Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Which of the following has your "address" in the correct order? A) you, Earth, solar system, Local Group, Milky Way, Local Supercluster B) you, Earth, solar system, Local Group, Local Supercluster, Milky Way C) you, Earth, solar system, Milky Way, Local Supercluster, Local Group D) you, Earth, solar system, Milky Way, Local Group, Local Supercluster E) you, Earth, Local Group, Local Supercluster, solar system, Milky Way |
D) you, Earth, solar system, Milky Way, Local Group, Local Supercluster |
|
|
From the fact that virtually every galaxy is moving away from us and more distant galaxies are moving away from us at a faster rate than closer ones, we conclude that a) we are located at the center of the universe. b) the universe is expanding. c) the Milky Way Galaxy is expanding. d) the universe is shrinking. e) the farthest galaxies will eventually be moving faster than the speed of light. |
d) the universe is shrinking. |
|
|
What is an astronomical unit? the average distance from Earth to the Sun the average speed of Earth around the Sun the length of time it takes Earth to revolve around the Sun the diameter of Earth's orbit around the Sun any basic unit used in astronomy |
the average distance from Earth to the Sun |
|
|
What do we mean when we say that the universe is expanding? Average distances are increasing between galaxies. Everything in the universe is gradually growing in size. Individual galaxies are gradually growing in size. The statement is not meant to be literal; rather, it means that our knowledge of the universe is growing. Average distances are increasing between star systems within galaxies. |
Average distances are increasing between galaxies. |
|
|
Which scientists played a major role in overturning the ancient idea of an Earth-centered universe, and about when? Huygens and Newton; about 300 years ago Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo; about 400 years ago Aristotle and Copernicus; about 400 years ago Aristotle and Plato; about 2,000 years ago Newton and Einstein; about 100 years ago |
Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo; about 400 years ago |
|
|
Which of the following statements does not use the term light-year in an appropriate way? A light-year is about 10 trillion kilometers. It will take me light-years to complete this homework assignment. It will take the Voyager spacecraft about 20,000 years to travel just 1 light-year. The Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light-years in diameter. It's about 4 light-years from here to Alpha Centauri. |
It will take me light-years to complete this homework assignment. |
|
|
Why did Carl Sagan say that we are star stuff? Sagan thought that all of us have the potential to be movie (or TV) stars like he was. Nearly every atom from which we are made once (before the solar system formed) was inside of a star. The composition of most stars (mostly hydrogen and helium) is about the same as the composition of our bodies. Cosmic rays reaching Earth from distant astronomical sources may be one source of mutations that help evolution along. Nearly every atom from which we are made was once inside our star, the Sun. |
Nearly every atom from which we are made once (before the solar system formed) was inside of a star. |
|
|
The age of the universe is between 10 million and 16 million years. between 100 million and 160 million years. between 100 billion and 160 billion years. between 1 billion and 1.6 billion years. between 10 billion and 16 billion years. |
between 10 billion and 16 billion years. |
|
|
Which of the following statements about the Milky Way Galaxy is not true? One rotation of the galaxy takes about 200 million years. It contains between 100 billion and 1 trillion stars. Our view of distant objects is obscured by gas and dust when we look into the galactic plane. The galaxy is about 100,000 light-years in diameter. Our solar system is located very close to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. |
Our solar system is located very close to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. |
|
|
Imagine that we put a raisin cake into the oven, with each raisin separated from the others by 1 cm. An hour later, we take it out and the distances between raisins are 3 cm. If you lived in one of the raisins and watched the other raisins as the cake expanded, which of the following would you conclude? More distant raisins would be moving away from you more slowly. All raisins would be moving away from you at the same speed. It depends: If you lived in a raisin near the edge of the cake, you'd see other raisins moving away from you, but they'd be coming toward you if you lived in a raisin near the center of the cake. More distant raisins would be moving away from you faster. |
More distant raisins would be moving away from you faster. |
|
|
On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did the dinosaurs become extinct? in late October in late November in late December in late September in late August |
in late December |
|
|
Modern telescopes are capable of seeing bright galaxies up to about 1 million light-years away. 10 billion light-years away. 1 trillion light-years away. 10 million light-years away. 1 billion light-years away. |
10 billion light-years away. |
|
|
How long would it take to count all the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy at a rate of one star persecond? several thousand years several daysseveral years several weeks hundreds of thousands of years |
several thousand years |
|
|
On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did Kepler and Galileo first discover that we live on a planet in a solar system? 1 day ago 1 second ago December 25 1 week ago December 30 |
1 second ago |
|
|
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 few hours about a month a few seconds less than a millionth of a second about half the year |
a few seconds |
|
|
What is the Sun mainly made of? hydrogen and helium nearly equal portions of all the elements carbon and nitrogen hydrogen and oxygen oxygen and carbon |
hydrogen and helium |
|
|
What is the meaning of the word cosmos? the sum total of all matter and energy, that is, everything within and between all galaxies the dark sky the light from a distant astronomical object the Milky Way the origin of Earth and life upon it |
the sum total of all matter and energy, that is, everything within and between all galaxies |
|
|
Which of the following is smallest? 1 light-second size of a typical star 1 AU size of a typical planet |
size of a typical planet |
|
|
Earth is made mostly of metals and rocks. Where did this material come from? It was created by chemical reactions in interstellar space. It was produced in the Big Bang. It was produced by nuclear fusion in stars. It was made by our Sun. It was made by nuclear fission of uranium and other radioactive materials. |
It was produced by nuclear fusion in stars. |
|
|
Patterns of stars in constellations hardly change in appearance over times of even a few thousand years. Why? Stars move, but they move very slowly–only a few kilometers in a thousand years. 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. 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. Stars are fixed and never move. Stars within a constellation move together as a group, which tends to hide their actual motion and prevent the pattern from changing. |
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. |
