BROCK UNIVERSITY Test 2: March 2015 Number of pages: 9 Course: ASTR 1P02, Section 2 Number of students: 50 Examination date: 9 March 2015 Time limit: 50 min Time of Examination: 11:00 11:50 Instructor: S. D Agostino Page 1 of 10 Answer all questions on the scantron sheet provided. No aids permitted except for a non-programmable calculator. Each question is worth 1 mark. Total number of marks: 50. 1. Elliptical galaxies tend to contain (a) a few dusty superstars, such as Allen Iverson, and a few gassy superstars, such as Charles Barkley. (b) plenty of visible gas and dust and lack hot bright stars. (c) plenty of visible gas and dust and an abundance of hot bright stars. (d) * no visible gas and dust and lack hot bright stars. (e) no visible gas and dust and an abundance of hot bright stars. 2. The masses of elliptical galaxies vary from (a) * about 10% to more than 10 times the mass of the Milky Way. (b) about 1% to more than 1000 times the mass of the Milky Way. (c) about 50% to more than 3 times the mass of the Milky Way. (d) about 20 to 30 times the mass of the Milky Way. 3. Sa galaxies have (a) small nuclei, less gas and dust, and fewer hot, luminous, young stars than Sb and Sc galaxies. (b) small nuclei, more gas and dust, and more hot, luminous, young stars than Sb and Sc galaxies. (c) * large nuclei, less gas and dust, and fewer hot, luminous, young stars than Sb and Sc galaxies. (d) large nuclei, more gas and dust, and more hot, luminous, young stars than Sb and Sc galaxies. 4. Sc galaxies are (a) reddish. (b) yellowish. (c) greenish. (d) * bluish. (e) cerulian with magenta highlights.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 2 of 10 5. About of spiral galaxies are barred spiral galaxies. (a) 1/100 (b) 1/10 (c) * 2/3 (d) 9/10 6. Barred spiral galaxies differ from spiral galaxies because a barred spiral (a) has an unusually large number of bars and night clubs. (b) is not allowed entry to intergalactic hot spots unless it is at least 19 eons old. (c) has between 10 and 20 spoke-like bars emanating from the central bulge, so that it looks somewhat like a wheel. (d) * has an elongated central bulge (i.e., a bar ). 7. An irregular galaxy (a) is badly in need of laxatives. (b) is looked down-upon by all the regular galaxies in the neighbourhood. (c) * contains a chaotic mix of gas and dust with no obvious nucleus and no spiral arms. (d) contains a chaotic mix of constellations, where the stars in each constellation conform to no recognizable patterns. 8. Irregular galaxies are typically (a) shy and withdrawn, and therefore not invited to party with the cool galaxies. (b) * small and not very luminous. (c) large and extremely luminous. (d) of medium size and luminosity. 9. The number of spiral galaxies we observe is the number of elliptical galaxies we observe. (a) * about twice (b) about 100 times (c) about half (d) about 1/100th
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 3 of 10 10. The Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud (a) produce large and small, respectively, amounts of intergalactic precipitation. (b) are lenticular galaxies. (c) contain large amounts of lentils and legumes. (d) * are irregular galaxies in the Local Group. 11. Stellar parallax (a) is used by astronomers in conjunction with Stellar Artois. (b) can be used to determine the distances to very distant galaxies. (c) * cannot be used to determine the distances of any galaxies, because galaxies are all too far away. (d) cannot be used to determine the distances of any galaxies, because galactic parallax must be used. 12. To determine the distances to nearby galaxies, astronomers use the period-luminosity relationship for (a) Mira variables. (b) * Cepheid variables. (c) RR Lyrae variables. (d) pulsars. 13. To determine the distances to galaxies that are farther than 100 million light-years away, astronomers use the method of (a) * globular clusters. (b) periodic pulsars. (c) red-shifted spectra. (d) Hubble s recession speeds. 14. Using data collected by Vesto Slipher, and using his own observations, in 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered a relationship between (a) the age of a galaxy and the speed with which its hairline recedes. (b) * the distance of a galaxy and its recession speed. (c) the size of a galaxy and its recession speed. (d) the amount of gas and dust contained in a galaxy and its recession speed.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 4 of 10 15. Most of the galaxies studied by Hubble, including all of the most distant galaxies, had spectra that were (a) one fish, two fish, (b) red fish, blue fish. (c) * red-shifted. (d) blue-shifted. 