The Galaxies and the Universe
Practice Test
1.
The __________ of a planet is its apparent backwards movement as seen from Earth's sky.
a.
retrograde motion
b.
eccentricity
c.
epicycle
d.
perihelion
2.
What is the name of the cluster that the Milky Way belongs to?
a.
the Spiral Group
b.
the Local Group
c.
the Super Group
d.
the Virgo Group
3.
The difference of two stars' spectra is due to the difference of their __________.
a.
luminosity
b.
temperature
c.
apparent magnitude
d.
composition
4.
Galaxies are organized into large groups called __________.
a.
super galaxies
b.
variable galaxies
c.
superclusters
d.
solar systems
5.
What is a spectrum that comes from noncompressed gas called?
a.
rainbow
b.
sunspot
c.
an emission spectrum
d.
corona
6.
What are the three labeled parts of the comet shown in the figure?
a.
head, cone, tail
b.
corona, nucleus, end
c.
ice core, cloud, fan
d.
coma, nucleus, tail
7.
Which of the following did Hubble discover?
a.
Earth's universe is expanding.
b.
the inflationary universe model
c.
radio galaxies
d.
quasars
8.
What is the Sun-centered model of our solar system called?
a.
geocentric
b.
epicycle
c.
heliocentric
d.
eccentric
9.
What layer of the Sun's atmosphere is above the chromosphere?
a.
photosphere
b.
corona
c.
stratosphere
d.
troposphere
10.
How is the composition of a white dwarf determined?
a.
by how many reaction phases it went through
b.
by the size of its planetary nebula
c.
by its luminosity
d.
by the size of the supernova
11.
From what does a star form?
a.
a nebula
b.
a main sequence
c.
a binary
d.
a spectra
12.
Where are most asteroids located?
a.
outside of Pluto's orbit
b.
between Earth and Venus
c.
orbiting all planets
d.
between Mars and Jupiter
13.
Where are the youngest stars of the galaxy located?
a.
central bulge
b.
spiral arms
c.
halo
d.
black holes
14.
Why can't astronomers directly observe the surface of Venus without landing probes on the surface?
a.
The surface is covered by thick clouds.
b.
Venus has a high albedo.
c.
Venus has a clockwise spin.
d.
The surface is covered by thick ice sheets.
15.
What do scientists use to measure Earth's distance from globular clusters?
a.
the Hubble constant
b.
variable stars
c.
the steady-state theory
d.
the Milky Way
16.
Where did Saturn's rings most likely come from?
a.
solar system formation
b.
the formation of Saturn
c.
gravitational attraction of ringlets
d.
leftover debris from a moon that was destroyed
17.
Mercury's extremely slow spin causes only __________ days to pass in __________ of Mercury's years.
a.
one, two hundred
b.
twenty-four, one
c.
one hundred, one
d.
three, two
18.
From Earth, stars appear to shift in position, which is called __________.
a.
circumpolar
b.
apparent magnitude
c.
parallax
d.
binary
19.
What causes Uranus' blue appearance?
a.
the ammonia ice droplets
b.
surfuric acid in its atmosphere
c.
the vast oceans
d.
the methane in its atmosphere
20.
What theory does cosmic background radiation support?
a.
the steady-state theory
b.
the Big Bang theory
c.
the inflationary universe model
d.
the theory of evolution
