years
(c) 
years
(d) 4.5 years
(e) This question cannot be answered with the information given.
PHY 109: Astronomy and Cosmology The Solar System
Fall 2003 Prof. Cote's Website • Astronomy at Rutgers • Department of Physics & Astronomy • Rutgers University
Last updated August 1, 2003
Practice Midterm
Note that this exam was based on a different textbook that the one being used this semester, so the emphasis on material may have been slightly different than in our course. Also, we will not be covering the material in precisely the same order.
Asterisks (*) indicate those questions which are based on material that we will probably not be covering.
Click here for the solutions.
1. When the Moon is in its last quarter phase, it:
(a) rises at sunrise and sets at sunset.
(b) rises at sunset and sets at sunrise.
(c) rises at noon and sets at midnight.
(d) rises at midnight and sets at noon.
(e) needs to borrow a dime for a 35 cent cup of coffee.
2. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere,
(a) precession has brought the Earth's pole perpendicular to the Earth-Sun line.
(b) the Southern Hemisphere has its longest days.
(c) it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
(d) the Earth is at its closest point to the Sun.
(e) the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun.
3. Suppose that you live on the Moon. How long is a lunar day (i.e. from noon to noon)?
(a) 18 years and 11 days
(b) one Earth year
(c) 23 hours and 56 minutes
(d) 24 hours
(e) 29 1/2 Earth days
4. What is the meaning of the term "ecliptic"?
(a) It is when the Moon passes in front of the Sun.
(b) It is the Sun's apparent path along the celestial sphere.
(c) It is the Moon's apparent path along the celestial sphere.
(d) It is the set of constellations commonly used in astrology used to predict the future.
(e) It is an imaginary line extending from your northern horizon, through the zenith, to your southern horizon.
5. Which of the following statements about sidereal and solar days is not true?
(a) A solar day is 4 minutes longer than a sidereal day.
(b) A solar day represents more than 360° of rotation for the Earth.
(c) The time it takes for the Moon to make one circuit of our sky is one solar day.
(d) The time it takes for a star to make one circuit of our sky is one sidereal day.
(e) The time it takes for the Sun to make one circuit of our sky is one solar day.
6. When do we see the planet Jupiter undergo retrograde motion?
(a) When it is in quadrature (90° from the Sun).
(b) When it is in opposition (180° from the Sun).
(c) When it is in conjunction (0° from the Sun).
(d) At the time of the equinoxes.
(e) At the timme of the solstices.
7. Which of the following objects is observed to undergo retrograde motion?
(a) the star Sirius
(b) the Earth
(c) the Moon
(d) the Sun
(e) Venus
8. If the constellation Orion is now rising in the eastern sky, where will it be in 6 hours?
(a) setting in the western sky
(b) below the western horizon
(c) below the eastern horizon
(d) on the meridian
(e) still near the eastern horizon
9. We can't detect stellar parallax with naked-eye observations. Which of the following would make it easier to observe parallax?
(a) decreasing the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit about the Sun
(b) speeding up the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun
(c) increasing the size of the Earth's orbit about the Sun
(d) reducing the inclination of the Earth's spin axis
(e) speeding up the precession of the Earth's axis
10. The Greek astronomer and geographer Eratosthenes observed the elevation angle of the Sun on the day of the summer solstice at Syene and at Alexandria. This allowed him to:
(a) measure retrograde motion
(b) invent a new system of physics
(c) establish a religious cult
(d) produce a new map of Egypt
(e) determine the size of the Earth
11. If you measure the angular elevation of the North Star (Polaris) above your local horizon, you can determine:
(a) your local latitude
(b) your local longitude
(c) the size of the Earth
(d) the tilt of the Earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic
(e) the time of day
12. The Greek philosopher Plato introduced the idea that there was a "real world" of perfection, and a "visible world" that we perceived with our senses. This idea led to:
(a) the discovery of precession
(b) a heliocentric model of the Solar System
(c) the rejection of circles and the adoption of ellipses as the geometrical basis for the orbits of planets
(d) the expectation that observations would not necessarily agree with theoretical models
(e) riots that burned the library at Alexandria
13. Where were the elements Carbon and Oxygen that are now a part of your body originally formed?
(a) in the Big Bang
(b) in nuclear fusion reactions in the core of a star that no longer exists
(c) in nuclear fusion reactions in the core of the Sun
(d) in nuclear fission reactions in the core of the Earth
(e) in chemical reactions in the oceans of the Earth
14. Which of the following would you not attribute to Aristotle?
(a) a system of physics based on four elements
(b) the concept of "natural motion"
(c) the use of circles and spheres in modeling the Solar System
(d) teaching and using Plato's ideas
(e) a heliocentric model of the Solar System
15. During the Dark Ages in Europe, the scientific work of the ancient Greeks was preserved and further developed primarily by scholars in:
(a) Greece
(b) Rome
(c) India
(d) Baghdad
(e) China
16. The Greek astronomer Aristarchus invented a heliocentric model of the Solar System. How did he answer criticisms about parallax in his model?
