Midterm exam 1 2018, questions and answers PDF

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1. The term observable universe refers to a. That portion of the universe that we have so far photographed through telescopes b. The portion of the universe that can be seen by the naked eye c. The portion of the universe that is not hidden from view by, for example, being below the horizon d. That portion of the universe that we can see in principle, given the current age of the universe 2. What is the sun mainly made of? a. Hydrogen and oxygen b. Hydrogen and helium c. Carbon and nitrogen d. Oxygen and carbon e. Nearly equal portions of all the elements 3. How long does it take our solar system to complete one orbit around the milky way galaxy? a. 10 thousand years b. 230 thousand years c. 1 million years d. 100 million years e. 230 million years 4. Which of the following is largest? a. Size of a typical galaxy b. Size of pluto’s orbit c. Distance to the nearest star (other than our sun) d. 1 light-year 5. From Kepler’s third law, an asteroid with an orbital period of 8 years lies at an average distance from the sun equal to a. 2 astronomical units b. 4 astronomical units c. 8 astronomical units d. 16 astronomical units e. it depends on the asteroid’s mass 6. What is meant by Occam’s Razor? a. A well-designed experiment that clearly shows the differences between two competing theories b. A poorly designed experiment that fails to show the difference between two competing theories c. The idea that scientists should prefer the simpler of two models that agree equally well with observations d. The fine line between science and pseudoscience e. The shaving implement of a medieval scholar 7. What is the acceleration of gravity of earth? a. 9.8 m/s2 downward

b. 9.8m/s downward c. 9.8km/s2 downward d. 9.8m2/s downward e. 9.8km/s downward 8. Suppose you drop a 10-pound weight and a 5-pound weight on the moon, both from the same height at the same time. What will happen? a. Both will hit the ground at the same time b. The 10-opound weight will hit the ground before the 5-pound weight c. The 5-pound weight will hit the ground before the 10-pound weight d. Both weights will float freely, since everything is weightless on the moon 9. Which of the following statements correctly describes the law of conservation of energy? a. An object always has the same amount of energy b. Energy can change between many different forms, such as potential, kinetic, and thermal but it is ultimately destroyed c. The total quantity of energy in the universe never changes 10. What causes the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? a. As earth passes another planet its gravitational pull slows down the other planet so that it appears to be travelling backward b. When planets are father from the sun, they move slower than when they are nearer to the sun, it is during this slower period that they appear to move backwards c. The other planets never really appear to move backward; the background stars shift due to earth’s revolution around the sun d. As earth passes another planet, the other planet appears to move backward with respect to the background stars, but the planet’s motion does not actually change e. Apparent retrograde motion is an illusion created by turbulence in earth’s atmosphere 11. Which of the following never appears to exhibit retrograde motion? a. The sun b. Venus c. Mars d. Jupiter e. Saturn 12. What conditions are required for a solar eclipse? a. The phase of the moon must be new, and the nodes of the moon’s orbit must be nearly aligned with earth and the sun b. The phase of the moon must be full, and the nodes of the moon’s orbit must be nearly aligned with earth and the sun c. The phase of the moon can be new or full, and the nodes of the moon’s orbit must be nearly aligned with earth and the sun d. The phase of the moon must be new, and the moon’s orbital plane must lie in the ecliptic

e. The phase of the moon must be full, and the moon’s orbital plane must lie in the ecliptic 13. Why is it summer in the northern hemisphere when it is winter in the southern hemisphere? a. The northern hemisphere is closer to the sun than the southern hemisphere b. The northern hemisphere is “on top” of earth and therefore receives more sunlight c. The northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and receives more direct sunlight d. The northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and receives more indirect sunlight e. It isn’t both hemispheres have the same seasons at the same time 14. We can describe a position on earth’s surface by stating its 15. He discovered that the orbits of planets are ellipses a. Tycho Brahe b. Copernicus c. Kepler d. Galileo e. Ptolemy 16. The astrology practiced by those who cast predictive horoscopes can be tested by a. Asking astrologers if it works b. Asking astronomers if it works c. Counting how many times the predictions come true d. Comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance e. Polling people to find out what percentage believe their horoscopes to be accurate 17. Which ancient culture had the greatest known success in predicting eclipses? a. Aztecs b. Mayans c. Egyptians d. Babylonians e. Greeks 18. Historians trace the origins of a 24-hour day to a. The druids of Stonehenge b. The ancient Egyptians c. The Mayans d. The Aztecs e. The Babylonian astronomer melon 19. From Kepler’s third law, an asteroid with an orbital period of 8 years lies at an average distance from the sun equal to a. 4 astronomical units 20. Patterns of stars in constellations hardly change in appearance over times of even a few thousand years. Why?

