At Play in the
Cosmos
ADAM FRANK
Steven Furlanetto
University of California, Los Angeles
,CHAPTER 01: Getting Started: Science, Astronomy, and Being Human
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The characteristic that most clearly distinguishes modern astronomy from its use in the ancient
world is:
a. its accuracy. c. the telescope.
b. its relevance. d. the scientific approach.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.1
OBJ: Compare and contrast the motivations for studying astronomy in the ancient world and the
motivations today. MSC: Remembering
2. In order to observe the sunrise on the winter solstice from the ancient monument at Newgrange
(in Ireland, part of the Northern Hemisphere), you should look:
a. somewhat south of due east. c. somewhat north of due east.
b. due east. d. due west.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: 1.1
OBJ: Compare and contrast the motivations for studying astronomy in the ancient world and the
motivations today. MSC: Remembering
3. Sally lives two orders of magnitude farther from your house than April does. If April lives one
mile away from you, Sally might live ________ miles away.
a. 2 c. 10
b. 3 d. 100
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
, OBJ: Illustrate the meaning of orders of magnitude with real-world examples.
MSC: Applying
4. The typical life span of a housefly is about 10−2 years, while the typical life span of a person is
about 102 years. We might say that a housefly lives ________ than a person.
a. four orders of magnitude more c. four times longer
b. four orders of magnitude less d. four times shorter
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Illustrate the meaning of orders of magnitude with real-world examples.
MSC: Understanding
5. Express 10,000,000 in standard scientific notation.
a. 1.0 10 −7 c. 1.0 107
b. 1.0 106 d. 10.0 107
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Express large and small numbers in scientific notation. MSC: Applying
6. Express 0.0003 in standard scientific notation.
a. 3.0 10 −4 c. 3.0 104
b. 3.0 10 −3 d. 3.0 103
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Express large and small numbers in scientific notation. MSC: Applying
7. Express 4,020,000,000 in standard scientific notation.
, a. 4.02 109 c. 402 107
b. 40.2 108 d. 402 109
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Express large and small numbers in scientific notation. MSC: Applying
8. Express 4.5 104 in everyday language.
a. forty-five hundred c. forty-five hundred thousand
b. forty-five thousand d. forty-five million
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Express large and small numbers in scientific notation. MSC: Understanding
9. Express 2 10 −3 in everyday language.
a. two-thousandths c. two-tenths
b. two-hundredths d. one-sixth
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Express large and small numbers in scientific notation. MSC: Understanding
10. (4.0 104) (1.0 108) = :
a. 4.0 108 c. 4.0 104
b. 5.0 1032 d. 4.0 1012
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.2
OBJ: Execute basic arithmetical operations using scientific notation.
MSC: Applying