PHYS103Final ExamPage: 1 · 10Barnard™s star is a near neighbor of the Sun whose properties we know quite well. It is a type M4V with absolute ... a. slightly elliptical but not

PHYS103 Final Exam Page: 1


1 The energy that is released when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form a kilogram of water is always

a. exactly equal to the energy needed to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in a kilogram of water.

b. greater than the energy needed to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in a kilogram of water.

c. less than the energy needed to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in a kilogram of water.

2 Pathfinder was the first

a. Mars orbiter.

b. to use airbags to land on Mars.

c. Mars lander.

d. to use ion drive rockets for planetary exploration.

3 Voyager 2 is the only space probe so far to have visited

a. Uranus

b. Jupiter

c. Mercury

d. Saturn

e. Venus

4 A star is found to have absolute magnitude 4 and apparent magnitude 19. How far away is it?

a. 100,000 parsecs.

b. 20 parsecs.

c. 10 parsecs.

d. 10,000 parsecs.

e. 200 parsecs.

5 A star is seen to move by 0.8 seconds of arc between March 1, 1999 and September 1, 1999 and then back to itsstarting point on March 1, 2000. What is the parallax angle for this star?

a. 0.2 seconds of arc.

b. 0.1 seconds of arc.

c. 0.8 seconds of arc.

d. 0.4 seconds of arc.

e. 0.3 seconds of arc.

6 Which of the following statements is falsifiable?

a. Intelligent life is a good thing.

b. There is intelligent life on all planets that support life of any kind.

c. There is cheese on the Moon.

d. There is intelligent life on some other planet somewhere in the universe.

e. There is beauty in a sunset.

7 When detailed tracking of asteroid 2008 TC3 showed that it would hit the Earth, the asteroid offi cially became a

a. meteorite.

b. meteoroid.

c. meteor.

d. comet.


8 Aristotle pointed out that a spherical Earth would explain why

a. the constellations visible from Egypt are just the same as the constellations visible from Greece.

b. the Sun sets at the same time all over the Earth.

c. the constellations visible from Egypt are somewhat different than the constellations visible from Greece.

d. the force of gravity is weaker in the tropics.

9 When a seismometer detects an earthquake, the first signal to arrive is usually the

a. pressure wave.

b. shear wave.

c. local news.

10 Barnard’s star is a near neighbor of the Sun whose properties we know quite well. It is a type M4V with absolutemagnitude 13.22. Suppose that another star of spectral type M4V is observed to have apparent magnitude 23.22.How far away is it?

a. 1 parsec.

b. 10 parsecs.

c. 1000 parsecs.

d. 100 parsecs.

e. 5 parsecs.

11 Which of the following pictures is the most like the main sequence on a Hertzsprung-Russelll Diagram?

12 When the temperature of a gas increases, its molecules

a. get larger.

b. move slower.

c. move faster.

d. get smaller.

13 Which of the following statements best describes the presence of water on Mars?

a. Mars has water frozen in its ice caps and may have liquid water below its surface.

b. Mars is completely without any form of water.

c. Mars has never had liquid water on its surface.

d. Mars has liquid water flowing steadily on its surface at the present time.

14 The Law of Inertia states that a moving object will

a. keep moving if a force pushes it.

b. stop if no force acts on it.

c. keep moving if no force acts on it.

d. never stop.

e. always stop.


15 Space probes often visit several planets before getting to their final destinations. The main reason they do thisis to

a. see more planets in a single trip.

b. reduce the amount of rocket fuel needed.

c. recharge their batteries.

d. arrive at the destination at the right time.

e. take on fuel.

16 In a particular binary star system, we are only able to determine a minimum mass for each star and cannotdetermine the angle between our line of sight and the plane of the stars’orbits. This system is most likely

a. an eclipsing spectroscopic binary system.

b. a visual binary system.

c. a spectroscopic binary system.

17 Which of the following planets or moons is about 90% as large as the planet Jupiter?

a. Neptune

b. Titan

c. Saturn

d. Pluto

e. Uranus

18 Our own Sun has an absolute visual magnitude of 4.8. A starship that travels 10 parsecs from our Sun and looksback at the Sun will see it as having apparent visual magnitude

a. 0.

b. 4.8.

c. 0.48

d. 10.

e. 48

19 A book, weighing 10 Newtons, sits on a table. Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair?

a. The force of gravity on the book and the force that the table exerts on the book.

b. The force that the book exerts on the table and the force of gravity on the table.

c. The force of gravity on the book and the force that the book exerts on the table.

d. The force of gravity on the book and the force of gravity on the table.

e. The force that the book exerts on the table and the force that the table exerts on the book.

20 Europe and North America are

a. each on a different plate and moving toward each other.

b. atop a single plate and moving in unison.

c. each on a different plate and moving away from each other.

d. on plates that are moving past each other.

21 Which of the following spectral types corresponds to the star with the lowest surface temperature?

a. G5

b. F0

c. G0

d. F5


22 For the ancient Greeks, the most basic of several clues that the Sun is farther from the Earth than the Mooncame from

a. solar eclipses.

b. the observed sizes of the Sun and Moon in the sky.

c. the quarter phases of the Moon.

d. lunar eclipses.

23 When the core of a star collapses while inside the star, the result is a

a. type Ia supernova.

b. ordinary nova.

c. gamma-ray burst.

d. type II supernova.

24 Suppose that a sound wave has a wavelength of 2 meters and a frequency of 1000Hz. What is the speed ofsound?

a. 2 m/s

b. .002 m/s

c. 1000 m/s

d. 2000 m/s

e. 500 m/s

25 The magnetic field of Venus is

a. essentially zero.

b. about 1% of the Earth’s magnetic field.

c. about 10 times the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field.

d. about 100 times the intensity of the Earth;s magnetic field.

e. Similar in intensity to the Earth’s magnetic field.

