Question 1

In the cosmological principle, we can easily test cosmic homogeneity with the redshift surveys, but isotropy cannot be so tested.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 2

Why do population II stars contain almost nothing but hydrogen and helium?

Accepted Answer

This first generation of stars must be made of the elements produced in primordial nucleosynthesis, which had time only to turn 25% of the hydrogen into helium.

Question 3

What role did Princeton astronomers play in the research on the Big Bang?

Accepted Answer

Even before Bell Labs found it, they predicted the existence of the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Question 4

Most of the deuterium formed right after the Big Bang

Accepted Answer

A)  turned into dark matter. 
B)  was found in the globular clusters. 
C)  broke down into electrons and neutrons. 
D)  quickly burned into helium nuclei. 
E)  is still around today. 
A)  turned into dark matter. 
B)  was found in the globular clusters. 
C)  broke down into electrons and neutrons. 
D)  quickly burned into helium nuclei. 
E)  is still around today.

Question 5

If the value of H is doubled, it would also double the age of the universe.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

In the Big Bang, about 75% of the normal matter by mass was hydrogen atoms, and the other 25% almost entirely helium.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

The COBE data, combined with computer simulations, strongly supported the epoch, showing how ripples in the background radiation could collapse into galaxies over time.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The COBE data, combined with computer simulations,...

Question 8

Like dark matter, dark energy will also retard the expansion of the universe.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

After the decoupling, the universe was to radiation.

Accepted Answer

The answer of After the decoupling, the universe was to...

Question 10

Deuterium abundance suggests that normal matter makes up only 3- 4% of the critical density.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Relate the age of the universe to the Hubble constant.

Accepted Answer

Inverting the Hubble constant

Question 12

The discovery of the cosmic microwave background was important because

Accepted Answer

A)  its detection was a major advance in microwave testing. 
B)  it established a firm center of the universe. 
C)  it proved that astronomy at radio wavelengths was possible. 
D)  it showed the universe must be closed, with more than the critical density here. 
E)  it was experimental verification of a prediction from the Big Bang theory. 
A)  its detection was a major advance in microwave testing. 
B)  it established a firm center of the universe. 
C)  it proved that astronomy at radio wavelengths was possible. 
D)  it showed the universe must be closed, with more than the critical density here. 
E)  it was experimental verification of a prediction from the Big Bang theory.

Question 13

Einstein's constant has been revived to help us explain dark energy.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Einstein's constant has been revived to help...

Question 14

Decoupling refers to the separation of matter and antimatter during inflation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

The redshift of the galaxies is correctly interpreted as

Accepted Answer

A)  the differences in temperatures and star formation in old and young galaxies. 
B)  a Doppler shift due to the random motions of galaxies in space. 
C)  an aging of light as gravity weakens with time. 
D)  space itself is expanding with time, so the photons are stretched while they travel through space. 
E)  placing our Galaxy near the center of the Local Group. 
A)  the differences in temperatures and star formation in old and young galaxies. 
B)  a Doppler shift due to the random motions of galaxies in space. 
C)  an aging of light as gravity weakens with time. 
D)  space itself is expanding with time, so the photons are stretched while they travel through space. 
E)  placing our Galaxy near the center of the Local Group.

Question 16

The cosmological principle is the ultimate extension of the Copernican principle to the entire universe, in that there is no center at all.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

The radiation era lasted for only the first few billion years of the Big Bang.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The carbon in your DNA was fused in the first few minutes of the Big Bang.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

With a Hubble constant of 70 km/sec/Mpc, the critical density would be

Accepted Answer

A)  3 × 10- 31 g/cc. 
B)  9 × 10- 27 kg/m3. 
C)  6.23 × 10- 23 g/mole. 
D)  4 × 10- 36 g/cc. 
E)  1.4 g/cc. 
A)  3 × 10- 31 g/cc. 
B)  9 × 10- 27 kg/m3. 
C)  6.23 × 10- 23 g/mole. 
D)  4 × 10- 36 g/cc. 
E)  1.4 g/cc.

