The 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. 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 The distances of nearby can be measured by observing their apparent motion as a) the Earth orbits around the . 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. 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. 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 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 e) the change in the speed of light as the star moves toward or away from us We can detect the Doppler effect by a) measuring the shift in distance of the star. b) taking photographs six months apart. c) measuring brightness. d) measuring the shift in wavelength of a spectral line. e) measuring the transfer of momentum to the interstellar medium. Suppose the universe were not expanding, but was in some kind of steady state. How should galaxy recession velocities correlate with distance? They should a) be directly proportional to distance. b) reverse the trend we see today and correlate inversely with distance. c) show a scatter plot with most recession velocities positive. d) show a scatter plot with equal numbers of positive and negative recession velocities. e) none of the above. Suppose the Hubble Constant were measured and found to be twice as large as it is now believed to be. The maximum age of the universe in a Big Bang model would be a) halved. b) the same. c) doubled. d) squared. From the spectrum of a star’s light we can learn a) that all stars are made up of hydrogen, mostly b) the numerical value of Planck’s constant c) the numerical value of Hubble’s constant d) the parallax of the star e) none of the above Galaxies a) all have a spiral-like structure b) are gradually shrinking under their own gravity c) are gradually expanding by the action of Hubble’s Law d) can be bigger than the Milky Way is e) all of the above Which of the following characteristics does NOT apply to giant elliptical galaxies? a) rapidly rotating b) low rate of star formation c) lacking spiral arms d) found in the centers of galaxy clusters Compared to spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies are a) redder and rounder b) bluer and rounder c) bluer and flattened d) redder and flattened e) always much smaller The age of the universe is a) between 100 billion and 200 billion years b) between 100 million and 200 million years c) between 1 billion and 2 billion years d) between 10 billion and 20 billion years e) between 10 million and 20 million years A spaceship moves by you at a high speed. Compared to how they would appear to you if the spaceship was at rest, objects on the spaceship: a) appear longer, and have greater mass b) appear shorter, and have greater mass c) appear longer, and have smaller mass d) appear shorter, and have smaller mass e) none of the above Why should galaxy collisions have been more common in the past than they are today? a) galaxies were more active in the past and therefore would have collided with each other more frequently b) galaxies were much bigger in the past since they had not contracted completely c) galaxies were closer together in the past because the Universe was smaller d) galaxies were more massive in the past e) galaxy collisions shouldn't have been more common in the past than they are now The Milky Way star is 11 light-years from the Sun while the Milky Way star Acrux is 320 light-years from the Sun. Hubble’s Law implies that: a) Procyon is moving at the same speed as Acrux b) Procyon is moving more slowly than Acrux c) Procyon and Acrux are BOTH moving away from the Sun d) both b & c e) none of the above Which of the following is NOT an implication of Hubble's law? a) the Universe is expanding b) we are at the center of the Universe c) the Universe had a beginning d) the Universe was once denser than it now is e) none of the above Rather than being a planet, Pluto is now considered to be a large member of a) the Oort cloud b) the asteroid belt c) an extrasolar d) the Kuiper Belt e) the moon system of Neptune During one lecture a thought experiment was discussed that involved a relativistic skateboarder. The main point of the discussion was to show a) that the speed of light is constant b) that different observers could obtain different measures of time c) that gravity and acceleration are equivalent d) that light follows a curved path e) none of the above What important physics was demonstrated with the Photoelectric effect? a) the speed of light is finite b) metals are conducting c) light has momentum d) the speed of light is constant for all observers e) blackbody radiation Which of the following has the smallest wavelength? a) microwaves b) ultraviolet light c) visible light d) gamma-rays e) X-rays The strong force is the force that a) drives nuclear decay b) keeps planets in orbit around the sun c) keeps light in a black hole d) attracts electrons to protons e) something else Compare the light emitted by our Sun with that emitted from an identical distant star that is receding from us. a) the photons received on Earth from the distant star are less energetic b) the photons received on Earth from the distant star have higher frequency c) the photons received on Earth are the same from both stars except there are many more from our sun d) the photons from the distant star are bluer e) not enough information to tell Infrared light waves have ______compared with visible electromagnetic radiation. a) high energy and long wavelength b) low energy and long wavelength c) low energy and short wavelength d) high energy and short wavelength e) none of the above According to what we learned