125 Astronomy 1 Midterm Review Answers
1. b. the zenith
2. b. zenith
3. a. the planet on which we live is rotating
4. b. heliocentric
5. d. Earth's axis
6. c. celestial equator
7. d. at the north celestial pole
8. e. none of the above are the same on the equator as in Canada
9. d. all of the above would be different from the way it is in Florida
10. b. latitude of the observer
11. a. the south circumpolar zone
12. c. Polaris
13. d. are in the north circumpolar zone throughout the year
14. b. at the north pole
15. b. 180 degrees
16. e. the ecliptic
17. c. the Earth's axis is tilted by about 23 degrees from the vertical
18. d. the Moon
19. a. the zodiac
20. b. constellations
21. c. an asterism
22. e. the Sun is seen blocking different constellations in the course of a year
23. b. Aristarchus
24. d. by measuring the height of the Sun in the sky on the same day in two cities at different latitudes
25. d. explained retrograde motion
26. c. retrograde motion
27. d. the Earth's axis will no longer be tilted in several thousand years
28. a. precession
29. c. Ptolemy
30. d. the planets moved on a small circle whose center in turn circled a point near the Earth
31. b. astrology has not passed any clear scientific or statistical test and as a result, most scientists are very doubtful that it can predict anything meaningful about our lives
32. e. Copernicus
33. c. Galileo
34. e. explaining retrograde motion with the heliocentric hypothesis
35. c. Galileo used instruments and experiments to show him what nature was doing, instead of relying on pure logic
36. a. Tycho Brahe
37. c. Johannes Kepler
38. b. Tycho Brahe died and his assistant was able to get full access to his data
39. d. an ellipse
40. a. the eccentricity
41. d. moves faster than average
42. c. distance from the Sun
43. b. inertia
44. a. a force
45. e. there are places on Earth where all forces are absent
46. e. a cubic meter of lead
47. a. will increase
48. d. 1 lb
49. c. its strength is inversely proportional to the mass: the more mass, the less gravity
50. d. calculus
51. e. more than one of the above
52. c. the Shuttle is falling around the Earth (and everything aboard is in free fall)
53. b. the distances and periods of revolution
54. c. perihelion
55. b. Pluto
56. a. Mercury
57. b. a zone where rocky chunks orbit between Mars and Jupiter
58. d. Sputnik
59. d. far from the Sun
60. b. circular satellite velocity
61. c. they lose speed due to friction with the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere
62. b. escape velocity
63. d. mathematical calculations of how it was perturbing the motion of a neighbor planet
64. c. Adams and Leverrier
65. a. perturbation
66. c. the North Pole<;BR>
67. a. latitude
68. e. Greenwich, England
69. b. longitude
70. b. hours, minutes, and seconds
71. d. right ascension and declination
72. d. the tilt of its axis
73. c. January
74. d. summer solstice
75. c. in late June
76. b. the Sun's rays hit the Earth more directly in the Summer, and spread out less
77. e. on the Tropic of Cancer (23o N)
78. c. the South Pole
79. c. September 23
80. a. at the equator
81. b. six months of light, followed by six months of darkness (or at least dark twilight)
82. b. in late December
83. a. a solar day
84. c. because the Earth is going around the Sun in the course of a year
85. d. the world was divided into 24 time zones, with all communities within a time zone keeping the same mean standard time
86. b. add one hour to local standard time
87. b. When crossing from west to east, you must decrease the date by one day
88. a. the Earth's rotation period does not divide evenly into the Earth's period of revolution
89. c. the seven "wandering" objects in the Sky that were visible to the ancients
90. d. introducing the leap year, so that every fourth year had an extra day
91. c. 12 days had to be dropped to bring the date and the seasons back into accord
92. d. at sunrise
93. b. about a week
94. e. third quarter
95. e. just as the sun is setting, or just after
96. a. roughly around sunset
97. b. roughly midnight
98. c. the angle the Moon makes with the Sun changes and we see differing amounts of reflected sunlight
99. c. the same as its revolution around the Earth
100. d. full moon
101. a. all sides of the Moon are illuminated by sunlight in the course of a month; there is no dark side
102. d. the length of the month
103. b. spring tides
104. b. new moon
105. a. full moon
106. c. astronomers can now visit most of the objects that they study
107. d. whether it can be tested and confirmed by experiments and observations
108. b. billions
109. d. 1010
110. d. 100 years
111. d. the universe
112. e. 9.46 x 1020 km
113. d. $ 2.37 x 105
114. a. 4
115. c. our modern telescopes can detect light (and other radiation) that left cosmic objects that long ago, and has been on its way to us ever since
116. b. it has abundant liquid water on its surface
117. a. an astronomical unit
118. c. part of the Milky Way Galaxy
119. b. the Sun is roughly in its center, and the other stars go around us
120. e. the Local Group
121. d. intergalactic space (the regions between galaxies)
122. b. molecules
123. c. number of protons in its nucleus
124. e. December
125. a. hydrogen