Deck 1: Cosmology and the Birth of Earth

Question 1

An ancient Greek philosopher concluded (correctly)that the ____________.

A)Earth was spherical (round)
B)Sun was the center of the whole Universe
C)Sun was the center of the Earth's orbit
D)Earth was the center of the Universe

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In the heliocentric model (shown below)____________.

A)Earth orbits around the Sun
B)the Sun orbits around Earth
C)Earth is a stationary planet
D)Mercury and Venus orbit around the Sun,but all other planets orbit around Earth

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Humans first realized that the Earth was spherical ____________.

A)as a result of the voyages of Christopher Columbus
B)when Magellan's crew was able to sail completely around the world
C)during the Renaissance
D)during the time of Aristotle in ancient Greece

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An important contribution made by Copernicus is his (correct)assertion that the ____________.

A)Earth was spherical (round)
B)Sun was the center of the whole Universe
C)Sun was the center of the Earth's orbit
D)Earth was the center of the Universe

Question 5

A light year is a unit that measures ____________.

A)time
B)mass
C)distance
D)luminous intensity

Question 6

In 2006,the International Astronomical Union produced a major announcement concerning Pluto.What was it?

A)Liquid water has been found on its surface.
B)Pluto has a moon named Charon that is nearly as large as Pluto itself.
C)Pluto has been officially demoted from its former status as one of nine major planets in our solar system.
D)Chemical signatures in rocks recovered from Pluto by NASA astronauts suggest that it may be inhabited.

Question 7

Who first discovered four moons belonging to Jupiter,proving conclusively that some bodies do not orbit around the Earth?

A)Aristotle
B)Copernicus
C)Kepler
D)Galileo

Question 8

The closest galaxy to ours is ________________ ,which is ___________ million light years away.

A)Alpha Centauri;1.1
B)Andromeda;2.2
C)Alpha Centauri;3.3
D)Andromeda;4.4

Question 9

The circumference of Earth is most nearly ____________.

A)400 km
B)4,000 km
C)40,000 km
D)4,000,000 km

Question 10

Aside from Earth,the terrestrial planets are ____________.

A)Mars,Mercury,and Venus
B)Mars,Venus,and Jupiter
C)Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,and Neptune
D)Mars and Saturn

Question 11

New planets (invisible to the naked eye)were initially suspected to exist because their gravitational pull disrupted the orbits of previously known planets.

Question 12

The gas giant,or Jovian,planets are ____________.

A)Mars,Mercury,and Venus
B)Mars,Venus,and Jupiter
C)Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,and Neptune
D)Mars and Saturn

Question 13

The figure below is representative of _________________ calculation of the __________________ of the Earth.

A)Galileo's;circumference
B)Copernicus's;radius
C)Eratosthene's;circumference
D)Ptolemy's;radius

Question 14

Foucault's experiment with a pendulum proved that ____________.

A)Earth is the center of the Universe
B)Earth revolves around the Sun
C)Earth rotates about an internal axis
D)the Sun revolves around Earth

Question 15

The branch of science that studies the structure and history of the Universe is ____________.

A)cosmetology
B)scientology
C)cosmology
D)universalism

Question 16

Comets are primarily a mixture of ____________.

A)rock and metal
B)liquid water and water ice
C)ice and dust
D)ice on the outside with a metallic core

Question 17

Our Sun belongs to a galaxy known as ____________.

A)Andromeda
B)Cepheus
C)the Milky Way
D)the Stratosphere

Question 18

Eratosthenes was the first person to accurately estimate the size of Earth.He accomplished this feat by ____________.

A)sailing around the world and estimating his average rate of travel
B)comparing the length of an Earth day with the distance between the Earth and the Sun
C)measuring the severity of the greatest earthquakes
D)observing shadows simultaneously cast at two different cities that were separated by a known distance

Question 19

Most asteroids inhabit the "asteroid belt" between the planets ____________.

A)Earth and Mars
B)Mars and Jupiter
C)Jupiter and Saturn
D)Neptune and Pluto

Question 20

The geocentric model (shown below)was developed during the time of the ancient Greeks.This model ____________.

A)was abandoned during the time of the Roman Empire and would never be widely held again
B)was held to be true by thinkers throughout the Middle Ages,up until the Renaissance
C)was rediscovered by the Polish astronomer Copernicus and has been the accepted model of the Universe ever since
D)has been proven by NASA space photos

Question 21

In agreement with the Big Bang theory,our Universe is ____________.

A)expanding
B)contracting
C)static (unchanging)

Question 22

First generation stars tend to be _________________________ .

A)small and cool
B)large and cool
C)small and hot
D)large and hot

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a possible stage in a star's life and collapse?

A)protostar
B)supernova
C)gas giant
D)black hole

Question 24

The Hubble Telescope took this photo in 2009 of an object 7,500 light years away.What is it?

A)protostar
B)nebulae
C)supernova
D)protoplanet

Question 25

Researchers have determined that the Universe began expanding subsequent to the Big Bang.When did this event occur?

A)1.3 Ga ago
B)13.7 Ga ago
C)137 Ga ago
D)13.7 Ma ago

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT true about the Kuiper Belt?

