Astrology 1

Front 1

Suppose we look at a photograph of many galaxies. Assuming that all galaxies formed after the Big Bang, which galaxy appears to us as the youngest?

Back 1

The galaxy that is furthest from us.

Front 2

Which of the following correctly describes the concept of galactic recycling?

Back 2

New starts are continuously being formed in the Milky Way out of gas that has been ejected from a previous generation of stars.

Front 3

Which of the following is smallest? Size of a typical planet, 1 light-second, 1 AU, size of a typical star.

Back 3

Size of a typical planet.

Front 4

Suppose we imagine the Sun to be about the size of a grapefruit. How far away are the nearest stars (the three stars of Alpha Centauri)?

Back 4

2,500 miles.

Front 5

How long does it take our solar system to complete one orbit around the Milky Way Galaxy?

Back 5

230 million years.

Front 6

Most of the mass in the Milky Way Galaxy is located...

Back 6

In the halo (above/below the disk).

Front 7

Rank the following 4 items by how long it takes for light to reach us from these objects, from shortest to longest: Pluto, Sun, the Andromeda Galaxy, center of the Milky Way

Back 7

Sun, Pluto, center of the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Front 8

One of the most fundamental discoveries about the Universe has been that it is expanding. "The universe is expanding" means...

Back 8

Distances between most galaxies are getting larger.

Front 9

What is a circumpolar star?

Back 9

A star that always remains above your horizon.

Front 10

You are standing on Earth's equator. Which way is Polaris, the North star?

Back 10

On the northern horizon.

Front 11

Why do we have seasons?

Back 11

As Earth goes around the Sun and Earth's axis remains pointed towards Polaris, the Northern and Southern hemispheres alternately receive more and less direct sunlight.

Front 12

Which of the following statements is true?:

1. Both the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight on the equinoxes. 2. Both the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight on the solstices. 3. The Northern Hemisphere revives the most direct sunlight on the summer solstice. 4. The Southern Hemisphere receives the most direct sunlight on the summer solstice.

Back 12

Both 1 and 3 are true.

Front 13

Which of the following is not a phase of the Moon?: first-quarter, third-quarter, half, new, full.

Back 13

Half.

Front 14

If the Moon rises around 3 A.M., its phase must be...

Back 14

Waning crescent.

Front 15

What effect or effects would be most significant if the Moon's orbital plane were exactly the same as the ecliptic plane?

Back 15

Solar eclipses would be much more frequent.

Front 16

What happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet?

Back 16

The planet appears to move westward with respects to the stars over a period of many nights.

Front 17

Which of the following statements about stellar parallax is true?

Back 17

The closer a star is to us, the more parallax it exhibits.

Front 18

When someone on Earth observes the Moon in the first-quarter phase, someone on the Moon facing Earth observes the Earth in...

Back 18

Third-quarter Earth phase.

Front 19

The Greeks rejected the notion that the Earth orbits the Sun. Why?

Back 19

They could not measure a change in the stars positions on the sky.

Front 20

During a lunar eclipse the Moon's phase must be:

Back 20

Full.

Front 21

Which planet is moving most slowly around the Sun? All the same, Earth, Jupiter, Venus.

Back 21

Jupiter.

Front 22

Which of the following correctly desires the meridian in your local sky?

Back 22

A half-circle extending from your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south.

Front 23

We describe a location on Earth's surface by stating its...

Back 23

Latitude and longitude.

Front 24

What conditions are required for a lunar eclipse?

Back 24

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.

Front 25

Which of the following statements about scientific models is true? 1. A model tries to represent all the aspects of nature. 2. A model tries to represent only one aspect of nature 3. A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena. 4. All models that explain nature well are correct. 5. All current models are correct.

Back 25

A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena.

Front 26

Why did Ptolemy have the planets orbiting Earth on "circles upon circles" in his model of the universe?

Back 26

To explain the fact that planets sometimes appear to move westward, rather than eastward, relative to the stars in our sky.

Front 27

He was the first to prove that comets lie beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Back 27

Tycho Brahe.

Front 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...

Back 28

A planet travels faster when it is nearer to the sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.

Front 29

Which of the following statements about scientific theories is not true?

1. A theory cannot be taken seriously by scientists if it contradicts other theories. 2. A theory is a model designed to explain a number of observed facts. 3. If even a single new fact is discovered that contradicts what we expect according to a particular theory, then the theory must be revised or discarded. 4. A theory must make predictions that can be checked by observation or experiment. 5. A theory can never be proved beyond all doubt; we can only hope to collect more and more evidence that might support it.

Back 29

If even a single new fact is discovered that contradicts what we expect according to a particular theory, then the theory must be revised or discarded.

Front 30

Match the accomplishment to the person: Tycho, Newton, Kepler; collected data, found elliptical orbits, explained in terms of physics.

Back 30

Tycho collected data, Kepler found elliptical orbits, Newton explained in terms of physics.

Front 31

The great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to...

Back 31

Create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the center.

Front 32

Suppose a comet orbits the Sun on a highly eccentric orbit with an average (semi major axis) distance of 1 AU. How long does it take to complete each orbit, and how do we know?

Back 32

Each orbit take about 1 year, which we know from Kepler's third law.

Front 33

According to Kepler's third law (p^2=a^3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around the Sun?

Back 33

A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun.

Front 34

T or F: In South Africa, it's usually quite warm around the time of the winter solstice and quite cool around the time of the summer solstice.

Back 34

True.

Front 35

You can find the tilt of Earth's axis by measuring the angle between your horizon and the North Star.

Back 35

False.

Front 36

The Milky Way can be seen only from the Northern Hemisphere.

Back 36

False.

Front 37

The season on Earth are caused by its elliptical orbit around the Sun.

Back 37

False.

Front 38

At midnight it is sometimes possible to observe the crescent moon on the meridian.

Back 38

False.

Front 39

In the Ptolemaic system, Venus should not show phases.

Back 39

False.

Front 40

Galileo found "imperfections" on the Sun in the form of sunspots and "imperfections" on the Moon in the form of mountains and valleys.

Back 40

True.

Front 41

It is possible for science as a whole to be objective despite the fact that all individual scientists have personal biases and beliefs.

Back 41

True.

Front 42

Scientific thinking developed only in the past few decades.

Back 42

False.

Front 43

Scientific theories can never be proved true beyond all doubt.

Back 43

True.

Front 44

Science accepts personal testimony as evidence of scientific theory.

Back 44

False.

Front 45

Galileo invented the telescope in 1609.

Back 45

False.

Front 46

Earth orbits the sun faster than Mars.

Back 46

False.

Front 47

By locating the north celestial pole (NCP) in the sky, how can you determine your latitude?

Back 47

The altitude of the NCP is the same as your latitude.

Front 48

What is the celestial sphere?

Back 48

The celestial sphere is a representation of how the entire sky looks as seen from Earth.

Front 49

Which of the following is not consistent with the major hallmarks of science?

Back 49

Science consists of proven theories that are understood to be true explanations of reality.

Front 50

Three ways that the Greeks developed the start of the scientific theory:

Back 50

First to use mathematics to explain natural phenomenon, use observations to form theories, and began using simple models to represent nature.