Deck 2: A Universe Made, a Universe Discovered

Question 1

An observer on the dwarf planet Pluto sees the Sun pass through a different set of constellations than an observer on Earth over the course of one orbit.Which of the following best explains this?

A) Pluto is farther from the Sun.
B) Pluto has a longer orbital period than Earth.
C) Pluto's orbit is tilted with respect to Earth's orbit.
D) Pluto has a longer rotation period than Earth.

Answer 1

Pluto's orbit is tilted with respect to Earth's orbit.

Question 2

The following figure shows Earth's orbit around the Sun.Which position corresponds to summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Suppose two of your friends,Alice and Bob,hold identical signs.Alice stands 100 m from you,while Bob stands 400 m from you.Alice's sign occupies an angle ________ as large as Bob's sign.

A) one-quarter
B) half
C) twice
D) four times

Answer 3

four times

Question 4

Each night,an observer in the northern hemisphere sees the stars circle around a point called the:

A) north celestial pole.
B) zenith.
C) declination.
D) solstice.

Question 5

The Sun's path across the celestial sphere over the course of a year is the:

A) zenith.
B) zodiac.
C) ecliptic.
D) analemma.

Question 6

A resident of the Southern Hemisphere observes the Sun's position at noon every day over the course of a year.The Sun will be highest in the sky on:

A) March 21.
B) June 21.
C) September 21.
D) December 21.

Question 7

A resident of the Northern Hemisphere measures the length of daylight every day for a year.The longest day occurs on:

A) March 21.
B) June 21.
C) September 21.
D) December 21.

Question 8

For an observer in the Northern Hemisphere,on which of the following dates does the Sun pass through the lowest altitude point on its analemma?

A) March 21
B) June 21
C) September 21
D) December 21

Question 9

Each night,most stars:

A) remain stationary.
B) rise in the east and set in the west.
C) vary in brightness.
D) pass through the zenith.

Question 10

A scientific model provides a ________ of a natural phenomenon.

A) simplified description
B) testable explanation
C) mathematical treatment
D) physical representation

Question 11

If you observe the Moon to be in the waning gibbous phase tonight,in three days it could be in the ________ phase.

A) new
B) first quarter
C) full
D) third quarter

Question 12

You see two balls in the distance.The blue ball is half a degree across and rests half of a football field away.The red ball is one-quarter of a degree across and rests two football fields away.The red ball is ________ as large as the blue ball.

A) one-quarter
B) one-half
C) two times
D) four times

Question 13

An observer at the equator sees the south celestial pole at what altitude?

A) 90 degrees
B) 45 degrees
C) 0 degrees
D) -90 degrees

Question 14

Suppose you take a snapshot of the night sky at midnight tonight.At what time would you have to observe the sky six months from now in order to find the stars in exactly the same position on the sky? You may assume that you can observe the stars at any time,day or night.

A) sunrise
B) noon
C) sunset
D) midnight

Question 15

Suppose that you observe the sky at midnight and see the star Betelgeuse just rising above the eastern horizon.Where will it be at 6 A.M.?

A) at its highest point
B) halfway between the horizon and at its highest point
C) the horizon
D) the opposite side of Earth

Question 16

On any given day,the primary factor determining the Sun's path on the sky for an observer on Earth is:

A) the phase of the Moon.
B) his or her altitude.
C) his or her longitude.
D) his or her latitude.

Question 17

The constellation Libra is high in the sky at noon during the month of October (though it cannot be seen next to the bright Sun).At what time of year is it high in the sky at midnight?

A) April
B) July
C) October
D) January

Question 18

Which of the following phenomena is primarily due to the elliptical shape of Earth's orbit?

A) the seasons
B) the changing lengths of days
C) the Sun's changing position in the sky
D) none of the above

Question 19

Two people,one in the Brazilian city of Manaus (near the equator)and one in New York City (near 40 degrees north latitude),observe the Sun at noon on June 21.How will their views of the Sun compare?

A) The Sun will appear at the zenith for both observers.
B) The Sun will appear higher in the sky to the observer in Manaus.
C) The Sun will appear higher in the sky to the observer in New York City.
D) The Sun will appear brighter to the observer in Manaus.

Question 20

The constellation Ursa Minor includes Polaris,the North Star,as a member.An observer just north of the equator might:

A) see Ursa Minor rise and set on some nights throughout the year.
B) see Ursa Minor rise and set every night.
C) see Ursa Minor throughout the night, every night of the year.
D) never see Ursa Minor.

