NAME: Part I: Multiple Choice(2 points. ea.) Choose the best answer for each question Questions 1-5 refer to the schematic model of the Milky Way Galaxy shown at right 1. Rank the following objects in size from smallest to biggest: (A) Earth < the Local Group < Milky Way < our Solar System (B) the Local Group < Milky Way < our Solar System < Earth (C) Earth < our Solar System < Milky Way < the Local Group (D) Milky Way < our Solar System < Earth < the Local Group 2. The Galactic nucleus A 3. The Galactic bulge 4. The disk 5. The Sun s location in the galaxy A B C 6. Globular clusters and stars in the galactic halo E 7. Where are stars being formed in the galaxy? (A) In the nucleus (B) in globular clusters (C) beyond the halo (D) in the spiral arms D 8. We cannot see the other side of the galaxy primarily because our view is blocked by (A) too many stars. (B) glowing interstellar gas. (C) planetary nebulae and supernova remnants. (D) interstellar dust. 9. What effect do interstellar dust particles have on the appearance of a distant star? (A) They make it look bluer and brighter. (B) They make it look bluer and dimmer. (C) They make it look redder and brighter. (D) They make it look redder and dimmer. 1/13
10. What did Harlow Shapley discover about globular clusters that allowed him to determine the size of the galaxy and the Sun s location within it? (A) The clusters are confined to a thin plane. (B) The clusters are all located at the same distance from the Sun. (C) The center of the distribution of clusters is far from the Sun. (D) All of the clusters are located in a region a few parsecs across. 11. Which of the following statements describes the mass in the outer part of the Milky Way(beyond the orbit of the sun)? (A) It emits a surprisingly small amount of light(that is, it is Dark Matter) (B) There is essentially no mass out there (C) There is no spiral arm structure in the outer galaxy (D) The outer part of the galaxy is rapidly evaporating into intergalactic space 12. A rotation curve for a galaxy, which astronomers use to measure mass, is a plot of (A) Orbital speed versus distance from center (B) Absolute Magnitude vs Temperature (C) Luminosity vs Spectral Class (D) Number of stars in a Spiral arm vs their age 13. How was Hubble able to determine the distances of nearby galaxies? (A) by using radar (B) by measuring trigonometric parallaxes (C) by measuring the typical angular separations of stars in them (D) by observing Cepheid variables in them 14. Hubble's original classification of galaxies was based on (A) the visual appearance of the galaxies. (B) the physical shape and size of the galaxies. (C) the dominant spectral class of stars. (D) a completely random selection. 15. The most massive galaxies in the universe are (A) Elliptical (B) Spiral (C) Barred spiral (D) Irregular 16. Which of the following is not one of the main categories for the classification of galaxies? (A) cylindrical (B) elliptical (C) spiral (D) irregular 2/13
17. A primary difference between spiral and elliptical galaxies is (A) All ellipticals are more massive than spirals. (B) Ellipticals have more extensive interstellar media than spirals. (C) Star formation has ceased in ellipticals, but not in spirals. (D) Spirals have more stars than ellipticals. 18. What evidence do we have that galaxies have extended haloes of dark matter? (A) Orbital speed in the rotation curve doesn t fall off for the outer parts of galaxies. (B) The outer parts of galaxies are intense infrared sources. (C) Light from background galaxies is blocked by the dark matter. (D) The orbits of distant globular clusters are distorted by the dark matter 19. Which of the following would be least useful in determining distances to other galaxies? (A) Parallax (B) Cepheid variables (C) The sizes of HII regions (D) The brightness of a supernova 20. A strong argument in favor of the theory that the universe is expanding is the observation of the (A) Ratio of helium to hydrogen of.25 (B) Red shift of galaxies. (C) Dark matter in galaxies. (D) Existence of quasars. 21. Which of the following is true of Seyfert galaxies? (A) They have no spiral arms (B) They have unusually bright nuclei (C) They are a form of elliptical galaxy (D) They are all found in the Local Group of galaxies 22. The radio emission from radio galaxies and quasars is due to (A) thermal emission (B) blackbody radiation (C) O and B stars (D) synchrotron radiation 23. How do we know that quasars are no larger than the solar system? (A) They vary in brightness on a timescale of days (B) They appear pointlike when viewed through a telescope (C) They contain black holes, which must be small (D) They are too luminous to be very large 24. Quasars all have great distances. Why are there no nearby quasars? (A) no quasars have existed in the recent past (B) quasars avoid spiral galaxies (C) quasars are found only in clusters of galaxies (D) if quasars are too close to us, they look like pulsars 3/13
