Practice Questions for Astronomy I – EXAM
1
1. What is the maximum number of planets
readily visible to the
naked eye on a
given night?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
2. Planets
a. move rapidly across the sky relative
to the stars.
b. are stationary relative to the stars.
c. all move at the same rate relative to
the stars.
d. move slowly relative to the stars.
e. can appear anywhere in the sky.
3. The Moon
a. may appear
anywhere in the sky.
b. always appears within a few degrees of
the zodiac.
c. always appears within a few degrees of
the celestial
equator.
d. generally appears opposite the Sun.
4. The most readily
observed motion of a celestial object is
produced by
a. the motion of the planets across the
sky.
b. the rotation of the Earth.
c. the revolution of the Earth.
d. the motion of the Sun around the
galaxy.
5. An astronomical unit is the
a. distance from the Earth to the Moon.
b. distance from the Earth to the Sun.
c. distance from the Earth to the nearest
star.
d. distance light travels in one year.
e. circumference of the Earth.
6. Which of the following statements about
planets is FALSE?
a. none are visible to observers on the
Earth
b. they move relative to the stars
c. they are found along the zodiac
d. they do not twinkle as stars do
7. Where must an observer be located on the
Earth to view the
entire sky over
the course of a year?
a. the north pole
b. the south pole
c. the equator
d. anywhere on the Earth
8. Diurnal motions are caused by
a. the rapid rotations of heavenly
bodies.
b. the motion of the Moon about the
Earth.
c. the motion of the Sun about the Earth.
d. the motion of the Earth on its
rotation axis.
e. the precession of the Earth's axis.
9. Suppose you are on a strange planet.
Since you have had an
astronomy class
at the university, you are aware of the daily
motion of stars
about a fixed point in the sky. Furthermore,
you notice that
this fixed point is 30 degrees above the
horizon. You
then deduce that your latitude on this planet is
a. 0ø.
b. 15ø.
c. 30ø.
d. 45ø.
e. 60ø.
10. Precession is
a. the accuracy with which numbers are
given in astronomy.
b. the slow motion of the Earth's
rotation axis on the
celestial
sphere.
c. the apparent backward motion of
planets on the celestial
sphere.
d. the daily eastward motion of the Sun
around the celestial
sphere.
11. Planet X has its rotation axis
perpendicular to its orbital
plane. Its
seasons would be
a. shorter than those on Earth.
b. longer than those on Earth.
c. the same as those on Earth.
d. constant.
12. If a solar eclipse occured
2 weeks ago, what would be the phase
of the Moon
today?
a. first quarter
b. full
c. third quarter
d. new
e. waxing crescent
13. Eclipses do not occur each month because
a. the Moon is always in the ecliptic.
b. the Moon is never in the ecliptic.
c. the Earth's axis is tilted to the
ecliptic.
d. the Moon's orbit is in the ecliptic.
e. the Moon's orbit is not in the
ecliptic.
14. In order for a solar eclipse to occur,
the Moon must be
a. near new Moon.
b. near first or last quarter.
c. high in the sky.
d. near full Moon.
e. in a retrograde loop.
15. The length of the tropical year is
a. equal to the length of the Earth's
sidereal period.
b. equal to the length of the Earth's synodic period.
c. the time interval from one vernal
equinox to the next.
d. twelve lunar months.
16. If the Moon did NOT rotate we would
observe
a. the same as we now observe.
b. only the lunar back side.
c. the lunar north polar region.
d. both the front and back side of the
Moon.
17. Aristotle
a. was the first great observational
astronomer.
b. stated physical laws and then
attempted to use them to
explain how
the universe works.
c. discovered the first four elements in
the periodic table of
elements.
d. taught Plato the basic laws of nature.
18. Ptolemy
a. invented calculus and used it to
predict the positions of
the planets
at any given time.
b. wrote books summarizing the
astronomical knowledge of
earlier
cultures.
c. was the first of the great Greek
astronomers.
d. was the first to detect stellar
parallax.
19. The Almagest was written by
a. Plato
b. Aristotle
c. Hipparchus
d. Ptolemy
e. Pythagorus
20. The reason Copernicus became a "heliocentrist" was that
a. the evidence was overwhelmingly
strong.
b. the evidence was weak but gaining
strength.
c. it was philosophically pleasing to
him.
d. the laws of physics as then understood
indicated a
heliocentric
universe.
