Introduction to Astronomy
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Introduction to Astronomy offers a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts and phenomena of the universe beyond Earth. Students will explore the structure, scale, and dynamics of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and the broader cosmos. The course covers the history of astronomical discoveries, the use of telescopes and other observational tools, and the principles of celestial mechanics and light. Emphasis is placed on understanding current theories about the origin, evolution, and fate of objects in space, as well as humanity's place in the universe. No prior experience in physics or advanced mathematics is required, making this course accessible to all students interested in exploring the wonders of the night sky.
Recommended Textbook
HorizonsExploring the Universe 14th Edition by Michael A. Seeds
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20 Chapters
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Here and Now
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Sample Questions
Q1) Figure 1-11 is an example of a/an __________________. Choose the best answer.
A)image
B)picture
C)artistic rendering
D)line drawing
Answer: C
Q2) Choose the best answer. The Milky Way Galaxy
A)is part of a cluster of a few dozen galaxies.
B)is about 200 light-years in diameter.
C)is the largest known object in the universe.
D)is part of a cluser of a few dozen galaxies, is about 200 ly in diameter, and is the largest known object in the universe
E)is part of a cluster of a few dozen galaxies and is the largest known object in the universe
Answer: A
Q3) ________________ is the closest star to Earth.
Answer: Sun
Q4) ________ is the smallest planet in the solar system.
Answer: Mercury
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Chapter 2: A Users Guide to the Sky
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Sample Questions
Q1) You lay on your back and watch the stars for an entire night. You focus on one star and notice that it does not rise or set, nor does it trace circles in the sky. What is your latitude on Earth Which star would be at your zenith if you stood up Which significant feature of the celestial sphere lies along your horizon
Answer: +90 degrees, Polaris, celestial equator
Q2) Navigators can find their latitude in the northern hemisphere by measuring the angle from the northern horizon to the north celestial pole.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The celestial equator always passes directly overhead.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) How many constellations are on a celestial sphere How many boundaries are on a celestial sphere Are boundaries unique to a constellation or shared
Answer: 88 constellations, 88 boarders, shared
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4
Chapter 3: Cycles of the Sun and Moon
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Sample Questions
Q1) Give two reasons why summer days are warmer than winter days.
Answer: The Earth's hemisphere that is tilted towards the Sun experiences summer, which means the solar radiation hits this part of the Earth more directly than in winter. Also, the days are longer, so the hemisphere experiencing summer receives sunlight for more hours in a day than in the winter.
Q2) Astronomy is pseudoscience.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) a) If you are on the near side of the Moon, the side facing Earth, describe what you would see of Earth over one lunar cycle. b) If you are on the far side of the Moon, the side facing away from Earth, describe what you would see of Earth over one lunar cycle. Answer: a) You would always be facing Earth and you would see Earth rotate once per Earth day for the entire lunar cycle. b) You would not see Earth at all over the entire lunar cycle.
Q4) If tonight is a full Moon then in about two weeks it will be a _______ Moon.
Answer: new
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Chapter 4: The Origin of Modern Astronomy
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Sample Questions
Q1) An object has been located orbiting the Sun at a distance from the Sun of 65 AU. What is the approximate orbital period of this object
A)65 years
B)275,000 years
C)4225 years
D)8.1 years
E)524 years
Q2) Spring tides occur
A)at new Moon and first-quarter Moon.
B)at first quarter and third-quarter Moons.
C)at new Moon and full Moon.
D)at third-quarter and full Moons.
E)at noon and midnight.
Q3) Tycho failed to detect ______ for the nova of 1572 indicating it was ______.
A)parallax; beyond the orbit of Earth's Moon
B)parallax; inside the Earth's atmosphere close to Earth
C)light; beyond the orbit of Earth's Moon
D)light; inside the Earth's atmosphere close to Earth
Q4) What are Kepler's three laws
Q5) Explain why the spring and neap tides occur periodically.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Light and Telescopes
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Sample Questions
Q1) If your eyes could only see in gamma rays, what color would best describe your view of your surroundings
A)white
B)red
C)violet
D)black
Q2) A wave on a lake is found to have a wavelength of 2 m and a frequency of 0.3 Hz. What is the speed of this wave
Q3) _________________ refers to the ability of a telescope to produce bright images.
