Astronomy 30 HOMEWORK I
Due at beginning of Exam I on SCANTRON
1. The terrestrial solar system planets are ordered (from the sun): (Points 2)
Venus, Earth, Mercury, Mars
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Mars, Mercury, Venus, Earth
2. The Jovian planets (gas giants) are ordered (from the sun): (Points: 2)
Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune
3. Pluto is currently considered: (Points: 2)
a planet
a dwarf planet
a terrestrial planet
a cat
4. How many moons do we know Pluto has currently? (Research this online by Googling 'Pluto's moons', for example.) (Points: 2)
1
2
3
7
5. The Earth looks blue from outer space solely because the atmosphere preferentially scatters blue light. (Points: 2)
True
False
6. To have total eclipses of the sun, the moon has to be equal or larger in angular size than the sun. It turns out that they are both the same angular size, which also allows for total eclipses of the moon. It is rare for this to be true for a planet, say, in our galaxy. What is the angular size of the sun and moon? (Points: 2)
1/2 a degree
1 degree
3 degrees
10 degrees
7. The sun is roughly how many times the diameter of the Earth? (Points: 2)
10
100
1000
10,000
8. The Milky Way is labeled as a 'typical large spiral'. (Points: 2)
True
False
9. The moon is described by an amateur astronomer at a given time as five fists above the horizon (with arm extended). We call this 'altitude'. How many degrees is five fists. (Points: 2)
25 degrees
50 degrees
75 degrees
90 degrees
10. An arcsecond is a very small angle in the sky. Because of the revolution of the earth about the sun, stars wobble once in a year. The largest wobble is less than an arcsecond. How many arseconds are in a degree? (Points: 2)
60
360
1800
3600
11. A virus is found on the planet Slobobobia. It is 
meters across. How big is that in decimal form?
(Points: 2)
.0001 m
.00001 m
.000001 m
12. Imagine a large life form is found living underground on Mars. Its mass is three megagrams. How many kilograms is that? (Points: 2)
3 million kg
3,000 kg
3 Billion kg
300 kg
13. The AU or Astronomical Unit is appropriate for communicating distances: (Points: 2)
to stars
between galaxies
in the solar system
14. If I find the shape of a rap singer in the sky would that be a constellation? Research the 'definition of a constellation' by Googling that phrase, if you need to. (Points: 2)
True
False
15. Diunal motion is how far an object in the sky moves in (Points: 2)
an hour
a day
two days
30 days
16. An outer planet like Neptune will rise how many hours earlier in six months? (Points: 2)
1 hour
2 hours
6 hours
12 hours
17. The pattern of stars in the sky at 10 pm will be the same after one year. (Points: 2)
True
False
18. The Vernal Equinox is the point where the sun crosses the equator in late September, and is the defining point for zero hours of Right Ascension. (Points: 2)
True
False
19. There are circumpolar planets seen at some places on earth. (Points: 2)
True
False
20. In the Northern Hemisphere, the days after summer solstice are hotter than before that time, even though the sun's rays equivalent in angle. This is because the earth and particularly the oceans retain the heat. (Do some research online.) (Points: 2)
True
False
21. Noon is defined as the time the sun crosses the upper Meridian, going through the Zenith and the north and south celestial poles. This is the reference time for our 24 hour day. (Points: 2)
True
False
22. A solar day is the time it takes for the earth to rotate exactly 360 degrees. (Points: 2)
True
False
23. Leap year occurs, adding an extra day every fourth year, to make up for the earth orbiting the sun in 365 1/4 days. (Points: 2)
True
False
24. In retrograde motion, planets that normally move westward, move eastward for a few weeks or months, then go westward again. (Points: 2)
True
False
25. Retrograde motion for an outer planet occurs because the earth completes an orbit faster than the other planet, and happens when the earth catches up to the planet several times during the planet's orbit. (Points: 2)
