VERSION B

Write your name at the top of this quiz as well as on your answer sheet. WRITE YOUR VERSION ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET. Feel free to write or draw on the quiz.

Please put away all electronic devices. You will not need a calculator for this quiz.

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER TO EACH QUESTION.

1. What is the closest large spiral galaxy to us, besides our own Milky Way galaxy?
a) The Large Magellanic Cloud.
b) The Virgo Galaxy.
c) The Small Magellanic Cloud.
d) The Andromeda Galaxy.
e) The Local Galaxy.

d) The Andromeda Galaxy.

2. In the standard candle technique of getting distances to distant galaxies, a constant luminosity is assumed for a class of objects. What equation is then used to get the distance?
a) The inverse square law of light.
b) Hubble's Law.
c) The Period-Luminosity Relation.
d) Parallax is inversely proportional to distance.
e) The Stephan-Boltzmann Law.

a) The inverse square law of light.

3. What observations provided the first evidence for dark energy?
a) Observations of Type I supernovae in very distant galaxies.
b) Observations of the rotation curves of spiral galaxies.
c) Observations of the proper motion of stars around Sagittarius A*.
d) Observations of stellar parallax of nearby stars.
e) Observations of the orbit of planets around stars.

a) Observations of Type I supernovae in very distant galaxies.

4. The Local Supercluster is centered on:
a) The Milky Way.
b) The Local Group.
c) The Large Magellanic Cloud.
d) The Small Magellanic Cloud.
e) The Virgo Cluster.

e) The Virgo Cluster.

5. From least luminous to most luminous, what is the correct order of the following objects?
a) quasars, Seyfert nuclei, Sagittarius A*.
b) Seyfert nuclei, quasars, Sagittarius A*.
c) Sagittarius A*, quasars, Seyfert nuclei.
d) Sagittarius A*, Seyfert nuclei, quasars.
e) Seyfert nuclei, Sagittarius A*, quasars.

d) Sagittarius A*, Seyfert nuclei, quasars.

6. Who first identified the spectral lines of quasars as being due to ordinary elements that are very redshifted?
a) Albert Einstein.
b) Edwin Hubble.
c) Maarten Schmidt.
d) Carl Jansky.
e) Allan Sandage.

c) Maarten Schmidt.

7. Radio galaxies are mostly:
a) Elliptical galaxies.
b) Irregular galaxies.
c) Spiral galaxies.
d) Barred spiral galaxies.
e) Equally spirals, barred spirals, or irregulars.

a) Elliptical galaxies.

8. The best estimate of the age of the Universe comes from:
a) Radioactive dating of rocks on Earth.
b) Radioactive dating of meteorites.
c) The main sequence turn-off of globular clusters in the Milky Way.
d) Measurements of Type I supernovae in distant galaxies.
e) The orbital speed of the Sun around the center of the Milky Way.

d) Measurements of Type I supernovae in distant galaxies.

9. In Astronomy, the term `the Big Crunch' refers to:
a) The forthcoming collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy.
b) The merger of two neutron stars to form a black hole.
c) The merger of two white dwarfs to form a neutron star.
d) In a closed Universe, when all matter contracts to a single point.
e) The forthcoming merger between the Local Group and the Virgo Cluster.

d) In a closed Universe, when all matter contracts to a single point.

10. In Astronomy, the term `the critical density' refers to:
a) The maximum density allowed for a white dwarf.
b) The maximum density allowed for a neutron star.
c) The average density of the Sun.
d) The average density of the Milky Way.
e) The density needed such that the Universe will continue to expand with time until, at an infinite time, the expansion rate will be zero.

e) The density needed such that the Universe will continue to expand with time until, at an infinite time, the expansion rate will be zero.

11. The density of quasars in space (number per volume) is highest:
a) In the Local Group.
b) In the Local Supercluster.
c) In the void between us and the Coma Cluster.
d) Beyond the Great Wall.
e) The density of quasars is uniform throughout space.

d) Beyond the Great Wall.

12. What is the most accurate method of getting distances to galaxies within the Local Group?
a) Hubble's Law.
b) Supernovae Type I.
c) Cepheid Variables.
d) Stellar Parallax.
e) All of the above are equally accurate.

c) Cepheid Variables.

13. Radio emission from the Sun was first detected by:
a) Allan Sandage.
b) Radar operators during World War II.
c) Edwin Hubble.
d) Maarten Schmidt.
e) Albert Einstein.

b) Radar operators during World War II.

14. What kind of galaxies are NOT found in the Local Group, but ARE seen in the Virgo Cluster?
a) dwarf ellipticals.
b) giant ellipticals.
c) spiral galaxies.
d) irregular galaxies.
e) all of the above are seen in both the Local Group and the Virgo Cluster.

b) giant ellipticals.

15. There is evidence that dark matter exists:
a) only in spiral galaxies, not in elliptical galaxies or outside galaxies.
b) only in elliptical galaxies, not in spirals or outside galaxies.
c) in spirals and ellipticals, but not outside galaxies.
d) in spirals and ellipticals, and also between the galaxies in clusters of galaxies.
e) only between the galaxies in clusters of galaxies, not inside individual galaxies.

d) in spirals and ellipticals, and also between the galaxies in clusters of galaxies.

16. What is the correct order of the following astronomical objects, if they are listed in increasing distance away from the Earth?
a) Sagittarius A*; the Large Magellanic Cloud; the Andromeda Galaxy; the Great Wall; the closest quasar.
b) The Large Magellanic Cloud; the Andromeda Galaxy; Sagittarius A*; the closest quasar; the Great Wall.
c) The Large Magellanic Cloud; the Andromeda Galaxy; Sagittarius A*; the Great Wall; the closest quasar.
d) Sagittarius A*; the Andromeda Galaxy; the Large Magellanic Cloud; the Great Wall; the closest quasar.
e) Sagittarius A*; the Andromeda Galaxy; the Large Magellanic Cloud; the closest quasar; the Great Wall.

a) Sagittarius A*; the Large Magellanic Cloud; the Andromeda Galaxy; the Great Wall; the closest quasar.

17. Which of the following techniques of determining astronomical distances can be used to the largest distances?
a) Proper motion.
b) Stellar parallax.
c) The period of a Cepheid variable star.
d) Hubble's law.
e) Type I Supernovae.

d) Hubble's law.

18. If the ultimate fate of the Universe is to expand until at an infinite time the velocity of the expansion equals zero, then we live in:
a) a flat Universe.
b) an open Universe.
c) a closed Universe.
d) an empty Universe.
e) a Universe with a density greater than the critical density.

a) a flat Universe.

19. The Great Wall is:
a) A large molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way.
b) A large wall-like distribution of galaxies about 100 Mpc away.
c) The group of galaxies we live in.
d) A small companion galaxy to the Milky Way.
e) Another name for the Zone of Avoidance.

b) A large wall-like distribution of galaxies about 100 Mpc away.

20. What causes a cosmological redshift?
a) Motion through space due to the gravitational pull of galaxies on other galaxies.
b) The expansion of the Universe.
c) Dimming of starlight due to interstellar dust absorbing some of the light.
d) A star becoming redder as it ages, expanding and cooling as it moves off the main sequence.
e) Dark matter in the outskirts of spiral galaxies.

b) The expansion of the Universe.