Deck 1: Thinking Like an Astronomer

Question 1

The Local Group is the environment around:

A) the Sun that contains about a dozen stars.
B) the Milky Way that contains a few dozen galaxies.
C) the Sun that contains more than a billion stars.
D) the Milky Way that contains a few thousand galaxies.

Answer 1

the Milky Way that contains a few dozen galaxies.

Question 2

A light-year is a unit of measurement for:

A) time.
B) speed.
C) mass.
D) distance.

Answer 2

distance.

Question 3

After the Sun,the next nearest star to us is approximately ________ away.

A) 4 light-seconds
B) 4 light-minutes
C) 4 light-hours
D) 4 light-years

Answer 3

4 light-years

Question 4

We are located approximately:

A) at the center of the Milky Way.
B) near the center of the Milky Way.
C) halfway out from the center of the Milky Way.
D) at the farthest outskirts of the Milky Way.

Question 5

Our place in the universe is:

A) a location and a time.
B) at its center.
C) at its edge.
D) unknown because there is no center to the universe.

Question 6

If an event were to take place on the Sun,how long would it take for the light to reach us?

A) 8 minutes
B) 11 hours
C) 1 second
D) 1 day

Question 7

If you were to specify your address in the universe,listing your membership from the smallest to largest physical structures,it would be:

A) Earth, Local Group, Solar System, Andromeda, the universe.
B) Earth, Solar System, Local Group, Milky Way, the universe.
C) Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, the universe.
D) Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Fornax Supercluster, the universe.

Question 8

The word astronomy:

A) means "patterns among the stars."
B) means "to study the stars."
C) means "discovering the universe."
D) has nothing to do with stars.

Question 9

The distance to the nearest,large,spiral galaxy,Andromeda,is 2.5 million light-years.How long does it take light to travel from us to Andromeda?

A) 360 years
B) 1.2 thousand years
C) 4.5 billion years
D) 2.5 million years

Question 10

Which of the following most closely approximates the number of stars in the Milky Way?

A) 10 million
B) 100 million
C) 10 billion
D) 100 billion

Question 11

One of the nearest stars is Alpha Centauri,whose distance is 4.4 light-years.The time it takes light to travel from Alpha Centauri to us is:

A) 1.25 seconds.
B) 8.3 minutes.
C) 4.4 years.
D) 600 years.

Question 12

The early universe was composed mainly of which two elements?

A) hydrogen and helium
B) carbon and oxygen
C) hydrogen and oxygen
D) carbon and iron

Question 13

The most massive elements (such as those of the rocky planets like Earth)were formed

A) in the early universe.
B) inside stars and supernovae.
C) through meteor collisions.
D) in the core of Earth.

Question 14

Our universe is approximately ________ years old.

A) 14 million
B) 14 billion
C) 14 trillion
D) 14 thousand

Question 15

Measuring distances in the amount of time it takes light to travel,if the circumference of Earth is a snap of your fingers,the diameter of the Solar System is approximately equal to:

A) the length of a quick lunch.
B) the time to turn a page in a book.
C) the time between sunrise and sunset.
D) the time you spent in high school.

Question 16

If the diameter of our galaxy is approximately 100,000 light-years,our galaxy is ________ times larger than our Solar System.

A) 100
B) 104
C) 106
D) 108

Question 17

The number of planets in the Solar System is

A) 8
B) 9
C) 12
D) 6

Question 18

Light from the Sun takes about ________ to reach Earth.

A) 8 seconds
B) 8 minutes
C) 8 hours
D) 8 years

Question 19

The speed of light is about:

A) 20 km/s.
B) 30,000 km/s.
C) 300,000 km/s.
D) 5 million km/s.

Question 20

Which of the following is FALSE?

A) The Local Group is a member of the Virgo Supercluster, which contains thousands of galaxies.
B) The Local Group contains two large spiral galaxies and a few dozen dwarf galaxies.
C) Our Solar System has eight planets.
D) The Milky Way Galaxy contains approximately 100 million stars.

Question 21

Write 0.00000037 in scientific notation.

A) 3.7 × 10-7
B) 37 × 10-6
C) 37 × 106
D) 3.7 × 107

Question 22

The cosmological principle states that:

A) the universe is expanding in all directions at the same rate.
B) a unique center of the universe exists.
C) the universe looks the same everywhere as long as you look on large enough spatial scales.
D) physical laws may change from place to place in the universe.

Question 23

How many nanometers are in a millimeter?

