Quiz about ASTRO 1010 Final

Question 1

Which of the following statements about electromagnetic radiation is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

the radiation consists of tiny charged particles given off by the nuclei of atoms

Answer

different waves of electromagnetic radiation differ in their wavelength or frequency

Answer

it is typically produced when charged particles oscillate

Answer

it always spreads out at the speed of light

Answer

it is given off by all objects that are not at a temperature of absolute zero

Question 2

How fast do electromagnetic waves travel?

Accepted Answer

at the speed of light

Answer

at the speed of sound

Answer

at different speeds, depending on the temperature of the atoms that produce them

Answer

they always have zero speed

Answer

at the speed of charge

Question 3

In the future, several students living on board a space station decide to have a race among different types of electromagnetic radiation. Which of the following travels through space the fastest? (consider space as a perfect vacuum)

Accepted Answer

you can't fool me, all of these travel through space at the same speed

Answer

x-rays

Answer

radio waves

Answer

infrared

Answer

visible light

Question 4

Which of the following has the longest wavelength?

Accepted Answer

radio waves

Answer

ultraviolet waves

Answer

x-rays

Answer

visible light waves

Answer

you can't fool me, all these have the same wavelength

Question 5

What is the chief factor that determines what type of electromagnetic radiation objects give off?

Accepted Answer

temperature

Answer

size

Answer

distance from the Earth's core

Answer

mass

Answer

composition

Question 6

Which of the following has the greatest average energy of random atomic and molecular motion?

Accepted Answer

a cube of the Sun

Answer

a cube of ice

Answer

a cube of steam

Answer

a cube of air (on Earth)

Answer

a cube of water

Question 7

An astronomer discovers a new star and wants to measure its temperature. She would typically do this by:

Accepted Answer

making a blackbody curve and finding the wavelength of the peak (maximum)

Answer

measuring the intensity of radio waves the star gives off

Answer

measuring how much light the star reflects

Answer

sending a graduate student with a very long (and durable) thermometer to the star's vicinity

Answer

measuring the Doppler shift of its spectral lines

Question 8

Wien's Law relates the wavelength at which a star gives off the greatest amount of energy to the star's

Accepted Answer

temperature

Answer

overall color

Answer

motion toward us or away from us

Answer

magnetic field

Answer

none of the above

Question 9

Why is an absorption spectrum especially useful for astronomers?

Accepted Answer

It has dark lines in it that allow astronomers to determine what elements are in the star

Answer

It helped astronomers to understand the rainbows we see on Earth after storms

Answer

An absorption spectrum is not useful to astronomers at all. When they see one, it means they cannot learn anything about the stars that produced the annoying absorption.

Answer

It has bright lines in it which allow astronomers to determine how bright the star is

Answer

It shows that the stars are transparent; we can see right through them

Question 10

One of the great triumphs of spectroscopy was when astronomers identified a new element in the Sun (one that was only later found on Earth). Today, this element is called:

Accepted Answer

Helium

Answer

Solarium

Answer

Astronimum

Answer

Einsteinium

Answer

Hydrogen

Question 11

Why do different types of atoms (elements) give off or absorb different spectral lines?

Accepted Answer

because the spacing of the energy levels is different in different atoms

Answer

all elements have the same lines, but they are Doppler shifted by different amounts

Answer

because some atoms do not have a ground state, while others have three or four

Answer

in some elements, electrons can only move to odd numbered levels, in others only to even numbered ones

Answer

in heavier elements, diffraction spreads out the lines that the atom produces, making the colors different

Question 12

What happens as an electron falls from a higher level to a lower level in an atom?

Accepted Answer

a photon is given off

Answer

a photon is absorbed

Answer

another electron form the lower level takes its place

Answer

the color of the wave involved shifts to the red

Answer

nothing happens; electrons can only go from a lower level to a higher level

Question 13

We observe a glowing cloud of gas in space with a spectroscope. We note that many of the familiar lines of hydrogen that we know on Earth seem to be in a different place. They are shifted toward the blue or violet end of the spectrum compared to their positions in the spectrum of glowing hydrogen gas on Earth. From this we can conclude that:

Accepted Answer

the cloud is moving toward us

Answer

the cloud is much hotter than hydrogen on Earth

Answer

the cloud is moving away from us

Answer

the cloud is much cooler than hydrogen on Earth

Answer

none of these can be concluded from this observation

Question 14

A fashion designer decides to bring out a new line of clothing which reflects the longest wavelength of visible light. What color will these articles of clothing be to the human eye?