26 Which of the following objects has a magnetic field with about ten times the intensity of the Earth’s field?

a. Mars

b. Jupiter

c. Mercury

d. Earth’s Moon

e. Saturn

27 The second most common element in the universe is

a. hydrogen.

b. silicon.

c. helium.

d. water.

e. carbon.

28 The magnetic field of Mars is

a. present only locally, near magnetized ore deposits.

b. present globally at about 1% of the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field.

c. exactly zero everywhere on Mars.

d. about 100 times the intensity of the Earth;s magnetic field.

e. about 10 times the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field.


29 Suppose that an object with a mass of one kilogram and an object with a mass of two kilograms are both in freefall near the Earth’s surface. As compared to the one kilogram object, the two kilogram object accelerates

a. twice as much because gravity pulls on it twice as strongly.

b. at half the rate because it has half the inertia.

c. the same because gravity pulls on it twice as strongly and it has half the inertia.

d. the same because gravity pulls on it twice as strongly and it has twice the inertia.

e. at half the rate because it has twice the inertia.

30 Comets usually follow orbits which are

a. nearly circular and farther from the Sun than Mars.

b. elliptical with aphelia in the inner Solar System.

c. nearly circular and close to the Sun.

d. elliptical with aphelia far outside the orbit of Mars.

31 Liquid water tends to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere of a planet by

a. displacing it upward until it escapes from the planet’s gravity.

b. forming an acid which reacts with calcium in rocks.

c. dissolving it.

d. splitting the carbon from the oxygen.

32 From the way that solar eclipses happen, the ancient Greeks concluded that

a. the Sun is closer to the Earth and smaller than the Moon.

b. the Sun is closer to the Earth and larger than the Moon.

c. the Sun is farther from the Earth and larger than the Moon.

d. the Sun is farther from the Earth and smaller than the Moon

33 Aristarchus of Samos is known for a number of things. One of them was

a. the discovery that planets move on elliptical orbits around the Sun.

b. A model of the Solar System in which the Earth is fixed and everything rotates around the Earth.

c. the idea that an explanation or model should ‘save the appearances.’

d. A model in which the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the Sun.

e. his measurement of the size of the Earth.

34 The stars, as seen from the Earth, appear to be attached to

a. the Celestial Net, a mesh of wires surrounding the Earth.

b. the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

c. the Heliopause, an off-center surface surrounding the Sun.

d. the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth.

e. the North Celestial Pole.

35 Which of the following spacecraft was the second to fly past Saturn and the first to target the moon Titan?

a. Mariner 9

b. Pioneer 11

c. Voyager 1

d. Pioneer 10

e. Viking 1


36 At present the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is

a. slightly elliptical but not enough to change the intensity of sunlight by even 1 percent.

b. exactly circular so that the intensity of sunlight never changes.

c. slightly elliptical so that.the intensity of sunlight varies by 6 percent.

d. very elliptical so that.the intensity of sunlight varies by 40 percent.

e. hyperbolic so that Earth will leave the Solar System and never return.

37 The mass of a carbon atom is 12.00amu while the mass of a deuterium atom is 2.014amu. If a gamma ray photonsplits a carbon atom into six deuterium atoms, how much energy is converted into mass?

a. 0.168amu

b. 0.056amu

c. 0.084amu

d. 0.009amu

e. 0.014amu

38 Black holes

a. have been detected because they block starlight.

b. have been detected as pulsing radio sources.

c. have been detected because infalling matter emits X-rays.

d. cannot be detected because they emit no radiation.

39 The oxygen atom in a water molecule

a. carries an electrical charge that depends on what other atoms or molecules are nearby.

b. carries an electrical charge that oscillates rapidly between positive and negative.

c. carries a negative electrical charge.

d. is electrically neutral.

e. carries a positive electrical charge.

40 Think of the ‘front’of a telescope as the end that light enters. A telescope with Cassegrain Focus has theeyepiece

a. inside the telescope barrel.

b. sticking out the side near the back.

c. sticking out the side near the front.

d. off to one side in a position that stays fixed when the telescope moves.

e. at the back of the telescope.

41 As the two foci of an ellipse are brought together, the shape of the ellipse becomes

a. more like a triangle drawn around the foci.

b. more like a line between the foci.

c. more like a sphere around the foci.

d. more like a circle around the foci.

42 Sedna is thought to be

a. in the Main Kuiper Belt.

b. in the Inner Oort Cloud.

c. in the Outer Oort Cloud.

d. in the asteroid belt.

e. a Scattered Disk Object.


43 Stars that are much less massive than our Sun

a. form more slowly but burn out faster.

b. form faster but burn slower.

c. form more slowly and burn slower.

d. form faster and burn out faster.

44 The first major failure of the Ptolemaic Theory to predict the results of observations was

a. the phases of Venus.

b. the mountains of the Moon.

c. the retrograde motion of the planets.

d. the Moons of Jupiter.

e. the precise observations of Tycho Brahe.

45 Suppose that a flash of lightning from a cloud 5000 meters away is followed by a clap of thunder four secondslater. Assume that the light arrived in a negligible time and calculate the speed of the sound waves.

a. 2m/s

b. 1000m/s

c. 2500m/s

d. 1250m/s

e. 5000m/s

46 According to our current model of how magnetic fields arise, the magnetic field of Earth’s Moon is

a. diffi cult to understand since the Moon rotates rapidly.

b. understandable since the Moon rotates slowly but probably has a large iron core.

c. diffi cult to understand since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core..

d. understandable since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core.

47 The Asteroid Belt is between the orbits of

a. Earth and Mars.

b. Neptune and Pluto.

c. Jupiter and Saturn.

d. Mars and Jupiter.

e. Jupiter and Uranus.

48 Epsilon Eridani shows a proper motion of 0.97661 arc seconds per year. In 100 years, its position in the skychanges by

a. 1036 seconds of arc.

b. 0 seconds of arc.

c. 0.97661 seconds of arc.

d. 9.7661 seconds of arc.

e. 97.661 seconds of arc.


