Quiz
Chapter 1: The Night Sky
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Questions in this quiz (47)
1Roughly how many Earths would fit inside the Sun?
- A1
- B100
- C10,000
- D1,000,000
2In 1 second, light leaving Los Angeles reaches approximately as far as
- ASan Francisco, about 500 km
- BLondon, roughly 10,000 km
- Cthe Moon, 384,000 km
- DVenus, 45,000,000 km from Earth at closest approach
3If Earth rotated twice as fast as it currently does, but its motion around the Sun stayed the same, then
- Athe night would be twice as long;
- Bthe night would be half as long
- Cthe year would be half as long
- Dthe length of the day would be unchanged
4When a thin crescent of the Moon is visible just before sunrise, the Moon is in its
- Awaxing phase
- Bnew phase
- Cwaning phase
- Dquarter phase
5If the Moon's orbit were a little longer, solar eclipses would be
- Amore likely to be annular
- Bmore likely to be total
- Cmore frequent
- Dunchanged in appearance
6Relative to the stars, as seen from Earth, through roughly how many degrees, arc minutes, or arc seconds does the Moon move in 1 hour of time?
- A10 degrees
- B30 arc minutes
- C1 arc minute
7The Moon lies roughly 384,000 km from Earth, and the Sun lies 150,000,000 km away. If both have the same angular size as seen from Earth, roughly how many times larger than the Moon is the Sun?
- A400
- B40
- C10
- D4
8The stars in a constellation are physically close to one another.
- ATrue
- BFalse
9The seasons are caused by the precession of Earth's axis.
- ATrue
- BFalse
10If the direction of Earth's rotation were reversed, the solar day would be shorter than it is now.
- ATrue
- BFalse
11The Moon does not rotate.
- ATrue
- BFalse
12A lunar eclipse can occur only during a full Moon.
- ATrue
- BFalse
13The angular diameter of an object is inversely proportional to its distance from the observer.
- ATrue
- BFalse
14Once proved, a theory can never be changed.
- ATrue
- BFalse
15The [blank_start]universe[blank_end] is the totality of all space, time, matter, and energy.
- Auniverse
16[blank_start]Astronomy[blank_end] is the study of the universe.
- AAstronomy
17Planet [blank_start]Earth[blank_end] orbits a star called the [blank_start]Sun[blank_end], near the edge of the [blank_start]Milky[blank_end] [blank_start]Way[blank_end] Galaxy, which is just one among billions of galaxies in the [blank_start]universe[blank_end].
- AEarth
- BSun
- CMilky
- DWay
- Euniverse
18Early observers grouped the thousands of stars visible to the naked eye into patterns called [blank_start]constellations[blank_end], which they imagined where attached to a vast celestial sphere centered on Earth.
- Aconstellations
19A [blank_start]celestial[blank_end] [blank_start]sphere[blank_end] is an imaginary sphere surrounding Earth to which all objects in the sky were once considered to be attached.
- Acelestial
- Bsphere
20[blank_start]Constellations[blank_end] have no physical significance, but are still used to label regions of the sky.
- AConstellations
21The points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects the celestial sphere are called the north and south [blank_start]celestial[blank_end] [blank_start]poles[blank_end].
- Acelestial
- Bpoles
22The line where Earth's equatorial plane cuts the celestial sphere is the [blank_start]celestial[blank_end] [blank_start]equator[blank_end].
- Acelestial
- Bequator
23The nightly motion of the stars across the sky is the result of Earth's [blank_start]rotation[blank_end] on it axis.
- Arotation
24A [blank_start]rotation[blank_end] is the spinning motion of a body about on its axis.
- Arotation
25The time from one noon to the next is called a [blank_start]solar[blank_end] day.
- Asolar
26The time between successive risings of any given star is one [blank_start]sidereal[blank_end] day.
- Asidereal
27Because of Earth's [blank_start]revolution[blank_end] around the Sun, we see different stars at night at different times of the year, and the Sun appears to move relative to the stars.
- Arevolution
28The Sun's apparent yearly path around the celestial sphere (or the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun) is called the [blank_start]ecliptic[blank_end].