Question 21

The Greek figure most responsible for introducing mathematical explanations of natural phenomena was:

A) Plato.
B) Thales.
C) Ptolemy.
D) Pythagoras.

Question 22

At what time of day might the Moon rise when it is in the waning crescent phase?

A) midnight
B) 3 A.M.
C) noon
D) 3 P.M.

Question 23

While driving at sunrise,you see the Moon high in the sky,with the eastern face bright.What phase must it be?

A) new
B) first quarter
C) full
D) third quarter

Question 24

Solar eclipses are rare because the:

A) Moon and the Sun are different sizes on the sky.
B) Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted with respect to Earth's equator.
C) Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted with respect to Earth's orbit around the Sun.
D) Moon is not in the correct phase.

Question 25

From night to night,planets typically move:

A) east to west relative to the background stars.
B) east to west at the same rate as the background stars.
C) west to east relative to the background stars.
D) away from the ecliptic.

Question 26

The earliest ancient civilization known to have observed and recorded the positions of the planets over long periods was the:

A) Greeks.
B) Egyptians.
C) Romans.
D) Babylonians.

Question 27

If you fall under the Moon's penumbra during a solar eclipse,what kind of eclipse will you see?

A) total
B) annular
C) partial
D) nodal

Question 28

Imagine that the Moon's orbit was tilted with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun by LESS than the actual value of 5 degrees.What is the most likely consequence?

A) The phases of the Moon would change more frequently.
B) The new Moon would be easier to see during the day.
C) Solar eclipses would be more frequent.
D) Tides would be weaker.

Question 29

You observe a lunar eclipse.In what phase must the Moon be?

A) first quarter
B) full
C) third quarter
D) new

Question 30

If an observer on Earth views the Moon to be in a full phase,in what phase would an observer on the Moon view Earth to have?

A) new
B) waxing crescent
C) waning gibbous
D) full

Question 31

Which of the following astronomical sources always appears near the ecliptic?

A) galaxies
B) stars
C) planets
D) the Milky Way

Question 32

What kind of eclipse is shown in the image below?

A) total lunar
B) partial lunar
C) annular
D) total solar

Question 33

If you know that Mercury is going to be visible,at what time and where in the sky would you look for it?

A) near sunrise, on the eastern horizon
B) near sunset, on the eastern horizon
C) at midnight, high in the sky
D) at midnight, on the western horizon

Question 34

Megaliths like Stonehenge provided astronomical information to ancient societies,including predictions of:

A) retrograde motion.
B) eclipses.
C) seasonal changes.
D) Moon phases.

Question 35

Which of the following does NOT correctly characterize a planet's motion on the sky?

A) Planets vary in brightness over the course of a year.
B) Planets remain near the ecliptic.
C) Planets occasionally move west to east across the sky during a single night.
D) Planets change their locations relative to the background stars from night to night.

Question 36

A synodic month is about two days longer than a sidereal month.Why?

A) The Earth-Moon system is revolving around the Sun.
B) The Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted with respect to Earth's orbit around the Sun.
C) The Moon must follow the ecliptic.
D) The Moon's distance from Earth varies across its orbit.

Question 37

At what time of day does the Moon rise above the horizon when it is in the first quarter phase?

A) 6 P.M.
B) midnight
C) 6 A.M.
D) noon

Question 38

Which of the following phases of the Moon occurs when Earth is between the Sun and the Moon?

A) new
B) third quarter
C) full
D) first quarter

Question 39

While a planet is undergoing retrograde motion,what direction does it move relative to the stars?

A) east to west
B) west to east
C) north to south
D) south to north

Question 40

The Babylonians were important to the history of astronomy for all of the following EXCEPT:

A) recognizing the periodicity of astronomical phenomena.
B) measuring the diameter of Earth.
C) offering mathematical predictions of the lengths of days.
D) keeping detailed records of astronomical observations.

Question 41

Place the following ancient astronomers in chronological order,from earliest to most recent:

A) Pythagoras, Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Aristotle.
B) Pythagoras, Aristotle, Hipparchus, Ptolemy.
C) Aristotle, Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Hipparchus.
D) Aristotle, Ptolemy, Hipparchus, Aristotle.

Question 42

Describe the changing appearance of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse.

Question 43

Which of the following objects will have the largest parallax?