49 The Earth’s distance from the Sun is defined to be 1 astronomical unit. Neptune is about 30 astronomical unitsfrom the Sun. An object in the Inner Oort Cloud might be at a distance from the Sun of

a. 3 astronomical units.

b. 40,000 astronomical units.

c. 15000 astronomical units.

d. 0.5 astronomical units.

e. 40 astronomical units.

50 It is expected that a normal Jovian planet, with no accidental encounters that could add or subtract moons,should have

a. no moon.

b. just one moon.

c. a family of moons, all orbiting in the plane of the planets equator.

51 Which of these planets is the farthest from the Sun?

a. Neptune

b. Uranus

c. Saturn

d. Jupiter

e. Mars

52 In the original Solar Nebula, objects that condensed near the protoSun tended to be mostly rock and iron ratherthan volatile gases and water because, in that part of the nebula

a. there were no volatile gases and water.

b. it was cold enough for rock and iron to condense.

c. it was too hot for volatile gases and water to condense.

d. it was too cold for volatile gases and water to condense.

53 An advantage of carbon dioxide as the starting form of carbon for use by living things is that it

a. freezes to form dry ice.

b. is the result of burning carbon.

c. dissolves in liquid water.

54 One model for the formation of the Solar System is that the planets formed from a cloud of material extractedfrom the Sun by a chance encounter with a passing star.

a. This model incorrectly predicts planets orbiting in the plane of the Sun’s equator.

b. This model incorrectly predicts planets orbiting out of the plane of the Sun’s equator.

c. This model correctly predicts planets orbiting out of the plane of the Sun’s equator.

d. This model correctly predicts planets orbiting in the plane of the Sun’s equator.

55 Galileo predicted that dropping a wooden ball and an iron ball at exactly the same time would result in themhitting the ground at the same time, so long as air friction was negligible. When he actually did the experiment,the balls hit the ground very close together, but sometimes the wooden ball hit first and sometimes the iron onehit first. If we repeat his experiment today, we find exactly the same thing. Which of the following conclusionsis appropriate?

a. Galileo’s theory was disproven since his prediction did not exactly correspond to observation.

b. Galileo did not really do the experiment.

c. Galileo’s theory was not disproven because the slight differences can be explained by defects in theexperiment.


56 As seen from far above the Earth’s North Pole, the Earth orbits the Sun counter clockwise and

a. No planet orbits the Sun clockwise.

b. the Jovian planets orbit the Sun clockwise.

c. Mercury orbits the Sun clockwise.

d. Venus orbits the Sun clockwise.

57 A star whose apparent brightness is 1100 that of a first magnitude star would have magnitude

a. 6.

b. 11.

c. 1.

d. 21.

e. 16.

58 Neutron stars are often observed as

a. novas.

b. pulsars.

c. Tau Tauri stars.

d. quasars.

e. asteroids.

59 Of all the things that might go wrong with distances found by using the method that astronmers refer to as the"distance ladder," which of these is the one that an astronomer would say is most likely?

a. The distance-distance modulus formula is incorrect.

b. Distant objects are not behaving the same as nearby objects.

c. The parallax-distance formula is incorrect.

d. The parallaxes of nearby objects have been measured incorrectly.

e. The apparent magnitudes of distant objects have been measured incorrectly.

60 At 10pm, you see that the pointer stars of the Big dipper and the star Polaris are arranged in a vertical line. atwhat time. give or take a minute or so, would you see them arranged at 45 degrees to the vertical?

a. It will never happen.

b. 11:00 p.m. the same day.

c. 4:00 am. the next day.

d. 10:00 p.m. the next day.

e. 1:00 a.m. the next day.

61 Which of the following statements is an observation of the natural world?

a. I saw the Moon rise at 6:52pm yesterday.

b. The U.S. Naval Observatory says that the Moon rose at 6:52pm yesterday.

c. Galileo was the greatest scientist.

d. There are no prime numbers that have zero for a last digit.

62 Kepler found that the orbit of Mars is best described as

a. a circle with the Sun off-center, combined with epicycles.

b. a circle with the Sun at the center.

c. a complicated fourth-order polynomial curve.

d. an ellipse.


63 Which of the following magnitudes corresponds to the brightest star?

a. −1.0b. −1.2c. −4.2d. −4.1e. −2.6

64 The number of moons of Jupiter is

a. 4.

b. 0.

c. 2.

d. at least 62.

e. 1.

65 An ion rocket engine produces 1 Newton of thrust. What acceleration can it give to a space probe with a massof 1000kg?

a. 1 m/s2.

b. 0.1 m/s2.

c. 0.001 m/s2.

d. 0.01 m/s2.

e. 1000 m/s2.

66 The strongest evidence that Earth life is all descended from a single self-copying molecule is that all Earth life

a. is mostly made of iron, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.

b. is mostly made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

c. uses the same 4 nitrogenous bases to code for the same 20 amino acids.

d. is powered directly or indirectly by sunlight.

e. uses the same 6 nitrogenous bases to code for the same 30 amino acids.

67 The spacecraft Galileo

a. went into orbit around the planet Jupiter and dropped a probe into its atmosphere.

b. landed on the planet Mars.

c. flew past the planet Jupiter and photographed its moons.

d. went into orbit around the planet Venus.

68 The density of rock is about 3000kg/m3. The densities of the Jovian planets are

a. close to 3000kg/m3 because they are mostly rock.

b. less than 3000kg/m3 because they are mostly gas.

c. greater than 3000kg/m3 because they have iron cores.

69 The main reason to suspect that Titan has a subsurface ocean of water is

a. landmarks that are not rotating with the rest of the moon.

b. geysers of water shooting out through cracks in the moon.

c. patterns of cracks in the ice on its surface.

d. low fluxes of epithermal neutrons.


