2.5 Mastering Astronomy Concept Quiz

2.5 Mastering Astronomy Concept Quiz 1) Which of the following statements about the celestial sphere is NOT true? A) The Earth is placed at the center of the celestial sphere. B) When we look in the sky, the stars all appear to be located on the celestial sphere. C) The "celestial sphere" is another name for our universe. D) The celestial sphere does not exist physically. Answer: C 2) The Andromeda Galaxy is faintly visible to the naked eye in the constellation Andromeda. Suppose instead it were located in the same direction in space as the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (but still at its current distance). How would it appear to the eye in that case? A) We could not see it at all. B) It would look about the same, but would be in the constellation Sagittarius instead of Andromeda. C) It would be much brighter, because it would be illuminated by the many stars in the center of our galaxy. D) It would look about the same, but it would be harder to pick out because its cloud-like appearance would make it blend in with the cloud-like appearance of the Milky Way in our sky. Answer: A 3) An angle of 1 arcsecond is A) about the width of your fist held at arm's length. B) about the width of a finger held at arm's length. C) less than the thickness of a human hair held at arm's length. D) slightly more than the width of a basketball held at arm's length. Answer: C 4) When traveling north from the United States into Canada, you'll see the North Star (Polaris) getting A) brighter. B) dimmer. C) higher in the sky. D) lower in the sky. Answer: C 5) Suppose you use the Southern Cross to determine that the south celestial pole appears 40 degrees above your horizon. Then you must be located at A) latitude 40 degrees north. B) latitude 50 degrees south. C) latitude 40 degrees south. D) longitude 40 degrees. Answer: C 20 6) Suppose you are facing north and you see the Big Dipper close to your northern horizon, with Polaris (and the Little Dipper) above it. Where will you see the Big Dipper in six hours? A) to the right of Polaris; that is, 90 degrees counterclockwise from its current position B) to the left of Polaris; that is, 90 degrees clockwise from its current position C) directly above Polaris D) still in the same place, below Polaris Answer: A 7) In any particular place on Earth, certain constellations are visible in the evening only at certain times of the year because A) our evening view of space depends on where Earth is located in its orbit around the Sun. B) during some times of year, some constellations drop below the southern horizon. C) some constellations are circumpolar. D) on any particular night, we can only see stars that are directly opposite (180 degrees away from) the Sun in the sky. Answer: A 8) The Sun's path, as viewed from the equator, is highest in the sky on A) the winter solstice. B) the spring and fall equinoxes. C) the summer solstice. D) the day when Earth is closest to the Sun. Answer: B 9) Suppose Earth's axis tilt was significantly greater than its current 23.5 degrees, but Earth's rotation period and orbital period were unchanged. Which statement below would not be true? A) Summers and winters would be more severe (for example, hotter and colder, respectively) than they are now. B) The region of Earth where the Sun does not rise on the winter solstice would be larger (extending farther south) than it is now. C) The length of each season (for example, the number of days from the summer solstice to the fall equinox) would be significantly longer than it is now. D) Polaris would not be our North star. Answer: C 10) If our year were twice as long (that is, if Earth took twice as many days to complete each orbit around the Sun), but Earth's rotation period and axis tilt were unchanged, then A) stars would take twice as long to rise and set. B) the cycle of precession would take 13,000 years instead of 26,000 years. C) the four seasons would each be twice as long as they are now. D) the Earth would not have seasons. Answer: C 21 11) How does Earth's varying distance from the Sun affect our seasons? A) It doesn't—Earth's orbital distance plays no significant role in the seasons. B) It makes summer warmer in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. C) It is responsible for the fact that the seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. D) It causes the seasons to be more extreme than they would be if the Earth's distance from the Sun were always the same. Answer: A 12) Suppose you live in the United States and you see a crescent Moon in your evening sky tonight. What will a friend in South America see tonight? A) Your friend will see a gibbous Moon. B) Your friend will also see a crescent Moon. C) Your friend will see a first quarter Moon. D) Your friend won't see the Moon tonight, because it is up only in the morning. Answer: B 13) Suppose it is full Moon. What phase of Earth would someone on the Moon see at this time? A) Full Earth B) New Earth C) First quarter Earth D) Earth does not go through phases as seen from the Moon. Answer: B 14) It's 6 A.M. and the Moon is at its highest point in your sky (crossing the meridian). What is the Moon's phase? A) new B) first quarter C) full D) third quarter Answer: D 15) You observe a full Moon rising at sunset. What will you see at midnight? A) a full Moon high in the sky B) a first quarter Moon C) a waning gibbous Moon D) a third quarter Moon Answer: A 16) All the following statements are true. Which one explains the reason that there is not a solar eclipse at every new Moon? A) The nodes of the Moon's orbit precess with an 18-year period. B) The orbital plane of the Moon is tilted slightly (by about 5 degrees) to the ecliptic plane. C) The Moon is only about 1/4 as large as Earth in diameter. D) The Moon goes through a complete cycle of phases about every 29 1/2 days. Answer: B 22 17) For most of history, the lack of observable stellar parallax was interpreted to mean that A) stars must all lie at the same distance from Earth, on the celestial sphere. B) stars were too far away for parallax to be measured with available technology. C) Earth is stationary at the center of the universe. D) Galileo's theories of the universe were essentially correct. Answer: C 18) During the period each year when we see Mars undergoing apparent retrograde motion in our sky, what is really going on in space? A) Mars is moving around the Sun in the opposite direction from which Earth is moving around the Sun. B) Earth and Mars are getting closer together. C) Earth is catching up with and passing by Mars in their respective orbits. D) Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the Sun. Answer: C 19) Suppose you see a photo showing Jupiter half in sunlight and half in shadow (that is, a first quarter Jupiter). This photo might have been taken by A) the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter in the 1990s. B) the Hubble Space Telescope (which orbits Earth). C) the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. D) the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico. Answer: A 23