A) 100
B) 1,000
C) 1,000,000
D) 1,000,000,000

Question 24

A ________ becomes a ________ when repeated testing of its predictions does not disprove it.

A) hypothesis; scientific method
B) theory; scientific revolution
C) phenomenon; theory
D) hypothesis; theory

Question 25

The statement ''our universe is but one of a multitude of isolated universes'' is best characterized as a:

A) speculative but unscientific idea because it is not testable and therefore not falsifiable.
B) scientific fact.
C) physical law.
D) hypothesis that is currently being tested.

Question 26

Approximately how many meters are in 12 ft?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 12
D) 36

Question 27

Write 3,800,000,000 in scientific notation.

A) 3.8 × 108
B) 3.8 × 109
C) 3.8 × 10-8
D) 3.8 × 10-9

Question 28

________ is the idea that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct one.

A) Newton's hypothesis
B) Occam's razor
C) Aristotle's test
D) Einstein's excuse

Question 29

Scientific notation allows us to:

A) write very large and very small numbers in a convenient way.
B) talk about science in an easy way.
C) change easy calculations into hard calculations.
D) explain science to engineers.

Question 30

A hypothesis may become a theory:

A) after many repeated attempts to falsify it fail.
B) if a majority of scientists agree on its propositions.
C) after it has been logically proved.
D) if it makes at least one verifiable prediction.

Question 31

The language of science is:

A) Greek.
B) mathematics.
C) calculus.
D) Java.

Question 32

What are the speeds of the car at points a,b,and c indicated by the graph of Figure 1.10 of the textbook?

A) 0.5 miles per minute, 0.5 miles per minute, 0 miles per minute
B) 0.5 miles per minute, 0.5 miles per minute, 0.25 miles per minute
C) 0.5 miles per minute, 0.6 miles per minute, 0.56 miles per minute
D) 0.5 miles per minute, 0.6 miles per minute, 0 miles per minute

Question 33

The kind of mathematics that deals with change is called:

A) algebra.
B) calculus.
C) arithmetic.
D) geometry.

Question 34

What is the ONLY thing that makes the Sun an exceptional star?

Question 35

Which of the following is FALSE?

A) A scientific theory is an undisputed fact.
B) If continual testing of a hypothesis shows it to be valid, it may become an accepted theory.
C) A hypothesis must always have one or more testable predictions.
D) A scientific theory may eventually be proved wrong when scientists acquire new data.

Question 36

Approximately how many feet are in 4 meters?

A) 1.3
B) 4
C) 8
D) 12

Question 37

One of the central assumptions in astronomy is that the physical laws of nature:

A) change when objects move at high speed.
B) change throughout the age of the universe.
C) depend on the mass of the objects involved.
D) are the same everywhere in the universe.

Question 38

A scientific theory can be proved wrong if:

A) cultural beliefs evolve to contradict it.
B) scientists gather new data that disprove its predictions.
C) it cannot explain all phenomena.
D) it is based only on conjecture.

Question 39

The scientific method is a process by which scientists:

A) prove theories to be known facts.
B) gain confidence in theories by failing to prove them wrong.
C) show all theories to be wrong.
D) test the ideas of Aristotle.

Question 40

How many orders of magnitude does the size of the visible universe span (in light years)?

A) 13.8
B) 1 billion
C) 9
D) 10

Question 41

Suppose you were writing to a pen pal across the universe.What address would you put on the envelope that included all the major structures in which we reside? (Hint: Your cosmic address should begin with "Earth" and end with "the universe.")

Question 42

Describe briefly why the phrase "we are stardust" is literally true.

Question 43

Describe how talking about time can give us a feeling for distance.

Question 44

Describe the two main aspects of the cosmological principle.

Question 45

Why does a theory that continues to be supported by the results of experimental tests need further tests?

Question 46

What is the Local Group?

Question 47

Why might the universe be described as a sort of "time machine"?

Question 48

The figure below shows images representing our place in the universe.Label each box with its appropriate location.

Question 49

In pre-Renaissance times,it was believed that celestial objects were made of a different substance than Earth and obeyed different rules.Which modern scientific principle is a better description of the universe?

Question 50

If the elements that make up Earth and our bodies were not present in the early universe,where did they come from?

Question 51

Name three dwarf planets.

Question 52

Referring to Figure 1.10 of the textbook,what is the relationship between the speed of the car and the slope of the graph?

Question 53

What is the main reason why a comet should not be considered a type of planet?

Question 54

Describe the main steps involved in the scientific method.