Exam 5: Radiation and Spectra

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

Atoms typically consist of electrons, protons, and neutrons. The most common isotope of one element, however, only has two of these three types of particles. This element is:

The ground state in an atom is

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?

Planck's constant relates:

As of the time our textbook went to press, 118 different elements had been discovered. All of the ones with atomic number over 92 have been made in physics laboratories. When element 119 (one that has not yet been identified) is found, provided it is like the other artificially made elements, it will:

I want to examine the surface of a planet that is covered by a thick atmosphere (which includes oxygen and contains a very thick layer of water clouds that never clears). What wavelength of electromagnetic radiation would I be smartest to use:

Not all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. Of the following types of waves that come from space, which one are you likely to be able to detect most easily from our planet's surface:

An astronomer observes two ordinary stars. The first one turns out to be twice as hot as the second. This means that the first one radiates:

Which of the following statements about the nucleus of a typical atom (such as a carbon atom in your little finger) is FALSE:

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

In the 19th century, it became clear that magnetism was not a separate force, but was always produced by the action of

Astronomers observe a typical star using a telescope and a spectrometer. They will see:

The Stefan-Boltzmann Law relates the energy flux coming from a blackbody (such as a star) to its:

Consider a radio wave from the transmitter of your favorite radio station, which has just reached the antenna of the radio in your room. Which of the following statements about this radio wave is CORRECT?

When an atom has lost one or more electrons, it is said to be:

The fact that each type of atom has a unique pattern of electron orbits helps explain why

A politician who has just said something very dumb on an AM all-talk radio station suddenly remembers the astronomy class he had in college, and starts to worry that his words are now moving outward into space at the speed of light (and will embarrass him forever). Does he have a reason to worry?

The scientist who worked out the mathematics of the connections between electricity, magnetism, and light in the 19th century was:

Two versions of an element with different numbers of neutrons are called: