Fundamentals of Astronomy Study Guide Questions
Course
Introduction
Fundamentals of Astronomy introduces students to the basic principles and concepts that underpin the science of astronomy. The course covers the history and development of astronomical thought, the nature and dynamics of celestial bodies, the structure of the universe, and the tools and techniques astronomers use to observe the cosmos.
Topics include the solar system, stars, galaxies, cosmic phenomena, and the physical laws governing celestial motions. Emphasis is placed on the scientific method, observational skills, and the contributions of modern astronomy to our understanding of the universe.
Recommended Textbook
Astronomy The Universe at a Glance 1st Edition by Eric Chaisson
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Night Sky
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Sample Questions
Q1) Of all visible objects in the celestial sphere, which appears to move the least? Why?
Answer: Polaris, because it lies very close to the north celestial pole, making everything else seem to revolve around it as the Earth rotates on its axis daily.
Q2) If the Moon rises exactly at sunset, what will its phase be? Why?
Answer: The phase will be full because it is rising opposite the Sun. If the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky, its phase will be full.
Q3) Early astronomers picture the Earth as stationary, with the ________ spinning, moving the stars along with it.
Answer: celestial sphere
Q4) Why are some solar eclipses total, and others annular?
Answer: The Moon's orbit is not a perfect circle. When the Moon is closer to Earth it is big enough to cover the Sun completely; when it it is too far away it appears smaller, so a ring of sunlight is still seen.
Q5) Only at the equator are all the stars visible over the course of the year.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Light and Telescopes
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Sample Questions
Q1) In an atom, electrons can have only specific, allowed orbital energies.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The number of waves passing the observer per second is
A) the wavelength in angstroms.
B) the amplitude in nm.
C) the frequency in Hertz.
D) the period in seconds.
E) the energy in milliwatts.
Answer: C
Q3) A wave's velocity is the product of the
A) frequency times the period of the wave.
B) period times the energy of the wave.
C) amplitude times the frequency of the wave.
D) frequency times the wavelength of the wave.
E) amplitude times the wavelength of the wave.
Answer: D
Q4) The Sun's blackbody curve peaks in the ________ portion of the spectrum.
Answer: visible
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Chapter 3: The Solar System
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Sample Questions
Q1) A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The orbits of most of the planets in our solar system have eccentricities close to zero.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Which of the following are the jovian planets?
A) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
B) Only Jupiter
C) Only Jupiter and Saturn
D) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune only
E) Everything past Mars and the asteroid belt
Answer: D
Q4) According to Newton's second law, when the same force acts on two bodies, the body with the larger mass will have the ________ acceleration.
Answer: smaller
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Chapter 4: Earth and Its Moon
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the primary source of erosion on the Moon today?
Q2) Which statement about seismic waves is TRUE?
A) Only S waves can travel through liquid.
B) P waves travel faster, and thus arrive sooner than do the S waves.
C) In the shadow zones, neither type is observed.
D) S waves can travel though the outer core, but P waves cannot.
E) On the far side of the Earth, only the S waves on the surface can be detected.
Q3) Like other solid bodies in the solar system, Earth's surface was kept molten by A) radioactivity.
B) differentiation.
C) convection.
D) bombardment by small bodies.
E) the solar nebula.
Q4) Almost all of our atmospheric gases lie in the
A) ionosphere.
B) stratosphere.
C) troposphere.
D) ozone layer.
E) mesosphere.
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Chapter 5: The Eight Planets
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most striking and largest valley in the solar system is
A) the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
B) Gwenivere on Venus.
C) the Discovery Scarp of Mercury.
D) Valles Marineris on Mars.
E) Valhalla on Callisto.
Q2) Jupiter puts back into space twice the energy it gets from the Sun.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Compared to Jupiter, Saturn's upper atmosphere is notably lacking in the element
Q4) Mars has a weak magnetic field.
A)True B)False
Q5) Jupiter has a large ________ created by the interaction between the planet's magnetic field and the solar wind.