25. Quasars, Seyfert galaxies and radio galaxies are thought to be powered by (A) alien artifacts. (B) supermassive black holes accreting in their cores. (C) recurring nova in orbiting globular clusters. (D) waves of star formation in spiral arms. 26. The maximum luminosity that the nucleus of a galaxy could have without pushing away surrounding matter is called the (A) spiral density wave. (B) event horizon. (C) mass-luminosity relationship. (D) Eddington luminosity. 27. The brightest quasars are (A) about 1% as bright as the Milky Way (B) as bright as the Milky Way (C) as bright as 10,000 Milky Way galaxies (D) about as bright as the Sun 28 Quasars are currently believed to be (A) an early phase of intense activity in the centers of galaxies. (B) the brightest elliptical galaxies. (C) the most luminous supernova remnants. (D) structures larger than clusters of galaxies. 29. Which of the these describes the tendency of galaxies to form in groups (A) galaxies are only found singly (B) galaxies are found only in small groups of a few members (C) galaxies are found both in small groups and large clusters (D) galaxies were in groups only in the early universe 30. The Local Group is: (A) a group of about 30-50 galaxies containing the Milky Way galaxy. (B) the local group of Population II stars in the solar neighborhood. (C) a large supercluster of galaxies centered on the Milky Way. (D) all stars within 10 pc. of the sun 31.A cluster of galaxies is consider rich if (A) it contains more helium than hydrogen (B) it has a large number of galaxies (C) a large fraction of its mass consists of hot intergalactic gas (D) it contains numerous quasars 32. Evidence for dark matter surrounding massive galactic clusters comes from what observation? (A) Huge visible galactic jets that contain large quantities of dark matter. (B) Motions of individual galaxies rapidly collapsing towards an invisible gravitational source. (C) Colliding neutron stars, with the collision energy creating dark matter. (D) Arcs caused by a gravitational deflection of light(gravitational lensing). 4/13
33. The model of cluster formation in which galaxies form first and then collect into clusters is called the (A) implosion model. (B) hierarchical clustering model. (C) pancake model. (D) top-down model. 34. The point in space towards which nearby clusters of galaxies appear to be moving is referred to as (A) The Great Attractor. (B) The Whole Shebang. (C) LGM. (D) The Big Crunch. 35. Which of the following is not true of the cosmic background radiation? (A) it is nearly equally bright in all directions (B) it is starlight (C) it was produced about a million years after the beginning of the expansion (D) it is brightest in the radio (microwave) part of the spectrum 36. What produced the radiation that we see as the today as the 3 degree cosmic background radiation? (A) stars (B) hot glowing gas. (C) neutrinos (D) supernovae 37. An observer now located at a distance of 3 billion light years from us could look in our general direction and see (A) Most of the galaxies approaching him or her. (B) The same Hubble's law that we see. (C) About equal numbers of red and blue shifted galaxies. (D) Everything rushing away from a point near the Milky Way galaxy 38. The expansion age of the universe is about (A) 12 to 14 million years. (B) 12 to 14 billion years. (C) 120 to 140 billion years. (D) 1200 to 1400 billion years. 39. What was the universe made of one hour after it began to expand? (A) hydrogen and helium (B) carbon and oxygen (C) iron and nickel (D) potassium and carbon 5/13
