AST 2002- UCF AST 2002 Final Exam
with Guaranteed Pass Solutions 2025-
2026 Updated.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the distance between the Earth and Sun? (If
shrunken by a factor 10^10) - Answer Earth is the size of a ballpoint pen, 15 meters away
from the sun. Sun is the size of a grapefruit.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the distance to other stars? - Answer The
next closest star, Alpha Centauri, would be
about 4200 km (2600 miles) away - the distance
from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. The universe
has as many stars as grains of (dry) sand on all Earth's
beaches.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the sizes of the galaxy and local universe? -
Answer The Milky Way Galaxy would be the size of the distance between Earth and the Sun
on this scale. The Milky Way is one of about 100 billion galaxies.
What is our "cosmic address"? - Answer Earth is part of the solar system, which is in
the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a member of
the Local Group of galaxies in the Local
Super cluster.
What is the relationship between distance and time? - Answer Light travels at a finite speed
(299,792 km/s).
•Thus, we see objects as they were in the past:
The farther away we look in distance, the
further back we look in time.
Destination - Light travel time
Moon - 1 second
Sun - 8 minutes
Sirius - 8 years
Andromeda Galaxy - 2.5 million years
,How do scientists use scientific notation to write very large or very small numbers? - Answer
A way to represent very large or very small
numbers without having to write many zeros
10^-3 =0.001
10^-2 = 0.01
10^-1 = 0.1
10^0 = 1
10^1 =10
10^2 =100
10^3= 1,000
etc.
10^6= 1,000,000 = 1 million
10^9=1,000,000,000 = 1 billion
10^12= 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 trillion
2×10^-7= 0.0000002
5.32×10^6 = 5,320,000
Explain why more distant galaxies are moving away from us faster than closer galaxies. - Answer
Ever since Big Bang, space itself has been expanding making galaxies move away from us faster
and faster. The farther a galaxy is, the faster it seems to be receding.
Does the expansion of the universe mean that the solar system and individual galaxies are
expanding, too? - Answer The ENTIRE universe is expanding, on a large scale. On small
scales, gravity wins out. Gravity allows stars,
galaxies, and galaxy clusters to stay bound as space
itself grows.
Describe all the ways in which we, sitting on the surface of the Earth, are actually moving
through space. - Answer We are not "sitting still". The Earth orbits the Sun (revolves) once
every year at an average distance of 1 AU ≈ 150 million km with Earth's axis tilted by 23.5º
(pointing to Polaris) and rotates around its axis once every day, counterclockwise (from east to
west), as viewed from above the North Pole.
What are the qualities of a scientific hypothesis? - Answer Scientific hypotheses must be
Explanatory & Predictive (testable).
What kinds of questions should we use the scientific method to address? - Answer Scientific
method - Make a hypothesis, test it,
, revise hypothesis, repeat.
• Results should be reproducible.
• Hypotheses need to fit all evidence.
• Always open to modification!
• A way of answering questions, not a collection
of facts.
How does science differ from pseudoscience? - Answer Pseudoscience does not use
accepted scientific methods. Pseudoscience may be vague or lack any measurements. Ignores
evidence on the contrary, unwilling to modify in light of new evidence, and sometimes
untestable.
What are the effects of the Earth's rotation, its orbit, and its tilt? - Answer Earth's rotation is
the cause for the differences in daytime and nighttime as it spins on its axis. When that axis is
tilted towards the sun, the Northern Hemisphere receives more radiation than the Southern
and vice versa when the axis is tilted away from the sun.
Why do we have seasons? How do seasons vary with latitude on the Earth? - Answer
Therefore, higher latitudes receive less heat than lower latitude areas nearer the equator. The
Earth's axis is tilted 23.5° to the perpendicular, meaning that the amount of sunlight that a
particular latitude receives changes with the seasons.
How do the Sun, stars, and planets move in the sky? - Answer All objects in the sky move
east-to-west during a night due to the west-to-east rotation of the Earth. Prograde motion is
when a planet moves west-to-east relative to the stars. The Sun and Moon always move
prograde.
Explain the difference between a solar day and a sidereal day. - Answer A solar day is the
time it takes for the Earth to rotate about its axis so that the Sun appears in the same position in
the sky. The sidereal day is ~4 minutes shorter than the solar day. The sidereal day is the time it
takes for the Earth to complete one rotation about its axis with respect to the 'fixed' stars.
Explain the phases of the Moon and eclipses. - Answer The moonlight we see on Earth is
sunlight reflected off the Moon's grayish-white surface. The amount of Moon we see changes
over the month — lunar phases — because the Moon orbits Earth and Earth orbits the Sun. ...
During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling
on the Moon.
