Astronomy 104 Test 1

Front 1

What is the speed of light in kilometers per second?

Back 1

300000 kilometers per second

Front 2

How many seconds are there in 24 hours?

Back 2

86400 seconds

Front 3

How many seconds are there in a year?

Back 3

31556926 seconds

Front 4

How many kilometers does light travel in a year?

Back 4

9.46 trillion kilometers

Front 5

How long does it take light to travel to the moon?

Back 5

1.3 seconds

Front 6

Name 10 of the 88 constellations.

Back 6

Andromeda, Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Taurus, Virgo, and Aquarius.

Front 7

Give the names of 5 stars.

Back 7

Orion, Polaris, Sirius, Vega, and Altair

Front 8

How many times in your life have you orbited the sun?

Back 8

19

Front 9

What is the angular size of the sun in the sky?

Back 9

0.5 degrees

Front 10

What is the latitude of Oxford, MS?

Back 10

34 degrees

Front 11

What is the altitude in degrees of the north celestial pole from Oxford?

Back 11

20 degrees north

Front 12

Where would you be on the earth to see the whole sky over a year?

Back 12

on the equator

Front 13

How many days elapse between two full moons?

Back 13

30 days

Front 14

Why don't you see the same constellation at 9pm in July as at 9pm in December?

Back 14

you can't see the same constellations year round because the earth orbits the sun

Front 15

From what parts of the earth is Polaris never seen?

Back 15

any place south of the equator

Front 16

How many kilometers are there in an astronomical unit?

Back 16

8 minutes 19 seconds

Front 17

Which two celestial objects are on A.U. apart?

Back 17

the sun and the earth

Front 18

Which is larger, a millimeter or a kilometer?

Back 18

kilometer

Front 19

Which is larger, a nanometer or A.U.?

Back 19

an A.U.

Front 20

Are all stars in a constellation at the same distance from the earth?

Back 20

No

Front 21

Name a star and constellation that might be seen on any night from Oxford.

Back 21

Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull

Front 22

The Andromeda Galaxy is 2,500,00 light years away from the earth. How long has light from this galaxy spent traveling to the earth?

Back 22

2.2 million years

Front 23

What is the altitude of the zenith in degrees?

Back 23

90 degrees

Front 24

What is the altitude of the horizon in degrees?

Back 24

0 degrees

Front 25

What line in the sky passes the zenith and due north on the horizon?

Back 25

meridian

Front 26

How many stars can be seen on a dark night away from city lights?

Back 26

a couple thousand

Front 27

How many constellations are there?

Back 27

88

Front 28

Longitude of Greenwich, England?

Back 28

0 degrees longitude

Front 29

What is the latitude of the equator?

Back 29

0 degrees

Front 30

What is the latitude of the south pole?

Back 30

90 degrees south

Front 31

What constellation does the sun appear to be in on March 21?

Back 31

Pisces

Front 32

What constellation does the sun appear to be in on September 21?

Back 32

Virgo

Front 33

How many seconds of arc are in a circle?

Back 33

there are 1,296,000 seconds of arc in a circle

Front 34

What is the diameter of the earth's orbit in kilometers?

Back 34

300 million km

Front 35

If a star appears to move a second of arc (full angle) in 6 months due to parallax, how far away is it in kilometers?

Back 35

27 trillion

Front 36

If a star appears to move a second of arc (full angle) in 6 months due to parallax, how far away is it in parsecs?

Back 36

1

Front 37

If a star appears to move a second of arc (full angle) in 6 months due to parallax, how far away is it in light years?

Back 37

3

Front 38

What is the acceleration due to gravity on earth in meters/ second per second?

Back 38

9.8 m/s

Front 39

What is speed?

Back 39

it is the rate at which an object moves. Its units are distance divided by time, such as m/s and km/hr.

Front 40

What is velocity?

Back 40

the combination of speed and direction of motion; it can be stated as a speed in particular direction, such as 100 km/hr due north.

Front 41

What is acceleration?

Back 41

the rate at which an object's velocity change. Its standard units are m/s squared.

Front 42

What is the difference between mass and weight?

Back 42

mass is not affected by gravity

Front 43

What are Newton's three laws of motion?

Back 43

First law- an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
Second law- acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. the greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).
Third law- for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Front 44

What are Kepler's three laws of planetary motion?

Back 44

First law- the orbit of each planet around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.
Second law- as a planet moves around its orbit, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
Third law- more distant planets orbit the sun at slower average speeds, obeying a precise mathematical relationship.

Front 45

Which two celestial bodies are one AU apart?

Back 45

earth and sun

Front 46

The semi-major axis of saturn's orbit around the sun is 10 AU. How long is Saturn's year in earth years?