Q6) Compare and contrast the magnetospheres of Earth and Jupiter. Discuss strength and reaction to solar winds.
Q7) What evidence is there for liquid water under Europa's surface?
Page 7
Q8) Explain where the energy to keep water liquid in Europa comes from?
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Chapter 6: Small Bodies in the Solar System
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Q1) When a formal definition of a planet in the solar system was adopted, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. What characteristic of planets does not describe Pluto?
A) Planets orbit the sun.
B) Planets are approximately spherical.
C) Planets have cleared the neighborhood around their orbit.
D) Planets orbit in ellipses with low eccentricity.
E) Planets orbit in or very near the ecliptic plane.
Q2) What is thought to be the cause of Io's volcanoes?
A) Jupiter's magnetosphere and its charged particles
B) Jupiter's gravity and the heat it creates
C) Tidal stresses from both Jupiter and Europa
D) Solar radiation focused by Jupiter's gravity
E) Radioactive decay in Io's interior
Q3) How were the rings of Uranus discovered? How have they since been imaged from Earth better?
Q4) Pluto is visible to the naked eye on extremely dark nights.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What will happen to Triton in the distant future, based on its present orbit?
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Chapter 7: Formation of Planetary Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Jupiter and the other jovian planets may have formed significantly closer to the Sun than their current orbits.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Briefly outline the theory or hypothesis which best explains the origin of the solar system.
Q3) When looking for the "Doppler Wobble" (radial velocity changes detected due to Doppler shifts), which mass combination is most likely to be detected?
A) High mass star, high mass planet
B) High mass star, low mass planet
C) Low mass star, high mass planet
D) Low mass star, low mass planet
E) A high mass planet; the mass of the star is irrelevant.
Q4) Extrasolar planets are placed in groups by their approximate masses. What are four of these classes?
Q5) Comets that we can see originate in the ________ and ________.
Q6) Around other suns, we have found Jupiters where Mercury should be.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Sun
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the proton-proton cycle, the positron is
A) massless.
B) a spin conservation particle.
C) an anti-electron.
D) the chief means energy reaches the photosphere.
E) intermediate between the proton and neutron in mass.
Q2) What do sunspots tell us about the Sun's rotation rate?
Q3) In the proton-proton cycle, you must first make deuterium, then helium.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Sunspots are only about 2,000 K cooler than the much brighter photosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Solar activity cannot disrupt communications on Earth.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What are the main constituents of the solar wind?
Q7) A sunbather on the clear day is receiving about 500 watts of solar power.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Measuring the Stars
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ________ magnitude of a star depends directly upon its luminosity and distance.
Q2) In order to turn a star's proper motion into its space velocity, we must also know
A) its mass and spectral type.
B) its temperature and age.
C) its distance and radial velocity.
D) its distance and mass.
E) its spectral type and period of rotation.
Q3) What types of observations are necessary to determine the absolute luminosity of a star?
Q4) In a spectroscopic binary, the star whose lines shift the most weighs the most.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Hydrogen lines are weaker in both very hot and very cool stars.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Capella is the same temperature as our Sun, but about ten times the Sun's diameter; it must be about ________ times as luminous as our star.
Q7) Why must both parallax and proper motion be known to give transverse velocity?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Star Formation and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) During various stages of evolution, low mass stars (like the Sun) differ significantly from high mass stars. How do they differ in terms of observational properties while Main Sequence stars?
Q2) All globular clusters in our Milky Way are about how old?
A) Less than a million years
B) Ten-fifty million years old
C) One to three billion years old
D) Around ten billion years old
E) A variety of ages, from newly born to twenty billion years old
Q3) When a low-mass star runs out of hydrogen in its core, it gets brighter. Why?
Q4) The Main Sequence is the first stellar stage in which energy produced by ________ balances the energy lost by radiation from the surface of the star.
Q5) The stars found in nebulae like the Orion Nebula probably formed
A) within the last few million years.
B) about 10 million years ago.
C) hundreds of millions of years ago.
D) billions of years ago.
E) at the beginning of the universe.
