Question 1

The strength of gravity on Mars is about 40% of that on Earth. If an astronaut's mass on Earth is 60 kg, what would their weight be on Mars?

Accepted Answer

A)  24 kg 
B)  24 newtons 
C)  235 newtons 
D)  588 newtons 
A)  24 kg 
B)  24 newtons 
C)  235 newtons 
D)  588 newtons

Question 2

The acceleration of a moving body is defined as the rate of change of

Accepted Answer

A)  mass with time. 
B)  kinetic energy with time. 
C)  position with time. 
D)  velocity with time. 
A)  mass with time. 
B)  kinetic energy with time. 
C)  position with time. 
D)  velocity with time.

Question 3

The distance from the perihelion point to the aphelion point of a planetary orbit is

Accepted Answer

A)  equal to the distance between the foci. 
B)  the major axis. 
C)  the minor axis. 
D)  the semimajor axis. 
A)  equal to the distance between the foci. 
B)  the major axis. 
C)  the minor axis. 
D)  the semimajor axis.

Question 4

The person who was an assistant to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe before becoming famous himself was

Accepted Answer

A)  Sir Isaac Newton. 
B)  Galileo Galilei. 
C)  Nicolaus Copernicus. 
D)  Johannes Kepler. 
A)  Sir Isaac Newton. 
B)  Galileo Galilei. 
C)  Nicolaus Copernicus. 
D)  Johannes Kepler.

Question 5

A distant asteroid is discovered that takes 50 years to orbit the Sun once. According to Kepler's third law, what is the average distance of this asteroid from the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A)  2500 au 
B)  50 au 
C)  353 au (square root of 125,000) 
D)  13.6 au (cube root of 2500) 
A)  2500 au 
B)  50 au 
C)  353 au (square root of 125,000) 
D)  13.6 au (cube root of 2500)

Question 6

Tycho made angular measurements with an accuracy of one arcminute. If Mars takes 2.136 years to complete one orbit of the Sun as viewed from Earth (a synodic period), how long on the average does it take Mars to move through one arcminute?

Accepted Answer

A)  1 second 
B)  a little less than 1 hour 
C)  about a day and a half 
D)  17 days 
A)  1 second 
B)  a little less than 1 hour 
C)  about a day and a half 
D)  17 days

Question 7

The action and reaction forces referred to in Newton's third law of motion

Accepted Answer

A)  act on the same body. 
B)  must be equal in magnitude but need not act in the same straight line. 
C)  need not be equal in magnitude but must act in the same straight line. 
D)  act on different bodies. 
A)  act on the same body. 
B)  must be equal in magnitude but need not act in the same straight line. 
C)  need not be equal in magnitude but must act in the same straight line. 
D)  act on different bodies.

Question 8

If an object has an orbit around the Sun that has an eccentricity of 0.8, then the orbit is

Accepted Answer

A)  almost circular, but not quite. 
B)  a straight line. 
C)  exactly circular. 
D)  a long, thin ellipse. 
A)  almost circular, but not quite. 
B)  a straight line. 
C)  exactly circular. 
D)  a long, thin ellipse.

Question 9

Which of these sentences correctly states the significance of Galileo's observation that Jupiter has satellites (moons)?

Accepted Answer

A)  The observation showed that Jupiter must be 4 times the size of Earth (because Jupiter has four moons and Earth has one). 
B)  The observation showed that bodies can orbit an object other than Earth. 
C)  The observation was interesting but had no other particular significance. 
D)  The observation showed that Jupiter must orbit the Sun, not Earth. 
A)  The observation showed that Jupiter must be 4 times the size of Earth (because Jupiter has four moons and Earth has one). 
B)  The observation showed that bodies can orbit an object other than Earth. 
C)  The observation was interesting but had no other particular significance. 
D)  The observation showed that Jupiter must orbit the Sun, not Earth.

Question 10

A comet is observed to return to the vicinity of the Sun on a long elliptical orbit with a period of 31.7 years. What is the semimajor axis of the orbit?

Accepted Answer

A)  31.7 au 
B)  178.5 au 
C)  10 au 
D)  1000 au 
A)  31.7 au 
B)  178.5 au 
C)  10 au 
D)  1000 au

Question 11

If one were an astronomer in the closing days of the Roman Empire, say, around 400 A.D., his or her main reference book would have been

Accepted Answer

A)  Ptolemy's Almagest. 
B)  Plato's Republic. 
C)  Aristotle's Metaphysics. 
D)  Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. 
A)  Ptolemy's Almagest. 
B)  Plato's Republic. 
C)  Aristotle's Metaphysics. 
D)  Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.