(a) He pointed out that his model did not predict parallax.
(b) He argued that the stars were much further away than most people thought.
(c) He argued that the Earth was much larger than most people thought.
(d) He showed that his model used parallax to explain retrograde motion.
(e) He used parallax to measure the relative size and distance of the Sun.
17. Which of the following statements about scientific theories is not true?
(a) A theory must make predictions that can be checked by observation or experiment.
(b) A theory can never be proved beyond all doubt; we can only hope to collect more and more evidence that might support it.
(c) Scientists cannot take a theory seriously if it contradicts other theories developed by scientists over the past several hundred years.
(d) A theory is a model designed to explain a number of observed facts.
(e) If even a single new fact is discovered that contradicts what we expect according to a particular theory, then that theory must be revised or discarded.
*18. Considering Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2, which of the following statements is true?
(a) Mass can be turned into energy, but energy cannot be turned back into mass.
(b) Energy can be turned into mass, but mass cannot be turned back into energy.
(c) A small amount of mass can be turned into a large amount of energy.
(d) You can make mass into energy if you accelerate the mass to the speed of light.
(e) One good entertainer is worth two masters of ceremonies.
19. In Ptolemy's model of the solar system, the epicycle was used to:
(a) produce retrograde motion for the planets.
(b) account for the precession of the equinoxes.
(c) explain the repetitive patterns of eclipses.
(d) measure the size of the Sun.
(e) provide non-polluting transportation.
20. What does temperature measure?
(a) The average mass of particles in a substance.
(b) The average size of particles in a substance
(c) The total number of particles in a substance
(d) The average kinetic energy of particles in a substance
(e) The average potential energy of particles in a substance
21. Who first discovered the Jupiter had moons orbiting about it?
(a) Kepler
(b) Galileo
(c) Tycho Brahe
(d) Hipparchus
(e) Newton
22. Suppose that you were transported to a planet that had exactly the same mass as the Earth, but that was twice as big as the Earth (i.e. this planet's diameter is twice the Earth's diameter). On this new planet, your weight would be:
(a) exactly the same as on the Earth
(b) half your weight on the Earth
(c) one-quarter your weight on the Earth
(d) twice your weight on the Earth
(e) four times your weight on the Earth
23. Which of the following is an example of traveling as a constant speed but not at a constant velocity?
(a) orbiting the Earth in an eccentric elliptical orbit
(b) rolling freely down a hill in a cart, moving in a straight line
(c) driving in a circle at exactly 50 km/hr
(d) driving backwards at exactly 50 km/hr
(e) none of the above
24. How would the Milky Way look to someone observing it from a planet orbiting a star in the Andromeda Galaxy?
(a) like a bright band of light circling the entire sky
(b) like a very bright star
(c) like a small, fuzzy, spiral-shaped patch of light in the sky
(d) completely invisible
(e) like a giant candy bar in the sky
25. Why was Copernicus' model of the Solar System no more accurate in predicting the positions of planets than Ptolemy's model was?
(a) actually, Copernicus' model was much more accurate in prediction the positions of the planets than Ptolemy's model was
(b) because Copernicus' model was geocentric
(c) because Copernicus' model used circular orbits for the planets
(d) because Copernicus' model did not attempt to explain retrograde motion
(e) because Copernicus' model did not include the effects of the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto
26. How did Tycho Brahe demonstrate that comets and novae were objects that must lie outside the Earth's atmosphere?
(a) By collecting observations of them from all over Europe and showing that they had no measurable parallax.
(b) By observing them over an extended period of time from one location and showing that they had a measurable parallax.
(c) By using Newton's laws of physics.
(d) By using Aristotle's laws of physics.
(e) By using Kepler's laws of physics.
27. Why was the discovery of Jupiter's moons important?
(a) It demonstrated elliptical orbit shapes.
(b) It confirmed Ptolemy's predictions.
(c) It demonstrated motion on epicycles.
(d) It helped overthrow Aristotle's laws of physics.
(e) It ensured ample funding for NASA's space missions.
28. A spacecraft moves about the Sun in an orbit with a semi-major axis of 3 astronomical units. What is this spacecraft's orbital period about the Sun?
(a) 2 years
(b) years
(c) years
(d) 4.5 years
(e) This question cannot be answered with the information given.
29. During an eclipse, if the Moon is relatively far from the Earth, so that its umbra does not reach the Earth, then someone on Earth directly behind the umbra will see:
(a) no eclipse at all
(b) a penumbral lunar eclipse
(c) a partial lunar eclipse
(d) a partial solar eclipse
(e) an annular solar eclipse
30. At extremely high temperatures (for example, millions of degrees Centigrade) which of the following best describes the phase of matter?
(a) a plasma of positively charged ions and free electrons
(b) a plasma of rapidly moving neutral atoms
(c) a gas of rapidly moving molecules
(d) a gas consisting of individual neutral atoms, but no molecules
(e) none of the above &endash; at these high temperatures, matter cannot exist
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