Q4) The sidereal drive of a telescope mounting must turn the telescope
A)southward about the polar axis.
B)eastward about the polar axis.
C)westward about the polar axis.
D)northward about the polar axis.
E)None of the other choices are correct.
Q5) Spectrographs use a prism or a grating to spread starlight according to wavelength.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Explain why the majority of large modern telescopes are not refractors.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Atoms and Spectra
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Sample Questions
Q1) Where are neutrons found in the hydrogen atom
A)nucleus
B)cloud surrounding the nucleus
C)outside the atom
D)None of the other choices are correct.
Q2) Diagram 6-2 illustrates a light source, a gas cloud, and three different lines of sight. Along which line of sight would an observer see a continuous spectrum
A)1
B)2
C)3
D)2 and 3
E)none of them
Q3) In the above model of an atom, where is the neutron located, assuming a neutron is present
A)A
B)1
C)2
D)3
Q4) A zero Kelvin temperature is also known as ________________________.
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Chapter 7: The Sun
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Q1) The _________ coincides with the period known as the "little ice age" of Europe and North America. This provides one piece of evidence that suggests a link between solar activity and the amount of solar energy Earth receives.
A)Maunder sunspot minimum
B)Babcock sunspot model
C)coronal hole
D)Coulomb barrier
E)weak solar force
Q2) Discuss a theory that explains how the corona is heated.
Q3) The Sun has a continuous visual spectrum with dark absorption lines. The continuous spectrum is produced by the ____________ layer while the dark absorption lines are produced by ____________layers.
A)inner chromosphere; outer photosphere
B)inner photosphere; outer chromosphere
C)inner chromosphere; outer corona
D)inner corona, outer chromosphere
Q4) How did measurements of neutrinos from the Sun pose a problem for modern astronomy and how was it resolved
Q5) The ______________ force binds atomic nuclei.
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Chapter 8: The Family of Stars
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Sample Questions
Q1) Ross 128 is 1.1 times further than Ross 154. As such, the parallax angle of Ross 128 is 0.9 times larger than Ross 154.
A)True
B)False
Q2) _____ spectral type stars are hotter than _____ spectral type stars.
A)A, K
B)M, F
C)B, O
D)L, G
Q3) The more massive star in a binary system is always farthest from the center of mass.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The spectra of the coolest stars contain strong absorption features (or lines) of A)TiO molecules.
B)ionized helium.
C)helium.
D)hydrogen.
E)All of the other choices are correct.
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Chapter 9: The Formation and Structure of Stars
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Sample Questions
Q1) The interstellar medium is made of ______________.
A)gas
B)dust
C)gas and dust
D)None of these choices are correct.
Q2) The hottest star in the Orion Nebula ____________hydrogen gas and makes it
A)ionizes; glow
B)neutralizse; glow
C)ionizes; swallow the star
Q3) Why is there a lower end to the main sequence
Q4) While on the main sequence a star's primary energy source comes from
A)nuclear fusion.
B)nuclear fission.
C)gravitational potential energy.
D)magnetic fields.
Q5) Ninety percent of all stars fuse helium to form carbon and lie on the main sequence. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: The Deaths of Stars
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Q1) A gas in which the pressure no longer depends on the temperature of the gas is said to be ____________________.
Q2) Before it ejects a planetary nebula, a star is a
A)red giant.
B)black hole.
C)white dwarf.
D)supernova.
Q3) What properties of degenerate matter are important to the structure of stars Why
Q4) Why do higher-mass stars live shorter lives on the main sequence than lower-mass stars
A)Higher-mass stars burn through their nuclear fuel faster.
B)Lower-mass stars don't get their energy from that same nuclear fusion source as higher-mass stars.
C)Higher-mass stars have less hydrogen fuel to burn.
D)Lower-mass stars spend a longer time evolving to the main sequence.
E)All of the other choices are false.
Q5) Helium fusion does not begin until the star has entered the giant region of the H-R diagram.