40. The conversion of hydrogen into helium began about 2 minutes after the beginning of the expansion of the universe. Why was there no helium in the universe during the first 2 minutes? (A) There was no matter in the universe during the first 2 minutes. (B) Collisions were too violent for helium to be stable during that time. (C) No collisions occurred during the first two minutes. (D) Neutrino disruption dominated during the first two minutes. 41. Which factors will determine whether the universe will expand for ever or will eventually collapse in a Big Crunch? (A) High density, small expansion rate, no dark energy (B) High density, large expansion rate, no dark energy. (C) Low density, large expansion rate, dominated by dark energy (D) Low density, small expansion rate, dominated by dark energy 42. Where in the universe did the Big Bang occur? (A) very close to the Milky Way galaxy (B) at the center (C) near the Virgo cluster. (D) everywhere. 43. Imagine that a year from now you read that astronomers have discovered a group of 50 billion-year-old stars. What would you conclude from such a discovery? (A) They must be spectral class O and B stars (B) They must be in a late stage of stellar evolution (C) We would have to revise our theories of stellar energy sources (D) Our present ideas on evolution of the universe and its current age are seriously in error 44. How many exoplanets have been discovered so far? (A) none. (B) 3. (C) almost 12. (D) almost 2000, with over 4000 candidates still under study as of 2015. 45. About how long ago did life originate on Earth? (A) 35 million year (B) 350 million years (C) 3.5 billion years (D) 35 billion years 46. A habitable zone (A) is a region around a star where an earth sized planet could have liquid water on its surface. (B) is a region on a particular planet where life might exist comfortably. (C) is a region in the galaxy where alien civilizations have been detected by their radio emissions. (D) is the region in a supercluster where galaxy formation is currently taking place. 6/13
47. Billions of years from now, the habitable zone of the solar system will not include the Earth but will include (A) Mars. (B) Mercury. (C) Venus. (D) the Moon. 48. As with life on earth, we expect that life on other planets would most likely be chemically based upon (A) carbon and methanol. (B) carbon and ethanol. (C) silicon and carbon. (D) carbon and water. 49. The probability of detecting alien civilizations is often based upon (A) The Roche Limit. (B) The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. (C) The Drake Equation. (D) idle speculation by the uninformed. 50. SETI stands for (A) Signal Enhancement Through Interferometry. (B) Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. (C) Satellite Examination of Technological Images. (D) Studies of Europa s Tidal Icefields. (you re half-way done!) 51. As seen from Schuylkill Haven, the sun, moon stars and planets, over the course of an evening, will tend to (A) do different things depending upon the season. (B) the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the others rise in the west and set in the east.. (C) rise in the east and set in the south. (D) rise in the east and set in the west. 52. A finger, held at arm's length, fills an angle of about (A) 10 degrees (B) 2 degrees (C) ½ degree (D) a minute 53. The angular size of the Sun and Moon are both about (A) ½ a degree. (B) ½ of a great circle. (C) ½ of an angstrom. (D) ½ a second. 7/13
54. The Sun's annual path on the celestial sphere is the which takes it through the. (A) Zenith, Planets. (B) Equator, Tropics. (C) Meridian, Celestial Poles. (D) Ecliptic, Zodiac. 55. In Schuylkill Haven, on the day of the Winter Solstice (compared to any other day of the year) (A) the sunrise is as farthest south (B) the number of daylight hours is the least (C) the altitude of the sun at local noon (meridian crossing) is the lowest (D) all of the above 56. A planet's temporary backward motion relative to the stars, illustrated at right, is called (A) retrograde motion. (B) the big crunch (C) closed geometry. (D) elliptical motion. 57. Which of the following is a reason that the ancient Greek astronomers rejected Aristarchus' heliocentric model of the solar system? (A) it did not account for retrograde motions of the planets (B) it could not explain the phases of Venus (C) they could detect no stellar parallax (D) it could not account for the Coriolis effect 58.What body was located at the center of Ptolemy's model of the solar system? (A) The Sun (B) The Moon (C) The Earth (D) The central fire 59. Which of the following best completes this sentence: When tested against the observed motion of the planets, (A) Ptolemy s model was least accurate, Kepler s was more accurate and Copernicus s was most accurate. (B) Ptolemy s model was least accurate, Copernicus s was more accurate and Kepler s was most accurate. (C) Ptolemy s model was most accurate, Copernicus s was less accurate and Kepler s was least accurate. (D) Ptolemy s model and Copernicus s were about equally accurate, and Kepler s was more accurate. 8/13