about Hubble’s Law which of the following objects are moving away from each other? a) 2 galaxies in a galaxy cluster b) you and the person in the seat next to you c) stars in the Milky Way d) 2 isolated galaxies e) all of the above Which of the following is not a form of electromagnetic radiation? a) radio waves b) X-rays c) electrons d) sunlight e) gamma-rays Which of the following are correctly placed in order of decreasing distance (ordered from furthest to closest) from here? a) Alpha Centauri, Sun, Pluto, Andromeda Galaxy b) Andromeda Galaxy, Alpha Centauri, Pluto, Sun c) Andromeda Galaxy, Sun, Pluto, Jupiter d) Alpha Centauri, Sun, Pluto, Jupiter, Moon, Toronto e) Sun, Jupiter, Pluto, Moon, Toronto Which colour of star is the hottest in temperature? a) yellow b) red c) infrared d) blue e) green Why would it be easier to measure parallaxes of stars from Pluto than from Earth? a) Pluto is closer to other stars than the Earth b) Pluto is colder than the Earth c) Pluto is a dwarf planet d) Pluto's orbit is larger than the Earth's orbit e) Pluto's orbit is more stable than the Earth's orbit Gamma rays travel a. faster than c b. slower than c c. at speed c d. at a speed depending on their energy Which of the following is not a result of gravity? a. the sun orbits the centre of the galaxy b. Jupiter orbits the sun c. the earth orbits the sun d. an electron orbits the nucleus Which of the following is not one of the fundamental forces? a. friction force b. weak force c. gravitational force d. strong force e. electromagnetic force Suppose you saw your friend passing by you at very great speed in a spaceship. you notices a number of things about her and her spaceship. which of the following is false? a. her clock was running slowly b. her mass was smaller c. her spaceship appeared to be shortened A gedanken experiment was illustrated in class where an attempt was made to turn on two lights at the same time. this was done to illustrate: a. the speed of light is independent of the observer b. the speed of light is independent of the sender c. events that are simultaneous for one set of observes are not necessarily simultaneous for another set d. simultaneous events are always simultaneous Arrange the following from the largest to the smallest; the nucleus, the atom, the proton, a quark. a. atom, nucleus, proton, quark b. atom, proton, quark, nucleus c. nucleus, atom, proton, quark. d. atom, quark, nucleus, proton Suppose that a black hole and a normal star have the same mass. Suppose also that they each have an earth- sized planet orbiting them at the same distance as the earth is from the sun. a. the black hole pulls harder on its planet than the normal star does b. the normal star pulls harder on its planet than the black hole does. c. the planet is sucks into the black hole. d. the planets feel identical pulls A theory of quantum gravity would be needed to understand a. the universe at the instant of the big bang b. the photoelectric effect c. a relative skateboarder d. how the earth orbits the sun A quantum of light has a. no mass and no momentum b. no mass but it has energy c. mass and momentum d. mass and energy e. no momentum because it is a wave The CBR a. a light from early universe b. antimatter tunneling from black holes c. big-bang nucleosynthesis d. the radius of the cosmological horizon Matter curves space around it, which explains a. the shapes of the spiral galaxies b. gravitational lensing of distant galaxies c. the photoelectric effect d. the large look back times of distant galaxies From the spectrum of a starts light we can learn about a. the CBR b. Planck's constant c. the elements in the star d. its look back time An electron in an atom can go to a higher, more energetic orbit by a. absorbing a photon b. emitting a photon c. changing to a proton d. emitting neutrinos From Hubble’s law we can deduce that a. the earth and sun will gradually separate b. we are at the center of expansion c. the CRB could tunnel into black holes d. the universe may have a finite age Stars are made mostly of a. carbon, nitrogen and oxygen from big bang nucleosynthesis b. spectrum lines c. black holes surrounded by helium gas d. hydrogen from the early universe The nearest star to our sun a. have look back times of a few years b. are about as far away as Jupiter c. are too far away for parallax measurement d. are obscured by the CBR The equation E=mc^2 tells us that a. mass m has energy equivalent to E b. mass m has no energy if it is not moving c. mass m has energy E if it is moving at speed c d. the universe must expand One consequences from E=mc^2 is that a. red shifted photons are less massive b. an object has energy E when it travels at speed c c. photons can be converted to particles d. the photoelectric effect can be create vacuum energy The light from distant galaxies is red shifted because a. they are moving through space b. the wavelengths are stretched by the expansion of space c. their look back times are less d. the stars in them are older at these look back times The early universe a few seconds after the Big Bang was a. composed of stars but had no galaxies b. has passed beyond our cosmological horizon c. composed of helium gas, like stars d. filled with hot radiation The big bang a. cannot be disproven as a scientific idea b. created the earth 4.5 billion years ago c. is the initial expansion of space d. was the emergence of the solar system from a black hole Our solar system is located in the a) Milky Way's galactic halo b) Milky Way's central nucleus c) Milky Way's galactic disk d) space between the Milky Way and its neighbouring galaxies e) none of the