ASTRO 1: MIDTERM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100% PASS

ASTRO 1: MIDTERM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100% PASS CHAPTER 1A... - ANSWER - discarded or modified, discovering, hypothesis, accepted, guessing, theory, data, - ANSWER -What is the scientific method? 2 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. The scientific method is a process for DISCOVERING the best possible explanation as to why something occurs. The process begins when observations lead to the formulation of a HYPOTHESIS, a preliminary explanation that makes testable. Investigators gather information - called DATA - to test the predictions through observation and experimentation. The information is analyzed to find patterns in the DATA. If the patterns agree with the predictions, the HYPOTHESIS is considered a viable theory. If they do not agree, the HYPOTHESIS must be DISCARDED OR MODIFIED. measurable quantities and testable predictions, that can be tested, fit totally within, testable, not testable, 3 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. that cannot be tested, untestable assumptions, do not fit within, - ANSWER -Science therefore relies on MEASURABLE QUANTITIES AND TESTABLE PREDICATIONS to search for answers. Pseudosciences such as astrology typically make predictions THAT CANNOT BE TESTED, and offer explanations that DO NOT FIT WITHIN a coherent framework of ideas. If a claim is NOT TESTABLE, it cannot be considered scientific. Testable by science - ANSWER -Earth orbits the Sun every 365.25 days. Bacteria acquire resistance to antibiotics through changes in their DNA. There will be a solar eclipse nextTuesday at 11 a.m. Mars once had liquid water on its surface. People born under the sign of Sagittarius are twice as likely to be teachers as anyone else. Not testable by science - ANSWER -Vince Young is the greatest quarterback of all time. 4 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. Hurricane Katrina was an act of God. ESSAY QUESTION 1A: Compare the size of Earth with that of the Sun, the Milky Way galaxy, and the entire universe. - ANSWER -Earth is an odd rocky planet, a solid object that holds liquid in the ocean and the core, and gas in the atmosphere. The earth is approximately 15,000 kilometers wide/big or 3,959 mi, that means that earth is approximately 14,999.99 bigger that humans! The sun, a bigger star among millions of other stars, is known to be an "extremely hot ball of gas composed mainly of hydrogen and helium." The sun is approximately 1,500,000 kilometers or 0.5 light seconds, meaning that the sun is about 100 times larger in diameter than the earth. The Milky Way galaxy is an assortment of a "hundred billion stars", each divided by massive regions of empty space, the sun being the center region of the space. The Milky Way galaxy is about 100 quadrillion kilometers or 10,000 light years, also about 1,490,000 kilometers bigger than the sun. The entire universe, also known as the " Galaxy cluster", is a broad "cluster of galaxies", reaching about 2 million light years and encompassing more than 100 galaxies. The entire universe is about 2,000,000 light years which is bigger than the sun, the Milky Way, and the earth combined. All in all, the universe consists of the total amount of space, time, matter, and energy between the earth, the sun, the milky way, and the entire universe.( CORRECT) ANSWER KEY: Looking at the data in the text, we can see that the diameter of the Sun is about 100 times that of Earth, about 1 500 000 km for the Sun compared to about 12 000 km for Earth. A galaxy such as the Milky Way is about 100 000 light-years in diameter. Since a light-year is about 10^13 km, this means the Galaxy has a diameter of approximately 10^18 km, or about 10^14 times (100 million million times) the radius of Earth. 5 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. The most distant objects visible define the limits of the visible universe (which is likely only a small part of the entire un ESSAY QUESTION 1A( 2ND): What does an astronomer mean by "the universe"? - ANSWER -Astronomers study the universe, meaning that they study the totality of space, time, matter, and energy. Space is what holds the sun, moon, stars, and planets together and what divides them apart from one another. Time is the distance it takes to get from one planet to another. Matter is the density of each planet, which is the measure of how big each planet is from one another. Energy is the ray that the planet puts off, which is measured through energy, time, matter, and space. All in all, astronomy is the study of the entire universe. This means that the study of the entire universe is also the study of space,time,matter,and energy. The study of the universe is an eye opening observation that makes us compare and contrast and even change our views about the world.( CORRECT) ANSWER KEY: The universe is defined as the sum total of all space, time, energy, and matter. CHAPTER 1B... - ANSWER - If the Moon's orbit were a little larger, solar eclipses would be... - ANSWER -more likely to be annular. In Figure 1.28 in the textbook ("Triangulation"), using a longer baseline would result in... - ANSWER - a smaller angle at point B. ESSAY QUESTION 1B: 6 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. What is a constellation? Why are constellations useful for mapping the sky? - ANSWER -MY ANSWER: A constellation is the grouping of stars in the night sky resulting in recognizable patterns. Constellations are helpful when mapping out the sky because they can be seen by the naked eye and are attached to the celestial sphere, which is a a hypothetical sphere that surrounds the earth and all of the objects that are connected to the sky. ANSWER KEY: In the common usage of the term, a constellation is a pattern of stars in the sky. Officially, however, a constellation is a section of sky that contains stars, galaxies, nebulae, and many more celestial objects. Just as every section of Earth's land surface is considered part of a country, every part of the sky is within the borders of a constellation. Constellations are thus useful in naming and locating celestial objects. waxing crescent moon - ANSWER -visible near western horizon about an hour after sunset. sets 2-3 hours after the Sun sets. waning crescent moon - ANSWER -occurs about 3 days before new moon. visible near eastern horizon just before sunrise. full moon - ANSWER -rises at about the time the Sun sets. occurs 14 days after the new moon. 7 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. visible due south at midnight. annular eclipse. total lunar eclipse. penumbra. total solar eclipse. umbra. node. - ANSWER -1. A solar eclipse that occurs when the new moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun can be either a partial solar eclipse or a(n) ANNULAR ECLIPSE. 2. Anyone looking from the night side of Earth can, in principle, see a(n) TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE 3. During some lunar eclipses, the Moon's appearance changes only slightly, because it passes only through the part of Earth's shadow called the PENUMBRA. 8 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. 4. A(n) TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE can occur only when the Moon is new and has an angular size larger than the Sun in the sky. 5. A partial lunar eclipse begins when the Moon first touches Earth's UMBRA. 6. A point at which the Moon crosses Earth's orbital plane is called a(n) NODE. PART A: Suppose that instead of being inclined to Earth's orbit around the Sun, the Moon's orbit was in the same plane as Earth's orbit around the Sun. (Click "Show Moon with flat orbit" to see this situation.) In this hypothetical situation, approximately how many solar eclipses would occur each year? - ANSWER - 12. CORRECT: If the Moon orbited Earth in the same plane that Earth orbits the Sun (the ecliptic plane), we would have a solar eclipse at every new moon. Because there are about twelve new moons in a year, we would have twelve solar eclipses. Of course, this isn't what really happens. Continue to Part B to study the real situation. PART B: 9 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. In reality, the Moon's orbit about Earth is tilted (by about 5°) with respect to Earth's orbit about the Sun. As a result, the actual number of solar eclipses that occur each year is approximately _____. - ANSWER -2. CORRECT: There are generally two periods of time each year when eclipses are possible — the "eclipse seasons" — and there is a solar eclipse of some type (partial, total, or annular) during each of these eclipse seasons. (Because the time between eclipse seasons is less than six months, in some years there is a third eclipse season and hence a third solar eclipse.) PART C: What conditions must exist for a solar eclipse to occur? - ANSWER -The phase of the Moon must be new and the Moon must be passing through Earth's orbital plan