- Aecliptic
29We experience [blank_start]seasons[blank_end] because Earth's rotation axis is inclined to the ecliptic plane.
- Aseasons
30At the [blank_start]summer[blank_end] [blank_start]solstice[blank_end], the Sun is highest in the sky and the length of the day is greatest.
- Asummer
- Bsolstice
31At the vernal and autumnal [blank_start]equinoxes[blank_end], Earth's axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line joining Earth to the Sun, so day and night are of [blank_start]equal[blank_end] length.
- Aequinoxes
- Bequal
32The interval of time from one vernal [blank_start]equinox[blank_end] to the next is one [blank_start]tropical[blank_end] year.
- Aequinox
- Btropical
33[blank_start]Precession[blank_end] is the slow "wobble" of Earth's axis due to the influence of the [blank_start]Moon[blank_end].
- APrecession
- BRotation
- CRevolution
- DMoon
- ESun
34As a result of [blank_start]precession[blank_end], the [blank_start]sidereal[blank_end] year is slightly longer than the [blank_start]tropical[blank_end] year, and the constellations migrate around the calendar over the course of thousands of years.
- Arotation
- Bprecession
- Crevolution
- Dtropical
- Esidereal
- Ftropical
- Gsidereal
35The [blank_start]Moon[blank_end] emits no light of its own, but instead shines by reflected sunlight.
- AMoon
- BNorth Star
36As the Moon orbits Earth, we see [blank_start]lunar[blank_end] phases as the amount of the Moon's sunlit face visible to us varies.
- Alunar
37At [blank_start]new[blank_end] Moon, the Moon and the Sun are in nearly the same part of the sky, and the [blank_start]sunlit[blank_end] side of the Moon is oriented away from us.
- Anew
- Bfull
- Csunlit
- Ddark
38At [blank_start]full[blank_end] Moon, the Sun and Moon are in opposite directions, from our perspective.
- Anew
- Bfull
39The time taken for the Moon to complete one orbit relative to the stars is 1 [blank_start]sidereal[blank_end] month. The time needed for the Moon to complete one cycle of phases is 1 [blank_start]synodic[blank_end] month.
- Asynodic
- Bsidereal
- Csynodic
- Dsidereal
40A [blank_start]lunar[blank_end] eclipse occurs when the Moon enters Earth's shadow.
- Asolar
- Blunar
- Ctotal
- Dpartial
- Eannular
41A [blank_start]solar[blank_end] eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun.
- Asolar
- Blunar
- Ctotal
- Dpartial
- Eannular
42An eclipse may be [blank_start]total[blank_end] if the body in question (Moon or Sun) is completely obscured, or [blank_start]partial[blank_end] if only a portion of the surface is affected.
- Asolar
- Blunar
- Ctotal
- Dpartial
- Eannular
- Fsolar
- Glunar
- Htotal
- Ipartial
- Jannular
43If the Moon happens to be too far from Earth for its disk to completely hide the Sun, an [blank_start]annular[blank_end] eclipse occurs.
- Asolar
- Blunar
- Ctotal
- Dpartial
- Eannular
44Because the Moon's orbit around Earth is slightly inclined with respect to the [blank_start]ecliptic[blank_end], solar and lunar eclipses do not occur every [blank_start]month[blank_end].
- Aecliptic
- Bmonth
45The [blank_start]scientific[blank_end] [blank_start]method[blank_end] is a methodical approach employed by scientists to explore the universe around us in an objective manner.
- Ascientific
- Bmethod
46A [blank_start]theory[blank_end] is a framework of ideas and assumptions used to explain some set of [blank_start]observations[blank_end] and construct theoretical models that make [blank_start]predictions[blank_end] about the real world. These predictions in turn are [blank_start]amenable[blank_end] to further observational [blank_start]testing[blank_end]. In this way, the theory expands and [blank_start]science[blank_end] advances.
- Atheory
- Bobservations
- Cpredictions
- Damenable
- Etesting
- Fscience
47Observation, theory, and testing are the cornerstones of the [blank_start]scientific[blank_end] [blank_start]method[blank_end].
- Ascientific
- Bmethod
Information
- Description
- The Universe at a Glance
- Author
- Rachelle Sappington
- Language
- English
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