Simon P. Balm Astro 5 Test #3 Sample Questions 1. What do we mean by the general habitability of a planet? A. the suitability for Life on it surface B. the suitability for Life beneath its surface C. its suitability for Life in all environments D. its suitability for Life in its atmosphere 2.How many planets are currently in the Sun's habitable zone if we use the conservative estimate? A.0 B.1 C.2 D.3 3. when the Sun runs out of nuclear fuel and expands to become a red giant the A. Earth will experience a runaway greenhouse effect followed by the total loss of its atmosphere B. Earth will be destroyed C. Earth will be ejected from the solar system D. Earth's oceans will freeze solid 4. What is the most basic requirement for a star to have habitable planets? A. it must provide sufficient energy for a long enough time period to support Life on a suitable planet B. it must have a wide habitable zone C. it must be exactly the same as the Sun D. it must as hot as our Sun or hotter 5. Which property of a star determines how it will evolve? A. mass B. temperature C. chemical composition D. luminosity 6. O-type stars in our galaxy are A. the most common type of stars in our galaxy (75% or more) B. fairly common (several percent) C. very rare (less than 1%) D. very common, making up about 50% of the total 7. Which of the following could be a stable planetary orbit in a binary system? A. a large orbit around both stars in a wide binary system B. an orbit close to one of the stars in a close binary C. a large orbit around both stars in a close binary system D. a "figure-of-eight" orbit about both stars in a close binary system 8. In order for the planet Venus to be within the Sun's habitable zone, the Sun would have to be A. more luminous B. less luminous C. hotter D. more massive
9. Which of the following methods has been the LEAST useful in detecting extrasolar planets around other star systems? A. detection of reflected starlight B. detection of Doppler shifts in the spectra of the parent stars C. regular changes in the positions of the parent stars with respect to more distant stars as they move across the sky D. detection of brightness changes in a star as a planet passes in front of it 10. Most of the extrasolar planets detected to date are found A. very far from their parent stars B. at about the same distance as the planet Jupiter is from the Sun C. very close to the parent stars D. at about the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun 11. Spectral classification determines a nearby star's surface temperature by examining the A. peak wavelength of the star spectrum. B. color it appears to the eye. C. pattern of spectral "absorption" lines from various atoms. D. overall shape of the star's spectrum compared to a black body. 12. Which of the following four spectral classifications represents the coolest stellar surface temperature? A. K B. A C. B D. G 13. The star Hadar has a spectral classification of B1 III. This tells us that Hadar is a A. hot supergiant. B. cool giant. C. hot giant. D. cool supergiant. 14. What type of civilization would be able to construct a "Dyson Sphere" around its parent star to capture its radiation? A. Type 0 B. Type I C. Type II D. Type III 15. Which type of signal could carry the largest amount of information? A. high intensity B. low intensity C. small bandwidth D. large bandwidth 16. A SETI search is undertaken at 1420 MHz (close to the frequency of the H atom) with a frequency range of 200 MHz and a bandpass of 0.5 MHz. How many channels need to be searched? A. 200 B. 400 C. 2000 D. 40
17. Which type of electromagnetic radiation is able to carry the most information? A. gamma rays B. radio waves C. microwaves D. all types have equal ability 18. What is the MAIN advantage that space travel has over communication with electromagnetic radiation? A. its faster B. its less expensive C. it involves direct experience D. it prevents ageing 19. The Equivalence Principle is an integral part of A. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity B. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity C. Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation D. Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion 20. The adoption of very similar streamlined body shapes by both sharks and dolphins provides evidence for A. convergent evolution B. divergent evolution C. life originating in the oceans D. intelligent design 21. An organism with an encephalization quotient (EQ) of 1 should be of A. average intelligence B. above average intelligence C. below average intelligence D. the lowest possible intelligence 22. To what do the letters SETI refer? A. Search for Extra Testicle Intruders B. Search for Extra Terrestrial Invaders C. Search for Evidence of Terrestrial-planet Inhabitants D. Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence 23. Traveling at their current speeds, how long will it take the Pioneer and Voyager probes to reach the nearest stars? A. at least 100,000 years B. about a 1,000 years C. several billion years D. around 4.3 years 24. What is the propulsion system used on the Starship Enterprise? A. the annihilation of matter and antimatter B. chemical reactions C. nuclear reactions D. solar radiation
25. If I am traveling in my car at 30 mph and have a head on collision with another car traveling at 40 mph at what speed will the other car hit me relative to my car? A. 30 mph B. 40 mph C. 10 mph D. 70 mph 26. The Starship Enterprise passes me by at Warp Factor 1 (which equals 99% of the speed of light). How would the mass of the Enterprise at this speed compare with the mass of the Enterprise at rest (relative to me)? A. it would be higher B. it would be lower C. it would be the same D. it is impossible to predict from this information alone 27. For a spaceship to travel at the speed of light an observer would measure the length of the ship (along the direction of motion) to be A. zero B. infinite C. the same length as at rest D. half as long as at rest 28. How is the "Fermi Paradox" normally stated? A. Where is everybody? B. Why are we here? C. Where are we? D. What the f***? 29. In "Contact", where was the machine finally activated? A. Makina, Uzbekistan B. Mechanicsville, Maryland C. Machine, Wyoming D. Hokkaido, Japan 30. In "Contact" why were astronomers surprised to detect a SETI signal from Vega? A. Vega is so far away they believed that no signal could be detected B. Vega is more massive and luminous than the Sun with a main sequence lifetime too short for intelligence to develop C. Vega is less massive and luminous than the Sun and therefore is unlikely to have any planets within its ecosphere D. they had looked at Vega before and had found no signal Key: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. A 6. C 7. C 8. B 9. C 10. C
11. C 12. A 13. C 14. C 15. D 16. B 17. D 18. C 19. A 20. A 21. A 22. D 23. A 24. A 25. D 26. A 27. A 28. A 29. D 30. B