PSU ASTRO 7N
PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS |
ALREADY GRADED A+<RECENT
VERSION>
1) According to Newton's 2nd law of motion, if the net force acting on the object
increases while the mass of the object remains constant, what happens to the
acceleration? - ANSWER Acceleration increases
2) If Each were moved to half its current distance from the sun how would the force of
gravity by the sun on Earth change? - ANSWER 4x stronger
3) what did Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation tell us about how gravity works? -
ANSWER The force of gravity will be stronger on an object with more mass
4) The Earth radius is about 6400 km. If you were in orbit in the space station 150km
above the ground, the force of gravity you feel from Earth would be - ANSWER
slightly weaker than when you are standing on Earth
5) If you were to sit on the ground, there would be a force due to gravity pulling you
toward the Earth. Which of the following is true according to Newton's 3rd law? -
ANSWER You are pushing the Earth away from yourself with the same force
6) What would happen to the Earth if the sun's gravity somehow "turned off"
instantaneously? - ANSWER It would continue to move in a line in the same
direction it was moving when gravity turned off
7) Consider a planet whose rotation axis is NOT titled with respect to its orbital plane.
What are these seasons like on this planet? - ANSWER There are no seasons
,8) If the Earth rotated on its axis more slowly than it does now: - ANSWER Days
would be longer
9) If Earth had its orbit changed so that all points along its orbit were always the same
distance from the sun(circular orbit), how would this affect the seasons on Earth? -
ANSWER They would be the same as they are now
10) A new planet orbits its star faster than the Earth orbits the sun and it rotates more
slowly than the Earth rotates. Which of the following is true? - ANSWER The new
planet has a shorter year than Earth and a longer day than Earth
11) What time of year is it dark all day (and night) at the South Pole of Earth? -
ANSWER June
12) If Earth's moon was full on May 1, 2007. When was it next in the First quarter phase
after this full moon? - ANSWER May 22nd
13) How much of the total surface area of the moon is illuminated by sunlight during the
full moon phase? - ANSWER 1/2
14) At approximately what time does the 3rd quarter moon rise? - ANSWER midnight
15) Approximately 2 weeks after a solar eclipse, what phase will the moon be in? -
ANSWER Full
16) A moon orbits a planet in exactly the same plane as the planet orbits its star. How
often does this planet experience a solar eclipse? - ANSWER Once every orbit of
its moon(its month)
17) From Earth, in which constellation might you find the planet Saturn? - ANSWER
Taurus
,18) Why don't we see the constellation Orion at night all throughout the year? -
ANSWER As Earth orbits the sun, its nighttime side points to different
constellations at different points along its orbit
19) When is the best time for you to be able to see the constellation that is your sign of the
zodiac? - ANSWER At midnight 6 months after your birthday
20) Constellations close to the North Pole of Earth _____ - ANSWER Move in a circle
around the North Star, Polaris, over the course of a single night
21) There are a total of 88 constellations. Roughly how many of these can be seen at a
given time from a single location on a clear night? - ANSWER 44
22) What is the relationship between wavelength and frequency? - ANSWER If the
frequency increases, wavelength decreases
23) Compare the frequency of x-ray versus regular light - ANSWER The x-ray has a
larger frequency than visible light
24) Compare the frequency and wavelength of a gamma ray with that of visible light: -
ANSWER Gamma ray frequency is higher and its wavelength is lower
25) Compared to blue light, red light has - ANSWER Longer wavelength, smaller
frequency, smaller energy
26) Which types of radiation have the lowest energy? - ANSWER Infrared radiation
and radio
27) The spectrum of an oxygen lamp looks different than the spectrum of a sodium lamp
because: - ANSWER Each atom has a unique set of electron orbits
28) Dark lines in an absorption spectrum represent: - ANSWER Particular energies of
light coming from a distant object that are absorbed by material in between
, 29) True or false: The energy of a photon increases in proportion to the wavelength of the
radiation - ANSWER False
30) True or false: An absorption spectrum appears as a continuous spectrum interrupted
by a series of dark lines - ANSWER True
31) The electrons in a cloud of hydrogen gas are making the transition from excited states
to the ground state. What does the spectrum of this cloud of gas look like? -
ANSWER It will consist of few bright emission lines at specific wavelengths
32) In what ways does a 30 meter telescope outperform a 10 meter telescope? -
ANSWER Its images are 9x brighter than a 10 meter
33) Even the largest ground-based telescopes have resolution restrictions imposed by: -
ANSWER Atmospheric blurring of images
34) When you magnify an object with a telescope, what else happens to your view of the
sky? - ANSWER Your field of view gets smaller, so you can only see a small area
of the sky
35) How long would one need to observe a star on a 10 meter telescope to collect the
same amount of light as one collects in one hour on a 5 meter telescope? -
ANSWER 15 minutes
36) If a telescope in space is only 1/4 the diameter of a telescope on Earth, is this
statement true or false: the larger telescope can observe objects fainter that the space
telescope - ANSWER True
37) What was Kepler's first law? - ANSWER Planets revolve around the sun in
elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus of the ellipse
38) What best describes the orbit of the Earth around the sun? - ANSWER An ellipse
that is close to being circular
PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS |
ALREADY GRADED A+<RECENT
VERSION>
1) According to Newton's 2nd law of motion, if the net force acting on the object
increases while the mass of the object remains constant, what happens to the
acceleration? - ANSWER Acceleration increases
2) If Each were moved to half its current distance from the sun how would the force of
gravity by the sun on Earth change? - ANSWER 4x stronger
3) what did Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation tell us about how gravity works? -
ANSWER The force of gravity will be stronger on an object with more mass
4) The Earth radius is about 6400 km. If you were in orbit in the space station 150km
above the ground, the force of gravity you feel from Earth would be - ANSWER
slightly weaker than when you are standing on Earth
5) If you were to sit on the ground, there would be a force due to gravity pulling you
toward the Earth. Which of the following is true according to Newton's 3rd law? -
ANSWER You are pushing the Earth away from yourself with the same force
6) What would happen to the Earth if the sun's gravity somehow "turned off"
instantaneously? - ANSWER It would continue to move in a line in the same
direction it was moving when gravity turned off
7) Consider a planet whose rotation axis is NOT titled with respect to its orbital plane.