A)True
B)False
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Neutron Stars and Black Holes
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Q1) The event horizon marks the boundary within which the density is roughly the same as that of the atomic nucleus.
A)True
B)False
Q2) We expect neutron stars to spin rapidly because they conserve angular momentum.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The material that accretes onto a neutron star or black hole is expected to emit X-rays because
A)the material will produce synchrotron radiation.
B)hydrogen nuclei begin to fuse and emit high-energy photons.
C)the material will become hot enough that it will radiate most strongly at X-ray wavelengths.
D)as the material slows down it converts thermal energy to gravitational potential energy.
E)None of the other choices are correct.
Q4) What observational evidence do we have that black holes exist
Q5) Energy lost by an isolated pulsar is carried away by a _____________.
Q6) An object of zero radius is known as a __________________.
Q7) How are neutron stars and white dwarfs similar
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Chapter 12: The Milky Way Galaxy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The age of the Milky Way galaxy has been estimated to be at least 13 billion years based on
A)observations of globular clusters.
B)observations of open clusters.
C)21-cm radiation from H I regions.
D)the rotation curve of the galaxy.
E)the energy produced by Sagittarius A*.
Q2) What behavior do galactic rotation curves exhibit to suggest the existence of dark matter in an extended halo
A)Small velocities are seen at large distances from the galactic center.
B)Small velocities are seen at distances close to the galactic center.
C)Large velocities are seen at large distances from the galactic center.
D)Large velocities are seen at distances close to the galactic center.
Q3) The disk of our galaxy consists of
A)the nine known planets.
B)only stars.
C)stars, dust, and gas.
D)quasars.
E)only black holes.
Q4) _______________ is the rate at which a star moves across the sky.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Galaxies: Normal and Active
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Q1) Soon after discovery, it was observed that quasars had a starlike appearance which was blurred by Earth's atmospheric "seeing". Despite the blurring, it was realized that the intense energy-emitting regions of quasars must be small because they
A)have high radial velocities.
B)are very luminous.
C)are surrounded by quasar fuzz.
D)radiate huge amounts of energy.
E)fluctuate rapidly on time scales as short as a few hours.
Q2) The above visual wavelength image is of a/an ____________-type galaxy.
A)S0
B)elliptical
C)barred spiral
D)spiral (non-barred)
Q3) Double-lobed radio galaxies appear to be emitting jets of gas and radiation.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How does the rotation curve method differ from the analysis of binary stars
Q5) Where jets run into surrounding gas in the intergalactic medium, ____________ are formed before feeding the lobes.
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Chapter 14: Modern Cosmology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT true about the above graph
A)Helium was formed early in the universe but the universe became too cool for the fusion to continue.
B)Recombination occurs at a lower temperature than electron-positron annihilation.
C)A time existed where neither radiation nor matter dominated in the universe.
D)Temperature increases with time.
Q2) Where did the cosmic microwave background (CMB) come from
A)photons emitted from the first stars
B)photons released from hydrogen in our galaxy
C)light scattered by dust in our Solar System
D)photons released when electrons and nuclei combined for the first time
Q3) If the Universe is closed, then its age will be
A)less than two-thirds of 1/H.
B)more than two-thirds of 1/H.
C)equal to 1/H.
D)equal to H squared.
E)equal to the square-root of H.
Q4) How is Olbers's paradox explained
Q5) The ___________ is that the Universe is both isotropic and homogeneous.
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Chapter 15: The Origin of the Solar System
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Q1) Cold dust disks are _____________ disks around main-sequence stars, the dust of which is created by collisions among the planetesimals.
Q2) How does the solar nebula theory account for the presence of comets
Q3) Which one of the following IS NOT a characteristic of terrestrial planets
A)low average density
B)orbits inside the asteroids
C)craters in old surfaces
D)small diameters
E)very few satellites
Q4) Once a terrestrial planet had formed from a large number of planetesimals, heat could have melted it and allowed it to differentiate into a metallic core of ____________density and a rocky mantle or crust of ____________ density.
A)higher; lower
B)lower; higher
C)Wrong! The interior stays solid.
D)Wrong! There is no separation according to density.
