MULTIPLE
CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that
best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) How did the Ptolemaic model explain the
apparent retrograde motion of the planets?
A) It held that
sometimes the planets moved backward along their circular orbits.
B) It placed the
Sun at the center so that the planets' apparent retrograde motion was seen as
the Earth
passed each one in its orbit.
C) It varied the
motion of the celestial sphere so that it sometimes moved backward.
D) It held that
the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles
around the Sun.
E) It held that
the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the
Earth.
2) What do the structures of Stonehenge, the
Templo Mayor, the Sun Dagger, and
the Big
Horn Medicine Wheel all have in common?
A) They were all
places used for religious sacrifice.
B) They were all
built on the orders of ancient kings.
C) They all can be
used as lunar calendars.
D) They were all
used by ancient peoples for astronomical observations.
E) all of the
above
3) What effect or effects would be most
significant if the Moon's orbital plane were exactly
the
same as the ecliptic plane?
A) Solar eclipses
would be much rarer.
B) Solar eclipses
would be much more frequent.
C) Solar eclipses
would last much longer.
D) both A and C
E) both B and C
4) Considering Einstein's famous equation, E =
mc2, which of the following statements is true?
A) Mass can be
turned into energy, but energy cannot be turned back into mass.
B) It takes a
large amount of mass to produce a small amount of energy.
C) A small amount
of mass can be turned into a large amount of energy.
D) You can make
mass into energy if you can accelerate the mass to the speed of light.
E) One kilogram of
mass represents 1 joule of energy.
5) What makes the North Star, Polaris, special?
A) It is the
brightest star in the sky.
B) It is the star
straight overhead.
C) It appears very
near the north celestial pole.
D) It is the star
directly on your northern horizon.
E) It can be used
to determine your longitude on Earth.
6) What do we mean when we say that the universe
is expanding?
A) Average
distances are increasing between star systems within galaxies.
B) Everything in the universe is gradually
growing in size.
C) Average distances are increasing between
galaxies.
D) The statement
is not meant to be literal; rather, it means that our knowledge of the
universe
is growing.
E) Individual galaxies are gradually growing in
size.
7) Which of the following statements does not
use the term light year in an appropriate way?
A) It's about 4
light-years from here to Alpha Centauri.
B) It will take me
light-years to complete this homework assignment.
C) A light-year is
about 10 trillion kilometers.
D) It will take
the Voyager spacecraft about 20,000 years to travel just 1 light-year.
E) The Milky Way Galaxy
is about 100,000 light-years in diameter.
8) Absolute
zero is
A) 0e Kelvin.
B) 0e Celsius.
C) 0e Fahrenheit.
D) 32e Fahrenheit.
E) 273e Celsius.
9) Kepler's second law, which states that as a
planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal
areas
in equal times, means that
A) a planet
travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from
the Sun.
B) a planet's
period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit.
C) planets that
are farther from the Sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets.
D) the period of a
planet does not depend on its mass.
E) planets have
circular orbits.
10) How much electrical charge does an atom with 6
protons, 6 neutrons, and 5 electrons have?
A) a total charge
of +17
B) a negative
charge of \'2D5
C) a positive
charge of +7
D) a positive
charge of +1
E) none of the
above
11) He discovered that the orbits of planets are
ellipses.
A) Tycho Brahe
B) Copernicus
C) Kepler
D) Galileo
E) Ptolemy
12) Which of the following scenarios correctly
demonstrates the transformation of mass
into energy as given by Einstein's equation,
E = mc2?
A) When hydrogen
is fused into helium, whether in the Sun or in a nuclear bomb, the
mass difference is turned into energy.
B) An object
accelerated to a great speed has a lot of kinetic energy.
C) A mass raised
to a great height has a lot of gravitational potential energy.
D) When you boil a
pot of water, it has a high heat content, or thermal energy.
E) A burning piece
of wood produces light and heat, therefore giving off radiative and
thermal energy.
