Earth Science 102: Astronomy

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay First - time Visitors: Please visit Site Map and Disclaimer. Use "Back" to return here.

1. The outermost layer of the sun is called the: a. ionosphere b. chromosphere c. corona d. megasphere e. photosphere 2. The most explosive events to occur on the sun are: a. granules b. filaments c. solar flares d. solar winds e. sun spots 3. Which main-sequence stars are the least massive? a. red b. white c. orange d. blue e. yellow 4. Possibly the most cataclysmic act to occur in nature is; a. electron degeneration b. a nova c. a supernova d. the collision of two galaxies 5. The sun produces energy by converting: a. oxygen to carbon dioxide b. oxygen to nitrogen c. carbon monoxide to oxygen d. hydrogen to helium e. helium to hydrogen 6. The nearest star a. Alpha Centauri b. Sirius c. Procyon d. the Sun 7. Although the Sun appears sharp, we can actually see about ____ kilometers into it.

a. 10 b. 200 c. 10,000 d. 100,000 8. The visible surface of the Sun a. corona b. chromosphere c. photosphere d. nuclear core 9. The cooler layer of the Sun where the lines in the Solar spectrum form a. corona b. chromosphere c. photosphere d. nuclear core 10. Deep in the Sun, energy is transferred by a. conduction b. convection c. radiation 11. Streams of protons and electrons emitted from the sun produce(s): a. quasars b. spicules c. the solar wind d. prominences e. granules 12. During periods of high solar activity, huge cloudlike structures that appear as great arches extending from the sun are often produced. These solar features are called: a. quasars b. spicules c. the solar wind d. prominences e. granules 13. Our galaxy is called: a. Milky Way b. Pleiades c. Panorama galaxy d. Andromeda e. Orion 14. Which color stars have the highest surface temperature? a. red b. white

c. orange d. blue e. yellow 15. The layer of the sun which radiates most of the light that reaches the earth is called the: a. ionosphere b. chromosphere c. corona d. megasphere e. photosphere 16. The layer of the solar atmosphere directly above the photosphere is called the: a. ionosphere b. solarsphere c. corona d. megasphere e. chromosphere 17. Which color stars have the coolest surface temperature? a. red b. white c. orange d. blue e. yellow 18. Which main-sequence stars are the most massive? a. red b. white c. orange d. blue e. yellow 19. The source of the sun's energy is: a. chemical burning b. heat of contraction c. nuclear fission d. potential energy e. nuclear fusion 20. The final stage for a star which is as massive as the sun: a. black hole b. red giant c. black dwarf d. white dwarf e. main-sequence 21. When a main-sequence star has exhausted the hydrogen fuel in its core, it becomes a: a. black hole b. black dwarf c. neutron star d. red giant e. white dwarf

22. Stars that are composed of matter in which electrons have combined with protons are called: a. black hole b. red giant c. black dwarf d. white dwarf e. neutron star 23. This property of a star can be determined from its color: a. mass b. surface temperature c. stellar distance d. volume e. velocity 24. These can be produced during a supernova event: a. black hole b. red giant c. black dwarf d. white dwarf e. main-sequence star 25. A star in which light cannot escape because of the immense gravitational pull at its surface: a. black hole b. red giant c. black dwarf d. white dwarf e. main sequence star 26. The black lines across the spectrum of the sun or a star are caused by a. planets getting in the way b. absorption of light by atoms in the star c. emission of light by atoms in the star d. chemical reactions 27. The common image of a telescope, a lens in the front and an eyepiece at the back, is a _________ telescope a. refracting b. reflecting c. compound d. achromatic 28. The largest astronomical telescopes are a. refracting b. reflecting c. compound d. achromatic 29. The largest astronomical telescopes are of that design because a. it is cheaper to fabricate large mirrors than lenses

b. it is cheaper to fabricate large lenses than mirrors c. large mirrors absorb more light than lenses d. large mirrors require color correction whereas lenses do not. 30. The Doppler Effect causes light from an object moving toward us to: a. be red-shifted b. be blue-shifted c. undergo no change d. become green 31. The Doppler Effect causes light from an object moving away from us to: a. be red-shifted b. be blue-shifted c. undergo no change d. become green 32. The Doppler Effect causes light from an object moving across our line of sight to: a. be red-shifted b. be blue-shifted c. undergo no change d. become green 33. The constellations as we see them from Earth would change noticeably in (pick the shortest applicable time): a. 100 years b. 10,000 years c. 1,000,000 years d. a billion years 34. Stars in a given constellation: a. all formed together b. are all moving in the same direction c. are all the same type d. are usually not physically related 35. Why is there a North Star but not a South Star? a. the Earth's north magnetic pole is stronger b. people chose to live in the hemisphere that had a Pole Star c. the Earth is on the north side of the Galaxy d. just by chance there is a bright star near the north celestial pole. 36. The celestial equivalent of latitude is: a. right ascension b. declination c. galactic longitude d. spherical aberration 37. To an astronomer, the most important purpose of a telescope is: a. great magnification b. gathering light c. measuring positions d. penetrating clouds 38. To an astronomer, the least important purpose of a telescope is: a. great magnification