above The terrestrial planets are a) Mercury, Mars, Earth, and Venus. b) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. c) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. d) Venus, Earth, and Mars. e) none of the above combinations The four physical forces at work in the universe are gravitation, electromagnetic, strong and weak forces. Which two of these are very short-ranged? a) strong and electromagnetic forces b) strong and weak forces c) gravitation and electromagnetic forces d) electromagnetic and weak forces e) none of the above, they are all long range forces From lowest frequency to highest frequency, which of the following correctly orders the different categories of electromagnetic radiation? a) gamma rays, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, radio b) visible light, infrared, X rays, ultraviolet, gamma rays, radio c) radio, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays d) infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays, radio e) radio, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma rays Evidence of the expansion of the universe is shown by a) The Einstein Cross b) The 4.5 billion year age of the Earth c) The abundances of the elements in stars d) The red shifts of distant galaxies e) Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that case, a) Galaxy 1 must be twice as big as Galaxy 2 b) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 c) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at a later time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 d) Galaxy 2 must be twice as old as Galaxy 1. e) none of the above A black hole and a normal star have the same mass. They each have an Earth-sized planet orbiting them at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun. a) the black hole pulls harder on its planet than the normal star does b) the two planets feel identical pulls c) the normal star pulls harder on its planet than the black hole does d) the planet is sucked into the black hole e) none of the above statements are correct Which of the following is not part of the official International Astronomical Union definition of a planet? A planet ... a) is close to round in shape b) is a satellite c) is in orbit around the Sun d) has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit e) none of the above We can determine the distance to a galaxy that contains Cepheid variable stars by using a) the period-colour relation b) the mass-luminosity relation c) the mass-radius relation d) the period-luminosity relation e) none of the above Ann sees Bob travel by her in a very fast spaceship a) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly b) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast c) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly d) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast e) something else Which is largest? a)1.1 solar mass normal b)1.3 solar mass white dwarf c)2 solar mass neutron star d)8 solar mass blackhole Evidence of the expansion of the universe is shown by a) The Einstein Cross b) The 4.5 billion year age of the Earth c) The abundances of the elements in stars d) The redshifts of distant galaxies Hubble’s Law says that a) The universe is primarily composed of dark energy b) The galaxies were once much closer together c) The universe is mostly dark d) The Earth and Sun are getting gradually farther apart From the spectrum of a star’s light we can learn a) That all stars are made up of hydrogen, mostly b) The numerical value of Planck’s constant c) The numerical value of Hubble’s constant d) The parallax of the star Galaxies a) all have a spiral-like structure b) are gradually shrinking under their own gravity c) are gradually expanding by the action of Hubble’s Law d) can be bigger than the Milky Way is Look back time a) is a consequence of the finite speed of light b) shows us what the Earth looked like when it formed c) allows astronomers in the Andromeda galaxy to see the Milky Way as it is in the future d) all of the above What do we think is the main energy source for stars? a) mass converted into energy is fusion reactions b) neutrino collisions in the central cores of stars c) gravitational potential energy from the collapse of the star d) mass converted into energy in fission reactions e) none of the above Most galaxies that we see display redshifts. This indicates a) there is a lot of material between the Sun and the galaxies b) most galaxies are moving away from us c) the Sun is orbiting around the center of the Milky Way d) the instruments we are using are in error e) none of the above What is the basic difference between ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation? a) half-life b) age c) wavelength d) velocity Which of the following characteristics does NOT apply to giant elliptical galaxies? a) rapidly rotating b) not forming many stars c) lacking spiral arms d) found in the centers of galaxy clusters e) all of the above In what way does a photon of blue light NOT differ from a photon of yellow light, in a vacuum? a) Speed b) Energy c) Colour d) Wavelength e) None of the above Parallax is a) the circular or elliptical motion of a star in a binary system, as the two stars orbit around each other. b) the apparent shift that we see in the position of a nearly star as we orbit the Sun. c) the difference between the apparent brightness and the intrinsic luminosity of a star d) the apparent change in the distance to a star if its light is dimmed by passing through interstellar clouds. A spaceship moves towards you at 1/3c, where c is the speed of light. The spaceship emits a beam of light in