AST 2002 exam 1, Exam 2 (Key Terms),
Exam 3 UCF Test Questions All Solved
Correctly 2025-2026 Updated.
Alpha Centauri - Answer the closest star system to our solar system
Andromeda Galaxy - Answer the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way
Orion Nebula - Answer a diffuse nebula situated in the milky way, one of the brightest
nebulae, visible to the naked eye in the night sky
Astronomical objects distanced from nearest to farthest from Earth - Answer the sun, pluto,
alpha centauri, orion nebula, star near the center of the milky way, star near the far side of the
milky way, star on near side of andromeda galaxy, star on far side of andromeda galaxy
Voyage Model - Answer Sun is the size of a grapefruit, Earth is the size of a ballpoint of a pen
(orbiting the sun at a distance of 15 meters), jupiter is the size of a marble, the moon lies 4
centimeters from earth, the palm of your hand can cover the entire region of the universe in
which humans have traveled so far
In a scale model solar system that used a grapefruit to represent the Sun, how far away should
you put another grapefruit to represent alpha centauri, the next nearest star? - Answer
2,000 miles
To walk from Pluto to the next star (alpha centauri) on the scale, it would be the same as -
Answer walking from Washington D.C. to California
What is our place in the universe? - Answer Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in the Milky
Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is one of more than 70 galaxies in the Local Group. The local group is
one small part of the Local Supercluster, which is one small part of the universe.
How did we come to be? - Answer Universe began in the Big Bang, and has been expanding
ever since, except in localized regions where gravity has caused matter to collapse into galaxies
and stars. Big Bang produced hydrogen and helium.
How do our lifetimes compare to the age of the universe? - Answer on a cosmic calendar
that compresses the history of the universe into 1 year, humans would be just a few seconds
old, and a human lifetime lasts only a fraction of a second.
, How is Earth moving through space? - Answer Earth rotates around is axis once a day, and
orbits the Sun once a year. At the same time we move with our Sun in random directions
relative to other stars in our local solar neighborhood, while the galaxy's rotation carries us
around the center of the galaxy every 230 million years.
How do galaxies move within the Universe? - Answer galaxies move at essentially at random
within the Local Group, but all galaxies beyond the Local Group are moving away from us. More
distant galaxies are moving faster, which tells us that we live in an expanding universe.
If you wanted to show the distance between Earth and the Moon on the same scale, about how
far apart would you need to place the two photos above? - Answer 10 centimeters
Suppose you wanted to show the Sun on the same scale. About how big would it need to be? -
Answer 3.5 meters in diameter
About how far away from Earth would the Sun be located on this scale? - Answer 375 meters
Astronomical Unit (AU) - Answer the average distance (semimajor axis) of Earth from the
Sun, which is about 150 million km
Light Year - Answer this distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is 9.46 trillion km.
Ecliptic Plane - Answer the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun
weight(apparent weight) - Answer the force that a scale measures when an object is on it;
weight depends on both mass and force acting on mass (including gravity)
Universal Law of Gravitation - Answer tells us the strength of the gravitational attraction
between two objects
- Every mass attracts every other mass through the force called gravity
- The strength of the gravitational force attracting any two objects is directly proportional to the
product of their masses
inverse square law - Answer a law stating that the intensity of an effect such as illumination
or gravitational force changes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the
source; the strength of gravity between two objects decreases with the square of the distance
between their centers
Exam 3 UCF Test Questions All Solved
Correctly 2025-2026 Updated.
Alpha Centauri - Answer the closest star system to our solar system
Andromeda Galaxy - Answer the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way
Orion Nebula - Answer a diffuse nebula situated in the milky way, one of the brightest
nebulae, visible to the naked eye in the night sky
Astronomical objects distanced from nearest to farthest from Earth - Answer the sun, pluto,
alpha centauri, orion nebula, star near the center of the milky way, star near the far side of the
milky way, star on near side of andromeda galaxy, star on far side of andromeda galaxy
Voyage Model - Answer Sun is the size of a grapefruit, Earth is the size of a ballpoint of a pen
(orbiting the sun at a distance of 15 meters), jupiter is the size of a marble, the moon lies 4
centimeters from earth, the palm of your hand can cover the entire region of the universe in
which humans have traveled so far
In a scale model solar system that used a grapefruit to represent the Sun, how far away should
you put another grapefruit to represent alpha centauri, the next nearest star? - Answer
2,000 miles
To walk from Pluto to the next star (alpha centauri) on the scale, it would be the same as -
Answer walking from Washington D.C. to California
What is our place in the universe? - Answer Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in the Milky
Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is one of more than 70 galaxies in the Local Group. The local group is
one small part of the Local Supercluster, which is one small part of the universe.
How did we come to be? - Answer Universe began in the Big Bang, and has been expanding
ever since, except in localized regions where gravity has caused matter to collapse into galaxies
and stars. Big Bang produced hydrogen and helium.
How do our lifetimes compare to the age of the universe? - Answer on a cosmic calendar
that compresses the history of the universe into 1 year, humans would be just a few seconds
old, and a human lifetime lasts only a fraction of a second.
, How is Earth moving through space? - Answer Earth rotates around is axis once a day, and
orbits the Sun once a year. At the same time we move with our Sun in random directions
relative to other stars in our local solar neighborhood, while the galaxy's rotation carries us
around the center of the galaxy every 230 million years.
How do galaxies move within the Universe? - Answer galaxies move at essentially at random
within the Local Group, but all galaxies beyond the Local Group are moving away from us. More
distant galaxies are moving faster, which tells us that we live in an expanding universe.
If you wanted to show the distance between Earth and the Moon on the same scale, about how
far apart would you need to place the two photos above? - Answer 10 centimeters
Suppose you wanted to show the Sun on the same scale. About how big would it need to be? -
Answer 3.5 meters in diameter
About how far away from Earth would the Sun be located on this scale? - Answer 375 meters
Astronomical Unit (AU) - Answer the average distance (semimajor axis) of Earth from the
Sun, which is about 150 million km
Light Year - Answer this distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is 9.46 trillion km.
Ecliptic Plane - Answer the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun
weight(apparent weight) - Answer the force that a scale measures when an object is on it;
weight depends on both mass and force acting on mass (including gravity)
Universal Law of Gravitation - Answer tells us the strength of the gravitational attraction
between two objects
- Every mass attracts every other mass through the force called gravity
- The strength of the gravitational force attracting any two objects is directly proportional to the
product of their masses
inverse square law - Answer a law stating that the intensity of an effect such as illumination
or gravitational force changes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the
source; the strength of gravity between two objects decreases with the square of the distance
between their centers