Question 12

In which direction would Earth move if the Sun's gravitational force were suddenly removed from it?

Accepted Answer

A)  in a straight line toward the Sun 
B)  continue in a circular orbit because of its spin 
C)  in a straight line directly away from the Sun 
D)  in a straight line along a tangent to its circular orbit 
A)  in a straight line toward the Sun 
B)  continue in a circular orbit because of its spin 
C)  in a straight line directly away from the Sun 
D)  in a straight line along a tangent to its circular orbit

Question 13

What is the barycenter of the Earth and Moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  center of mass of Earth-Moon system 
B)  point halfway between Earth and the Moon 
C)  center of mass of Earth-Sun-Moon system 
D)  closest distance from Earth to the Moon when it was first formed, before it began spiraling away 
A)  center of mass of Earth-Moon system 
B)  point halfway between Earth and the Moon 
C)  center of mass of Earth-Sun-Moon system 
D)  closest distance from Earth to the Moon when it was first formed, before it began spiraling away

Question 14

The mass of an object is a measure of how

Accepted Answer

A)  large it is. 
B)  dense it is. 
C)  heavy it is. 
D)  difficult it is to accelerate. 
A)  large it is. 
B)  dense it is. 
C)  heavy it is. 
D)  difficult it is to accelerate.

Question 15

The time taken for light to travel from a galaxy that is 10 Mpc away is

Accepted Answer

A)  3.07 × 106 years. 
B)  32.6 years. 
C)  107 years. 
D)  3.26 × 107 years. 
A)  3.07 × 106 years. 
B)  32.6 years. 
C)  107 years. 
D)  3.26 × 107 years.

Question 16

Copernicus used the fact that Mars can sometimes be seen high in the sky at midnight to conclude that

Accepted Answer

A)  the Sun can come between Earth and Mars. 
B)  Earth can come between Mars and the Sun. 
C)  Mars and the Sun can never be on the same side of Earth at the same time. 
D)  Mars can come between Earth and the Sun. 
A)  the Sun can come between Earth and Mars. 
B)  Earth can come between Mars and the Sun. 
C)  Mars and the Sun can never be on the same side of Earth at the same time. 
D)  Mars can come between Earth and the Sun.

Question 17

Which of these objects does NOT experience retrograde motion when viewed from Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury 
B)  Mars 
C)  the Moon 
D)  Jupiter 
A)  Mercury 
B)  Mars 
C)  the Moon 
D)  Jupiter

Question 18

An inhabitant of a planet orbiting the star Betelgeuse (a distance of 197 parsecs from Earth) observes the flash from the first nuclear weapon on Earth, exploded in July 1945. If this extraterrestrial being were to send a signal to Earth immediately to confirm this sighting by exploding a bomb of equivalent brightness, and astronomers on Earth were watching his planet, when would they expect to see the flash?

Accepted Answer

A)  2076 A.D. 
B)  2588 A.D. 
C)  2799 A.D. 
D)  3230 A.D. 
A)  2076 A.D. 
B)  2588 A.D. 
C)  2799 A.D. 
D)  3230 A.D.

Question 19

In Newton's law of universal gravitation, F = GMm/R2, which defines the force between Earth with mass M and an orbiting satellite of mass m at a distance R from Earth, G

Accepted Answer

A)  is variable, depending on the masses of the two objects. 
B)  depends on the material occupying the space between the two objects. 
C)  is a constant, throughout all measured space and time. 
D)  depends on the speed of motion of the satellite. 
A)  is variable, depending on the masses of the two objects. 
B)  depends on the material occupying the space between the two objects. 
C)  is a constant, throughout all measured space and time. 
D)  depends on the speed of motion of the satellite.

Question 20

If the line joining a planet to the Sun sweeps out a particular area in 1 day, then in 2 days it will sweep out

Accepted Answer

A)  less than twice the area if the planet is approaching perihelion and more than twice the area if it is leaving perihelion. 
B)  half the area. 
C)  more than twice the area if the planet is approaching perihelion and less than twice the area if it is leaving perihelion. 
D)  exactly twice the area. 
A)  less than twice the area if the planet is approaching perihelion and more than twice the area if it is leaving perihelion. 
B)  half the area. 
C)  more than twice the area if the planet is approaching perihelion and less than twice the area if it is leaving perihelion. 
D)  exactly twice the area.