21. Which one of the following statements
about the Copernican
model is FALSE?
a. it was more accurate than the
Ptolemaic system in
predicting
planetary motions
b. relative planetary distances could be
deduced from it
c. relative planetary speeds could be
determined from it
d. retrograde motion could be easily
explained by it
e. none: all of the above statements are
true
22. Tycho Brahe's principal contribution to astronomy was
a. his noble blood.
b. his suggested model for the solar
system (which had a fixed
Earth with the Sun revolving about it
but the rest of the
planets
revolving about the Sun).
c. the accuracy of his observations and
the
his records.
d. his choice of Galileo as an assistant.
23. Which of the following is a statement of Kepler's first law?
a. planets move in perfect circles with
the Sun at the center
b. planets move along an elliptical path
with the Sun at the
center
c. planets move along an elliptical path
with the Sun at one
of the foci
d. planets move along an elliptical path
with the Earth at one
of the foci
24. In simple language, Kepler's
second law means that
a. a planet moves more rapidly when near
the Sun than when
farther
away.
b. planets close to the Sun have shorter
periods than those
farther away.
c. the Sun is at the center of planetary
orbits.
d. slowly moving planets are close to the
Sun.
25. In non-mathematical terms, Kepler's third law says that
a. a planet moves more rapidly when near
the Sun than when
farther
away.
b. planets close to the Sun have shorter
periods than those
farther
away.
c. the Sun is at the center of planetary
orbits.
d. slowly moving planets are close to the
Sun.
26. Who is often considered to be the first
truly modern scientist?
a. Brahe
b. Kepler
c. Copernicus
d. Aristotle
e. Galileo
27. Which of
the following did Galileo NOT observe?
a. sunspots
b. the moons of Mars
c. the phases of
Venus
d. the craters on the Moon
28. Which of the following has the greatest
mass?
a. 100 lbs of goose feathers
b. 100 lbs of lead
c. a 100 lb person
d. they all have the same mass
29.
Acceleration is defined as
a. the rate of change of velocity.
b. the rate of change of position.
c. the rate of change of distance.
d. how fast an object moves.
e. how fast an object changes position.
30. Which of the following would NOT occur if
the Earth's mass were
doubled? (NOTE:
the radius remains the same)
a. your mass would double
b. your weight would double
c. the surface gravity would double
d. the escape velocity would increase
31. While on the Moon, the Apollo astronauts
demonstrated Galileo's
experiment at
the Leaning Tower of Pisa by dropping a feather
and a hammer.
They reached the ground at the same time because
a. the force of gravity is larger on the
feathers than on the
hammer.
b. the force of gravity has no effect on
either object.
c. the acceleration of each object is the
same.
d. the astronauts showed Galileo's
experiment to be false.
32. Take three identical bricks; strap two of
them together. Which
statement is
true?
a. the
as the
single brick
b. the
fast as the
single brick due to the inverse square law of
gravity
c. the gravitational force between the
Earth and the
bricks is
twice as strong as the gravitational force
between the
Earth and the single brick
d. the gravitational force between the
Earth and the
bricks is
the same as the gravitational force between the
Earth and the single brick
33. If in a violent moment you kick a wall,
your foot will hurt.
This is best explained by
a.
b.
c.
d. the universal law of gravity.
34. Which of the following statements about
the Earth's orbit is
FALSE?
a. The orbit is elliptical
b. The average distance to between the
Earth and the Sun is 1
A. U.
c. The orbital velocity is constant
d. the period of the orbit is 1 year
35. The escape velocity from a planet's
surface depends upon
a. your mass and the planet's mass.
b. your mass and the planet's radius.
c. the planet's mass and radius.
d. your mass and the planets orbital
period.
e. the planet's mass and orbital period.
ANSWERS for Astronomy I -- Practice EXAM 1
1. e
2. d
3. b
4. b
5. b
6. a
7. c
8. d
9. c
10. b
11. d
12. b
13. e
14. a
15. c
16. d
17. b
18. b
19. d
20. c
21. a
22. c
23. c
24. a
25. b
26. e
27. b
28. d
29. a
30. a
31. c
32. c
33. c
34. c
35. c