Physics of the Universe
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Course Introduction
Physics of the Universe explores the fundamental principles governing the cosmos, from the smallest subatomic particles to the vast expanse of galaxies. This course examines topics such as the Big Bang theory, the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies, black holes, dark matter, and dark energy. Students will gain an understanding of the basic laws of physics that describe the structure and history of the universe, as well as the observational techniques and experimental evidence that support modern cosmological theories. Emphasis is placed on developing scientific reasoning and critical thinking skills to analyze current discoveries and unresolved questions in astrophysics and cosmology.
Recommended Textbook
The Essential Cosmic Perspective 6th Edition by Jeffrey O. Bennett
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Chapter 1: Our Place in the Universe
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Sample Questions
Q1) By studying distant galaxies in the 1920s, Hubble made the following important discovery that led us to conclude that the universe is expanding.
A) All galaxies contain billions of stars, and all galaxies have spiral shapes.
B) All galaxies were born at the same time, and all will die at the same time.
C) All galaxies outside the Local Group are moving away from us, and the farther away they are, the faster they're going.
D) All galaxies outside the Local Group are orbiting the Local Group.
E) All galaxies outside the Local Group are moving away from us, and all are moving away at nearly the same speed.
Answer: C
Q2) Based on observations of the universal expansion, the age of the universe is about
A) 14,000 years
B) 14 million years
C) 14 billion years
D) 14 trillion years
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Discovering the Universe for Yourself
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose you lived on the Moon near the center of the face that we see from Earth. At what phase of the Moon would you see sunset? What phase of Earth would you see at this time?
Answer: Sunset would occur at the Moon's third-quarter phase. You would see Earth in first-quarter phase at this time.
Q2) When someone on Earth observes the Moon in the first-quarter phase, someone on the Moon facing Earth observes Earth in the A) new Earth phase.
B) first-quarter Earth phase.
C) crescent Earth phase.
D) third-quarter Earth phase.
E) full Earth phase.
Answer: D
Q3) At midnight it is sometimes possible to observe the crescent moon on the meridian. A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: The Science of Astronomy
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Sample Questions
Q1) During the Dark Ages in Europe, the scientific work of the ancient Greeks was preserved and further developed primarily by scholars in
A) Baghdad.
B) Greece.
C) Rome.
D) India.
E) China.
Answer: A
Q2) What practical value did astronomy offer to ancient civilizations?
A) It helped them keep track of time and seasons, and it was used by some cultures for navigation.
B) It allowed them to predict eclipses with great accuracy.
C) It helped them understand our cosmic origins.
D) It helped them find uses for ancient structures like Stonehenge.
Answer: A
Q3) Scientific theories can never be proved true beyond all doubt.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding
Motion, Energy, and Gravity
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to what we now know from Newton's laws, which of the following best explains why Kepler's second law is true?
A) A planet's total orbital energy must be conserved as it moves around its orbit.
B) Orbits must be elliptical in shape.
C) Gravity is an inverse cube law.
D) This effect happens because of the influence of other planets on a particular planet's orbit.
Q2) Momentum is defined as ________.
A) mass times velocity
B) mass times speed
C) force times velocity
D) mass times acceleration
Q3) Suppose a satellite is in a low-Earth orbit. Is it possible that the satellite will eventually fall to the ground? Why or why not?
Q4) The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Give an example in which kinetic energy can be converted to thermal energy.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Light: the Cosmic Messenger
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Q1) The spectra of most galaxies show redshifts. This means that their spectral lines
A) have wavelengths that are longer than normal
B) always are in the red part of the visible spectrum
C) have wavelengths that are shorter than normal
D) have a higher intensity in the red part of the spectrum
Q2) Studying a spectrum from a star can tell us a lot. All of the following statements are true except one. Which statement is not true?
A) The total amount of light in the spectrum tells us the star's radius.
B) The peak of the star's thermal emission tells us its temperature: hotter stars peak at shorter (bluer) wavelengths.
C) We can identify chemical elements present in the star by recognizing patterns of spectral lines that correspond to particular chemicals.
D) Shifts in the wavelengths of spectral lines compared to the wavelengths of those same lines measured in a laboratory on Earth can tell us the star's speed toward or away from us.
Q3) Atomic number refers to ________.
Q4) State the two laws of thermal radiation.
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Chapter 6: Formation of Planetary Systems: Our Solar
System and Beyond
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Sample Questions
Q1) Astronomers now classify Pluto as really just a large member of
A) the asteroid belt.
B) the Kuiper belt.
C) the Oort cloud.
D) the moon system around Neptune.
E) an extrasolar planetary system.
Q2) Which planet has a ring system?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) All of the above
Q3) The astrometric technique of planet detection works best for A) large planets around nearby stars.
B) massive planets around nearby stars.
C) large planets around distant stars.
D) massive planets around distant stars.
E) planets in edge-on orbits.
Q4) Briefly describe the three most commonly used methods of indirect planet detection.