Back 46

29.7 years

Front 47

What is the eccentricity of a circle?

Back 47

0

Front 48

Is the orbit of Mercury around the sun a perfect circle?

Back 48

No

Front 49

What would happen to the Earth if the Sun's gravity were suddenly "turned off"?

Back 49

all of the planets and other objects in the solar system would go flying off course

Front 50

Jupiter's moon Callisto orbits at a distance of 1.88 million km and its orbital period if 16.7 days. Assume that Callisto's mass is negligible compared to Jupiter's. Using Newton's modified version of Kepler's third law, find the mass of Jupiter.

Back 50

1.9 x 10^27 kg

Front 51

Is the escape velocity high for the earth of the moon?

Back 51

Earth

Front 52

What did Galileo observe about Jupiter that suggested that all objects in the solar system did not revolve around the Earth?

Back 52

Jupiter has 4 years

Front 53

Would a gold ball go father if it were hit with the same speed on the earth or on the moon?

Back 53

Moon

Front 54

Would you weigh more on the earth or the moon?

Back 54

Earth

Front 55

Would your mass be more, less, or the same if you traveled to the moon?

Back 55

Same

Front 56

Who was the first astronomer to use a telescope?

Back 56

Galileo

Front 57

Does a planet move most rapidly at perihelion or aphelion?

Back 57

Perihelion

Front 58

The semi-major axis of an orbit is half the major axis?

Back 58

True

Front 59

Is escape velocity higher or lower than the velocity needed to orbit?

Back 59

higher

Front 60

What is the right ascension of the sun on March 21?

Back 60

0 degrees

Front 61

What constellation is the Sun in?

Back 61

none

Front 62

What is the local sidereal time at noon on March 21?

Back 62

0 degrees

Front 63

What is the declination of the celestial equator?

Back 63

90 degrees

Front 64

How long is a sidereal day in units of solar time?

Back 64

24 hours

Front 65

What is the latitude of Oxford, MS?

Back 65

89.5

Front 66

If the house angle of Sirius is 0 hours, can it be seen in the sky?

Back 66

No

Front 67

If the house angle of Sirius is 12 hours, can it be seen in the sky?

Back 67

Yes

Front 68

At what temperature does water freeze in degrees Kelvin?

Back 68

273.15

Front 69

At what temperature does water boil in degrees Kelvin?

Back 69

373

Front 70

What is the difference between the freezing point and boiling point of water in degrees Kelvin?

Back 70

100 degrees

Front 71

What is the difference the freezing point and boiling point of water in degrees of Centigrade?

Back 71

100 degrees

Front 72

What is the lowest possible temperature in degrees of Kelvin?

Back 72

0 degrees

Front 73

What is the density of water in grams per cubic centimeter?

Back 73

1 gram per cubic centimeter

Front 74

What are the three phases of matter in addition to plasmas?

Back 74

solid, liquid, and gas

Front 75

The sun has a luminosity of 4x10^26 watts. How many 100 watt light bulbs is this luminosity equal to?

Back 75

3.846x10^24 100 watt light bulbs

Front 76

What is the electric charge of a proton?

Back 76

positive

Front 77

What is the electric charge of a neutron?

Back 77

neutral

Front 78

What is the electric charge of an electron?

Back 78

negative

Front 79

Do like charges attract each other?

Back 79

No

Front 80

Do unlike charges attract each other?

Back 80

Yes

Front 81

Name the two kinds of particles found in the Helium nucleus?

Back 81

protons and neutrons

Front 82

What differentiates one kind of atom from another, the number of protons in the nucleus or the number of neutrons in the nucleus?

Back 82

number of protons in the nucleus

Front 83

What is more massive, a proton or an electron?

Back 83

Proton

Front 84

What makes up the molecule water?

Back 84

2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom

Front 85

What is a typical size of an atom in meters?

Back 85

10^-10 meters

Front 86

Typically how many times bigger is an atom than a nucleus?

Back 86

10,000

Front 87

What is the average density of the earth in g/cc?

Back 87

5.54 g/cm^3

Front 88

How many protons and neutrons are in an oxygen-16 nucleus?

Back 88

8 protons and neutrons

Front 89

Carbon-12 has six protons and six neutrons in its nucleus?

Back 89

True

Front 90

How many electrons does a neutral carbon atom have?

Back 90

8

Front 91

How many protons and neutrons are in a Helium-4 nucleus?

Back 91

2 protons and neutrons

Front 92

How many protons and neutrons are in a Helium-3 nucleus?

Back 92

2 protons and 1 neutron

Front 93

Heavy hydrogen (deuterium) has one proton and one neutron. What does deuterium become if one proton is added?

Back 93

Helium-3

Front 94

An electron hydrogen is limited to specific energies

Back 94

True