16. The conclusion drawn from Hubble s law is that (a) * the universe is expanding. (b) the Local Group is rotating. (c) the centre of the Milky Way contains a super-massive black hole. (d) the Milky Way is infused with dark matter. 17. The distances to the most distant galaxies in the universe are determined using (a) * Type Ia supernovae. (b) Type II supernovae. (c) galactic parallax. (d) open clusters. 18. Active galaxies (a) have lower rates of heart disease and a higher quality of life. (b) have high rates of vibration in their nuclei. (c) have high rates of rotation in their spiral arms. (d) * emit large amounts of radiation from small volumes in their nuclei. 19. Quasars are unusual because although they appear star-like, unlike stars they emit large amounts of (a) quarks. (b) *radio waves. (c) quasinos. (d) quasalinos.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 5 of 10 20. Olbers s paradox states that if you make a few simple assumptions then you can conclude that (a) *the night sky should not be dark. (b) quasars should contain central black holes. (c) the pulsation rate of pulsars should be much higher. (d) the solar system should be considerably larger. 21. A simple resolution to Olbers s paradox, suggested by the poet Edgar Allan Poe, and later generally accepted after much scientific discussion, is that (a) interstellar dust blocks light from distant stars. (b) light from very distant stars gradually loses energy over its long journey (the tired-light hypothesis). (c) there are a lot fewer stars than astronomers say there are, an obvious error that mainstream astronomers will not admit to making. (d) * the age of the universe is finite. 22. The Big Bang theory proposes that the universe (a) was created in 2007 by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. (b) has never been the same since Shawn Kemp banged on Alton Lister (the Lister Blister ). (c) was created by an enormous collision between two proto-universes that then coalesced to form our universe. (d) * was in a very hot, dense state about 14 billion years ago, and has been expanding ever since. 23. According to the Big Bang theory, neutral hydrogen atoms formed (a) as soon as the Big Bang occurred. (b) * about 380 thousand years after the Big Bang. (c) about 380 million years after the Big Bang. (d) about 380 billion years after the Big Bang. 24. The cosmic microwave background radiation was first observed in by. (a) 1658, Fritz Zwicky and Vesto Slipher (b) 1702, Tycho Brahe (c) 1824, Galileo Galilei (d) * 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson (e) [Cosmic microwave background radiation has never been observed.]
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 6 of 10 25. Cosmic microwave background radiation (a) * provides strong evidence for the Big Bang theory. (b) is inconsistent with the Big Bang theory, but can be explained away by fudging the data. (c) provides strong evidence for the Steady State theory. (d) [Cosmic microwave background radiation has never been observed.] 26. COBE (a) is a satellite used to detect neutrino emissions from the Sun, providing further precision evidence for the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. (b) is currently out of commission due to a torn rotator cuff on the satellite s photonshooting mechanism. (c) * is a satellite used to detect cosmic microwave background radiation, providing further precision evidence for the Big Bang theory. (d) is a satellite used to detect cosmic gamma-ray background emissions, providing further precision evidence for the theory of black-hole event horizons. 27. Recombination of electrons with atomic nuclei took place when the temperature of the early universe dropped to about (a) 300,000 K. (b) 30,000 K. (c) * 3,000 K. (d) 300 K. 28. The parameter Ω indicates the fate of the universe. If Ω > 1, then the universe will (a) * expand for a while, but slow down, reverse, and eventually collapse in a Big Crunch. (b) continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate approaches zero more and more closely as time passes. (c) continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate is about constant. (d) [It depends on the amount of dark energy contained in the mind of Donald Trump.] 29. The parameter Ω indicates the fate of the universe. If Ω < 1, then the universe will (a) expand for a while, but slow down, reverse, and eventually collapse in a Big Crunch. (b) continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate approaches zero more and more closely as time passes. (c) * continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate is about constant. (d) [It depends on the amount of dark energy contained in the mind of Donald Trump.]