70 The diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is close to

a. 6000 light years.

b. 30,000 light years.

c. 300,000 light years.

d. 1000 light years.

e. 100,000 light years.

71 What total force will cause an object with a mass of 20kg to gain 50 meters per second every second?

a. 10,000 Newtons.

b. 50 Newtons.

c. 1000 Newtons.

d. 20 Newtons.

e. 9.8 Newtons.

72 The closest star to our sun is about four light years away. In the center of our galaxy, a typical distance betweenneighboring stars would be

a. 0.04 light years.

b. 4000 light years.

c. 40 light years.

d. 4 light years.

e. 0.004 light years.

73 A sidereal day is

a. several hours shorter than a solar day.

b. several hours longer than a solar day.

c. just the same as a solar day.

d. a few minutes shorter than a solar day.

e. a few minutes longer than a solar day.

74 Extragalactic nebulae such as the Great Nebula in Andromeda were not immediately recognized as galaxiessimilar to our own Milky Way because they were thought to be

a. smaller, nearby objects.

b. larger, very distant objects.

c. the wrong shape.

75 The red supergiant phase of a star is caused by

a. the exhaustion of hydrogen at its core.

b. the exhaustion of helium at its core.

c. the collapse of its core.

d. the ignition of hydrogen at its core.

e. the ignition of helium at its core.


76 The Greek theory of Gravity as a force pulling everything toward the center of the universe implied that theEarth should be fixed at the center of the universe. Which of the following models of the Solar System was inaccord with that theory?

a. the model of Aristarchus that the Earth goes around the Sun.

b. none of these models.

c. the final version of the Ptolemaic System.

d. the Copernican System.

77 The closest star to Earth (other than the Sun) is part of a multiple star system called

a. Epsilon Aurigae.

b. Alpha Centauri.

c. Albireo.

d. Procyon.

e. Sirius.

78 As compared to lower frequency electromagnetic radiation, higher frequency electromagnetic radiation willusually cause

a. more damage.

b. less damage.

c. about the same damage.

79 According to the currently accepted model of how planets generate magnetic fields, a rotating planet with asubstantial magnetic field must contain

a. water.

b. iron.

c. a liquid electrical conductor.

d. liquid iron.

e. magnetite ore.

80 According to the current model of the early history of the Solar System, the formation of the Oort Cloudhappened

a. at the same time as the the rain of comets that supplied water to the Earth and other planets.

b. before the rain of comets that supplied water to the Earth and other planets.

c. after the the rain of comets that supplied water to the Earth and other planets.

81 Planets that are in orbit around stars other than our own Sun are most often found by observing

a. the microlensing of light from background stars.

b. telescope images of the planets.

c. small changes in starlight due to planetary transits.

d. small wobbles in our own Sun.

82 The thickest part of the visible Milky Way is near the constellation

a. Perseus

b. Cygnus.

c. Ursa Minor.

d. Casseopeia.

e. Sagittarius.


83 Type Ia supernovas have the following properties:

a. a spectrum with hydrogen lines and a standard maximum brightness.

b. a spectrum with no hydrogen lines and a standard maximum brightness.

c. a spectrum with hydrogen lines and a variable maximum brightness.

d. a spectrum with no hydrogen lines and a variable maximum brightness.

84 The reason the temperature rises as you go higher in the stratosphere is that the Sun’s

a. visible light heats the land.

b. high energy particles heat the upper part of the Ionosphere.

c. ultraviolet light heats the Ozone Layer.

85 An asteroid impact that leaves a huge crater is probably due to an asteroid that is made of

a. rocks loosely held together.

b. iron and nickel.

c. gold.

d. frozen gas and ice.

86 The asteroid 2008 AF4 has one chance in 21,000 of hitting the Earth between the years 2078 and 2100. Theasteroid is 390 meters in diameter compared to 250 meters in diameter for Apophis. Assuming that an impactcould cause the death of 30,000,000 people the average death rate for this type of event is approximately

a. 3000 people per event.

b. 500 people per event.

c. 1500 people per event.

d. 2500 people per event.

e. 2000 people per event.

87 Civilizations capable of sending out broadcast messages that we could possibly detect across interstellar distanceswould have to be technologically advanced and would probably be much more advanced than we are. That makesit diffi cult to decide what sort of signals they would send. The SETI program has decided to listen for microwavesignals rather than more exotic types of signals (such as laser light, gamma rays, neutrinos, gravitational waves,etc.). The main reason for this choice is that

a. a microwave signal is easier to receive by less advanced civilizations and thus would have a wider potentialaudience.

b. microwave technology will always be easier to use than more exotic communication technologies, even forunknown advanced civilizations.

c. a microwave signal can be beamed directly at us, greatly increasing the signal strength that we receive.

d. a microwave signal can send the largest amount of information for a given amount of energy used togenerate the signal.

88 On the present surface of Mars, water has been confirmed to exist

a. nowhere at all. The planet is completely dry.

b. as small streams of liquid water.

c. as oceans.

d. as ice at the poles and water vapor in the atmosphere.


89 A rising convection current in the Earth’s mantle is expected to cause

a. a deep ocean trench where tectonic plates are pulled together.

b. a mid-ocean ridge where tectonic plates are spreading apart.

c. a magnetic domain in the Earth’s core.

d. a mid-ocean ridge where tectonic plates are pulled together.

e. a deep ocean trench where tectonic plates are spreading apart.

90 In the Hertzsprung-Russelll Diagram shown, which point represents a star of type F with absolute magnitude -5?

91 An early measurement of noon Sun angles at the summer solstice at Alexandria and Syene needed one additionalpiece of information in order to determine the size of the Earth.

a. The solar time difference between Alexandria and Syene.

b. The distance between Alexandria and Syene.

c. The difference in height above sea-level between Alexandria and Syene.

d. The longitudes of Alexandria and Syene.

