Cosmology/Astronomy Quiz

1. What is cosmology?

A. Study of cosmic raysB. Study of the effects of Cosmopolitan

Magazine on given demographic populations. C. Study of the origins of the universeD. Study of long-term effects of using cosmetics.

2. What is the prevailing theory concerning the origins of the universe?

A. Steady State TheoryB. Big Bang Theory C. Ptolemian Terracentric TheoryD. Droid Theory

3. According to the Cosmological Principle, the center of the universe is located in…

A. SagittariusB. BetelgueseC. CygnusD. The universe is evenly distributed and hence

the center is everywhere.

4. Most scientists believe the universe to be…

A. 10,000 years old B. 65 million years oldC. 4.6 billion years oldD. 13.7 billion years old

5. Which of the lines on this graph show an expanding universe that is being pushed along by Dark Energy?

A. RedB. BlueC. Green D. Yellow

6. According to the Hubble Constant, which deep sky object is moving away most rapidly from our Milky Way?

A. M31 - 2,555,000 light yearsB. M104 – 30,000,000 light

yearsC. Small Magellanic Cloud -

200,000 light yearsD. Quasar PKS 2349-

1,500,000,000 light years

A.

B.

C.

D.

7. This graph shows that…

A. the amount of 2H dropped of as it combined to make 4He.

B. the amount of 2H rose as it combined to make 7Li.

C. 2H is now the rarest form of matter in the universe.

D. Heavy elements were formed during the Big Bang.

8. The Big Bang occurred…

A. Everywhere at onceB. In Sgr A. C. Within our Local Cluster of GalaxiesD. at the Quasars.

9. Where can Cosmic Background Radiation be found in the sky?

A. In SagittariusB. In Cygnus C. In quasarsD. Everywhere

10. In order to see Cosmic Background Radiation with our naked eyes, what kind of vision ability must we have?

A. Cosmic Ray visionB. X-ray vision C. UV- ray visionD. Microwave vision

11. What is a shortcoming of the Big Bang Theory?

A. It makes no attempt to explain how structures like stars and galaxies came to exist in the universe.

B. It assumes that matter and radiation are uniformly distributed throughout the universe.

C. It assumes that general relativity is universally valid.

12. What is the major shortcoming of Inflation Theory?

A. It does not account for the flatness problem. B. It does not account for the horizon problem. C. It does not account for the possible existence

of magnetic monopoles. D. It is as yet untested and unverified.

13. In this picture of Background Radiation, what does the red along the equator represent?

A. The Solar System’s eclipticB. The Milky Way C. The Line of the ZodiacD. Quasars

14. According to the findings of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), our universe is…

A. FlatB. Saddle-shapedC. GlobularD. Torus-shaped

15. What did Albert Einstein consider to be “his greatest mistake”?

A. His General Theory of RelativityB. His inclusion of a “cosmological constant” to

account for a static universeC. His Special Theory of RelativityD. His work on classical Unified Field Theories

16. What are the most distant objects in the observable universe?

A. Cepheid VariablesB. Globular ClustersC. Black Holes D. Quasars

17. According to modern theory, most of our universe (72%) is composed of…

A. MatterB. Dark MatterC. Dark EnergyD. Neutrinos

18. According to WMAP’s findings, it appears that…

A. The universe is turning in on itself. B. The universe will expand forever. C. The universe is about to implode in a “Big

Crunch”. D. The universe is slowing down.