Accepted Answer

red

Answer

black

Answer

white

Answer

green

Answer

blue

Question 15

Astronomical observatories have been available since ancient times, and many cultures set aside special sites for astronomical observations. The thing modern observatories have that was missing from these older observatories until about 1610 was:

Accepted Answer

telescopes

Answer

assistants for sharing the astronomer's work

Answer

a method of keeping good records

Answer

computers

Answer

a dark site where light did not get in the way

Question 16

The most important function of an astronomical telescope is to:

Accepted Answer

collect as much light as possible and bring it to a focus

Answer

pierce through the clouds so a cloudy night is not wasted

Answer

bring distant objects closer by pulling on the light

Answer

magnify (enlarge) celestial objects so we can see them clearly

Answer

enhance the violet colors of an object, which our eyes have trouble seeing

Question 17

The first person who regularly turned a telescope to astronomical observations (and published his observations) was

Accepted Answer

Galilieo Galilei

Answer

Adam Refractor

Answer

Edwin Hubble

Answer

Isaac Newton

Answer

Karl Janskey

Question 18

The size of the device that collects radiation (such as light) is called a telescope's:

Accepted Answer

aperture

Answer

resolution

Answer

focal width

Answer

magnification

Answer

criterion

Question 19

When a knowledgeable amateur astronomer tells you that she has a 14-inch telescope, what does the number 14 refer to?

Accepted Answer

the diameter of the primary lens or mirror

Answer

the number of times the image is magnified

Answer

the length of the telescope tube

Answer

the focal length

Answer

the length of the eyepiece tube

Question 20

largest visible-light telescopes in the world use what device to collect as much light as possible before the light is brought to a focus (to act as the "light bucket")?

Accepted Answer

a lens

Answer

a spectroscope

Answer

a CCD

Answer

a mirror

Answer

a valley in Puerto Rico

Question 21

A new technique called adaptive optics allows astronomers to:

Accepted Answer

compensate for changes in the Earth's atmosphere and achieve better resolution

Answer

change the eyepieces of their telescopes much more quickly than ever before

Answer

use the observatory shop to make better eye-glasses for their graduate students

Answer

change the region of the electro-magnetic spectrum in which their telescope is able to detect radiation

Answer

increase the aperture of their telescopes by connecting several telescopes

Question 22

At the largest and most modern astronomical observatories on Earth today, which of the following regularly happens to the image formed by the telescope?

Accepted Answer

it is recorded using an electronic detector called a CCD for later analysis

Answer

it is viewed by a group of graduate students who then make a sketch of it to have a permanent record

Answer

it is sent to the FBI so they can check for evidence of nefarious deeds

Answer

it is recorded on a piece of black & white film, which is then developed in a bath of chemicals

Answer

it is reflected by a special arrangement of mirrors back into the beam and up into the sky

Question 23

To break up light into the component colors that it contains, astronomers use a device called:

Accepted Answer

a spectrometer

Answer

an interferometer array

Answer

a CCD

Answer

a Cassegrain spliter

Answer

a telescope

Question 24

The two regions of the electromagnetic spectrum where the Earth's atmosphere is transparent (radiation can get in) are visible light and:

Accepted Answer

radio

Answer

you can't fool me, the atmosphere is transparent ONLY for visible light

Answer

x-ray

Answer

ultraviolet

Answer

gamma ray

Question 25

Why do astronomers prefer to put infrared telescopes on high-flying airplanes or on satellites in space?

Accepted Answer

because the water vapor in the lower atmosphere is very good at absorbing infrared

Answer

because high up the Sun's energy can be used to heat the infrared telescope

Answer

because no infrared radiation can exist anywhere near the Earth's surface

Answer

because that way they are significantly closer to the objects they observe

Answer

You can't fool me, all infrared telescopes are located on the Earth's surface

Question 26

Which of these is a distinguishing characteristic of the James Webb telescope?