92 Cepheid variable stars with the same luminosity usually

a. belong to the same star cluster.

b. have the same apparent magnitude.

c. are at the same distance from us.

d. have similar periods.

93 Jupiter has the most mass of any planet in our Solar System and is also the largest planet. Objects that havestill more mass than Jupiter and are not stars are usually

a. smaller than Jupiter.

b. larger than Jupiter.

c. about the same size as Jupiter.

94 An example of a planet with no liquid water at all and a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere is

a. Mercury

b. Earth

c. Venus

d. Mars


95 The inclination angle of a planet’s rotation axis is defined so that a planet that is rotating in the usual directionabout an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the solar system would have an inclination of 0◦, while aplanet that is rotating in the opposite (retrograde) direction about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane ofthe solar system would have an inclination angle of 180◦. The inclination angle of the planet Neptune is closestto

a. 98◦.

b. 180◦.

c. 30◦.

d. 0◦.

e. 200◦.

96 The idea of a scientific fact presents diffi culties for the falsificationist philosophy that we have been discussingbecause that philosophy insists that every scientific statement is

a. infallible.

b. subject to change.

c. just a guess.

97 Which of these moons has geysers of water shooting out through cracks in the moon, indicating a subsurfaceocean?

a. Titan.

b. Europa.

c. Ganymede.

d. Enceladus.

98 Barnard’s Star shows a heliocentric stellar parallax near 1/2 seconds of arc. The distance from our Sun toBarnard’s Star is

a. 2 parsecs.

b. 8 parsecs.

c. 0.25 parsecs.

d. 0.75 parsecs.

e. 4 parsecs.

99 The motion of the Moon around the Earth causes

a. Meteor Showers.

b. Daily motions in the Heavens.

c. The seasons.

d. Dandruff.

e. The phases of the Moon.

100 The velocity of sound waves is roughly the same for all wavelengths. Suppose that a sound wave has a wavelengthof one meter and a frequency of 500Hz. The wavelength of a 1000Hz sound wave would then be

a. 2 m.

b. 500 m.

c. 1000 m.

d. 1 m.

e. 1/2 m.


101 In Newton’s theory of gravity, everything is attracted

a. only to the center of the Earth.

b. to every other object in the universe.

c. only to the Sun.

d. to the center of the universe.

e. only to massive heavenly objects such as the Sun, Moon, planets, and the Earth.

102 In current Earth life, the self-copying molecule that contains the information needed to construct and operate alife-form is

a. DNA.

b. glucose.

c. RNA.

d. glycoaldehyde.

e. chlorophyll.

103 A rocket that leaves the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 8 miles per second will

a. go into a circular orbit above the surface of the Earth.

b. follow an elliptical path that is partly below the surface of the Earth.

c. escape from the Earth’s gravity forever.

104 The distance from the Earth to the Moon

a. varies, but not enough to affect eclipses.

b. varies enough that sometimes we get an annular solar eclipse.

c. varies enough that sometimes we get an annular lunar eclipse.

d. is always the same.

105 Sven, a well-known Loch Ness Monster fanatic, often reports seeing the monster but is usually ignored. Oneevening, while watching the monster swim around in the light of the setting sun, Sven notices that the tideis out and there is a quarter Moon in the sky. He tells this story to a newspaper reporter who humors himand shows up to look for the monster the next time there is a low tide at sunset with a quarter moon. Sureenough, the monster appears. A local university then sends a biologist with a truckload of cameras at the nextsunset-low-tide-quarter-moon and the monster again shows up on cue. Sven’s observations of the monster arenow accepted by the scientific community because

a. Scientists really like monster stories.

b. Sven’s observations were reproduced by others.

c. Sven told a good story with lots of details.

d. Sven saw the monster many times.

106 After the impact of an asteroid large enough to cause global effects, the main worry is smoke and dust

a. in the Ionosphere.

b. in the Troposphere.

c. at ground level.

d. in the Stratosphere.


107 As seen from North America, the constellation Orion

a. sets in the west and southwest.

b. sets in the east and southeast.

c. sets in the northeast.

d. never sets.

e. sets in the northwest.

108 A sidereal month, is defined to be the time it takes for the Moon to

a. complete a full circle on the celestial sphere.

b. go from one crossing of the ecliptic to the next.

c. go through a complete cycle of phases.

d. go from one crossing of the celestial equator to the next.

109 The property of electron-degenerate matter that is important in the evolution of a star is that this type of matter

a. is the densest possible state of matter.

b. conducts electricity without resistance.

c. cannot be compressed and heated.

d. is easily compressed and heated.

e. triggers nuclear fusion reactions.

110 Carbon is essential for all life we know about because it

a. forms unstable compounds that can store and release energy.

b. is a good solvent that promotes chemical reactions.

c. forms complex compounds.

d. combines easily with oxygen.

111 Einstein’s Theory of Relativity has passed every observational test for over 100 years. Cliff has analyzed a largefamily of alternative theories and figured out what each one predicts for the results of observational tests. Cliffpresents his analysis at a scientific meeting. Which of the following would be the most likely reaction of thescientists at the meeting to this new development?

a. There is great interest because the analysis suggests new tests that could prove that Relativity is wrong,so lots of scientists come to Cliff’s talk to congratulate him.

b. There is great hostility because the alternative theories challenge the established theory, so lots of scientistscome to Fred’s talk to debate the issue.

c. There is great disinterest because there is no need to replace a theory that has passed every observationaltest. Nobody at all comes to Cliff’s talk.

112 Which of the following planets or moons has an atmosphere with about 1% of the surface pressure of Earth’s?

a. Venus

b. Titan

c. Mars

d. Mercury


113 The first human landing on the Moon was

a. Apollo 11 in 1969.

b. Apollo 10 in 1974.

c. Apollo 11 in 1974.

d. Apollo 10 in 1969.

e. Surveyor 1 in 1969.

