PY124: Solar System
Astronomy
SAMPLE TEST 1
Instructor: R.A.
Egler
Updated 13:41 GMT, 12 September
2012
About this sample test:
The sample tests are intended to acquaint you with the types of questions I
will ask, along with the manner that I will ask them. Although some questions
on the actual test may be similar, they will not be identical.
Each Question is Worth 4 Points (25 questions = 100 points)
Choose the best answer to each question and mark that answer on the answer sheet.
1) From their 'names' alone, we know that
A) 1 Ursa Majoris is brighter than 3 Ursa Majoris.
B) Alpha Orionis is brighter than delta Geminorum.
C) Beta Pictoris is brighter that delta Pictoris
D) A and C
E) All of the above
2) Stars that are not within any of the "pictures" that make up
the constellations
A) are not a part of any constellation, but are designated as "unassigned".
B) are said to belong to the "Universal Constellation"
C) are not a part of any constellation, but are designated as "Free Stars".
D) are still a part of some constellation.
3) On a certain day the sun transited the Greenwich Meridian at 12:05 UT.
On the same day you note that the sun transits your meridian at 06:05 UT. What
is your longitude?
A) 90 degrees west.
B) 60 degrees west.
C) 90 degrees east.
D) 60 degrees east.
4) You are adrift at sea, and you see a star directly overhead.
You remember from your astronomy lab at N.C. State that this star has a
declination of 42 degrees South, and a Right Ascension of 8 hours. From this
information alone, you know that
A) You are adrift at a point north latitude 42 degrees.
B) You are adrift at a point south latitude 42 degrees.
C) You are adrift at a point west longitude 8 degrees.
D) You are adrift at a point south latitude 48 degrees.
E) A and C
5) Your local sidereal time is 17 hours, 0 minutes. The star i
Draconis transited your meridian 1
hour and 30 minutes ago. What is i Draconis’ Right Ascension?
A) 17h 30m
B) 16h 30m
C) 18h 30m
D) 15h 30m
E) Unable to be determined from this data.
6) Of the following, when would we expect a Spring tide?
A) On the day of the Vernal Equinox.
B) At any New Moon.
C) At any First or Third Quarter Moon.
D) Only at the first Full Moon of Spring.
7) The time it takes the Earth to rotate once on its axis relative to the
stars is called:
A) A mean solar day.
B) An apparent solar day.
C) A sidereal day.
D) A stellar day.
E) A Doris Day
8) In order for there to be a solar eclipse, the Moon must be in
which phase?
A) Full
B) New
C) Either Full or New, but no other phase.
D) None of the above. Solar eclipses can occur with the moon in any phase.
9) A 1st quarter Moon is just transiting your meridian. About what time
is it?
A) Sunset
B) Noon
C) Sunrise
D) Midnight
10) The star Beta Cassiopeia has a visual magnitude of 2.3. The star Tau Ceti has a visual magnitude of 3.5. Which one looks
brighter?
A) Beta Cassiopeia
B) Tau Ceti
C) Not enough information given.
D) All of the above.
11) As viewed from Raleigh, if you watch the stars move during the course
of an evening, what would you observe about any star (except Polaris)?
A) The star's altitude and declination will both change.
B) The star's declination will remain the same, but azimuth will change.
C) The star's azimuth will change, but its altitude will remain the same.
D) The star's right ascension will change, but its declination will remain the same.
E) The star's right ascension, declination, altitude, and azimuth, will ALL change.
12) Of A, B, and C below, which is not a reason why winters (in the Northern
Hemisphere) are colder than summers? (If A, B, and C are all reasons, then D is
the answer.)
A) The sun's rays hit the Earth at more of an angle in the winter, thus delivering less "warmth" per square meter.
B) The Earth is farther from the sun in the winter.
C) The sun is not up as long in the winter.
D) All of the above are true.
13) Why is the sun completely covered by the Moon during a total solar
eclipse, but not during an annular solar eclipse?
A) Because the Moon is slightly closer to the Earth during an annular eclipse than it is during a total eclipse.
B) Because the Moon is slightly farther from the Earth during an annular eclipse than it is during a total eclipse.