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 7 of 10 30. The parameter Ω indicates the fate of the universe. If Ω = 1, then the universe will (a) expand for a while, but slow down, reverse, and eventually collapse in a Big Crunch. (b) * continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate approaches zero more and more closely as time passes. (c) continue to expand indefinitely, but the expansion rate is about constant. (d) [It depends on the amount of dark energy contained in the mind of Donald Trump.] 31. Dark energy tends to (a) draw matter in to itself, much like a black hole, and therefore tends to cause the universe to contract. (b) * oppose gravity, and therefore tends to cause the universe to expand. (c) be chaotic, and scatters matter in all directions, and therefore tends to increase the negentropy of the universe. (d) concentrate in the darkest regions of space, the voids between filaments connecting super clusters of galaxies. 32. About of the mass of the solar system is contained in the Sun. (a) 50% (b) 65% (c) 80% (d) * 99.9% 33. The diameter of the Sun is about times the diameter of the Earth. (a) 10 (b) * 100 (c) 1,000 (d) 1,000,000 34. The terrestrial planets include (a) only Earth. (b) Earth and Venus. (c) Earth, Mars, and Venus. (d) * Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. (e) Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Vulcan.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 8 of 10 35. The Jovian planets include (a) Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. (b) Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. (c) * Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. (d) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Eris. (e) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Eris, and Pluto. 36. Pluto is now considered to be (a) an exoplanet. (b) * a dwarf planet. (c) a Jovian planet. (d) a retro planet. 37. The only planets in the solar system that do not have any known satellites (i.e., moons) are (a) * Mercury and Venus. (b) Mars and Neptune. (c) Jupiter and Saturn. (d) Uranus and Mercury. (e) Venus and Mars. 38. The age of the solar system is about (a) 4.5 million years. (b) 45 million years. (c) 450 million years. (d) * 4.5 billion years. 39. All the planets in the solar system known to have planetary rings are (a) Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. (b) * Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. (c) Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. (d) Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. 40. Most of the asteroids in the solar system are found in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of (a) * Mars and Jupiter. (b) Jupiter and Saturn. (c) Saturn and Uranus. (d) Uranus and Neptune.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 9 of 10 41. Comets are (a) cars that were driven on the planet Mercury in the 1960s. (b) snowballs ejected from the underworld. (c) * chunks of frozen gases with solid particles mixed in. (d) rocks that have broken off from planets. 42. Planets move around the Sun in orbits with the Sun at one focus. (a) hysterical (b) hyperbolic (c) * elliptical (d) parabolic 43. As viewed from above the Earth s north pole, all planets spin counterclockwise except for (a) * Venus and Uranus. (b) Jupiter and Saturn. (c) Mars and Neptune. (d) Mercury and Earth. 44. Meteoroids are (a) muscular solar-system inhabitants who spend too much time in weight rooms and take performance-enhancing drugs. (b) small chunks of rock that leave a streak of light as they fly through Earth s atmosphere. (c) small chunks of rock that have landed on Earth after coming from outer space. (d) * small chunks of rock that fly through the solar system. 45. Meteors are (a) a brand of automobile produced by General Motors from the late 1940s until the mid 1970s. (b) * small chunks of rock that leave a streak of light as they fly through Earth s atmosphere. (c) small chunks of rock that have landed on Earth after coming from outer space. (d) small chunks of rock that fly through the solar system.
ASTR 1P02 March 2015 Page 10 of 10 46. Meteorites are (a) a tribe of people who rivalled the Hittites in Anatolia in the 14th century BC. (b) small chunks of rock that leave a streak of light as they fly through Earth s atmosphere. (c) * small chunks of rock that have landed on Earth after coming from outer space. (d) small chunks of rock that fly through the solar system. 47. The planet in our solar system with the smallest diameter is (a) * Mercury. (b) Venus. (c) Earth. (d) Mars. 48. The planet in our solar system with the greatest density is (a) Mercury. (b) Venus. (c) * Earth. (d) Mars. 49. Kepler s third law relates a planet s to its. (a) * distance from the Sun, orbital period (b) diameter, orbital period (c) distance from the Sun, rotational period (d) diameter, rotational period 50. The best current theory we have for the formation of the solar system hypothesizes that the solar system formed because of (a) the explosion of a protostar. (b) the explosion of a protoplanet. (c) the explosion of a T-Tauri star. (d) * the collapse of a spinning cloud of gas and dust.