Q5) The ____________ of a radioactive substance is the amount of time for the substance to be reduced by half.
Q6) List and describe four differences between Jovians and Terrestrials.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Earth and Moon: Bases for Comparative Planetology
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Q1) in the following cartoon, infrared radiation is bouncing around in the atmosphere of a planet. Which wavelength band of photons passes through the planet's atmosphere as shown above by the longest wave
A)radio
B)infrared
C)visual
D)ultraviolet
Q2) Earth never passed through the cratering stage in planetary development.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What property do greenhouse gases have that allow them to warm a planet
Q4) ____________________ are great lava flows covering 17% of the lunar surface.
Q5) What does the presence of vesicular basalts and breccias among the lunar rock samples tell us about the history of the Moon
Q6) The greenhouse effect occurs because carbon dioxide is opaque to infrared radiation.
A)True
B)False
18
Q7) Why is the ozone layer in Earth's atmosphere important to life on its surface
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Chapter 17: Mercury, Venus, and Mars
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Q1) Flow channels on Venus suggest it was once rich in water.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The terrestrial planet with the most effective greenhouse effect is ____________________.
Q3) How did the four-stage history of Mars differ from that of Earth
Q4) Mars has a sufficient mass and a low enough temperature that water molecules could exist in its atmosphere as vapor. One reason Mars's atmosphere does not contain a significant amount of water vapor is that
A)Mars formed in a part of the solar nebula that lacked oxygen.
B)Mars formed in a part of the solar nebula that lacked hydrogen.
C)all of the water vapor was released in the impact that formed Deimos.
D)ultraviolet radiation breaks the water molecule into less massive particles that can escape.
E)the water molecule combines readily with chlorine to form hydrochloric acid.
Q5) What physical property of Venus is vastly dissimilar compared to Earth
A)radius
B)mass
C)density
D)surface temperature
Page 19
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Chapter 18: The Outer Solar System
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Q1) The visual wavelength image above shows four moons of Jupiter. The furthest one on the right is known as __________.
A)Io
B)Ganymede
C)Callisto
D)Europa
Q2) Auroras on Jupiter have a diameter that is larger than all of Earth.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What type of geological activity is seen on Neptune's moon Triton
A)Plate tectonics and earthquakes are a common occurrence on Triton.
B)Volcanoes of molten lava, similar to Earth, have been seen there.
C)Geysers of liquid nitrogen are seen erupting from its surface.
D)Geysers of liquid water are seen erupting from its surface.
Q4) Why do astronomers think that Saturn's rings are not a permanent feature that has existed since the formation of the planet
Q5) Regular satellites orbit both in the prograde and retrograde directions.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets
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Q1) Most meteors come from comets, but most meteorites come from asteroids. Explain this statement.
Q2) What evidence exists that some of the asteroids were geologically active in the distant past
A)A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to achondrite stony lava-like meteorites.
B)A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
C)A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to Jovian planets.
Q3) One currently accepted theory suggests that the bodies in the Oort cloud formed A)near the present orbits of the terrestrial planets and were then ejected by them. B)near the present orbits of the Jovian planets and were then ejected by them. C)right there in the Oort cloud very far from the Sun.
Q4) Meteorites seem to come from both the asteroid belt and the comets. A)True B)False
Q5) Long-period comets are believed to originate in the ____________.
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Chapter 20: Astrobiology: Life on Other Worlds
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Q1) The water hole is between ____-cm to ____-cm.
Q2) Genetic variation is not random.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is ALH 84001 and why is it significant to discussions of the evolution of life
Q4) List three celestial objects in our solar system that may be good candidates for life and explain why.
Q5) The habitable zone around a star is
A)the region on a planet where conditions are acceptable for life to exist.
B)a region around a star where a planet's temperature would permit the existence of liquid water.
C)very small for a massive star.
D)only found around G and K stars.
E)a region on a young planet where amino acids can begin to form DNA molecules.
Q6) The ____________ molecule is a long carbon-chain molecule that uses information stored in the ____________ molecule to copy the ____________ molecule.
Q7) ____________ are composed of bacterial mats and sediment layers.
Q8) The Miller experiment succeeded in creating ____________.
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