Accepted Answer

it has the largest mirror ever put into space for observing faint objects

Answer

it is about the same size and design as the Hubble Space Telescope, which is wearing out

Answer

it allows us to take pictures with the same resolution as a radio dish

Answer

it is in low Earth orbit, and thus easy for astronauts to repair

Answer

it can observe gamma-rays from the most energetic events in the universe

Question 27

The Chandra Observatory orbiting the Earth is designed to

Accepted Answer

examine sources of cosmic x-rays

Answer

spy on countries in Asia, such as India, China, and Pakistan

Answer

replace the Hubble Space Telescope, with a much larger mirror for collecting visible light

Answer

search for rapidly changing radio signals

Answer

search for infra-red waves from stars that are in the process of being born

Question 28

The SOFIA Project was

Accepted Answer

an airplane with an infra-red telescope on board designed to fly above much of the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere

Answer

an x-ray telescope flying many kilometers up (so high that it had to be automated)

Answer

a NASA aircraft used only by Hollywood movie-makers to teach what it's like in free fall

Answer

a balloon designed to fly above the ozone layer and search for ultraviolet radiation from space

Answer

a small Lear jet with an 8-inch visible-light telescope on board, designed to search for lost NASA spacecraft

Question 29

As astronomers have learned more about the structure of the Sun, they have found that it

Accepted Answer

is made entirely of hot gas

Answer

is made of billions of individual pieces of hot rock, all orbiting around each other in a whirling arrangement

Answer

is made entirely of liquid, with a tiny bit of hot gas on the outside

Answer

is solid throughout, but with a large very hot atmosphere

Answer

has a small solid core inside

Question 30

You are out on the beach, enjoying the warm sunshine with friends. As you glance up at the Sun (only briefly we hope), the part of the Sun that you can see directly is called its:

Accepted Answer

photosphere

Answer

chromosphere

Answer

core

Answer

heliopause

Answer

corona

Question 31

The most common element in the Sun is

Accepted Answer

hydrogen

Answer

water

Answer

nitrogen

Answer

iron

Answer

helium

Question 32

The hottest zone of the Sun is the

Accepted Answer

core

Answer

chromosphere

Answer

radiative zone

Answer

photosphere

Answer

convection zone

Question 33

The Sun's chromosphere and corona were discovered

Accepted Answer

during total eclipses of the Sun

Answer

in the late 19th century through the use of a spectrograph

Answer

using spacecraft that orbited Venus, a planet with a better view of the Sun

Answer

using the first telescopes Galileo built

Answer

by ancient shepherds, who saw reflections of the Sun in quiet pools of water

Question 34

The Sun's chromosphere contains many jet-like projections that stick up into the transition region. These spikes of gas are called:

Accepted Answer

spicules

Answer

flares

Answer

coronae

Answer

plages

Answer

prominences

Question 35

What mechanisms do astronomers believe is responsible for making the Sun's outer atmosphere so much hotter than its photosphere?

Accepted Answer

The Sun's magnetic field interacting with the charged particles that make up the atmosphere

Answer

the ionization of a new element called coronium

Answer

stirring by comets, meteors, and other pieces of solid material being pulled in by the Sun's strong gravity

Answer

light reflected back from the terrestrial planets

Answer

astronomers really don't have even a guess about what heats the Sun's outermost layers

Question 36

Solar wind particles can be captured by the Earth's magnetosphere. When these particles spiral down along the magnetic field into the atmosphere, they are responsible for:

Accepted Answer

aurorae (northern and southern lights)

Answer

tropical storms (regions of rapidly rotating air)

Answer

the greenhouse effect

Answer

the reddish color we see during sunsets

Answer

the poor quality of television programming in the world's northern hemisphere

Question 37

The granulation pattern that astronomers have observed on the surface of the Sun tells us that:

Accepted Answer

hot material must be rising from the Sun's hotter interior

Answer

the solar wind must consist of very small (low-mass) particles

Answer

the Sun's surface is made of a thin solid that cracks easily

Answer

the Sun accumulates a lot of dirt and dust because of its large gravity

Answer

the Sun is a lot cooler on the inside than on the outside

Question 38

Sunspots are darker than the regions of the Sun around them because

Accepted Answer

they are cooler than the material around them (although still very hot compared to Earth temperatures)

Answer

they are located in the corona and not on the photosphere

Answer

they consist of different elements than the rest of the Sun

Answer

they move much faster around the Sun than other material and thus heat up

Answer

they are the shadows of the planets and asteroids seen on the bright surface of the Sun