114 Suppose that you drop a wooden ball and an iron ball, both the exact same diameter, from the same height atthe same time. Aristotle would predict that

a. both balls would hit the ground at exactly the same time.

b. the iron ball would hit just slightly before the wooden one.

c. the wooden ball would hit just slightly before the iron one.

d. the wooden ball would hit first on a short drop while the iron ball would hit first on a long drop.

e. the iron ball would hit the ground long before the wooden ball.

115 If you are looking down over the north pole of the Earth, you will see the Earth rotate

a. downward.

b. counterclockwise.

c. upward.

d. clockwise.

116 From his observations of the phases of Venus, Galileo concluded that

a. Venus has moons.

b. The Copernican Model is wrong.

c. The Ptolemaic Model is wrong.

d. Tycho Brahe’s Model is wrong.

e. Venus is rotating.

117 The Greenhouse Effect is important because it suggests an effect on

a. the Earth’s climate.

b. shielding UV light from the Sun.

c. the availability of greenhouses.

d. the Earth’s rotation.

e. near-Earth asteroids.

118 Our Sun is a type G2V star on the main sequence. As it ages and uses up its fuel we expect it to

a. remain a G2V star until it leaves the main sequence.

b. drift along the main sequence and become a type G3V star.

c. drift along the main sequence and become a type G1V star.

119 Which of the following particles would be attracted to a proton through the strong force?

a. neutron.

b. electron.

c. positron.

d. neutrino.


120 To measure the heliocentric stellar parallax of a star, you mostly need a telescope with

a. large light collecting power.

b. high resolving power.

c. high magnification power.


Answer Key: Fall 2015 FXD

1 Choice a. (exactly equal to the energy needed to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in a kilogram of water.)

2 Choice b. (to use airbags to land on Mars.)

3 Choice a. (Uranus)

4 Choice d. (10,000 parsecs.)

5 Choice d. (0.4 seconds of arc.)

6 Choice b. (There is intelligent life on all planets that support life of any kind.)

7 Choice b. (meteoroid.)

8 Choice c. (the constellations visible from Egypt are somewhat different than the constellations visible fromGreece.)

9 Choice a. (pressure wave.)

10 Choice c. (1000 parsecs.)

11 Choice d. (D)

12 Choice c. (move faster.)

13 Choice a. (Mars has water frozen in its ice caps and may have liquid water below its surface.)

14 Choice c. (keep moving if no force acts on it.)

15 Choice b. (reduce the amount of rocket fuel needed.)

16 Choice c. (a spectroscopic binary system.)

17 Choice c. (Saturn)

18 Choice b. (4.8.)

19 Choice e. (The force that the book exerts on the table and the force that the table exerts on the book.)

20 Choice c. (each on a different plate and moving away from each other.)

21 Choice a. (G5)

22 Choice a. (solar eclipses.)

23 Choice d. (type II supernova.)

24 Choice d. (2000 m/s)

25 Choice a. (essentially zero.)

26 Choice b. (Jupiter)

27 Choice c. (helium.)

28 Choice a. (present only locally, near magnetized ore deposits.)

29 Choice d. (the same because gravity pulls on it twice as strongly and it has twice the inertia.)

30 Choice d. (elliptical with aphelia far outside the orbit of Mars.)

31 Choice b. (forming an acid which reacts with calcium in rocks.)

32 Choice c. (the Sun is farther from the Earth and larger than the Moon.)

33 Choice d. (A model in which the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the Sun.)

34 Choice d. (the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth.)

35 Choice c. (Voyager 1)


36 Choice c. (slightly elliptical so that.the intensity of sunlight varies by 6 percent.)

37 Choice c. (0.084amu)

38 Choice c. (have been detected because infalling matter emits X-rays.)

39 Choice c. (carries a negative electrical charge.)

40 Choice e. (at the back of the telescope.)

41 Choice d. (more like a circle around the foci.)

42 Choice b. (in the Inner Oort Cloud.)

43 Choice c. (form more slowly and burn slower.)

44 Choice a. (the phases of Venus.)

45 Choice d. (1250m/s)

46 Choice d. (understandable since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core.)

47 Choice d. (Mars and Jupiter.)

48 Choice e. (97.661 seconds of arc.)

49 Choice c. (15000 astronomical units.)

50 Choice c. (a family of moons, all orbiting in the plane of the planets equator.)

51 Choice a. (Neptune)

52 Choice c. (it was too hot for volatile gases and water to condense.)

53 Choice c. (dissolves in liquid water.)

54 Choice b. (This model incorrectly predicts planets orbiting out of the plane of the Sun’s equator.)

55 Choice c. (Galileo’s theory was not disproven because the slight differences can be explained by defects inthe experiment.)

56 Choice a. (No planet orbits the Sun clockwise.)

57 Choice a. (6.)

58 Choice b. (pulsars.)

59 Choice b. (Distant objects are not behaving the same as nearby objects.)

60 Choice e. (1:00 a.m. the next day.)

61 Choice a. (I saw the Moon rise at 6:52pm yesterday.)

62 Choice d. (an ellipse.)

63 Choice c. (−4.2)

64 Choice d. (at least 62.)

65 Choice c. (0.001 m/s2.)

66 Choice c. (uses the same 4 nitrogenous bases to code for the same 20 amino acids.)

67 Choice a. (went into orbit around the planet Jupiter and dropped a probe into its atmosphere.)

68 Choice b. (less than 3000kg/m3 because they are mostly gas.)

69 Choice a. (landmarks that are not rotating with the rest of the moon.)

70 Choice e. (100,000 light years.)

71 Choice c. (1000 Newtons.)


72 Choice a. (0.04 light years.)

73 Choice d. (a few minutes shorter than a solar day.)

74 Choice a. (smaller, nearby objects.)

75 Choice b. (the exhaustion of helium at its core.)

76 Choice b. (none of these models.)

77 Choice b. (Alpha Centauri.)

78 Choice a. (more damage.)

79 Choice c. (a liquid electrical conductor.)

80 Choice a. (at the same time as the the rain of comets that supplied water to the Earth and other planets.)

81 Choice c. (small changes in starlight due to planetary transits.)

82 Choice e. (Sagittarius.)

83 Choice b. (a spectrum with no hydrogen lines and a standard maximum brightness.)

84 Choice c. (ultraviolet light heats the Ozone Layer.)

85 Choice b. (iron and nickel.)

86 Choice c. (1500 people per event.)

87 Choice d. (a microwave signal can send the largest amount of information for a given amount of energy usedto generate the signal.)