13) Where does the energy come from that your body
uses to keep you alive?
A) It is produced
from the radiative energy of the Sun on your skin.
B) It comes from
the foods you eat.
C) It comes from
the water you drink.
D) It is in the
air that you breathe.
E) It is created
during the time that you rest or sleep.
14) When an atom loses an electron, it becomes
A) sublimated.
B) dissociated.
C) ionized.
D) an isotope.
E) a plasma.
15) Gasoline is useful in cars because it has
A) gravitational
potential energy.
B) chemical
potential energy.
C) electrical
potential energy.
D) kinetic energy.
E) radiative
energy.
16) Ptolemy was important in the history of
astronomy because he
A) developed a
model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of
planetary positions to remain in use for many
centuries.
B) developed the
first scientific model of the universe.
C) was the first
to believe in an Earth-centered universe.
D) was the first
to create a model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than the
Earth at the center.
E) was the first
to believe that all orbits are perfect circles.
17) From the fact that virtually every galaxy is
moving away from us and more distant
galaxies
are moving away from us at a faster rate than closer ones, we conclude that
A) the Milky Way
Galaxy is expanding.
B) we are located
at the center of the universe.
C) the farthest
galaxies will eventually be moving faster than the speed of light.
D) the universe is
expanding.
E) the universe is
shrinking.
18) He developed a system for predicting planetary
positions that remained in use for
some
1,500 years.
A) Tycho Brahe
B) Copernicus
C) Kepler
D) Galileo
E) Ptolemy
19) Which of the following statements about the
celestial equator is true at all latitudes?
A) It lies along
the band of light we call the Milky Way.
B) It represents
an extension of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere.
C) It cuts the
dome of your sky exactly in half.
D) It extends from
your horizon due east, through your zenith, to your horizon due west.
E) It extends from
your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south.
20) Which of the following is a form of electrical
potential energy?
A) coal
B) energy coming
to your house from power companies
C) energy from the
Sun
D) light from a
fluorescent bulb
E) moving blades
on an electric mixer
21) What is nuclear fusion?
A) an explosion
caused by putting together two volatile chemicals
B) the process of
splitting nuclei to produce energy
C) the process of
turning matter into pure energy
D) the process of
combining nuclei of one type to make a different element, during which energy
is released
E) a process that
only occurs in bombs
22) Which of the following statements about
scientific theories is not true?
A) A theory cannot
be taken seriously by scientists if it contradicts other theories developed
by scientists over the past several hundred
years.
B) A theory is a
model designed to explain a number of observed facts.
C) If even a
single new fact is discovered that contradicts what we expect according to a
particular theory, then the theory must be
revised or discarded.
D) A theory must
make predictions that can be checked by observation or experiment.
E) A theory can
never be proved beyond all doubt; we can only hope to collect more and
more evidence that might support it.
23) He discovered what we now call Newton's first
law of motion.
A) Tycho Brahe
B) Copernicus
C) Kepler
D) Galileo
E) Ptolemy
24) Which of the following is not a unit of
energy?
A) Calorie
B) joule
C) calorie
D) kilowatt
E) British thermal
unit
25) What is the saros cycle?
A) the roughly
6\'2Dmonth period between eclipse seasons
B) the 18-year
cycle over which the pattern of eclipses repeats
C) the period
between total solar eclipses
D) the period
between a total solar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse
E) the period
between eclipses
26) Which of the following never goes in
retrograde motion?
A) the Sun B)
Venus C) Mars D) Jupiter E) Saturn
27) Which of the following statements does not
use the term angular size or angular distance
correctly?
A) The angular
size of the Moon is about 1/2 degree.
B) The angular
distance between those two houses in the distance is 30e.
C) The angular
distance between those two bright stars in the sky is about 2 meters.
D) The angular
size of the Sun is about the same as that of the Moon.
E) You can use
your outstretched hand to estimate angular sizes and angular distances.
28) Which of the following is not a
characteristic of the inner planets?