Why don't we have eclipses every Full or New Moon? - Answer There's no eclipse at every
full moon and new moon because the moon's orbit is inclined to Earth's orbit by about five
degrees. Most of the time, the sun, Earth and moon don't line up precisely enough to cause an
eclipse
with Guaranteed Pass Solutions 2025-
2026 Updated.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the distance between the Earth and Sun? (If
shrunken by a factor 10^10) - Answer Earth is the size of a ballpoint pen, 15 meters away
from the sun. Sun is the size of a grapefruit.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the distance to other stars? - Answer The
next closest star, Alpha Centauri, would be
about 4200 km (2600 miles) away - the distance
from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. The universe
has as many stars as grains of (dry) sand on all Earth's
beaches.
How does the scale of Earth compare with that of the sizes of the galaxy and local universe? -
Answer The Milky Way Galaxy would be the size of the distance between Earth and the Sun
on this scale. The Milky Way is one of about 100 billion galaxies.
What is our "cosmic address"? - Answer Earth is part of the solar system, which is in
the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a member of
the Local Group of galaxies in the Local
Super cluster.
What is the relationship between distance and time? - Answer Light travels at a finite speed
(299,792 km/s).
•Thus, we see objects as they were in the past:
The farther away we look in distance, the
further back we look in time.
Destination - Light travel time
Moon - 1 second
Sun - 8 minutes
Sirius - 8 years
Andromeda Galaxy - 2.5 million years
,How do scientists use scientific notation to write very large or very small numbers? - Answer
A way to represent very large or very small
numbers without having to write many zeros
10^-3 =0.001
10^-2 = 0.01
10^-1 = 0.1
10^0 = 1
10^1 =10
10^2 =100
10^3= 1,000
etc.
10^6= 1,000,000 = 1 million
10^9=1,000,000,000 = 1 billion
10^12= 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 trillion
2×10^-7= 0.0000002
5.32×10^6 = 5,320,000
Explain why more distant galaxies are moving away from us faster than closer galaxies. - Answer
Ever since Big Bang, space itself has been expanding making galaxies move away from us faster
and faster. The farther a galaxy is, the faster it seems to be receding.
Does the expansion of the universe mean that the solar system and individual galaxies are
expanding, too? - Answer The ENTIRE universe is expanding, on a large scale. On small
scales, gravity wins out. Gravity allows stars,
galaxies, and galaxy clusters to stay bound as space
itself grows.
Describe all the ways in which we, sitting on the surface of the Earth, are actually moving
through space. - Answer We are not "sitting still". The Earth orbits the Sun (revolves) once
every year at an average distance of 1 AU ≈ 150 million km with Earth's axis tilted by 23.5º
(pointing to Polaris) and rotates around its axis once every day, counterclockwise (from east to
west), as viewed from above the North Pole.
What are the qualities of a scientific hypothesis? - Answer Scientific hypotheses must be
Explanatory & Predictive (testable).
What kinds of questions should we use the scientific method to address? - Answer Scientific
method - Make a hypothesis, test it,
, revise hypothesis, repeat.
• Results should be reproducible.
• Hypotheses need to fit all evidence.
• Always open to modification!
• A way of answering questions, not a collection
of facts.
How does science differ from pseudoscience? - Answer Pseudoscience does not use
accepted scientific methods. Pseudoscience may be vague or lack any measurements. Ignores
evidence on the contrary, unwilling to modify in light of new evidence, and sometimes
untestable.
What are the effects of the Earth's rotation, its orbit, and its tilt? - Answer Earth's rotation is
the cause for the differences in daytime and nighttime as it spins on its axis. When that axis is
tilted towards the sun, the Northern Hemisphere receives more radiation than the Southern
and vice versa when the axis is tilted away from the sun.
Why do we have seasons? How do seasons vary with latitude on the Earth? - Answer
Therefore, higher latitudes receive less heat than lower latitude areas nearer the equator. The
Earth's axis is tilted 23.5° to the perpendicular, meaning that the amount of sunlight that a
particular latitude receives changes with the seasons.
How do the Sun, stars, and planets move in the sky? - Answer All objects in the sky move
east-to-west during a night due to the west-to-east rotation of the Earth. Prograde motion is
when a planet moves west-to-east relative to the stars. The Sun and Moon always move
prograde.
Explain the difference between a solar day and a sidereal day. - Answer A solar day is the
time it takes for the Earth to rotate about its axis so that the Sun appears in the same position in
the sky. The sidereal day is ~4 minutes shorter than the solar day. The sidereal day is the time it
takes for the Earth to complete one rotation about its axis with respect to the 'fixed' stars.
Explain the phases of the Moon and eclipses. - Answer The moonlight we see on Earth is
sunlight reflected off the Moon's grayish-white surface. The amount of Moon we see changes
over the month — lunar phases — because the Moon orbits Earth and Earth orbits the Sun. ...
During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling
on the Moon.
Why don't we have eclipses every Full or New Moon? - Answer There's no eclipse at every
full moon and new moon because the moon's orbit is inclined to Earth's orbit by about five
degrees. Most of the time, the sun, Earth and moon don't line up precisely enough to cause an
eclipse