The strength of gravity on Mars is about 40% of that on Earth. If an astronaut's mass on Earth is 60 kg, what would their weight be on Mars?

The acceleration of a moving body is defined as the rate of change of

The distance from the perihelion point to the aphelion point of a planetary orbit is

The person who was an assistant to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe before becoming famous himself was

A distant asteroid is discovered that takes 50 years to orbit the Sun once. According to Kepler's third law, what is the average distance of this asteroid from the Sun?

Tycho made angular measurements with an accuracy of one arcminute. If Mars takes 2.136 years to complete one orbit of the Sun as viewed from Earth (a synodic period), how long on the average does it take Mars to move through one arcminute?

The action and reaction forces referred to in Newton's third law of motion

If an object has an orbit around the Sun that has an eccentricity of 0.8, then the orbit is

Which of these sentences correctly states the significance of Galileo's observation that Jupiter has satellites (moons)?

A comet is observed to return to the vicinity of the Sun on a long elliptical orbit with a period of 31.7 years. What is the semimajor axis of the orbit?

If one were an astronomer in the closing days of the Roman Empire, say, around 400 A.D., his or her main reference book would have been

In which direction would Earth move if the Sun's gravitational force were suddenly removed from it?

What is the barycenter of the Earth and Moon?

The mass of an object is a measure of how

The time taken for light to travel from a galaxy that is 10 Mpc away is

Copernicus used the fact that Mars can sometimes be seen high in the sky at midnight to conclude that

Which of these objects does NOT experience retrograde motion when viewed from Earth?

In Newton's law of universal gravitation, F = GMm/R², which defines the force between Earth with mass M and an orbiting satellite of mass m at a distance R from Earth, G

If the line joining a planet to the Sun sweeps out a particular area in 1 day, then in 2 days it will sweep out

Discovering the Night Sky

Light and Telescopes

Atomic Physics and Spectra

Exoplanets and the Formation of Planetary Systems

Formation of the Solar System

Earth and the Moon

The Other Terrestrial Planets

The Outer Planets

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Death of Stars

Black Holes: Matters of Gravity

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters

Exam 2: Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets

The strength of gravity on Mars is about 40% of that on Earth. If an astronaut's mass on Earth is 60 kg, what would their weight be on Mars?

The acceleration of a moving body is defined as the rate of change of

The distance from the perihelion point to the aphelion point of a planetary orbit is

The person who was an assistant to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe before becoming famous himself was

A distant asteroid is discovered that takes 50 years to orbit the Sun once. According to Kepler's third law, what is the average distance of this asteroid from the Sun?

Tycho made angular measurements with an accuracy of one arcminute. If Mars takes 2.136 years to complete one orbit of the Sun as viewed from Earth (a synodic period), how long on the average does it take Mars to move through one arcminute?

The action and reaction forces referred to in Newton's third law of motion

If an object has an orbit around the Sun that has an eccentricity of 0.8, then the orbit is

Which of these sentences correctly states the significance of Galileo's observation that Jupiter has satellites (moons)?

A comet is observed to return to the vicinity of the Sun on a long elliptical orbit with a period of 31.7 years. What is the semimajor axis of the orbit?

If one were an astronomer in the closing days of the Roman Empire, say, around 400 A.D., his or her main reference book would have been

In which direction would Earth move if the Sun's gravitational force were suddenly removed from it?

What is the barycenter of the Earth and Moon?

The mass of an object is a measure of how

The time taken for light to travel from a galaxy that is 10 Mpc away is

Copernicus used the fact that Mars can sometimes be seen high in the sky at midnight to conclude that

Which of these objects does NOT experience retrograde motion when viewed from Earth?

In Newton's law of universal gravitation, F = GMm/R2, which defines the force between Earth with mass M and an orbiting satellite of mass m at a distance R from Earth, G

If the line joining a planet to the Sun sweeps out a particular area in 1 day, then in 2 days it will sweep out

Discovering the Night Sky

Light and Telescopes

Atomic Physics and Spectra

Exoplanets and the Formation of Planetary Systems

Formation of the Solar System

Earth and the Moon

The Other Terrestrial Planets

The Outer Planets

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Death of Stars

Black Holes: Matters of Gravity

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters

In Newton's law of universal gravitation, F = GMm/R², which defines the force between Earth with mass M and an orbiting satellite of mass m at a distance R from Earth, G