Question 39

When we use the light of atoms such as hydrogen and calcium to examine the Sun's outer layers, we can see bright "clouds" in the chromosphere right around the location of sunspots. These bright clouds are given the name:

Accepted Answer

plages

Answer

active regions

Answer

granules

Answer

Zeeman rings

Answer

spot umbras

Question 40

Recently, some engineers and scientists have proposed building spaceships with enormous "sails" that catch the solar wind and use it to move the ship. What kinds of particles would be hitting this sail (i.e., what is the solar wind mostly made of):

Accepted Answer

electrons and protons

Answer

calcium atoms

Answer

scientists do not have any idea of the composition of the solar wind; it is very mysterious

Answer

nuclei of heavier atoms such as iron and nickel

Answer

gamma-rays

Question 41

Physicists Kelvin and Helmholtz in the 19th Century proposed gravitational contraction as a possible explanation for:

Accepted Answer

the energy source of the Sun

Answer

the length of the astronomical unit

Answer

the age of the Sun

Answer

the radius of the Sun

Answer

coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

Question 42

Today we realize that the source of energy for the Sun is a process called

Accepted Answer

nuclear fusion

Answer

radioactivity

Answer

mechanical to thermal energy conversion

Answer

dilithium crystal moderation

Answer

Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction

Question 43

According to the formula E=mc2

Accepted Answer

a little bit of mass can be converted into a substantial amount of energy

Answer

energy can travel much faster than light (in fact its speed can be the speed of light squared)

Answer

when two masses collide, we always get a lot of light

Answer

Einstein had a cool stage name

Answer

mass has to travel at the speed of light before it can produce any energy

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT one of the fundamental particles that we typically find inside atoms?

Accepted Answer

positrons

Answer

neutrons

Answer

electrons

Answer

actually, all of these are typically found inside atoms

Answer

protons

Question 45

The antimatter version of an electron is called a

Accepted Answer

positron

Answer

proton

Answer

antitron

Answer

gammatron

Answer

neutrino

Question 46

In the Sun, when a positron and an electron collide, they will produce:

Accepted Answer

energy in the form of a gamma ray

Answer

hydrogen

Answer

a neutrino

Answer

a deuteron

Answer

a neutron

Question 47

A college friend of yours who has been postponing taking any science courses hears you talking about the generation of nuclear energy in the Sun and makes the following observation: "The whole idea of the atomic nucleus is pretty ridiculous. If an oxygen nucleus consists of eight protons and eight neutrons, the charge on that nucleus is positive. Since even I learned in high school that like charges repel, such a nucleus would find all its positive protons repelling and quickly fall apart." How would you answer his argument?

Accepted Answer

the nuclear force, which is attractive over short distances like the nucleus, and stronger than electricity, holds the nucleus together

Answer

the electrons outside the nucleus repel the protons and keep them inside the nucleus

Answer

there is no answer; scientists do not have a clue about how the nucleus manages to keep itself together

Answer

the neutrons in the nucleus are negative, so they cancel the positive charge on the protons

Answer

gravity is much stronger than electric repulsion and holds every nucleus together

Question 48

Which of the following has the lowest mass?

Accepted Answer

a neutrino

Answer

a neutron

Answer

a proton

Answer

a hydrogen atom

Answer

an electron

Question 49

When two light elements collide to undergo nuclear fusion,

Accepted Answer

some of the mass is converted into energy

Answer

the result is always to make nuclei of iron

Answer

the positive charges in the nuclei attract, pulling the nuclei together faster and faster

Answer

the total mass involved increases

Answer

only one survives; the other turns into a release of pure energy

Question 50

Where in the Sun does fusion of hydrogen occur?

Accepted Answer

only in the core

Answer

pretty much throughout the entire body of the Sun

Answer

only in the layer where there is a lot of convection going on

Answer

only near the photosphere (its visible surface layer)

Answer

nowhere

Question 51

Who pays the bill for the energy generated by nuclear fusion in the Sun? In other words, where does the energy pouring out of the Sun come from ultimately?

Accepted Answer

a little bit of mass is lost in each fusion reaction and is turned into energy (the Sun is losing mass)

Answer

tax payers

Answer

heavy nuclei are breaking apart into lighter nuclei

Answer

material (like meteorites) is falling into the Sun and being vaporized to produce energy

Answer

the Sun is spinning more slowly as time goes on; rotation energy is lost

Question 52

The Sun is an enormous ball of gas. Left to itself, a ball of so many atoms should collapse under its own tremendous gravity. Why is our Sun not collapsing?

Accepted Answer

nuclear fusion in the core keeps the temperature and the pressure inside the Sun at a high enough level so that gravity is balanced

Answer

neutrinos from the core exert an enormous pressure on the layers of the Sun as they travel outward; this pressure is more than enough to keep our star from collapsing

Answer

the pressure of the corona keeps the Sun's main body of gases confined to a small volume

Answer

the gravity of the planets around the Sun pulls its material outward, preventing collapse

Answer

you can't fool me, the Sun is shrinking all the time, it just happens very slowly

Question 53

The material inside the Sun's core is in the form of a

Accepted Answer

plasma

Answer

a ball of iron atoms

Answer

liquid

Answer

solid

Answer

none of these

Question 54

When energy is first produced by fusion deep in the core of the star, that energy moves outward mostly by what process?

Accepted Answer

radiation

Answer

conduction

Answer

theoretical modeling

Answer

convection

Answer

none of these

Question 55

Which of the following, produced at the core of the Sun, will take the shortest time to emerge from the Sun's photosphere (surface)?

Accepted Answer

a neutrino

Answer

a deuteron

Answer

a photon

Answer

a positron

Answer

a proton

Question 56

When an astronomer rambles on and on about the luminosity of a star she is studying, she is talking about:

Accepted Answer

how much energy the star gives off each second

Answer

what color the star is

Answer

the elements she can see in the star's spectrum

Answer

the total amount of mass in the star

Answer

the star's apparent size (the size seen from Earth)

Question 57

Using a good pair of binoculars, you observe a section of the sky where there are stars of many different apparent brightnesses. You find one star that appears especially dim. This star looks dim because it is:

Accepted Answer

it could be more than one of the above; there is no way to tell which answer is right by just looking at the star

Answer

a very low luminosity

Answer

very far away

Answer

partly obscured by a cloud

Answer

radiating most of its energy in the infrared region of the spectrum

Question 58

An exhausted-looking astronomer comes off the mountain where her observatory is located and tells you she has been doing photometry all night. What has she been up to?

Accepted Answer

measuring the brightness of different stars

Answer

counting the number of stars in different star clusters (groups)

Answer

taking photos through bedroom windows in the valley below

Answer

putting the light of stars through a spectrograph to measure what elements are present

Answer

measuring the positions of stars on photographic plates taken over many years

Question 59

Which of the following looks the brightest in the sky? (These are apparent magnitudes)

Accepted Answer

a star with magnitude -1

Answer

a star with magnitude 6

Answer

a star with magnitude 10

Answer

a star with magnitude 1

Answer

you can't fool me, all of the above look equally bright from Earth

Question 60

Which color star is likely to be the hottest?

Accepted Answer

blue

Answer

orange

Answer

yellow

Answer

green

Answer

red

Question 61

Which of the following types of star is the coolest (has the lowest surface temperature)?

Accepted Answer

M

Answer

O

Answer

F

Answer

A

Answer

G

Question 62

A team of astronomers takes spectra of thousands of different stars in different parts of the sky. The spectra show significant differences. The main reason the spectra of the stars do not all look alike is that the stars

Accepted Answer

have different temperatures

Answer

are made of significantly different elements

Answer

change their spectra as they age, and so young stars have very different spectra from older ones

Answer

sometimes have atmospheres and sometimes do not

Answer

are located in many different regions of the Milky Way

Question 63

Astronomers arrange the stars into groups called spectral classes (or types) according to the kinds of lines they find in their spectra. These spectral classes are arranged in order of:

Accepted Answer

decreasing surface temperature

Answer

increasing amount of hydrogen

Answer

you can't fool me, there is no order to the spectral types (that's why the letters are not in alphabetical order)

Answer

decreasing distance from us

Answer

increasing mass

Question 64

After a lot of work, a group of graduate students has finally measured the wavelengths of many dozens of lines in the spectrum of a distant star. If a number of the lines come from molecules such as titanium oxide, the star is likely to be which spectral type:

Accepted Answer

M

Answer

we need more information; lines from molecules can be found in stars of every spectral type

Answer

O

Answer

B

Answer

A

Create a free account and access millions of resources

Similar Resources on Wayground

Popular Resources on Wayground

Discover more resources for Science