Johannes Kepler
A. first observed that the Sun was in the center of the Solar System
B. observed and recoreded precise positions of the planets over time
C. determined that planetary orbits were circles with the Sun at the center
D. derived quantitative laws of motion wh
If a new asteroid is discovered to orbit the Sun every 1,000 years, how far from the Sun does it orbit?
A. 4 AU
B. 10 AU
C. 8 AU
D. 1000 AU
E. 100
How long does it take a satellite in low-earth orbit to complete an orbit around the Earth
A. 25 minutes
B. 90 minutes
C. 3 hours
D. 24 hours
E. 48 hours
One implication of Kepler's law of equal areas is
A. the Sun is at one focus of an elliptical orbit and the other focus is an empty equal area
B. a given planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun
C. a circle is an ellipse with zero eccentricity but with equal area
D. planets with the same area ins
Which of the following astronomers was the first to propose that the Sun was located in the center of the Solar System
A. Ptolemy
B. Aristarchus
C. Copernicus
D. Kepler
E. Tycho Brahe
Which of these quantities would be useful to know if you want to measure the mass of the Earth?
A. the mass of the Moon
B. the Earth's orbit velocity around the Sun
C. the Moon's orbital velocity around the Earth
D. the Moon's distance from the Earth
E. both C and D
Consider three stationary objects at different distances from you. All three objects are glowing with thermal radiation. Object A appears blue, Object B is yellow, and Object C is red. Which of the following choices these objects from coolest to hottest.
A. B,C,A
B. C,B,A
C. A,B,C
D. B,A,C
How many different spectral emission lines can an atom with just 5 energy levels produce?
A. 5
B. 10
C. 6
D. 8
E. 16
What wavelength photon carries twice the energy of a photon with a wavelength of 400 nanometers?
A. 1600 nanometers
B. 800 nanometers
C. 500 nanometers
D. 200 nanometers
Objects at room temperature (about 300 Kelvins) emit thermal radiation primarily in which part of the electromagnetic spectrum?
A. Radio
B. Infrared
C. Visible
D. Ultraviolet
E. X-Ray
The red emission line produced by hydrogen has a wavelength of 656.3 nanometers when observed in the lab. You observe a star in which the same hydrogen absorption line appears at a wavelength of 658.2 nanometers. This star is...
A. receding from you
B. stationary
C. approaching you
D. moving perpendicular to the line between you and the star
E. either B or D
Tides are particularly weak (that is, you experience lower than usual high tides, for example) at...
A. Full Moon
B. New Moon
C. First Quarter or Last Quarter Moon
D. Both A and B
If this electron in a hydrogen atom has jumped from a lower energy level to a higher energy level, the atom...
A. has emitted a photon with an energy equal to the difference in energy between the two levels
B. has emitted a photon which has an energy which depends on the temperature of the atom
C. produces a continuous spectrum
D. has absorbed a photon which has a
The Sun has a temperature of 6000K and produces a spectrum that peaks at a wavelength of 500 nanometers. Another star has a spectrum which peaks at 1000 nanometers. This star has a temperature of about
A. 2,000K
B. 3,000K
C. 12,000K
D. 18,000K
E. 30,000K
Which object below exerts the greatest gravitational force on the Earth when it is closest to Earth?
A. Mars, which has a mass of about 1/2 that of the Earth but comes within 1 AU of the Earth
B. Jupiter, which has a mass 1000 times that of Earth but is about 4 AU away at its closest
C. Neptune, which has a mass 20 times that of Earth but is 30 AU away
D
Consider two objects held several feet above the ground. One object has a very small mass. The other is quite massive. Which of the two objects feels the strongest gravitational force from the Earth?
A. The object with small mass
B. The massive object
C. They both feel the same gravitational force
Consider two objects above once again. Which of the two is accelerated the most by the force of Earth's gravity?
A. The object with the small mass
B. The massive object
C. They both feel the same acceleration
Under which of the following circumstances will you be able to see "absorption lines" in the spectrum of an astronomical object?
