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Practice Questions For Astronomy I - EXAM 1
Practice Questions For Astronomy I - EXAM 1
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1/31/23, 11:25 AM Practice Questions for Astronomy I – EXAM 1
Practice Questions for Astronomy I – EXAM
1
1. What is the maximum number of planets
readily visible to the
naked eye on a
given night?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
2. Planets
a. move rapidly across the sky relative
to the stars.
b. are stationary relative to the stars.
c. all move at the same rate relative to
the stars.
d. move slowly relative to the stars.
e. can appear anywhere in the sky.
3. The Moon
a. may appear
anywhere in the sky.
b. always appears within a few degrees of
the zodiac.
c. always appears within a few degrees of
the celestial
equator.
d. generally appears opposite the Sun.
4. The most readily
observed motion of a celestial object is
produced by
a. the motion of the planets across the
sky.
b. the rotation of the Earth.
c. the revolution of the Earth.
d. the motion of the Sun around the
galaxy.
5. An astronomical unit is the
a. distance from the Earth to the Moon.
b. distance from the Earth to the Sun.
c. distance from the Earth to the nearest
star.
d. distance light travels in one year.
e. circumference of the Earth.
6. Which of the following statements about
planets is FALSE?
a. none are visible to observers on the
Earth
b. they move relative to the stars
c. they are found along the zodiac
d. they do not twinkle as stars do
7. Where must an observer be located on the
Earth to view the
entire sky over
the course of a year?
a. the north pole
b. the south pole
c. the equator
d. anywhere on the Earth
8. Diurnal motions are caused by
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15. The length of the tropical year is
a. equal to the length of the Earth's
sidereal period.
b. equal to the length of the Earth's synodic period.
c. the time interval from one vernal
equinox to the next.
d. twelve lunar months.
16. If the Moon did NOT rotate we would
observe
a. the same as we now observe.
b. only the lunar back side.
c. the lunar north polar region.
d. both the front and back side of the
Moon.
17. Aristotle
a. was the first great observational
astronomer.
b. stated physical laws and then
attempted to use them to
explain how
the universe works.
c. discovered the first four elements in
the periodic table of
elements.
d. taught Plato the basic laws of nature.
18. Ptolemy
a. invented calculus and used it to
predict the positions of
the planets
at any given time.
b. wrote books summarizing the
astronomical knowledge of
earlier
cultures.
c. was the first of the great Greek
astronomers.
d. was the first to detect stellar
parallax.
19. The Almagest was written by
a. Plato
b. Aristotle
c. Hipparchus
d. Ptolemy
e. Pythagorus
20. The reason Copernicus became a "heliocentrist" was that
a. the evidence was overwhelmingly
strong.
b. the evidence was weak but gaining
strength.
c. it was philosophically pleasing to
him.
d. the laws of physics as then understood
indicated a
heliocentric
universe.
21. Which one of the following statements
about the Copernican
model is FALSE?
a. it was more accurate than the
Ptolemaic system in
predicting
planetary motions
b. relative planetary distances could be
deduced from it
c. relative planetary speeds could be
determined from it
d. retrograde motion could be easily
explained by it
e. none: all of the above statements are
true
22. Tycho Brahe's principal contribution to astronomy was
a. his noble blood.
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