88 Choice d. (as ice at the poles and water vapor in the atmosphere.)

89 Choice b. (a mid-ocean ridge where tectonic plates are spreading apart.)

90 Choice d. (D)

91 Choice b. (The distance between Alexandria and Syene.)

92 Choice d. (have similar periods.)

93 Choice a. (smaller than Jupiter.)

94 Choice c. (Venus)

95 Choice c. (30◦.)

96 Choice b. (subject to change.)

97 Choice d. (Enceladus.)

98 Choice a. (2 parsecs.)

99 Choice e. (The phases of the Moon.)

100 Choice e. (1/2 m.)

101 Choice b. (to every other object in the universe.)

102 Choice a. (DNA.)

103 Choice c. (escape from the Earth’s gravity forever.)

104 Choice b. (varies enough that sometimes we get an annular solar eclipse.)

105 Choice b. (Sven’s observations were reproduced by others.)

106 Choice d. (in the Stratosphere.)

107 Choice a. (sets in the west and southwest.)


108 Choice a. (complete a full circle on the celestial sphere.)

109 Choice c. (cannot be compressed and heated.)

110 Choice c. (forms complex compounds.)

111 Choice a. (There is great interest because the analysis suggests new tests that could prove that Relativity iswrong, so lots of scientists come to Cliff’s talk to congratulate him.)

112 Choice c. (Mars)

113 Choice a. (Apollo 11 in 1969.)

114 Choice e. (the iron ball would hit the ground long before the wooden ball.)

115 Choice b. (counterclockwise.)

116 Choice c. (The Ptolemaic Model is wrong.)

117 Choice a. (the Earth’s climate.)

118 Choice a. (remain a G2V star until it leaves the main sequence.)

119 Choice a. (neutron.)

120 Choice b. (high resolving power.)


Where to find these questions in the notes

1 Module 018.402 Requirements for Life The Energy Sources of Life

2 Module 011.524 The Terrestrial Planets Mars Space Probes

3 Module 012.318 The Jovian Planets Uranus Space Probes

4 Module 022.404 Stellar Magnitudes and Distance Luminosity, Finding the distance

5 Module 020.402-g01 Stellar Parallax and Distance Parallax Angle and Distance

6 EModule 006.101-g01 Science Scientific Statements How to test a statement (74%) CT2

7 Module 013.202-g01 Comets and the Outer Solar System Meteor Showers

8 Module 002.301 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Evidence

9 Module 015.509-g01 Earth’s Atmosphere and Interior The Earth’s Interior

10 Module 024.503-g01 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Spectroscopic Parallax

11 EModule 024.302B The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, The Main Sequence QR3

12 Module 025.301-g01 Ignition (042.31)

13 Module 019.203 The Search for Life Mars

14 Module 008.502 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass (F20113:91%)

15 Module 011.113 The Terrestrial Planets Mercury Space Probes

16 Module 021.306 Using the Doppler Shift Binary Systems

17 Module 012.202-g01 The Jovian Planets Saturn Surface

18 Module 022.302-g01 Stellar Magnitudes and Distance Luminosity, Apparent and Absolute Magnitudes

19 Module 008.601 Science Models of Motion Action and Reaction

20 EModule 016.101 Earth’s Living Surface An Active Crust (F2011393%,89%,84%,94%,91%,87%) EC2

21 Module 023.302-g01 Star Colors and Classes,Spectral Subclasses

22 *Module 007.202 Science Model Building Earth-Moon System (38%)

23 Module 027.501 Supernova Explosions, Types: I Clean and II Dirty 049.61

24 Module 021.112 Using the Doppler Shift Describing Waves (42%)

25 **Module 011.207 The Terrestrial Planets Venus Magnetic Field (33%)

26 Module 012.112 The Jovian Planets Jupiter Magnetic Field

27 Module 018.201-g01 Requirements for Life The Chemical Basis of Life

28 ***Module 011.511-g01 The Terrestrial Planets Mars Magnetic Field(22%)

29 Module 009.406-g01 Science Models of Gravity Unifying Physical Law

30 *Module 010.503 Solar System Overview Comets (36%)

31 **Module 016.304 Earth’s Living Surface The Carbon Cycle(33%)

32 Module 007.201 Science Model Building Earth-Moon System

33 Module 004.302 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Aristarchus (41%)

34 Module 003.102 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map

35 *Module 012.223 The Jovian Planets Saturn Space Probes (39%)

36 Module 011.304-g01 The Terrestrial Planets Earth Orbit and Rotation


37 Module 025.202-g01 Mass and Energy (042.22)

38 Module 028.401 Collapsed Objects, Detecting Black Holes 051.21

39 **Module 018.302 Requirements for Life The Requirements for a Carbon Cycle (33%)

40 Module 020.201-g01 Stellar Parallax and DistanceTelescopes

41 Module 005.503 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s First Law

42 ***Module 013.402-g01 Comets and the Outer Solar System The Transition from Kuiper Belt to OortCloud(24%)

43 Module 025.502 Stars of Extreme Mass (047.42) (31%)

44 **Module 007.602 Science Model Building Phases of Venus (34%)