Question 20

Of normal matter, about 25% of it by mass is still primordial helium even today.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

In the cosmological principle, we can easily test cosmic homogeneity with the redshift surveys, but isotropy cannot be so tested.

Why do population II stars contain almost nothing but hydrogen and helium?

What role did Princeton astronomers play in the research on the Big Bang?

Most of the deuterium formed right after the Big Bang

If the value of H is doubled, it would also double the age of the universe.

In the Big Bang, about 75% of the normal matter by mass was hydrogen atoms, and the other 25% almost entirely helium.

The COBE data, combined with computer simulations, strongly supported the epoch, showing how ripples in the background radiation could collapse into galaxies over time.

Like dark matter, dark energy will also retard the expansion of the universe.

After the decoupling, the universe was to radiation.

Deuterium abundance suggests that normal matter makes up only 3- 4% of the critical density.

Relate the age of the universe to the Hubble constant.

The discovery of the cosmic microwave background was important because

Einstein's constant has been revived to help us explain dark energy.

Decoupling refers to the separation of matter and antimatter during inflation.

The redshift of the galaxies is correctly interpreted as

The cosmological principle is the ultimate extension of the Copernican principle to the entire universe, in that there is no center at all.

The radiation era lasted for only the first few billion years of the Big Bang.

The carbon in your DNA was fused in the first few minutes of the Big Bang.

With a Hubble constant of 70 km/sec/Mpc, the critical density would be

Of normal matter, about 25% of it by mass is still primordial helium even today.

Charting the Heavens: the Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: the Birth of Modern Science

Light and Matter: the Inner Workings of the Cosmos

Telescopes: the Tools of Astronomy

The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets

Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard

The Terrestrial Planets: a Study in Contrasts

The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System

Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants

The Sun: Our Parent Star

Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way

Stellar Evolution: the Lives and Deaths of Stars

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Hubbles Law and Dark Matter: the Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

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Exam 18: Cosmology: the Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

In the cosmological principle, we can easily test cosmic homogeneity with the redshift surveys, but isotropy cannot be so tested.

Why do population II stars contain almost nothing but hydrogen and helium?

What role did Princeton astronomers play in the research on the Big Bang?

Most of the deuterium formed right after the Big Bang

If the value of H is doubled, it would also double the age of the universe.

In the Big Bang, about 75% of the normal matter by mass was hydrogen atoms, and the other 25% almost entirely helium.

The COBE data, combined with computer simulations, strongly supported the epoch, showing how ripples in the background radiation could collapse into galaxies over time.

Like dark matter, dark energy will also retard the expansion of the universe.

After the decoupling, the universe was to radiation.

Deuterium abundance suggests that normal matter makes up only 3- 4% of the critical density.

Relate the age of the universe to the Hubble constant.

The discovery of the cosmic microwave background was important because

Einstein's constant has been revived to help us explain dark energy.

Decoupling refers to the separation of matter and antimatter during inflation.

The redshift of the galaxies is correctly interpreted as

The cosmological principle is the ultimate extension of the Copernican principle to the entire universe, in that there is no center at all.

The radiation era lasted for only the first few billion years of the Big Bang.

The carbon in your DNA was fused in the first few minutes of the Big Bang.

With a Hubble constant of 70 km/sec/Mpc, the critical density would be

Of normal matter, about 25% of it by mass is still primordial helium even today.

Charting the Heavens: the Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: the Birth of Modern Science

Light and Matter: the Inner Workings of the Cosmos

Telescopes: the Tools of Astronomy

The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets

Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard

The Terrestrial Planets: a Study in Contrasts

The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System

Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants

The Sun: Our Parent Star

Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way

Stellar Evolution: the Lives and Deaths of Stars

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Hubbles Law and Dark Matter: the Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

Filters