A) They are
relatively smaller than the outer planets.
B) They all have
solid, rocky surfaces.
C) Their orbits
are relatively closely spaced.
D) They all have
substantial atmospheres.
E) They have very
few, if any, satellites.
29) What is a meteorite?
A) a streak of
light caused by a star moving across the sky
B) a streak of
light caused by a small particle from space burning up in the Earth's
atmosphere
C) a fragment of
an asteroid from the solar system that has fallen to the Earth's surface
D) a small moon
that orbits one of the giant planets
E) a comet that
burns up in the Earth's atmosphere
30) What is the name given to 2H?
A) hydrogen B)
helium C) deuterium D) tritium
31) Which planet has a ring system?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) all of the
above
32) If you represented each star by a grain of
sand, how much sand would it take to represent all
the
stars in the universe?
A) all the sand in
a typical playground sandlot
B) all the sand on
Miami Beach
C) all the sand on
the beaches of California
D) all the sand on
the beaches in the United States
E) more than all
the sand on all the beaches on Earth
33) What does temperature measure?
A) the average
mass of particles in a substance
B) the average
size of particles in a substance
C) the average
kinetic energy of particles in a substance
D) the total
number of particles in a substance
E) the total
potential energy of particles in a substance
34) About where is our solar system located within
the Milky Way Galaxy?
A) at the center
of the galaxy
B) about 10
percent of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the
galactic disk
C) about
two-thirds of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the
galactic disk
D) near the far
outskirts of the galactic disk
E) in the halo of
the galaxy above the galactic disk
35) How are galaxies important to our existence?
A) Without
galaxies, there could not have been a Big Bang.
B) Without
galaxies, the universe could not be expanding.
C) Galaxies
prevent planets from leaving their orbits around stars; e.g., our galaxy
prevents the Earth from leaving its orbit of
the Sun.
D) Galaxies
recycle heavy elements produced in stars into future generations of stars.
E) Galaxies
provide the gravity that prevents us from falling off the Earth.
36) Most of the mass in the Milky Way Galaxy is
located
A) in the halo
(above/below the disk).
B) within the
disk.
C) in the stars in
the spiral arms.
D) in the gas and
dust.
E) in the central
bulge of the galaxy.
37) At extremely high temperatures (e.g., millions
of degrees), which of the following
best
describes the phase of matter?
A) a gas of
rapidly moving molecules
B) a plasma
consisting of positively charged ions and free electrons
C) a gas
consisting of individual, neutral atoms, but no molecules
D) a plasma
consisting of rapidly moving, neutral atoms
E) none of the
above (at these extremely high temperatures, matter cannot exist)
38) Why is it summer in the Northern Hemisphere
when it is winter in the Southern
Hemisphere?
A) The Northern
Hemisphere is closer to the Sun than the Southern Hemisphere.
B) The Northern
Hemisphere is "on top" of the Earth and therefore receives more
sunlight.
C) The Northern
Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun and receives more direct sunlight.
D) The Northern
Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and receives more indirect sunlight.
E) It isn't: both
hemispheres have the same seasons at the same time.
39) One of the "nails in the coffin" for
the Earth-centered universe was
A) the retrograde
motion of the planets
B) the phases of
the Moon
C) eclipses of the
Sun
D) Galileo's
observation of stars in the Milky Way
E) Galileo's
observations of the moons of Jupiter
40) Why do we see essentially the same face of the
Moon at all times?
A) because the
other face points toward us only at new moon, when we can't see the Moon
B) because the
Moon does not rotate
C) because the
Moon's rotational and orbital periods are equal
D) because the Sun
only illuminates one half at a time
E) because the
Moon has a nearly circular orbit around the Earth
41) What conditions are required for a lunar
eclipse?
A) The phase of
the Moon must be new, and the nodes of the Moon's orbit must be
nearly aligned with the Earth and the Sun.
