Note that many of the questions will ask "Which of the following is FALSE?", since these are often better questions than "Which of the following is TRUE?". Please be careful when answering these. I recommend you put a "T" or "F" next to each choice to help you answer this type of question. You can write on the exams and keep them, and I recommend you do so. That way you can learn which questions you got wrong (if any), and it'll help you prepare for future exams and the final exam.
Some practice questions:
Which of the following is FALSE?
[Note - this is asking which of the above is NOT TRUE.]
A) The Earth is closest to the Sun during the month of January
B) Even if the Earth's orbit were perfectly circular, we would still have seasons
C) The star Sirius is brighter then Polaris (the North Star)
D) The Earth's shadow has nothing to do with the phases of the Moon
E) Ptolemy's geocentric model can accurately predict the location of the
planets at any time in the future
Which of the following is FALSE?
A) Ptolemy came up with the idea of deferents and epicycles to explain the
apparent motion of the planets
B) There is always gravity in space.
C) The first quarter Moon is roughly overhead around the time of sunset
D) A star at the north celestial pole can never be at anyone's zenith
E) The seasons are NOT caused by Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun
Which of the following is FALSE?
A) We can estimate a star's distance using a telescope and parallax,
if the star is relatively nearby.
B) The Sun is located on the celestial equator during the solstice.
C) An astronaut standing on Mars would have the same mass as she does
floating in the International Space Station
D) The ecliptic is the path of the Sun across the sky over the course of a
year
E) Galileo discovered phases of Venus and moons of Jupiter
Which of the following is FALSE?
A) The constellation Orion is located on the celestial equator and therefore
is visible all year long in the northerm hemisphere.
B) Most common constellations were named by ancient civilizations and
cultures.
C) There is no "dark side" of the Moon; all parts of the Moon receive
sunlight at some time.
D) It is safe to look at a lunar eclipse with a telescope.
E) The Moon rotates (spins on its axis) once per month.
Which of the following is FALSE?
A) If the Sun is on the celestial equator, it must be either the spring (vernal)
or autumn (fall) equinox.
B) The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes was able to measure the circumference of the Earth.
C) A star chart made at a time when Tycho Brahe was alive would still be valid for
naked-eye astronomy today.
D) Copernicus devised a geocentric model using epicycles and deferents.
E) Ptolemy's geocentric model was just as accurate as Copernicus'.
Suppose an Astronomy 101 student discovers a planet that orbits the Sun at
a distance of 10 AU. How long would it take for this planet to revolve
around the Sun?
A) 10 years
B) 100 light years
C) 1000 years
D) 31.6 (=square root of 1000) years
E) 4.6 (= cubed root of 100) years
If you triple the mass of a planet and also triple its semi-major axis,
the force of gravity:
A) remains the same
B) increases to 3 times stronger
C) increases to 6 times stronger
D) increases to 9 times stronger
E) decreases to one-third of what is was before
F) decreases to one-sixth of what is was before
G) decreases to 2/9 ths of what it was before
Although an astronaut in orbit feels weightless, she has
A) the same mass as when she's on Earth
B) the same weight as when she's on Earth
C) the same mass and the same weight as she does on Earth or any object
D) the same mass as when she's on the Moon
E) (choices A, B, and C are correct)
F) (choices A and D are correct)
Which of the following is FALSE?
A) If it is summer in the northern hemisphere it is winter in the southern hemisphere.
B) Galileo called the dark, flat areas of the Moon "maria" which means "sea".
C) The path of the Sun across the sky is called the epicycle.
D) The ecliptic is tilted by 23.5 degrees with respect to the celestial equator.
E) The Moon moves faster when it is at perigee then when it is at apogee.
What time does the New Moon rise?
A) noon
B) 3 pm
C) 6 pm
D) the same time the Sun sets
E) the same time the sun rises
What time does the planet Mercury set?
Hint: Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and is
always near the Sun as seen from Earth.
A) noon
B) 3 pm
C) 6 pm
D) roughly the same time the Sun sets
E) roughly the same time the Sun rises
Examples of questions you should be able to answer:
- If you were an astronaut on the Moon, would you see "phases of the Earth"
over the course of a month?
- At what time is the Sun on the meridian?
- At what time is the full Moon on the meridian?
- At what time is the full Moon on the eastern horizon?
- If the mass of an object is reduced to 1/3 its original value, how
will this affect the gravitational force?
- If the separation between two object is made five times larger, how does
the force of gravity change?
General hints for exam preparation and earning a good grade in this course:
- Try to visualize (or draw on paper, or use models) to understand
things like phases of the moon, time, eclipses, retrograde motion, parallax,
etc. It can be quite hard to understand these spatial configurations without
actually looking at real orbits and illuminated spheres.
- Go to the Astronomy Help Room for free tutoring
- Don't just try to get the answers to questions, think about what the
question means
- Read the "Summary" section at the end of each chapter several times
- Try answering all the questions (especially the multiple choice) at the
end of each chapter
- Go to the Astronomy Help Room
- Skip concepts that were never mentioned in class. (For example, we never
talked about the "synodic period" or "nodes" or "penumbra", etc.)
- Review the homework questions/answers.
- Come to my office hours for help.
- Go to the Astronomy Help Room - don't be shy, go! Let them help you do
well in this course.
GOOD LUCK!