C) Because the Moon's orbit is tilted slightly with respect to the path of the sun, one edge of the sun is not covered if the Moon and sun don't directly line up.
D) The sun is completely covered in an annular eclipse. An annular eclipse is a type of solar eclipse that occurs only once a year.
14) What is the definition of an "Astronomical Unit" (AU)?
A) The average distance of a planet from the sun.
B) 1.5 x 10^11 meters (93 million miles).
C) The average distance of the Earth from the sun.
D) The average distance from the Earth to the moon.
E) The division of a hospital where they treat aliens.
15) The principle "new idea" of Copernicus' De
Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium was:
A) There was no longer a need to postulate epicycles.
B) The Earth is at the center of the solar system.
C) All the planets revolved around the sun.
D) All of the above.
16) The deductions that planets orbit the sun in ellipses, and that the
square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of it's
distance from the sun, were made by:
A) Galileo
B) Nicolaus Copernicus.
C) Johannes Kepler
D) Tycho Brahe
E) Sir Isaac Newton
17) A friend of yours states that she has discovered a previously
overlooked new planet orbiting at a distance of twice as far from the
sun as the Earth. She states that the orbital period of this new planet is
2years. Is this orbital data reasonable?
A) Yes
B) No, the planet is orbiting too slowly for its distance from the sun.
C) No, the planet is orbiting too quickly for its distance from the sun.
18) Eratosthenes determined a reasonably accurate value for the size of
the Earth. Which of the following best describes the basic idea of his
method?
A) He measured the time it took for a ship, sailing directly away from land, to completely disappear due to the curvature of the earth. From this he calculated the diameter of the Earth.
B) He measured the lengths of shadows at noon on the same day in two cities, one a known distance north of the other, and then used trigonometry to calculate the diameter of the Earth.
C) He measured the radius of the Earth's shadow as it covered the moon during a lunar eclipse. From this he calculated the diameter of the earth.
19) If you wanted a star chart that had the stars' positions plotted
correctly for the year 2000, you would look for which of the following on the
chart?
A) Epoch 2000
B) © Copyright 2000
C) Published 2000
D) ® Trademark Registered 2000
20) About when do the equinoxes and solstices
occur?
A) Vernal Equinox: March 21 Autumnal Equinox: October 21
Summer Solstice: June 21 Winter Solstice: December 21
B) Vernal Equinox: March 21 Autumnal Equinox: September 21
Summer Solstice: July 21 Winter Solstice: December 21
C) Vernal Equinox: April 21 Autumnal Equinox: September 21
Summer Solstice: June 21 Winter Solstice: December 21
D) Vernal Equinox: March 21 Autumnal Equinox: September 21
Summer Solstice: June 21 Winter Solstice: December 21
21) One night you look up and see Polaris, and you also note that a star
that is just on your meridian is just touching your northern horizon. What is
your latitude if the declination of the star is 54 degrees north?
A) 54 degrees north
B) 36 degrees south
C) 36 degrees north
D) 54degrees south
22) A spacecraft is in a high circular orbit around a planet. (By high
orbit I mean one that is completely outside the planet's upper-most atmosphere
at all times.) The spacecraft runs out of fuel. What will happen to the
spacecraft?(Captain Kirk and Mr. Scott, pay attention here!)
A) The spacecraft will slowly spiral into the planet and crash.
B) The spacecraft will remain in the same orbit.
C) The spacecraft will slowly spiral out into space.
23) Examine the Moon in the following diagram (Moon size and altitude not
to scale).
Given the view pictured, how long is it until there will be a Full Moon?
A) About 1 week
B) About 2 weeks.
C) About 3 weeks.
D) About 4 weeks.
24) On a certain day, at 16:55 UT, you are located in Colorado Springs,
at longitude 104.8o west. At
this same moment, what is the UT in Melbourne, Australia, longitude 145.6o
east?
A) 23:45 UT
B) 09:50 UT
C) 16:55 UT,
D) 04:25 UT
25) Galileo's observations of the phases of Venus
A) proved that all the planets orbited the sun.
B) proved that Venus had retrograde motion.
C) proved that Venus orbited the sun.
D) proved that Venus was the same size as the moon.