B) The phase of
the Moon must be full, and the nodes of the Moon's orbit must be nearly
aligned with the Earth and the Sun.
C) The phase of
the Moon can be new or full, and the nodes of the Moon's orbit must be
nearly
aligned with the Earth and the Sun.
D) The phase of
the Moon must be new, and the Moon's orbital plane must lie in the ecliptic.
E) The phase of
the Moon must be full, and the Moon's orbital plane must lie in the ecliptic.
42) Which of the following statements about the
Milky Way Galaxy is not true?
A) It contains
between 100 billion and 1 trillion stars.
B) Our solar
system is located very close to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
C) Our view of
distant objects is obscured by gas and dust when we look into the galactic
plane.
D) The galaxy is
about 100,000 light-years in diameter.
E) One rotation of
the galaxy takes about 200 million years.
43) How many atoms fit across the period at the
end of this sentence?
A) hundreds
B) thousands
C) millions
D) billions
E) more than you
could count in a lifetime
44) Consider
an atom of gold in which the nucleus contains 79 protons and 118 neutrons.
What is
its atomic number and atomic weight?
A) The atomic
number is 79, and the atomic weight is 197.
B) The atomic
number is 79, and the atomic weight is 118.
C) The atomic
number is 118, and the atomic weight is 197.
D) The atomic
number is 118, and the atomic weight is 79.
45) The names of the seven days of the week are
based on the
A) seven naked-eye
objects that appear to move among the constellations.
B) seven planets
closest to the Sun.
C) seven brightest
stars in the prominent constellation Orion.
D) most popular
Norse gods.
E) seven largest
constellations of the ancient world.
46) What happens during the apparent retrograde
motion of a planet?
A) The planet
rises in the west and sets in the east.
B) The planet
appears to move eastward with respect to the stars over a period of many
nights.
C) The planet
moves backward through the sky.
D) The planet
moves backward in its orbit around the Sun.
E) The planet
moves through constellations that are not part of the zodiac.
47) Radiative energy is
A) heat energy.
B) energy from
nuclear power plants.
C) energy carried
by light.
D) energy used in
home radiators.
E) energy of
motion.
48) Which
of the following is largest?
A) size of a
typical galaxy
B) size of Pluto's
orbit
C) distance to the
nearest star (other than our Sun)
D) 1 light\'2Dyear
49) Which of the following statements about the
ecliptic plane is not true?
A) It is the plane
of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
B) It is the plane
of the Moon's orbit around the Earth.
C) During a solar
eclipse, the Moon lies in the ecliptic plane.
D) During a lunar
eclipse, the Moon lies in the ecliptic plane.
E) The nodes of
the Moon's orbit lie in the ecliptic plane.
50) In the formula E = mc2, what
does E represent?
A) the kinetic
energy of a moving object
B) the radiative
energy carried by light
C) the
gravitational potential energy of an object held above the ground
D) the
mass\'2Denergy, or potential energy stored in an object's mass
E) the electric
charge of the object
1) Answer: E
2) Answer: D
3) Answer: B
4) Answer: C
5) Answer: C
6) Answer: C
7) Answer: B
8) Answer: A
9) Answer: A
10) Answer: D
11) Answer: C
12) Answer: A
13) Answer: B
14) Answer: C
15) Answer: B
16) Answer: A
17) Answer: D
18) Answer: E
19) Answer: B
20) Answer: B
21) Answer: D
22) Answer: A
23) Answer: D
24) Answer: D
25) Answer: B
26) Answer: A
27) Answer: C
28) Answer: D
29) Answer: C
30) Answer: C
31) Answer: E
32) Answer: E
33) Answer: C
34) Answer: C
35) Answer: D
36) Answer: A
37) Answer: B
38) Answer: C
39) Answer: E
40) Answer: C
41) Answer: B
42) Answer: B
43) Answer: C
44) Answer: A
45) Answer: A
46) Answer: B
47) Answer: C
48) Answer: A
49) Answer: B
50) Answer: D