A)Gerald Kuiper predicted its existence in 1951.
B)In 1992,astronomers discovered millions of icy objects in this region,which is beyond Neptune.
C)It contains an object called Eris,which is 20% larger than Pluto.
D)Pluto and Eris are now both considered planets.

Question 27

By far the most common elements in the Universe and in our solar system are ____________.

A)nitrogen and oxygen
B)iron and manganese
C)hydrogen and helium
D)hydrogen and oxygen

Question 28

Larger stars live longer than smaller stars because of a greater supply of hydrogen fuel.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT true about Pluto?

A)It was demoted in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union's new definition of a planet.
B)It,and the Kuiper Belt it is found in,lie on the same plane as our Solar System's planets.
C)It is made mostly of ice.
D)It is smaller than all the known moon's in our Solar System.

Question 30

In our current understanding of the Big Bang,____________.

A)Earth is much older than the rest of the Universe
B)the Universe is considerably older than Earth
C)Earth and the Universe formed at about the same time
D)there is no way of knowing how old the Universe might be

Question 31

Atoms that are heavier than iron are generally produced by ____________.

A)fission reactions within stars
B)fusion reactions within stars
C)explosion of supernovas
D)the Big Bang

Question 32

The parallax method is useful for measuring the distance between Earth and ____________.

A)distant galaxies
B)nearby galaxies
C)any star in our own galaxy
D)nearby objects only (less than 30 light years away)

Question 33

From the choices below,the best estimate of the age of the Universe is ____________ old.

A)5 million years
B)6 billion years
C)14 billion years
D)100 billion years

Question 34

The Big Bang theory states that ____________.

A)all stars will end their lives explosively as supernovas
B)Earth formed through a series of violent collisions
C)meteors were responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs
D)all matter in the Universe was once confined to a single point

Question 35

Around 1929,Hubble and other astronomers discovered that the light of distant galaxies displayed red shifts relative to the light of nearby stars.This means that ___________________ .

A)all distant galaxies are moving away from Earth at an immense velocity
B)these galaxies are moving away from a fixed light source
C)the whole Universe is expanding
D)A,B,and C are correct.
E) A and C are both correct.

Question 36

The _________________ refers to the change in wavelength (and,therefore,frequency)of waves that happens if the source of the waves is moving.

A)Big Bang theory
B)Nebular theory
C)Expanding Universe theory
D)Doppler effect

Question 37

In the figure below,the image on the right is that of fusion,while the image on the left is that of fission.

Question 38

Strong evidence that the Universe is expanding comes from the fact that the light emitted from distant galaxies appears to be ____________.

A)red shifted
B)blue shifted
C)green shifted
D)None of the above are correct.

Question 39

A ____________ transmits energy from one point to another in the form of periodic motions and is defined by both the distance between this periodic motions ( __________ )and the number of them that pass a fixed point in a given time interval ( ___________ ).

A)frequency;wavelength;wave
B)wavelength;frequency;wave
C)wave;frequency;wavelength
D)wave;wavelength;frequency

Question 40

Waves that are "blue shifted" have shorter wavelengths than those that are "red shifted."

Question 41

An explanation for the origin of planets,moons,asteroids,and comets is the______________________ .

A)expanding Universe theory
B)nebular theory
C)Big Bang theory
D)theory of plate tectonics

Question 42

About 4.53 Ga,the Moon formed.Which of the following is NOT correct about that event?

A)A mercury-sized protoplanet collided with the newborn Earth.
B)A large part of the Earth's mantle disintegrated.
C)The Earth developed a ring,like those found around Saturn and Jupiter.
D)The colliding body disintegrated.

Question 43

Chemically,the Moon is quite similar to ____________.

A)sea water
B)Earth's crust
C)Earth's mantle
D)Earth's core

Question 44

Volatile materials can exist as a gas at Earth's surface.Which of the following is NOT a volatile material?

A)water
B)boron
C)hydrogen
D)carbon dioxide

Question 45

This is an image of ____________.

A)planetesimals forming protoplanets
B)protoplanets forming planetesimals
C)asteroids forming protoplanets
D)asteroids forming planetesimals

Question 46

The inner planets are terrestrial because _________________ .

A)they are made of volatile materials
B)they are made of refractory materials
C)as our Solar System's proto-Sun formed,the inner part of our protoplanetary disk got hotter causing evaporation
D)B and C are both correct.
E) A and C are both correct.

Question 47

The metal alloy that makes up the core of Earth is ____________,as compared to the rocky mantle.

A)less dense
B)denser
C)very similar in chemistry and density
D)distinct in chemistry but of very similar density

Question 48

Differentiation of the core from the mantle early in Earth's history was possible because the planet was ____________ at the time.

A)very cold
B)very hot
C)very small
D)the only planet in the Solar System

Question 49

Which of the following bodies is the smallest?

A)planet
B)star
C)protoplanet
D)planetesimal

Question 50

The figure below represents the final stage in Earth's formation,which was marked by all of the following EXCEPT ____________.

A)atmosphere formation
B)rains creating the oceans
C)gases being added by passing comets
D)differentiation of the core and mantle