b. gathering light c. measuring positions d. penetrating clouds 39. Gravity overwhelms all other forces in this object: a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 40. Largest of all stars a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 41. Can be a pulsar a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 42. What the most massive stars become a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 43. What the sun will probably become next a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 44. The last stage in the evolution of the Sun a. Normal Star b. White Dwarf c. Neutron Star d. Black Hole e. Red Giant 45. Nearest planet with surface visible from Earth a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 46. Has a Giant Red Spot

a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 47. Has four giant moons a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 48. Has a runaway greenhouse effect a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 49. Has enormous volcanoes and rift valleys a. Europa b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 50. Once had liquid water a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 51. Has a moon with an atmosphere a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 52. Has clouds of sulfuric acid droplets a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 53. Closest to the sun and smallest of the group listed a. Venus b. Mars c. Earth d. Saturn

e. Mercury 54. Has polar ice caps that expand and contact with its seasons a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Mercury 55. The principal clue that the surface of a planet is geologically young a. Atmosphere b. Heavy cratering c. Volcanoes d. Lack of craters 56. A moon of Jupiter that has active volcanoes a. Titan b. Triton c. Io d. Callisto e. Europa 57. A massive star sometimes explodes in a great explosion called a. Supernova b. Quasar c. Big Bang d. Thermonuclear e. Neutrino 58. Why astronomers are not as concerned as one might guess about the "missing mass" in the Universe: a. It's probably due to errors of observation b. It's been found c. There are so many possible explanations d. They have no funds to investigate it 59. Great spiral mass of stars about 100,000 light years across a. Nebula b. Globular Cluster c. Pulsar d. Quasar e. Galaxy 60. Technique astronomers use to find distance to nearby stars a. Parallax b. Spectroscopy c. Doppler Shift 61. Estimated age of the Universe a. 1.4 billion years b. 13 billion years c. 120 billion years d. 1.7 trillion years 62. The color of a star is due to:

a. Its distance b. Its composition c. Its temperature d. Its age e. Its size 63. All objects exist as the result of a balance between some force and: a. Centrifugal force b. Electromagnetism c. Gravity d. Nuclear Forces e. Radiation 64. What force keeps Planets from collapsing? a. Radiation b. Gravity c. Nuclear Forces d. Electron repulsion e. Forces between atoms f. No known force can prevent collapse 65. What force keeps Normal Stars from collapsing? a. Radiation b. Gravity c. Nuclear Forces d. Electron repulsion e. Forces between atoms f. No known force can prevent collapse 66. What force keeps White Dwarfs from collapsing? a. Radiation b. Gravity c. Nuclear Forces d. Electron repulsion e. Forces between atoms f. No known force can prevent collapse 67. What force keeps Neutron Stars from collapsing? a. Radiation b. Gravity c. Nuclear Forces d. Electron repulsion e. Forces between atoms f. No known force can prevent collapse 68. What force keeps each Black Holes from collapsing? a. Radiation b. Gravity c. Nuclear Forces d. Electron repulsion e. Forces between atoms f. No known force can prevent collapse

69. Planets are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 70. Normal Stars are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 71. Giant Stars are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 72. White Dwarfs are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 73. Neutron Stars are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 74. Black Holes are what approximate size? a. No size at all b. 10 km c. 10,000 km d. 1,000,000 km e. 100,000,000 km 75. Parallax is: a. The apparent shift in a stars position from one side of the Earth to the other b. The apparent shift in a stars position from one side of the Earths orbit to the other c. The apparent diameter of a star as seen in a telescope d. The amount a star moves in a year due to its own motion 76. What two elements make up 99.9% of the cosmos? a. iron and silicon b. hydrogen and helium c. carbon and silicon