What are these seasons like on this planet? - ANSWER There are no seasons
,8) If the Earth rotated on its axis more slowly than it does now: - ANSWER Days
would be longer
9) If Earth had its orbit changed so that all points along its orbit were always the same
distance from the sun(circular orbit), how would this affect the seasons on Earth? -
ANSWER They would be the same as they are now
10) A new planet orbits its star faster than the Earth orbits the sun and it rotates more
slowly than the Earth rotates. Which of the following is true? - ANSWER The new
planet has a shorter year than Earth and a longer day than Earth
11) What time of year is it dark all day (and night) at the South Pole of Earth? -
ANSWER June
12) If Earth's moon was full on May 1, 2007. When was it next in the First quarter phase
after this full moon? - ANSWER May 22nd
13) How much of the total surface area of the moon is illuminated by sunlight during the
full moon phase? - ANSWER 1/2
14) At approximately what time does the 3rd quarter moon rise? - ANSWER midnight
15) Approximately 2 weeks after a solar eclipse, what phase will the moon be in? -
ANSWER Full
16) A moon orbits a planet in exactly the same plane as the planet orbits its star. How
often does this planet experience a solar eclipse? - ANSWER Once every orbit of
its moon(its month)
17) From Earth, in which constellation might you find the planet Saturn? - ANSWER
Taurus
,18) Why don't we see the constellation Orion at night all throughout the year? -
ANSWER As Earth orbits the sun, its nighttime side points to different
constellations at different points along its orbit
19) When is the best time for you to be able to see the constellation that is your sign of the
zodiac? - ANSWER At midnight 6 months after your birthday
20) Constellations close to the North Pole of Earth _____ - ANSWER Move in a circle
around the North Star, Polaris, over the course of a single night
21) There are a total of 88 constellations. Roughly how many of these can be seen at a
given time from a single location on a clear night? - ANSWER 44
22) What is the relationship between wavelength and frequency? - ANSWER If the
frequency increases, wavelength decreases
23) Compare the frequency of x-ray versus regular light - ANSWER The x-ray has a
larger frequency than visible light
24) Compare the frequency and wavelength of a gamma ray with that of visible light: -
ANSWER Gamma ray frequency is higher and its wavelength is lower
25) Compared to blue light, red light has - ANSWER Longer wavelength, smaller
frequency, smaller energy
26) Which types of radiation have the lowest energy? - ANSWER Infrared radiation
and radio
27) The spectrum of an oxygen lamp looks different than the spectrum of a sodium lamp
because: - ANSWER Each atom has a unique set of electron orbits
28) Dark lines in an absorption spectrum represent: - ANSWER Particular energies of
light coming from a distant object that are absorbed by material in between
, 29) True or false: The energy of a photon increases in proportion to the wavelength of the
radiation - ANSWER False
30) True or false: An absorption spectrum appears as a continuous spectrum interrupted
by a series of dark lines - ANSWER True
31) The electrons in a cloud of hydrogen gas are making the transition from excited states
to the ground state. What does the spectrum of this cloud of gas look like? -
ANSWER It will consist of few bright emission lines at specific wavelengths
32) In what ways does a 30 meter telescope outperform a 10 meter telescope? -
ANSWER Its images are 9x brighter than a 10 meter
33) Even the largest ground-based telescopes have resolution restrictions imposed by: -
ANSWER Atmospheric blurring of images
34) When you magnify an object with a telescope, what else happens to your view of the
sky? - ANSWER Your field of view gets smaller, so you can only see a small area
of the sky
35) How long would one need to observe a star on a 10 meter telescope to collect the
same amount of light as one collects in one hour on a 5 meter telescope? -
ANSWER 15 minutes
36) If a telescope in space is only 1/4 the diameter of a telescope on Earth, is this
statement true or false: the larger telescope can observe objects fainter that the space
telescope - ANSWER True
37) What was Kepler's first law? - ANSWER Planets revolve around the sun in
elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus of the ellipse
38) What best describes the orbit of the Earth around the sun? - ANSWER An ellipse
that is close to being circular
