belt. the outer atmosphere. the asteroid belt. the TNO.
A region of the solar system that starts just beyond Neptune’s orbit, which contains dwarf planets and other small bodies made mostly of ice, is called
the Kuiper Belt.
the outer atmosphere.
the asteroid belt.
the TNO.

77. solar nebula. supernova. solar eclipse. satellite.
A rotating cloud of gas and dust from which Earth’s solar system formed is called a (and 99% of the matter from this nowcontained in the sun)
solar nebula.
supernova.
solar eclipse.
satellite.

78. Neptune’s Great Dark Spot and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot are
vast canyons.
raging storms.
frozen oceans.
massive volcanos.

79. The planet with the most complex set of rings is
Neptune.
Saturn.
Jupiter.
Uranus.

80. Meteors are often called
long-period comets.
shooting stars.
meteorites.

81. What kind of bodies do scientists monitor, hoping to predict and avoid future collisions?
satellites
planetesimals
near-Earth asteroids

82. The terrestrial planets are all made of
hydrogen only.
Helium only.
Hydrogen, Helium only.
mostly rock, metal.

83. From which of these planets do we have known samples of material?
Mercury
Venus.
Mars
All of the above

84. The planets in part A of this diagram have more moons than the planets in part B.
True
False