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Chapter 7: Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most of the Moon's surface is densely covered with craters, but we find relatively few craters within the lunar maria. What can we conclude?
A) The maria formed after the heavy bombardment ended.
B) The maria formed within the past 1 billion years.
C) The regions of the maria were hit by fewer impacts than the densely cratered regions.
D) Erosion affects the maria more than it affects other regions of the Moon.
Q2) Which of the following planets has the least substantial atmosphere?
A) Venus
B) Earth
C) Mars
D) Neptune
E) Mercury
Q3) From where did the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere originate?
A) photosynthesis from plant life and single-celled organisms
B) chemical reactions between gas in the upper atmosphere and the solar wind
C) outgassing from volcanoes
D) atmospheric bombardment
E) oxidation of surface rocks
Q4) Why do we think Mercury contracted after it formed?
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Chapter 8: Jovian Planet Systems
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Q1) Why is Neptune denser than Saturn?
A) It has a different composition than Saturn, including a higher proportion of hydrogen compounds and rocks.
B) It has a greater proportion of hydrogen than Saturn.
C) The extra mass of Neptune compresses its interior to a greater extent than that of Saturn.
D) Its hydrogen is molecular, whereas Saturn's hydrogen is atomic.
E) It is not denser than Saturn.
Q2) The water-ice particles forming Saturn's rings are frozen together into a thin sheet that rotates around Saturn like a solid body.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Contrast Jupiter's magnetosphere with that of Earth and of the other jovian planets.
Q4) Explain how the resonance among Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes their orbits slightly elliptical.
Q5) What is "ice geology"? Give an example illustrating why it is important in the outer solar system.
Q6) Why is Triton such an unusual satellite?
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Chapter 9: Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets: Their
Nature, Orbits, and Impacts
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Q1) Classification in Science: Usually, the first task of any science is to classify the available observations. Often, the initial classification scheme reflects the historical order of discovery in addition to nature itself. In this question, we will use our solar system as an example. Make a complete list of all of the solar system components that you have studied in the last three chapters. Then try to place this list in historical order of discovery. For example, start your list with the Sun, Moon, Earth, and 5 "classical" planets, which have been known for all of human history, and end your list with Eris, the largest currently known Kuiper Belt object. Can you see the historical order of discovery reflected in the classification of objects on your list? Have there been occasions when this classification scheme has been revised? Finally, does the classification scheme for the solar system introduce any artificial divisions, making strict categories from objects with a continuous range of properties?
Q2) How many moons is Pluto known to have?
A) None
B) One
C) Two
D) Three
E) Four
Q3) Why is Pluto now considered to be a Kuiper-belt object?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Our Star
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Q1) What is the solar wind?
A) A stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
B) The uppermost layer of the Sun, lying just above the corona
C) The strong wind that blows sunspots around on the surface of the Sun
D) The wind that causes huge arcs of gas to rise above the Sun's surface
Q2) At the center of the Sun, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen into
A) hydrogen compounds such as methane.
B) molecular hydrogen.
C) radiation and elements such as carbon and nitrogen.
D) radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium.
E) helium, gamma rays, and neutrinos.
Q3) The fundamental nuclear reaction occurring in the core of the Sun is ________.
A) nuclear fission
B) radioactive decay
C) nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium
D) nuclear fusion of helium into carbon
Q4) The proton-proton chain converts four hydrogen nuclei into one helium nucleus plus energy.
A)True
B)False
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Surveying the Stars
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Q1) Which main sequence star will have the shortest lifetime?
A) O
B) A
C) M
D) G
E) Can't tell from information provided.
Q2) We can measure the radii of stars in eclipsing binary systems.
A)True
B)False
Q3) You observe a star and you want to plot it on an H-R diagram. You will need to measure all of the following, except the star's ________.
A) mass
B) distance
C) apparent brightness
D) spectral type
Q4) The Earth is about 150 million km from the Sun, and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1,300 watts per square meter. Determine the apparent brightness we would measure for the Sun if we were located one-third of the earth's distance from the Sun.
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Chapter 12: Star Stuff
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Q1) This diagram represents the life track of a 1 solar mass star. Refer to the life stages labeled with roman numerals. During which stage does the star have an inert (non-burning) carbon core surrounded by shells of helium and hydrogen burning?
A) viii
B) iv
C) vi
D) iii
E) ii
Q2) Stars spend about 90% of their lifetime on the main sequence
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following sequences correctly describes the stages of life for a low-mass star?
A) red giant, protostar, main-sequence, white dwarf
B) white dwarf, main-sequence, red giant, protostar
C) protostar, red giant, main-sequence, white dwarf
D) protostar, main-sequence, white dwarf, red giant
E) protostar, main-sequence, red giant, white dwarf
Q4) Explain how some stars form in binary systems.
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Chapter 13: Bizarre Stellar Graveyard
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Q1) How do we know what happens at the event horizon of a black hole?
A) Physicists have created miniature black holes in the lab.