your direction. As measured in your frame of reference, the speed of the light emitted by the spaceship is: a) 4/3c b) c c) 2/3c d) 1/3c Radio waves travel through space at what speed? a) much faster than the speed of light b) faster than speed of light, since the their wavelength is longer c) at the speed of sound d) at the speed of light, 3*10^8 m/s What can you calculate by taking the inverse of the Hubble Constant? a) the age of the Solar System b) the recession velocity of the universe c) the age of the universe d) the Doppler shift e) the distance to the centre of the universe The basic makeup of an atom is a) small, negatively charged particles orbiting around a central positive charge b) negative and positive charges mixed uniformly over the volume of the atom c) small, positively charged particles orbiting around a central negative charge d) miniature planets, possibly with miniature people, gravitationally bound in orbits around a miniature star The observational fact about a Cepheid variable star that leads to a measurement of its distance from the Earth is that its period of variation is directly related to its a) absolute magnitude or luminosity b) apparent magnitude c) speed away from us, using the relativistic effect upon pulsation period d) surface temperature The Hubble distance- velocity relation states that a) all objects appear to have the same velocity away from the Sun, irrespective of distance from the sun b) all distant objects are moving toward the Sun, the most distant objects fastest c) the further an object is from the Sun, the faster it appears to be moving away from the Sun d) mutual gravitational attraction of all objects in the universe means that all objects appear to be moving toward the Sun, the closest ones traveling fastest The four physical forces at work in the universe are gravity, electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces. Which two of these are very short ranged? a) strong nuclear and electromagnetic b) strong and weak nuclear forces c) gravitation and electromagnetic d) electromagnetic and weak nuclear force Albert Einstein is on the earth and measures the speed of light from the sun to the 3*10^8 m/s. He then gets in a spaceship and speeds towards the sun at 1*10^8 m/s. He will measure the speed of light from the sun to be: a) 2*10^8 m/s b) 3*10^8 m/s c) 4*10^8 m/s d) 100 km/h e) He will not be able to see the light from the sun Compared to spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies are: a) redder and rounder b) bluer and rounder c) bluer and flatter d) redder and flatter e) always much smaller About where is our solar system located within the Milky Way Galaxy? a) at the center of the galaxy b) about two-thirds of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic disk c) about 10% of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic disk d) near the far outskirts of the galactic disk e) in the halo of the galaxy above the galactic disk The age of the universe is a) between 100 billion and 160 billion years b) between 100 million and 160 million years c) between 1 billion and 1.6 billion years d) between 10 billion and 16 billion years e) between 10 million and 16 million years How can we see through the dusty interstellar medium a) by using only the biggest telescopes b) by observing only the brightest visible sources c) by using telescopes above the earth's atmosphere d) by observing long wavelengths of light such as infrared and radio e) we cannot see through the interstellar medium If the universe is expanding, won't the Solar System eventually expand apart? a) The Solar System may actually be shrinking now, which makes the universe LOOK like it's expanding. b) No, its gravity holds it together. c) No, because there is no planetary redshift. d) Yes, the Solar System is expanding! A black hole and a normal star have the same mass. They each have an Earth- sized planet orbiting them at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun. a) the black hole pulls harder on its planet than the normal star does b) the two planets feel identical pulls c) the normal star pulls harder on its planet than the black hole does d) the planet is sucked into the black hole e) none of the above statements are correct Which of the following is not part of the official International Astronomical Union definition of a planet? A planet ... a) is close to round in shape b) is a moon c) is in orbit around the Sun d) has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit e) none of the above Parallax to a star would be easier to measure if: a) The Earth’s orbit were larger b) The star was further away c) The Earth moved slower along its orbit d) all of above e) none of the above A theory of quantum gravity is needed to understand: a) the photoelectric effect b) why electrons orbit a nucleus c) the universe at the instant of the big bang d) a relativistic skateboarder e) how the Earth orbits the Sun We can determine the distance to a galaxy that contains Cepheid variable stars by using a) the period-colour relation b) the mass-luminosity relation c) the mass-radius relation d) the period-luminosity relation e) none of the above Which of the following has the smallest wavelength a) microwaves b) gamma-rays c) visible light d) ultraviolet light e) X-rays You are asked to determine an accurate distance to the Andromeda Galaxy. Choose the best technique below. a) Doppler shift of spectral lines from gas and stars in Andromeda b) Observing Cepheid variable stars in Andromeda c) the Hubble law of recession of galaxies d) parallax using Earth's orbit Ignore the rotation of the Earth. Which clock ticks more slowly? a) the one on the top of a mountain b) the one at the bottom of that same mountain c) cannot be determined from the information given Which space-time diagram(s) violate(s) special relativity? Note: the x and ct axes have the same scale and units.