(for 60-63) Match the element of the Copernican model below with its observation consequence: A. Earth's motion around object. B. Motion of object around earth. C. Earth overtakes Object. D. Earth rotates. 60. The moon's monthly motion 61. Mars undergoing retrograde motion 62. The sun moves west to east along the ecliptic 63. The sun moves east to west daily 64.If the distance between two objects is decreased, the force of gravity they exert on each other will (A) remain the same (B) increase (C) decrease (D) vanish 65. Newton's theory of Universal Gravitation, combined with mechanics (A) was important because it described both earthly and cosmic phenomena using the same principles. (B) explained falling objects and projectile motion. (C) explained Kepler's Laws. (D) all of the above. 66. Which of the following principles from Optics are relevant to telescopes? (A) Refraction(light rays bend at interfaces). (B) Reflection(light rays bounce at surfaces). (C) Diffraction(light waves bend around corners). (D) all of the above 67.What happens to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a blackbody if the blackbody gets hotter? (A) It would get redder and dimmer (B) It would get redder and brighter (C) It would get bluer and dimmer (D) It would get bluer and brighter 68. In an atmosphere composed of a mixture of gases at a particular temperature, the molecules that move slowest are those that have (A) the biggest diameter (B) the largest chemical formula (C) the most mass (D) the least mass 9/13
69. The age of the earth is estimated at roughly: (A) 4.6 trillion years. (B) 4.6 billion years. (C) 4.6 million years. (D) less than 6 thousand years. 70. What is the origin of the Earth's magnetic field? (A) pockets of solar magnetism captured from the solar wind. (B) permanent magnetism left over from the formation of the Earth. (C) the flow of ionized gases in the Earth's upper atmosphere. (D) convection currents in the Earth's molten iron core which create an electric dynamo. 71. The process by which gravitational forces separate material of different densities within the planetary interior is called (A) Subduction. (B) Homogenization. (C) Differentiation. (D) Transvection. 72. Compared to the lunar uplands(the terrae), the lunar maria are (A) Smoother and older (B) Smoother and younger. (C) More cratered and older (D) More cratered and younger 73. Consider the following hypothetical situation. A spacecraft lands on a moon of one of the planets. The moon has a smooth surface resembling that of the lunar maria. The rocks on the surface are found to be 4.5 billion years old. Why would such a finding be highly unusual? (A) Such rocks are far older than any found on the Earth's moon. (B) If the surface is that old, it should be heavily cratered. (C) The maria rocks on the Earth's moon are much older than 4.5 billion years. (D) There should not be rocks on maria. 74. Both the moon and Mercury have very large temperature variations between day and night. The main reason for this large variation is: (A) rocky composition. (B) distance from the sun. (C) small mass. (D) lack of atmosphere. 75. Why is the surface of Venus so hot? (A) Venus absorbs nearly all of the solar radiation that strikes it (B) Infrared radiation emitted by the surface can't escape into space (C) Frequent volcanic eruptions heat the lower atmosphere (D) The surface is heated by radioactivity in surface rocks 10/13