B) Astronomers have sent spacecraft through the event horizon of a nearby black hole.
C) Astronomers have analyzed the light from matter within the event horizon of many black holes.
D) Astronomers have detected X-rays from accretion disks around black holes.
E) We don't know for sure: we only know what to expect based on the predictions of general relativity.
Q2) What would happen if a small piece of neutron star material (say the size of a paper clip) struck the Earth?
Q3) According to our modern understanding, what is a nova?
A) An explosion on the surface of a white dwarf in a close binary system
B) The explosion of a massive star at the end of its life
C) The sudden formation of a new star in the sky
D) A rapidly spinning neutron star
Q4) Briefly describe how a nova event occurs.
Q5) Light escaping from white dwarfs will show a gravitational redshift.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Our Galaxy
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Q1) We can see most of the Milky Way with visible light.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Astronomers observe huge bubbles of hot gas, some over a thousand light years across, in the Milky Way. What is their cause?
Q3) What do halo stars do differently from disk stars?
A) They orbit the galactic center with many different inclinations, while disk stars all orbit in nearly the same plane.
B) They remain stationary, quite unlike disk stars that orbit the galactic center.
C) Halo stars explode as supernovae much more frequently than disk stars.
D) They orbit the center of the galaxy at much lower speeds than disk star.
Q4) Red and orange stars are found evenly spread throughout the galactic disk, but blue stars are typically found ________.
A) only in or near star-forming clouds
B) in the halo
C) only in the central bulge
D) also evenly spread throughout the galactic disk
Q5) Briefly describe the star-gas-star cycle.
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Chapter 15: Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology
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Q1) I observe a galaxy that is 100 million light years away. Which of the following do I see?
A) the light from the galaxy as it is today, and it is blueshifted
B) the light from the galaxy as it is today, and it is redshifted
C) the light from the galaxy as it was 100 million years ago, and it is blueshifted
D) the light from the galaxy as it was 100 million years ago, and it is redshifted
E) Nothing: the galaxy lies beyond the cosmological horizon.
Q2) How many more stars does a starburst galaxy form, in one year, than the Milky Way?
A) a few B) about ten C) about a hundred D) about a thousand E) about the same, but it does so for much longer
Q3) How are the jets produced by radio galaxies similar to those produced by protostars?
Q4) Explain how we can estimate that there are about 50-100 billion galaxies in the observable universe.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe
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Q1) Which of the following statements about large-scale structure is probably not true?
A) Clusters and superclusters appear to be randomly scattered about the universe, like dots sprinkled randomly on a wall.
B) Galaxies and clusters have grown around tiny density enhancements that were present in the early universe.
C) Voids between superclusters began their existence as regions in the universe with a slightly lower density than the rest of the universe.
D) Many cluster and superclusters are still in the process of formation as their gravity gradually pulls in new members.
Q2) A mass-to-light ratio for a galaxy of much greater than one indicates that
A) the galaxy is very massive.
B) the galaxy is not very massive.
C) on average, each solar mass of matter in the galaxy emits much less light than our Sun.
D) on average, each solar mass of matter in the galaxy emits much more light than our Sun.
E) most stars in the galaxy are more massive than our Sun.
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Chapter 17: The Beginning of Time
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Q1) Which of the following statements cannot be tested by science today?
A) Prior to the Planck time, our universe sprouted from another universe.
B) Our universe is flat.
C) The universe is 14 billion years old.
D) The expansion of the universe is now accelerating.
Q2) Creation science claims that scientific evidence can and does prove God made the universe. Select the statement which does NOT identify a legitimate objection to this claim. (Recall the hallmarks of science.)
A) Scientists are not allowed to believe in God.
B) If "God did it" is the explanation for everything, then final exams in astronomy would be very simple (all answers would be the same!), and science experiments would be very easy to explain: but we wouldn't learn much about the natural world.
C) Science cannot prove (or disprove) the existence of a superpowerful, supernatural deity.
D) The statement that "God did it" cannot be falsified by science, and therefore it is not a statement that science can test.
Q3) What did COBE satellite find regarding the smoothness of the cosmic background radiation?
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Chapter 18: Life in the Universe
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Q1) Which of the following best explains why an interstellar ramjet could, in theory, achieve continuous acceleration?
A) It uses fuel that is more efficient than any other known fuel.
B) It collects its fuel as it goes, rather than having to carry the weight of fuel along with it.
C) It takes advantage of theoretically possible loopholes in Einstein's theory of relativity.
D) It has such a large fuel tank that it will essentially never use up all the fuel it carries.
E) Its speed always gets faster because time dilation changes the rate at which time flows.
Q2) Briefly summarize current knowledge about the term Np in the equation Number of Civilizations = Np × \( f_{\mathrm{}} \)life × \( f_{\mathrm{}} \)civilization × \( f_{\mathrm{}} \) now.
Q3) The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft carry a message from Earth, just in case an alien civilization ever runs across them.
A)True
B)False
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