Astronomy 2B03 Exam Notes/Practice

Midterm Questions:

1.  The star Betelgeuse is about 500 light years away from us. If this star underwent a supernova explosion right now, how long would it be until we found out about it?

a)  Almost immediately.

b)  8 minutes.

c)  10 years.

d)  500 years.

e)  500 light years.

2.  The expression "order of magnitude" corresponds to

a)  one factor of ten

b)  one factor of two

c)  a factor of 2.5

d) two factors of ten

e)  none of the above

3.  The distances of nearby stars can be measured by observing their apparent motion as

a)  the Earth orbits around the Sun.                                    

b)  the Earth rotates on its axis.

c)  the Sun orbits around the center of the Galaxy. d) the planets cross their path.

e) they orbit the Sun.

4.  If the Sun were suddenly replaced by a black hole of the same mass, the Earth would

a)  remain in the same orbit.                                                

b)  move into a smaller orbit.

c)  move off the current orbit in a straight line. d) be pulled into the black hole.

e) be burned to a crisp.

5.  When you are on the top floor of a building, your weight is                  when you are on the ground floor.

a)  much greater than

b)  slightly greater than

c)  equal to

d)  slightly less than

e)  much less than

6.  What causes light from a star to be Doppler-shifted?

a)  the distance between us and the star

b)  the gas and dust between us and the star

c)  the speed of the star toward or away from us

d)  temperature differences between us and the star