True
False
26. Venus is always the evening or the morning star. (Points: 2)
True
False
27. Tycho Brahe's main contribution to astronomy was to record the orbits of planets and stars to within an arcminute, allowing Kepler to realize his elliptical orbits for planets. (Points: 2)
True
False
28. Which of the following orbits has the greatest eccentricity? (Online research question.) (Points: 2)
Earth
Mars
Pluto
29. We see a comet (which describes an Keplerian eccentric elliptical orbit about the sun) when it is near (Points: 2)
Perehelion
Aphelion
Pluto
30. Because Venus' apparent angular size changes radically as it goes through it's phases, Galileo concluded that it orbited the sun, not the earth. This supported Copernicus' heliocentric model. (Points: 2)
True
False
31. The four satellites (moons) of Jupiter that Galileo discovered were (Points: 2)
Io, Europa, Ganymede and Titan
Io, Phobos, Ganymede, and Miranda
Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
Atchison, Topeka, Sante Fe, and Bart
32. If the moon were in a perfectly circular orbit about the earth, it would not be accelerating. (Points: 2)
True
False
33. If an object comes into the solar system and then leaves what path will it follow? (Internet research?) (Points: 2)
A circle
An ellipse
An hyperbola
34. What is the major reason the Earth is not a perfect sphere? (Points: 2)
Tidal force of the moon
Tidal force of the sun
The Earth is rotating
The Earth is tilted
35. In the experiment of Fizeau and Foucalt to measure the speed of light, increasing the distance from the rotating mirror to the stationary mirror will do what to the speed of light determined? (Points: 2)
Increase the uncertainty
Decrease the uncertainty
Not change the uncertainty
36. If it is 4 1/2 light hours to Pluto from the sun on the average, and one AU (earth-sun distance) is 500 light seconds, how many AU from the sun is Pluto? (Points: 2)
About 10 AU
About 32 AU
About 64 AU
About 96 AU
37. Young's Double Slit Experiment demonstrates that light has the properties of a (Points: 2)
Particle
Wave
Wavicle
Galaxy
38. If we look at the electromagnetic spectrum in the Powerpoint, light with a wavelength of 1 cm is called (Points: 2)
ultraviolet
visible
infrared
microwave
39. Heating up a steel rod or a star would do what to it's peak wavelength in brightness? (Points: 2)
raise it
lower it
not change it
40. A temperature of 20 degrees Centigrade would be how many Kelvins? (Points: 2)
52 K
273 K
293 K
41. If the peak wavelength of the human body by Wien's Law for a black body is roughly 9 micrometers, what type of light is it giving off at this peak? (Points: 2)
visible
ultraviolet
infrared
xrays
42. Changing the temperature of a black body a little, changes the Flux of light from it by (Points: 2)
not at all
very little
a lot
43. A light particle, quantum of light, or bundle of light energy is called a (Points: 2)
wavicle
photon
electron
lightsicle
44. From Planck's Law, the greater the wavelength of light (Points: 2)
the smaller its energy
the greater its energy
the more chaotic is its energy
the more uncertain is its energy
45. The bright spectral lines of Barium are identical to the bright spectral lines of Calcium. (Points: 2)
True
False
46. For objects moving away from us, the Doppler shift (redshift) of spectral lines for faster-moving objects is (Points: 2)
identical
greater
smaller
47. In a refraction telescope, or refractor, there is (Points: 2)
a convex lens for the objective and eyepiece
a convex lens for the eyepiece and a mirror for the objective
a set of two mirrors
48. If I double the object lens or mirror diameter, I do what to the light- gathering power of the telescope they are in? (Points: 2)
double it
multiply it by 4
multiply it by 10
49. If the objective of a telescope has a focal length of 500 mm and the eyepiece a focal length of 5 mm, what is the magnification? (Points: 2)
50
100
500
50. Which is better for seeing details in a a telescope? (Points: 2)
A smaller angular resolution.
A larger angular resolution.