Exploring the Cosmos - Class Test 1 - Complete B
1. How did Johan Bayer name the stars in the sky? He named them
in terms of their co-ordinates in the sky.
based on their colour.
in the order he found them.
in terms of their relative brightness within constellations.
2. If a star's annular parallax is 0.4, what is the distance?
2.5 Mpc
2.5 LY
2.5 pc
2.5 AU
3. The surface temperature of our Sun is roughly
3,000 K
60,000 K
30,000 K
6,000 K
4. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of what in their nuclei?
neutrons
photons
protons
electrons
5. Which of the following types of stars are most abundant in the universe?
Red giants
White dwarfs
Red dwarfs
Blue giants
6. At roughly what distance is the nearest star to our own?
43 parsecs
4.3 lightyears
43 lightyears
4.3 parsecs
7. Which process allows for the building up of elements heavier than iron?
Photodisintegration.
Helium capture.
Neutron capture.
The alpha-process.
8. What is the name given to the process by which elements are formed in stars?
Stellar construction
Stellar manipulation
Stellar nucleosynthesis
Stellar photosynthesis
9. Which of the following regions of our Sun is the hottest?
Convection zone
Photosphere
Chromosphere
Corona
10. What temperature range do Main Sequence stars fall into?
30 K to 300 K
30,000 K to 300,000 K
300 K to 3,000 K
3,000 K to 30,000 K
11. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?
100 billion
1 billion
1 million
100 million
12. A hydrogen nucleus contains how many protons?
1
3
4
2
13. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?
Amplitude
Speed
Colour
Wavelength
14. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?
Because it interferes with the surface.
Because the frequency increases.
Because the amplitude is reduced.
Because the speed of light changes.
15. A spectrograph orders electromagnetic waves with respect to which of the following?
The number of photons in the waves.
Their wavelength.
Their amplitude.
Their source.
16. Diffraction gratings are used to
increase the resolution of telescopes.
break up light into a spectrum.
detect infrared radiation.
reduce diffraction of telescopes.
17. The focal length of an ideal mirror depends on the
thickness of the mirror.
diameter of the mirror.
curvature of the mirror.
colour of the incident light.
18. If the width of the objective of a telescope is doubled, what happens to its light gathering power?
The light gathering power is increased by a factor of two.
The light gathering power remains the same.
The light gathering power increased by a factor of four.
The light gathering power is decreased by a factor of four.
19. How old is the universe?
About 6 thousand years.
The universe is infinitely old.
About 14 billion years.
About 50 billion years.
20. The sky is dark at night because
the universe is only sparsely populated with stars.
the universe is so young that light from faraway stars has not yet reached us.
there is dark matter in between the stars.
our eyes are not sensitive enough.
21. What is the observable universe?
All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.
Parts of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.
The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.
The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.
22. Ptolemy believed that
all the stars were on a celestial sphere.
some of the planets orbit around the Sun.
everything must move along one simple perfect circle.
Newton was the greatest scientist of all time.
23. Einstein's special theory of relativity implies that
nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
all motion is relative to the centre of the universe.
everything is relative.
nothing is relative.
24. Kepler's Laws show that
planetary orbits are elliptical.
planets cannot be more massive than the star around which they orbit.
there is no special centre around which the universe rotates.
a planet orbits the sun with constant speed.
25. Globular clusters are usually found in the
discs of galaxies and contain population I stars.
halos of galaxies and contain population I stars.
halos of galaxies and contain population II stars.
discs of galaxies and contain population II stars.
26. Our Sun is situated in
a globular cluster in the galactic disc about half of its radius from the centre.
the disc of the galaxy close to the edge of the disc.
the disc of the galaxy about two thirds of its radius from the centre.
a globular cluster in the halo of the galaxy.
27. Neutral hydrogen can be detected by astronomers because it
reflects blue light from nearby stars.
forms dark clouds in the disc of a spiral galaxy.
radiates a sharp 21 cm radio signal.
glows with a bright blue colour.
28. The approximate position of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy was first found, using optical telescopes, by
looking for the central bulge.
observing stars moving round the massive black hole in the centre.
measuring the position of visible open star clusters.
measuring the position of visible globular clusters.
29. The diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is about
25 to 30 kpc.
250 to 300 pc.
25 to 30 Mpc.
25 to 30 pc.
30. Of the stars in a spiral galaxy,
those in the disc component move in nearly circular orbits in the plane of the disc and around the galactic centre.
those in the outer reaches of the disk are slowly spiralling inwards due the presence of dark matter in the galaxy.
all the stars in the disk move with the same angular velocity, like a rigid turntable.
those in the spherical component move in circular orbits with random orientations around the galactic centre.
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