d. hydrogen and oxygen e. carbon and hydrogen 77. Where did the heavy elements in the Solar System come from? a. comets coming in from outside b. formed in earlier generations of stars c. formed in the Sun d. formed by nuclear reactions as the Solar System was condensing 78. The spacecraft HIPPARCOS provided us with: a. Images of planets around other stars b. Vastly improved measurements of the sizes of stars c. Images of the most distant galaxies d. Vastly improved measurements of the distances of stars 79. To determine distances in the Solar System, we used observations of which bodies? a. Mars and the Moon b. Venus and nearby asteroids c. Mercury and Saturn d. Jupiter and its moons 80. To determine distances in the Solar System, we must: a. Determine the distance to each planet separately b. Determine one distance and use Kepler's Third Law to find the rest c. Determine the distance to the Moon accurately d. Determine the diameter of the Earth accurately 81. The violent collapse and explosion of a star is termed a: a. Supernova b. Nebula c. Starburst d. Stellar Implosion 82. The heavier (more complex) an element is, the __________ a. rarer it is in the Universe b. more common it is in the universe c. less essential it is for life d. more likely it is to occur on Earth e. more important it is for producing energy in stars 83. Great spiral mass of stars about 100,000 light years across a. Nebula b. Globular Cluster c. Pulsar d. Quasar e. Galaxy 84. Technique astronomers use to find distance to nearby stars a. Parallax b. Spectroscopy c. Doppler Shift d. Radar 85. Deneb, 1600 light years away, is too far even for HIPPARCOS to measure its distance accurately. We estimate its distance by:

a. Observing its motion b. Comparing it to stars of the same type whose distance we can measure c. Knowing it's in a globular star cluster d. Measuring its red shift 86. The most likely cause of the eventual extinction of life on earth: a. The Sun becoming a supernova b. The Sun becomes a red giant c. The Sun becomes a white dwarf d. The Sun becomes a Quasar e. Gradual heating of the earth as the Sun brightens 87. How Big is our Galaxy? a. 1000 light years across b. 10,000 light years across c. 100,000 light years across d. 1,000,000 light years across 88. Where are we in our Galaxy? a. In the central hub b. In the disk 2/3 of the way to the edge c. At the extreme edge of the disk d. Neither in the hub nor the disk 89. We know our location in our Galaxy by observing what? a. The movements of nearby stars b. Positions of Globular Star Clusters c. Motions of small satellite galaxies d. The expansion of the Universe e. Areas of star formation in the Galaxy 90. Our galaxy is in the center of: a. We are not at the center of anything b. A small group of 100 galaxies c. A cluster of 1,000 galaxies d. A supercluster of a million galaxies 91. How is our Sun moving in the galaxy? a. Standing Still b. Moving straight away from the center c. Moving out of the disk plane d. Orbiting once every 250 million years 92. The evidence that galaxies are receding from us is: a. They have gotten smaller since we first observed them b. They have gotten fainter since we first observed them c. Their light is blue-shifted d. Their light is red-shifted 93. The energy released at the Big Bang is now observed as: a. Visible light b. X-rays c. Infrared d. Ultraviolet

e. Faint microwaves 94. In the evenings in _______ we look toward the center of the galaxy a. Summer b. Fall c. Winter d. Spring 95. Where is the Solar System in relation to the center of the Milky Way? a. near the center b. at the extreme outer rim c. outside it d. two-thirds of the way from the center to the rim 96. These stars give us a distance scale to the galaxies: a. Cepheid variables b. red giants c. white dwarfs d. pulsars 97. Why arent astronomers very worried about the "missing mass" in the universe? a. They think the entire concept is an error. b. The missing mass has recently been accounted for. c. There are no ways to estimate the amount of mass in the Universe. d. There are so many forms the missing mass could take. 98. The "missing mass" in the universe is more accurately described as: a. Antimatter b. Imaginary c. Non-luminous d. Undiscovered particles

Matching (More than one answer may be correct) Matching (More than one answer may be correct)
1. Normal Star a. Gravity overwhelms all other forces b. Largest of all stars c. Can be a pulsar d. What the most massive stars become e. What the sun will probably become next f. Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy g. The final stage in the evolution of the Sun 2. White Dwarf a. Gravity overwhelms all other forces b. Largest of all stars c. Can be a pulsar d. What the most massive stars become e. What the sun will probably become next f. Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy

g. The final stage in the evolution of the Sun 3. Neutron Star a. Gravity overwhelms all other forces b. Largest of all stars c. Can be a pulsar d. What the most massive stars become e. What the sun will probably become next f. Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy g. The final stage in the evolution of the Sun 4. Black Hole a. Gravity overwhelms all other forces b. Largest of all stars c. Can be a pulsar d. What the most massive stars become e. What the sun will probably become next f. Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy g. The final stage in the evolution of the Sun 5. Red Giant a. Gravity overwhelms all other forces b. Largest of all stars c. Can be a pulsar d. What the most massive stars become e. What the sun will probably become next f. Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy g. The final stage in the evolution of the Sun