a. Stars are fixed and never move b. Stars move but they move very slowly – only a few kilometers in a thousand years c. Although most stars move through the sky, the brightest stars do not, and these are the ones that trace the patterns we see in the constellations d. The stars in our sky actually move rapidly relative to us – thousands of kilometers per hour – but are so far away that it takes a long time for this motion to make a noticeable change in the patterns in the sky e. Stars within a constellation move together as a group, which tends to hide their actual motion and prevent the patterns from changing 21. Why do patterns of the stars in our sky look the same from year to year? a. Because the stars in the constellations are so far away b. Because the stars in the constellation are not moving c. Because the stars in the constellations all move at the same speeds and in the same directions, so they don’t change their relative positions d. Because the stars in the constellations move so slowly – typically about the speed of a snail – that their motions are not noticeable 22. Relative to the age of the universe, how old is our solar system? a. It is about 1% as old as the universe b. It is between about 5% and 10% as old as the universe c. It is about one-third the age of the universe d. It is nearly the same age as the universe 23. One light-hour is the distance that light travels in an hour. How far is this, in kilometres? (Recall that the speed of light is 300,000 km/s) a. 300,000 km b. 18 million km c. 100 million km d. 1.08 billion km e. 9.46 trillion km 24. Orion is visible on winter evenings in the northern hemisphere but not summer evenings because of a. Interference from the full moon b. The tilt of Earth’s axis c. The location of earth in its orbit d. The precession of earth’s axis e. Baseball on television 25. What do scientists mean by verifiable observations? a. Statements that a person can, in principle, verify for himself or herself b. Statements that anyone would agree are obvious c. Observations that can be interpreted in only one way d. Observations that a model does not have to predict e. Observations that support a scientific theory 26. The name of the seven days of the week are based on a. The names of the seven planets closest to the un

b. The seven most prominent constellations in the summer sky c. The names of prophets in the bible d. The seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellations 27. He discovered that Jupiter has moons a. Tycho Brahe b. Aristotle c. Kepler d. Galileo e. Ptolemy 28. Kepler’s second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that a. A planet travels faster when it is neared to the sun and slower when it is farther from the sun b. A planet’s period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit c. Planets that are father from the sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets d. The period of a planet does not depend on its mass e. Planets have circular orbits 29. The tides on earth are an example of a. Newton’s first law of motion b. Newton’s second law of motion c. Newton’s third law of motion d. The universal law of gravitation e. None of the above 30. How does the space shuttle take off? a. Its rocket engines push against the launch pad propelling the shuttle upwards b. It converts mass-energy to kinetic energy c. It achieves lift from its wings in the same way that airplanes do d. Hot gas shoots out from the rocket and, by conservation of momentum, the shuttle moves in the opposite direction e. The hot rocket exhaust expands the air beneath the shuttle, propelling it forward 31. Suppose that two objects collide. Which of the following things is not the same both before and after the collision? a. The total energy of the objects b. The total angular momentum of the objects c. The total temperature of the objects d. The total momentum of the objects 32. Why is Newton’s version of Kepler’s third law so useful to astronomers? a. It allows us to calculate distances to distant objects b. It can be used to determine the masses of many distant objects c. It tells us that more-distant planets orbit the sun more slowly d. It explains why objects spin faster when they shrink in size 33. On a scale in which the distance from earth to the sun is about 15 metres, the distance from earth to the moon is

a. Small enough to fit within your hand b. About 1 metre c. About 5 metre d. About 30 metres 34. On the scale of the cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed to 1 year, how long has human civilization (i.e., since ancient Egypt) existed? a. About half the year b. About a month c. A few hours d. A few seconds e. Less than a millionth of a second 35. In which direction does a quarter moon rise? a. North b. South c. East d. West e. The moon becomes a quarter moon only after it has risen and changed phase 36. Which of the following statements is not one of Newton’s laws of motion? a. What goes up must come down b. The rate of change of momentum of an object is equal to the net force applied to the object c. In the absence of a net force, an object moves with constant velocity d. For any force, there always is an equal and opposite reaction force e. All of the above are Newton’s laws of motion 37. What does temperature measure? a. The average mass of particles in a substance b. The average size of particles in a substance c. The average kinetic energy of particles in a substance d. The total number of particles in a substance e. The total potential energy of particles in a substance 38. As long as an object is not gaining or losing mass, a net force on the object will cause a change in a. Acceleration b. Direction c. Weight d. Speed e. Velocity 39. I live in the United States, and during my first trip to Argentina I saw many constellations that I’d never seen before. Choose the correct explanation why the statement makes sense (or is clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false) a. This statement makes sense, because the constellations visible in the sky depend on longitude. Since Argentina is to the east from the US, the constellations visible there include many that are not visible from the United states

b. This statement doesn’t make sense, because the constellations visible in the sky depend on longitude, Since Argentina is at the same longitude, as the US are, the constellations visible there are mostly visible from the United States c. This statement makes sense, because the constellations visible in the sky depend on latitude. Since Argentina is in the southern hemisphere the constellations visible there include many that are not visible from the United States d. This statement doesn’t make sense, because the constellations visible in the sky depend on latitude. Since Argentina is in the Northern Hemisphere, the constellations visible there are mostly visible from the United states...