45 Module 021.108-g01 Using the Doppler Shift Describing Waves

46 ***Module 011.412-g01 The Terrestrial Planets Moon Magnetic Field(24%)

47 Module 010.404-g01 Solar System Overview Asteroids

48 Module 020.501-g01 Stellar Parallax and Distance Parallax Angle and Distance

49 Module 013.402 Comets and the Outer Solar System The Transition from Kuiper Belt to Oort Cloud (46%)

50 Module 010.304-g01 Solar System Overview The Jovian Planets

51 Module 010.103 Solar System Overview The Big Picture

52 Module 014.301 Formation of the Solar System Condensation of the Planets

53 Module 018.310 Requirements for Life The Requirements for a Carbon Cycle

54 ***Module 014.106-g01 Formation of the Solar System The Solar Nebula (20%)

55 Module 008.404-g01 Science Models of Motion The Universality of Free Fall

56 Module 014.103 Formation of the Solar System The Solar Nebula (F20113:74%)

57 *Module 022.204-g01 Stellar Magnitudes and Distance Luminosity, The Magnitude Scale (38%)

58 Module 028.104 Collapsed Objects, The Pulsar in the Crab Nebula 050.22

59 Module 022.504 Stellar Magnitudes and Distance Luminosity, Preview of the Distance Ladder

60 Module 003.305-g01 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions

61 Module 001.103 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Observation

62 Module 005.401 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s War with Mars

63 Module 022.201-g03 Stellar Magnitudes and Distance Luminosity, The Magnitude Scale

64 Module 012.115 The Jovian Planets Jupiter Moons

65 EModule 008.515 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass a = F/m QR1

66 Module 018.507 Requirements for Life Reproduction

67 Module 012.126 The Jovian Planets Jupiter Space Probes (43%)

68 Module 010.302 Solar System Overview The Jovian Planets

69 Module 019.301 The Search for Life The Jovian Moons

70 Module 029.303 The Milky Way Galaxy, Where are We in it? (052.43) (42%)

71 Module 008.508-g02 Science Models of Motion Force and Mass F=ma

72 *Module 029.502 The Milky Way Galaxy, The Monster in the Core (055.12) (38%)


73 Module 003.402 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Apparent Motion of the Sun

74 Module 029.402 The Milky Way Galaxy, What is its Overall Shape? (053.12)

75 Module 026.301 The Quiet Deaths of Ordinary Stars, The Red Supergiant Stage 048.31 (43%)

76 **Module 004.402 The Sky: Wandering Planets Copernicus doubts (30%)

77 Module 019.410 The Search for Life Extrasolar Planets

78 Module 018.106 Requirements for Life Light

79 Module 011.110 The Terrestrial Planets Mercury Magnetic Field

80 Module 014.502-g01 Formation of the Solar System The Fates of Dirty Snowballs

81 Module 019.413 The Search for Life Extrasolar Planets

82 Module 029.103 The Milky Way Galaxy, How We See it (052.13)

83 ***Module 027.503 Supernova Explosions, Types: I Clean and II Dirty 049.63 (28%)

84 Module 015.305-g01 Earth’s Atmosphere and Interior Temperature Layers

85 Module 017.203 Earth Impacts Small Object Impacts

86 EModule 017.406 Earth Impacts Hunting Killer Asteroids RA1

87 Module 019.502-g01 The Search for Life SETI: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence

88 Module 011.506 The Terrestrial Planets Mars Surface

89 Module 016.105-g01 Earth’s Living Surface An Active Crust 43%)

90 Module 024.101C The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, A dot for each star

91 Module 002.404 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Circumference

92 **Module 029.202 The Milky Way Galaxy, How we Measure Distances Within It (052.32) (29%)

93 Module 012.107-g01 The Jovian Planets Jupiter Surface

94 Module 016.502 Earth’s Living Surface Comparing Earth to Other Planets

95 Module 012.405-g01 The Jovian Planets Neptune Orbit and Rotation

96 Module 006.401 Science Scientific Statements The Scientific Fact Problem

97 ***Module 019.304 The Search for Life The Jovian Moons (21%)

98 EModule 020.405-g01 Stellar Parallax and Distance Parallax Angle and Distance QR2

99 Module 007.502 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon

100 *Module 021.111-g01 Using the Doppler Shift Describing Waves(37%)

101 Module 009.301-g01 Science Models of Gravity Universal Gravitation

102 EModule 018.504 Requirements for Life Reproduction (F20113:93%) EC3

103 Module 009.604-g02 Science Models of Gravity Artificial Satellites

104 Module 011.410 The Terrestrial Planets Moon Orbit and Rotation (48%)

105 EModule 001.201-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty. Reproducible CT1

106 EModule 017.303-g01 Earth Impacts Large Object Impacts EC4

107 **Module 003.302 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions (33%)

108 Module 007.509-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon

109 Module 026.402-g01 The Quiet Deaths of Ordinary Stars, Game Over: Everybody leaves 048.42


110 Module 016.302 Earth’s Living Surface The Carbon Cycle

111 ****Module 006.301-g01 Science Scientific Statements The Search for Error (11%)

112 Module 011.502 The Terrestrial Planets Mars Surface (41%)

113 Module 011.422 The Terrestrial Planets Moon Space Probes

114 Module 008.105 Science Models of Motion Aristotle

115 Module 007.401 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading

116 Module 007.601 Science Model Building Phases of VenusVariant

117 EModule 015.403 Earth’s Atmosphere and Interior Greenhouse Effect EC5

118 Module 025.403-g01 Evolution onto the Main Sequence (047.33)

119 Module 025.107 The Building Blocks of Matter (042.17)

120 Module 020.301-g02 Stellar Parallax and Distance What Causes Parallax?

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PHYS103Final ExamPage: 1 · 10Barnard™s star is a near neighbor of the Sun whose properties we know quite well. It is a type M4V with absolute ... a. slightly elliptical but not