Question 1

A scientific theory can be shown to be wrong if:

Accepted Answer

A)  cultural beliefs evolve to contradict it 
B)  scientists gather new data that contradicts its predictions 
C)  it cannot explain all phenomena 
D)  it was first proposed as a conjecture 
E)  a majority of people do not accept it

Question 2

What is the approximate number of stars in the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

A)  10 million 
B)  300 million 
C)  10 billion 
D)  300 billion 
E)  1 trillion

Question 3

The number 123,000 written in scientific notation is:

Accepted Answer

A)  1.23 *106 
B)  1.23 * 105 
C)  1.23 * 10-3 
D)  1.23 *10-6 
E)  1.23 *103

Question 4

Suppose you were writing to a pen pal in another universe. What address would you put on the envelope that included all the major structures in which we reside? (Hint: Your cosmic address should begin with "Earth" and end with "the universe.")

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose you were writing to a pen...

Question 5

A light-year is a unit commonly used in astronomy as a measure of:

Accepted Answer

A)  time 
B)  speed 
C)  mass 
D)  distance 
E)  acceleration

Question 6

(6 * 105) * (3 * 10-2)=

Accepted Answer

A)  1.8 * 103 
B)  1.8 * 104 
C)  1.8 * 106 
D)  1.80 * 103 
E)  1.8 *10-3

Question 7

If the diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years, then our galaxy is _________ times larger than our Solar System. For reference, Pluto's orbit has an approximate diameter of 80 AU.

Accepted Answer

A)  100 
B)  1,000 
C)  10,000 
D)  106 
E)  108

Question 8

Which of the graphs shown below illustrates a linear relationship between the variables x and y?

Accepted Answer

A)  (a) 
B)  (b) 
C)  Both (a) and (b) show linear relationships. 
D)  Neither (a) nor (b) show linear relationships.

Question 9

The volume of a sphere is related to its radius by the formula  . Using algebra to invert this formula, we find that:

Accepted Answer

A) 
 
B) 
 
C) 
 
D) 
 
E)

Question 10

If the radius of sphere B is 5 times the radius of sphere A, then the ratio of the volume of sphere B to the volume of sphere A is:

Accepted Answer

A)  0.008 
B)  0.2 
C)  5 
D)  25 
E)  125

Question 11

The word astronomy means:

Accepted Answer

A)  "patterns among the stars" 
B)  "to study the stars" 
C)  "discovering the universe" 
D)  "the movement of the stars" 
E)  "personality traits set by the stars"

Question 12

Which of the following is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Local Group is a member of the Virgo Supercluster, which contains thousands of galaxies. 
B)  The Local Group contains two large spiral galaxies and a few dozen dwarf galaxies. 
C)  Our Solar System has eight classical planets. 
D)  The Milky Way galaxy contains approximately 100 million stars. 
E)  The Virgo Supercluster is one of many superclusters in the universe

Question 13

What is the only thing that makes the Sun an exceptional star?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the only thing that makes...

Question 14

Our Sun is one of the most massive and luminous stars in the Milky Way.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Describe the two main aspects of the cosmological principle.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the two main aspects of the...

Question 16

Pluto is the only dwarf planet in our Solar System.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Using the method of comparing distances to time intervals to get a handle on the large distances in astronomy, compare the diameter of our Solar System, which is 6 * 10¹² to the diameter of the Galaxy, which is 1.2 * 10²¹ by calculating the time it would take for light to travel these diameters. For reference, the speed of light is 3 * 10⁸ m/s.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Using the method of comparing distances to...

Question 18

The scientific method is a process by which scientists:

Accepted Answer

A)  prove theories to be known facts 
B)  gain confidence in theories by failing to prove them wrong 
C)  show all theories to be wrong 
D)  test the ideas of Aristotle 
E)  survey what the majority of people think about a theory

Question 19

If you compared the diameter of the Earth, which is 13,000 km, to 1 second, then what unit of time would be equivalent to the size of the Milky Way, whose diameter is 1021 m, and what significant milestone would this time correspond to in our evolution?

Accepted Answer

A)  2 million years, the length of time humans have existed on Earth 
B)  30,000 years, the length of time humans have lived in North America 
C)  400 years, the length of time humans have been exploring the skies with telescopes 
D)  4 billion years, the age of the Solar System 
E)  14 billion years, the age of the universe

Question 20

Describe briefly why the phrase "we are stardust" is literally true.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe briefly why the phrase "we are...

Exam 1: Why Learn Astronomy

A scientific theory can be shown to be wrong if:

What is the approximate number of stars in the Milky Way?

The number 123,000 written in scientific notation is:

Suppose you were writing to a pen pal in another universe. What address would you put on the envelope that included all the major structures in which we reside? (Hint: Your cosmic address should begin with "Earth" and end with "the universe.")

A light-year is a unit commonly used in astronomy as a measure of:

(6 * 10⁵) * (3 * 10^-²) =

If the diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years, then our galaxy is _________ times larger than our Solar System. For reference, Pluto's orbit has an approximate diameter of 80 AU.

Which of the graphs shown below illustrates a linear relationship between the variables x and y?

The volume of a sphere is related to its radius by the formula . Using algebra to invert this formula, we find that:

If the radius of sphere B is 5 times the radius of sphere A, then the ratio of the volume of sphere B to the volume of sphere A is:

The word astronomy means:

Which of the following is FALSE?

What is the only thing that makes the Sun an exceptional star?

Our Sun is one of the most massive and luminous stars in the Milky Way.

Describe the two main aspects of the cosmological principle.

Pluto is the only dwarf planet in our Solar System.

The scientific method is a process by which scientists:

If you compared the diameter of the Earth, which is 13,000 km, to 1 second, then what unit of time would be equivalent to the size of the Milky Way, whose diameter is 10²¹ m, and what significant milestone would this time correspond to in our evolution?

Describe briefly why the phrase "we are stardust" is literally true.

Exam 1: Why Learn Astronomy

A scientific theory can be shown to be wrong if:

What is the approximate number of stars in the Milky Way?

The number 123,000 written in scientific notation is:

Suppose you were writing to a pen pal in another universe. What address would you put on the envelope that included all the major structures in which we reside? (Hint: Your cosmic address should begin with "Earth" and end with "the universe.")

A light-year is a unit commonly used in astronomy as a measure of:

(6 * 105) * (3 * 10-2) =

If the diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years, then our galaxy is _________ times larger than our Solar System. For reference, Pluto's orbit has an approximate diameter of 80 AU.

Which of the graphs shown below illustrates a linear relationship between the variables x and y?

The volume of a sphere is related to its radius by the formula . Using algebra to invert this formula, we find that:

If the radius of sphere B is 5 times the radius of sphere A, then the ratio of the volume of sphere B to the volume of sphere A is:

The word astronomy means:

Which of the following is FALSE?

What is the only thing that makes the Sun an exceptional star?

Our Sun is one of the most massive and luminous stars in the Milky Way.

Describe the two main aspects of the cosmological principle.

Pluto is the only dwarf planet in our Solar System.

The scientific method is a process by which scientists:

If you compared the diameter of the Earth, which is 13,000 km, to 1 second, then what unit of time would be equivalent to the size of the Milky Way, whose diameter is 1021 m, and what significant milestone would this time correspond to in our evolution?

Describe briefly why the phrase "we are stardust" is literally true.

(6 * 10⁵) * (3 * 10^-²) =

If you compared the diameter of the Earth, which is 13,000 km, to 1 second, then what unit of time would be equivalent to the size of the Milky Way, whose diameter is 10²¹ m, and what significant milestone would this time correspond to in our evolution?