Question 1

What is a hyperbola?

Accepted Answer

A)   straight line extending to infinity in one direction
B)   long, skinny ellipse
C)   infinitely long curve that never closes on itself
D)   ellipse with equal major and minor axes

Question 2

The eastern elongation of Mercury's orbit

Accepted Answer

A)   is always the same.
B)   depends both on Mercury's position in its orbit and on Earth's position in its orbit.
C)   is always smaller than the western elongation.
D)   is always the same as the western elongation.

Question 3

Two of Kepler's laws of planetary motion applied to Earth are that the line from the Sun to Earth sweeps out equal areas in equal times and that Earth's orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. One consequence of these laws is that the

Accepted Answer

A)   Earth must rotate on its axis.
B)   Sun must rotate on its axis.
C)   Earth moves at different orbital speeds at different times of the year.
D)   Earth's orbital plane lies in the same plane as the orbits of the other planets.

Question 4

When observing planetary motions from Earth, the phrase "retrograde motion" refers to the

Accepted Answer

A)   apparent westward motion of the planet (and the Sun, the Moon, and stars)  across the sky due to the rotation of Earth.
B)   motion of the planet away from Earth during part of its orbit.
C)   slow eastward motion of the planet from night to night compared to the background stars.
D)   slow westward motion of the planet from night to night compared to the background stars.

Question 5

The simplified version of Kepler's third law of planetary motion relates the period P (in sidereal years)  to the length of the semimajor axis a (in astronomical units)  in which way?

Accepted Answer

A)   P2 = a3
B)   P = a2
C)   P = 1/a2
D)   P3 = a2

Question 6

What did Galileo NOT observe with his new telescope?

Accepted Answer

A)   phases of Venus
B)   large moons of Jupiter
C)   Uranus
D)   sunspots

Question 7

The time period between two successive passages of a planet through the position of opposition is

Accepted Answer

A)   1 year.
B)   its sidereal period.
C)   its synodic period.
D)   its precessional period.

Question 8

Who was the discoverer of the planet Uranus?

Accepted Answer

A)   Galileo Galilei, in 1610
B)   Johann Galle, in 1846
C)   Clyde Tombaugh, in 1930
D)   William Herschel, in 1781

Question 9

Which of these planetary configurations is impossible for an inferior planet?

Accepted Answer

A)   superior conjunction
B)   greatest elongation
C)   inferior conjunction
D)   opposition

Question 10

The International Space Station is in orbit around Earth. If an astronaut aboard the station releases an object in mid-air, it will

Accepted Answer

A)   remain at rest because no gravitational force acts upon it.
B)   be pulled by gravity in orbit around Earth along with the rest of the Space Station.
C)   drop to the floor of the Space Station just as it would on Earth.
D)   accelerate toward the ceiling of the Space Station because of the absence of gravity.

Question 11

In science, if new and reliable observations disagree with a well-established theory, then the

Accepted Answer

A)   observations should be classified for future reference and the theory retained as the best explanation of the phenomenon.
B)   observations must be discarded.
C)   theory must be discarded.
D)   theory must be modified to account for the observations, and if this is not possible, then the theory must be discarded.

Question 12

The angular momentum of an object depends on which of these sets of factors?

Accepted Answer

A)   the mass of the object and how fast it is spinning, but not how the mass is distributed or the local gravitational field
B)   the mass of the object, how the mass is distributed, how fast the object is spinning, and how strong a gravitational field the object is in
C)   how fast the object is spinning, but not how fast it is spinning, how the mass is distributed, or the local gravitational field
D)   the mass of the object, how the mass is distributed, and how fast the object is spinning, but not the local gravitational field

Question 13

Light from fires that were lit at the time of the Battle of Hastings in England in A.D. 1066 has traveled out into space at the speed of light. How far out into space has this light now reached, compared to the distances to the 20 brightest stars?

Accepted Answer

A)   beyond Sirius, but not beyond Betelgeuse, Rigel, and Deneb
B)   beyond Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Rigel, but not beyond Deneb
C)   beyond Sirius and Betelgeuse, but not beyond Rigel and Deneb
D)   beyond Sirius, Betelgeuse, Rigel, and Deneb

Question 14

Comet Halley returns to the Sun's vicinity approximately every 76 years in an elliptical orbit. According to Kepler's third law, what is the semimajor axis of this orbit?

Accepted Answer

A)   0.59 au
B)   17.9 au
C)   50.000 au
D)   1 au

Question 15

The first person to realize that the force holding us onto Earth is the same force that holds the solar system together was apparently

Accepted Answer

A)   Plato.
B)   Aristotle.
C)   Newton.
D)   Einstein.

Question 16

According to Galileo's observations of Venus, when Venus is at full phase, its angular size

Accepted Answer

A)   and its angular distance from the Sun are both maximum.
B)   and its angular distance from the Sun are both minimum.
C)   is maximum but its angular distance from the Sun is minimum.
D)   is minimum but its angular distance from the Sun is maximum.

Question 17

When viewed from Earth, the celestial sphere (the background of stars)  moves east to west on a daily basis. This motion is caused by the

Accepted Answer

A)   rotation of Earth on its axis.
B)   revolution of Earth around the Sun.
C)   motion of the Sun through the Galaxy.
D)   motion of the stars around the galactic center.

Question 18

Where and when would Jupiter be seen from Earth when it is at opposition?

Accepted Answer

A)   in the daytime sky
B)   just before sunrise, on the eastern horizon
C)   just after sunset, on the western horizon
D)   high in the south at midnight

Question 19

As seen by an observer on Saturn (or one of its moons) , which of these planets can never pass through inferior conjunction?

Accepted Answer

A)   Jupiter
B)   Neptune
C)   Venus
D)   Earth

Question 20

What is the distance between Earth and the nearest star?

Accepted Answer

A)   4.2 pc
B)   1 au
C)   5.2 au
D)   4.2 ly

Exam 2: Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets

Light from fires that were lit at the time of the Battle of Hastings in England in A.D. 1066 has traveled out into space at the speed of light. How far out into space has this light now reached, compared to the distances to the 20 brightest stars?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When observing planetary motions from Earth, the phrase "retrograde motion" refers to the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The eastern elongation of Mercury's orbit

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The International Space Station is in orbit around Earth. If an astronaut aboard the station releases an object in mid-air, it will

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Who was the discoverer of the planet Uranus?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is a hyperbola?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

According to Galileo's observations of Venus, when Venus is at full phase, its angular size

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When viewed from Earth, the celestial sphere (the background of stars) moves east to west on a daily basis. This motion is caused by the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the distance between Earth and the nearest star?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of these planetary configurations is impossible for an inferior planet?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The time period between two successive passages of a planet through the position of opposition is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What did Galileo NOT observe with his new telescope?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The angular momentum of an object depends on which of these sets of factors?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In science, if new and reliable observations disagree with a well-established theory, then the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

As seen by an observer on Saturn (or one of its moons) , which of these planets can never pass through inferior conjunction?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The first person to realize that the force holding us onto Earth is the same force that holds the solar system together was apparently

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Comet Halley returns to the Sun's vicinity approximately every 76 years in an elliptical orbit. According to Kepler's third law, what is the semimajor axis of this orbit?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Two of Kepler's laws of planetary motion applied to Earth are that the line from the Sun to Earth sweeps out equal areas in equal times and that Earth's orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. One consequence of these laws is that the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Where and when would Jupiter be seen from Earth when it is at opposition?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The simplified version of Kepler's third law of planetary motion relates the period P (in sidereal years) to the length of the semimajor axis a (in astronomical units) in which way?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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