a) ii b) i and iii c) iii and v d) ivandv e) v Blackbody Radiation is a) emission we see from dark matter b) X-ray emission from a black hole c) radiation from particle-antiparticle pairs near the event horizon of a black hole d) radiation that depends only on temperature, and not on chemical composition e) none of the above If you want to determine Hubble's constant, which two quantities will you need? a) colour and luminosity of a star in the Milky Way b) colours and luminosities of distant galaxies c) distance and recession velocity of a star in the Milky Way d) distances and recession velocities of distant galaxies e) the distances and recession velocities of stars in the Andromeda galaxy. The strong force is the force that a) drives the inflation of the early universe b) keeps planets in orbit around the sun c) keeps light in a black hole d) attracts electrons to protons e) something else Ann sees Bob travel by her in a very fast spaceship a) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly b) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast c) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly d) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast e) something else The star Betelgeuse is about 500 light years away from us in the constellation . If this star underwent a supernova explosion right now, approximately 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. The star is 9 light-years from the Sun while the star Canopus is 100 light-years from the Sun. Sirius and Canopus are both stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Hubble’s Law indicates that: a) Sirius is moving more rapidly than Canopus b) Sirius is moving at the same speed as Canopus c) Sirius is moving more slowly than Canopus d) Sirius and Canopus are BOTH moving away from the Sun e) none of the above Infrared light waves have ______compared with visible electromagnetic radiation. a) high energy and long wavelength b) low energy and long wavelength c) low energy and short wavelength d) high energy and short wavelength e) none of the above Which one of the following is a property of a typical spiral galaxy like the Milky Way? a) composed primarily of very old stars and almost no gas b) formed within the last billion or so years c) has a disk containing many young stars d) almost no recent star formation is apparent (within the past billion years) e) none of the above Gravitational redshift causes photons near a black hole to a) move faster than the speed of light b) slow down in velocity c) lose energy d) gain energy e) nothing; black holes have no effect on photons According to Hubble’s Law which of the following objects are moving away from each other? a) 2 galaxies in a galaxy cluster b) Milky Way and Andromeda c) stars in the Milky Way d) 2 isolated galaxies e) all of the above We can study how galaxies evolve because a) galaxies are transparent to optical light b) the further away we look, the further back in time we see c) we can watch how they interact in real time d) early astronomers kept good records that we can use today e) all of the above Which of the following is not a form of electromagnetic radiation? a) radio waves b) X-rays c) electrons d) sunlight e) gamma-rays When an atom loses one or more electrons it is said to be a) ionized b) excited c) forgetful d) in the ground state e) recombined Arrange the following from the largest to smallest: the nucleus, the atom, the proton, a quark a) atom, nucleus, proton quark b) atom, proton, quark, nucleus c) nucleus, atom proton, quark d) atom, proton, nucleus, quark e) none of the above Because almost all of the galaxies are redshifted, we know that: a) there was no beginning to time b) we are at or close to the center of the universe c) the universe is expanding d) all of the galaxies are moving towards us e) all of the above are correct Which of the following are correctly placed in order of decreasing distance: a) Alpha Centauri, Sun, Pluto, Andromeda Galaxy b) Andromeda Galaxy, Alpha Centauri, Pluto, Sun c) Andromeda Galaxy, Sun, Pluto, Jupiter d) Alpha Centauri, Sun, Moon, Pluto, Jupiter, Toronto e) Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Pluto, Toronto Which of the following is largest? a) the size of a typical galaxies b) the size of Pluto’s orbit c) The distance to the nearest star (other than the Sun!) d) 1 light year e) the typical distance between galaxies Atoms of different elements have unique spectral lines because each element a) has atoms of a unique color. b) has a unique set of neutrons. c) has a unique set of electron orbits. d) has unique photons. e) none of the above; spectral lines are not unique to each type of atom. Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that case, a) Galaxy 1 must be twice as big as Galaxy 2 b) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 c) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at a later time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 d) Galaxy 2 must be twice as old as Galaxy 1. e) none of the above A spaceship moves by you at a high speed. Compared to how they would appear to you if the spaceship were at rest, objects on the high speed spaceship: a) appear longer, and have greater mass b) appear shorter, and have greater mass c) appear longer and have smaller mass d) appear shorter and have smaller mass e) appear exactly the same