A.The object is a source of thermal radiation
B. The object is a source of thermal radiation surrounded by a cool tenuous gas
C. The object is moving toward the observer
D. The object consists entirely of a hot tenuous gas
If your aim is to achieve the same resolution at any wavelength, working at which of the wavelengths below will allow you to build the smallest telescope?
A. Infrared
B. Radio
C. Ultraviolet
D. Visible
If a planet has a mass 100 times larger than the Earth's mass and has a moon in circular orbit at the same distance as our Moon, how much faster or slower does that moon travel in its orbit?
A. 10 times faster
B. 10 times slower
C. 100 times faster
D. 100 times slower
E. It travels at the same speed
Two hot solid objects of the same size are side by side but one has a temperature (in Kelvins) four times greater than the other one. How does the brightness of the two objects compare?
A. The hotter one is four times brighter
B. The hotter one is forty times brighter
C. They are equally bright since they both have the same size
D. The hotter one is sixteen times brighter
E. The hotter one is 256 times brighter.
The principal difference between radio waves and visible light is...
A. radio waves travel at the speed of sound
B. radio waves carry substantially more energy per person
C. radio waves have a longer wavelength than visible light
D. only visible light can travel through the vacuum of space
E. thermal radiation cannot produ
You observe a distant planet with a large moon. The moon is gradually getting closer the the planet and the planet's day is getting shorter. Which of the following situations must be true?
A. The planet's satellite orbits the planet slowly (taking longer than the planet's day to go around) and is orbiting in the same sense as the planet rotates
B. The planet's satellite orbits the planet rapidly (taking less than the planet's day to go arou
An observer staying at a fixed location on the "near-side" of the Moon
A. will see the Sun rise and set once each lunar month and the Earth hang motionless in the sky
B. will see the Sun rise and set once each Earth day and the Earth hang motionless in the sky
C. will never see the Earth but will see the Sun rise and set onc
The largest ion rockets produce only enough thrust to life a sheet of paper, but they have the potential to be more effective than ordinary chemical rockets for all of the reasons below except one. Which reason is not correct?
A. They collect solar energy for propulsion rather than bringing chemical energy with them
B. They interact with the Sun's magnetic field gaining energy from magnetic repulsion
C. They eject their fuel at much higher speeds then chemical rockets
D. They r
Which wavelengths below can only be observed from space?
A. Radio
B. Visible light
C. X-rays
D. Gamma-rays
E. Both C and D
Explain why it is possible to view an artificial satellite while just standing outside looking up at the sky even though the satellite might be quite small and hundreds of miles away.
In the early evening or pre-dawn morning, you're standing in the dark at the surface of the Earth while the space above is in sunlight. The brightly lit satellite stands out against the sky.
Why are the world's largest telescopes of the "reflecting" rather than "refracting" type?
Refracting telescopes use transparent lenses which must be internally perfect and can only be supported by the edges and thus is subject to "sagging" if they get too large. Mirrors only require a polished front surface and can be supported from behind, en
If you are experiencing a high tide at your location on Earth should you expect to see the Moon high in the sky? Why or why not?
The Moon stays largely in place while the Earth turns carrying a person through the two tidal bulges everyday. One bulge is on the side of the Earth facing the Moon, but the other tidal bulge is opposite the Moon and you will NOT see the Moon at that high
Why do astronauts apear weightless while in orbit around the Earth?
Astronauts, their spaceship, and everything around them are simultaneously falling around the Earth in orbit. Everything falls at the same rate so it seems like gravity has been turned off, when in fact gravity is pulling on everything just about as stron
parallax
The apparent shift in the position of a nearby object relative to the background scenery as the position of the observer moves.
redshift
A Doppler shift toward longer wavelengths produced when a source of light is moving away from the observer.
geostationary satellite
A satellite at an altitude such that it orbits the Earth once each day - hovering above a point on the Equator.
weight
The force of gravity on an object.
eccentricity
The amount an elliptical orbit is "elongated