Q6) The Trifid Nebula is an example of a(n) ________ nebula.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Stellar Explosions
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are two differences observed between Type I and Type II supernovae?
Q2) The element with the most stable nucleus and smallest mass per particle is A) uranium.
B) argon.
C) helium.
D) hydrogen.
E) iron.
Q3) What would happen if mass is added to a 1.4 solar mass white dwarf?
A) The star would explode as a nova.
B) The star's radius would increase.
C) The star would immediately collapse into a black hole.
D) The star would erupt as a carbon detonation (type I) supernova.
E) The core would collapse as a type II supernova.
Q4) What makes the Crab Nebula supernova remnant unusual as a supernova remnant?
A) It is the biggest supernova remnant visible.
B) It is the remnant of a supernova that was observed in the 20th century.
C) It is the nearest supernova remnant.
D) It is the oldest supernova remnant known.
E) It is the remnant of a supernova observed by humans.
Q5) How are elements heavier than iron made? Why are they rare?
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Chapter 12: Black Holes
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Sample Questions
Q1) How can a black hole of a few solar masses be detected?
Q2) An accelerating frame of reference cannot be distinguished from a gravitational field.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following can actually escape from inside a black hole's event horizon?
A) Neutrinos
B) Electrons
C) Very high energy gamma-rays
D) Protons
E) None of the above
Q4) The densely packed neutrons of a neutron star cannot balance the inward pull of gravity if the total mass is
A) less than 1.0 solar masses.
B) greater than Schwartzschild's limit of 3 solar masses.
C) Chandrasekhar's limit of 1.4 solar masses.
D) between 1.4 and 2.0 solar masses.
E) greater than 25 solar masses.
Q5) Something falling into a black hole will be ________ by tides.
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Chapter 13: The Milky Way Galaxy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The major problem faced by optical astronomers in trying to deduce the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy is that we can see only a small part of it because of the
Q2) Which method relies on the mass of a dark object revealing its presence?
A) Asteroidal occultations
B) Ring occultations
C) Stellar eclipses
D) Temporary brightening of a distant star by a gravity lens
E) Pulsars slowing down irregularly
Q3) The core of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A, is a strong radio source in the sky.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Most of the mass of the Milky Way seems to exist in the form of
A) young stars in the disk.
B) old stars in the Galactic halo.
C) hydrogen gas in the disk and spiral arms.
D) dark matter out in the Galactic halo.
E) the black hole in the Galactic center.
Q5) Why do we believe there is dark matter?
Q6) How old is the Galaxy? How do we know this?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Galaxies
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the Magellanic Clouds? What happened in the LMC in 1987?
Q2) Quasars usually have their distances measured by what technique?
A) Type II supernovae
B) Cepheids
C) Parallax
D) Hubble's Law
E) Tully-Fisher relation
Q3) Collisions between galaxies is thought to
A) have stopped about 5 billion years ago.
B) be commonplace.
C) have never occurred.
D) be extremely rare.
E) have only occurred between 10 and 15 billion years ago.
Q4) From studies of the masses of individual galaxies and the masses of clusters of galaxies, it is now apparent that up to ________ of the universe is composed of dark matter.
Q5) Why is it that the quasars we see represent a time when the universe was younger?
Q6) The energy source for active galactic nuclei is probably a(n) ________ around a supermassive black hole.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Cosmology and the Universe
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Sample Questions
Q1) Is the cosmological red shift really a velocity of a given galaxy?
Q2) The fate or future of the universe depends only on the total number of galaxies and quasars.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What was there just after the Big Bang?
A) Nothing
B) The primeval fireball
C) A singularity
D) A black hole
E) Everything was inside Earth.
Q4) What is the cosmic microwave background, and why is it significant?
Q5) The cosmological redshift is a direct measure of the expansion of the universe, thus independent of direction.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What factors would determine that we live in a matter-dominated universe?
Q7) Why were elements heavier than helium not produced during the Big Bang?
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Q8) Is there enough luminous matter to stop the universe's expansion? Is there enough dark matter? What else is there?