A) a 1-m wide cold object that is 10 km away
B) a 10-m wide hot object that is 8 km away
C) a 5-m wide hot object that is 1 km away
D) a 100-m wide cold object that is 100 km away

Question 44

The principle of Occam's Razor would favor which of the following hypotheses?

A) a simple explanation for many experimental results
B) a rigorous mathematical explanation of an experimental result
C) an intuitive explanation of an experimental result
D) a predictive theory

Question 45

According to Ptolemy's model,a planet undergoing retrograde motion on the sky would be moving on its epicycle:

A) in the opposite direction to the orbit of the epicycle's center.
B) in the same direction to the orbit of the epicycle's center.
C) away from Earth.
D) toward Earth.

Question 46

Describe the nightly motion of a circumpolar star.

Question 47

In order to explain the varying speed of the planets across the night sky,Ptolemy's model introduced:

A) elliptical orbits.
B) the equant.
C) the celestial sphere.
D) synodic months.

Question 48

Label the phases of the Moon shown in the following diagram.Assume that the phases occur chronologically from left to right in the figure.

Question 49

The following figure shows Earth,the Sun,and three stars,A,B,and C.Where will these stars appear for an observer on the equator at sunset and at midnight?

Question 50

How does the location at which the Sun rises change across the year,for an observer in the Northern Hemisphere?

Question 51

The astronomer responsible for developing the stellar magnitude system still in use today was:

A) Herschel.
B) Ptolemy.
C) Hipparchus.
D) Tycho Brahe.

Question 52

What is a solar day? Why is it longer than a sidereal day?

Question 53

The lack of periodic movement of any stars over the course of a year was taken by Greek astronomers to be good evidence for:

A) Platonic ideals.
B) the heliocentric model.
C) Aristotelian physics.
D) the geocentric model.

Question 54

Suppose you stand on an asteroid that rotates in the opposite sense to Earth (in other words,if viewed from above the solar system they rotate in opposite directions from each other)but otherwise has the same orbital properties as Earth.To an observer on this asteroid,what would the path of the stars look like over the course of one "night"?

Question 55

Suppose Earth were tilted 40° relative to the plane of its orbit (rather than 23.5°).How would the seasons change?

Question 56

Ptolemy's formulation provided the first successful set of accurate predictions for the:

A) retrograde motion of the planets.
B) annual motion of the Sun across the constellations.
C) precession of Earth's rotation axis.
D) phases of the Moon.

Question 57

The earliest ancient civilization known to have developed the geocentric model to explain the motions of the heavens was the:

A) Egyptians.
B) Greeks.
C) Romans.
D) Babylonians.

Question 58

The angular size of the Moon is about 30 arcminutes,while its true diameter is 3,500 km.How far from Earth is the Moon?

Question 59

The astronomer who used the geocentric model to make accurate predictions of planetary positions was:

A) Herschel.
B) Ptolemy.
C) Hipparchus.
D) Tycho Brahe.

Question 60

What aspect of Ptolemy's model would account for the changes in a planet's brightness as it undergoes retrograde motion?

A) the equant
B) motion along multiple epicycles
C) the velocity of an epicycle
D) the radius of an epicycle

Question 61

Why are solar eclipses sometimes annular?

Question 62

Why was the development of cities important to the development of astronomy?

Question 63

Describe how Ptolemy's geocentric model accounted for the retrograde motions of the planets.

Question 64

Describe the phenomenon of retrograde motion.What astronomical sources undergo it?

Question 65

You observe a bright object one night near the North Star at midnight.It does not twinkle.Can this object be a planet? Why or why not?

Question 66

Suppose you traveled back in time and explained to ancient Greek astronomers the true distance to the nearest star.Why might this single fact have convinced them that the heliocentric model was correct?

Question 67

The figure below shows the Earth,Moon,and Sun system at four different points during the month.Label the phase of the Moon that occurs at each point.At what time of day will an observer on Earth see each of these phases reach its highest point in the sky?

Question 68

Compare and contrast the methodology Aristotle used to arrive at his model of the Universe with the scientific method.

Question 69

Describe Eratosthenes' most important astronomical achievement.

Question 70

To the naked eye,planets and stars both appear as points of light on the night sky.Describe two methods to determine whether a particular source is a planet.

Question 71

Most Greek astronomers took the lack of a stellar parallax as evidence against the heliocentric model.What is the true explanation for the lack of an apparent parallax?