76. By observing the orbits of the two satellites of Mars, we can determine Mars' (A) diameter. (B) temperature. (C) mass. (D) moisture content. 77. The Jovian planets (A) all have orbits larger than the orbit of Mars. (B) are the Jupiter-like planets. (C) have atmospheres containing mostly hydrogen and helium. (D) all of the above. 78. The variation between pole and equatorial rotation rates for a Jovian planet (A) is called differential rotation. (B) is evidence that the planet is fluid. (C) has never actually been observed. (D) both(a) and(b) above. 79. Which of the following planets has the lowest density? (A) Mercury. (B) Venus. (C) Mars. (D) Saturn. 80. What would happen to an asteroid that came within the Roche limit of a planet? (A) It would be ejected at twice the speed it originally had. (B) It would be destroyed by tides. (C) It would be captured and become a satellite. (D) It would be burned up in the atmosphere of the planet. 81. What are the most notable surface features of Jupiter's satellite Io? (A) Volcanoes (B) Grooved ridge systems (C) Regions with high impact crater densities (D) Smooth regions produced by flows of liquid water 82. Most of the asteroids have orbits that lie between the orbits of (A) Mars and Jupiter (B) Venus and the Earth (C) the Earth and Mars (D) Jupiter and Saturn 11/13
83. Impacts (A) have created craters throughout the solar system, from the inner planets, the asteroids, the moons of the gas giants to the Trans-Neptunian Objects like Pluto and Charon. (B) were much more frequent in the early history of the solar system, about 4 billion years ago. (C) have recently been directly observed happening to Jupiter, both in 1994 with the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and in the last few weeks, as captured on camera by amateur astronomer Gerrit Kernbauer. (D) all of the above. 84. As Earth orbit's the sun, stars will undergo an apparent shift in direction. (A) This shift is called parallax and the smaller the shift the greater the star's distance from Earth. (B) This shift is called parallax and the smaller the shift the smaller the star's distance from Earth. (C) This shift is called spectroscopy and the greater the shift the greater the star's temperature compared to our Sun's. (D) This shift is called parsecs and the greater the shift the greater the star's mass compared to our Sun's. Questions 85-89 refer to the figure below which is a graphical representation of a group of stars. Identify each type of star by its labeled location on the diagram. A 85. White Dwarf stars. 86. Main Sequence stars. 87. Giants stars. 88. Supergiants(Asymptotic Giant Branch) stars. L u m i n o s i t y D C B 89. The sun will run out of fuel in its core in about (A) 5 thousand years (B) 5 million years (C) 5 billion years (D) 5 trillion years Hot Temperature Cold 90. Which are the two most abundant elements in the sun? (A) hydrogen and helium. (B) helium and uranium. (C) hydrogen and sodium. (D) hydrogen and iron 12/13
91. New stars are formed from (A) the collision of one or more stars (B) coalescence of planets (C) the gas in the interstellar medium (D) cosmic rays trapped in a magnetic field 92.What marks the transition from protostar to star? (A) the star begins to rotate (B) hydrogen fusion begins (C) the star first becomes luminous (D) the star becomes hot enough to ionize hydrogen 93. According to nebular theories, the planets formed from material that was (A) part of the collapsing cloud which formed the Sun (B) captured by the Sun from interstellar space (C) pulled from the Sun during a collision with another star (D) ejected from the Sun by an explosion For Questions 94-97: Match the type of star with the type of pressure which supports it: 94. neutron degeneracy pressure (A) Neutron Star 95. normal gas pressure 96. electron degeneracy pressure 97. none: object has collapsed gravitationally (B) Main Sequence Star (C) White Dwarf (D) Black Hole 98. A star which is discovered to be a binary system on the basis of the Doppler shifts of the spectral lines of its two stars is called a (A) spectroscopic binary (B) eclipsing binary (C) visual binary (D) astrometric binary 99. The Roche lobe is (A) the region around one of the stars in a binary system where the gravity of that star dominates (B) the type of star formed when a black hole becomes to massive to support itself (C) a cluster of stars which all have the same mass (D) the source of radio emissions in a pulsar 100. When a black hole is part of a close binary star system, the system may be a strong source of x-rays. Where do the x-rays come from? (A) the companion star, which is heated by the black hole. (B) a disk of hot matter around the black hole. (C) from the black hole itself. (D) from planets which are captured by the black hole. 13/13