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Astro 101 - Exam 1 Questions And Answers
100% Pass
What is our planet in the solar system - ANS part of the solar system, in the milky way galaxy,
in local group of galaxies, in local supercluster
how did we come to be - ANS the Big Bang which produced hydrogen and helium
where did elements come from - ANS the big bang produced H and He, which are the base of
other elements constructed in stars
how old are we in comparison to the universe - ANS human civilization is a second of a year,
and our own life is a fraction of a second
how is earth moving - ANS earth rotates on an axis once a day and orbits the Sun at 1 AU
(150 million kilometers)
how can we specify the position of an object in the local sky - ANS altitude above the horizon
and direction along the horizon
why do stars rise and set - ANS because of Earth's rotation
why do the constellations we see depend on latitude and time of year - ANS your location
determines which constellations are hidden by earth
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the time of year determines the location of the Sun and the celestial sphere
what causes the seasons - ANS the tilt of the Earth's axis
what are the summer and winter solstices - ANS when the Northern hemisphere gets its
most and least direction sunlight
what are the spring and fall equinoxes - ANS when both hemispheres get direct and equal
sunlight
how does the orientation of Earth's axis change with time - ANS the tilt remains about 23.5
degrees (so the season pattern is not affected) but the the cycle slowly and subtly changes the
orientation of earth's axis every 26,000 years
why do we see phases of the moon - ANS half the Moon is lit by the Sun, half is in shadow,
and its appearance to us is determined by the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth
what causes eclipses - ANS -Lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow on the Moon
-Solar eclipse: Moon's shadow on Earth
-Tilt of Moon's orbit means eclipses occur during two periods each year
what was mysterious about the planetary motion in our sky - ANS like the sun and moon,
planets usually drift eastward relative to the stars from night to night, but sometimes, for a few
weeks or few months, a planet turns westward in its apparent retrograde motion
how did the Greeks explain planetary motion - ANS The Ptolemaic model had each planet
move on a small circle whose center moves around Earth on a larger circle
Copernicus - ANS created a Sun-centered model
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Tycho - ANS provided the data needed to improve Copernicus' model
Kepler - ANS found a model that fit Tycho's data
Kepler's 1st Law of Planetary Motion - ANS each planet orbits the sun in a path called an
ellipse with the sun at one focus
Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion - ANS As a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps
out equal areas in equal times.
a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the sun and slower when it is farther form the sun
Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion - ANS The square of the orbital period of any satellite
is proportional to the cube of its average distance from its central mass
More distant planets orbit the Sun at slower average speeds: p2 = a3 (p= orbital period in years
and a= average distance from Sun in AU)
Galileo - ANS his experiments and observations overcame the remaining objections to the
Sun-centered solar system model
what is a scientific theory - ANS A model that explains a wide variety of observations in terms
of a few general principles and that has survived repeated and varied testing
how is astrology different from astronomy - ANS - Astronomy is the scientific study of the
universe
and the celestial objects within it
- Astrology assumes that the positions of celestial
Astro 101 - Exam 1 Questions And Answers
100% Pass
What is our planet in the solar system - ANS part of the solar system, in the milky way galaxy,
in local group of galaxies, in local supercluster
how did we come to be - ANS the Big Bang which produced hydrogen and helium
where did elements come from - ANS the big bang produced H and He, which are the base of
other elements constructed in stars
how old are we in comparison to the universe - ANS human civilization is a second of a year,
and our own life is a fraction of a second
how is earth moving - ANS earth rotates on an axis once a day and orbits the Sun at 1 AU
(150 million kilometers)
how can we specify the position of an object in the local sky - ANS altitude above the horizon
and direction along the horizon
why do stars rise and set - ANS because of Earth's rotation
why do the constellations we see depend on latitude and time of year - ANS your location
determines which constellations are hidden by earth
, ©EVERLY 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
the time of year determines the location of the Sun and the celestial sphere
what causes the seasons - ANS the tilt of the Earth's axis
what are the summer and winter solstices - ANS when the Northern hemisphere gets its
most and least direction sunlight
what are the spring and fall equinoxes - ANS when both hemispheres get direct and equal
sunlight
how does the orientation of Earth's axis change with time - ANS the tilt remains about 23.5
degrees (so the season pattern is not affected) but the the cycle slowly and subtly changes the
orientation of earth's axis every 26,000 years
why do we see phases of the moon - ANS half the Moon is lit by the Sun, half is in shadow,
and its appearance to us is determined by the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth
what causes eclipses - ANS -Lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow on the Moon
-Solar eclipse: Moon's shadow on Earth
-Tilt of Moon's orbit means eclipses occur during two periods each year
what was mysterious about the planetary motion in our sky - ANS like the sun and moon,
planets usually drift eastward relative to the stars from night to night, but sometimes, for a few
weeks or few months, a planet turns westward in its apparent retrograde motion
how did the Greeks explain planetary motion - ANS The Ptolemaic model had each planet
move on a small circle whose center moves around Earth on a larger circle
Copernicus - ANS created a Sun-centered model
, ©EVERLY 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tycho - ANS provided the data needed to improve Copernicus' model
Kepler - ANS found a model that fit Tycho's data
Kepler's 1st Law of Planetary Motion - ANS each planet orbits the sun in a path called an
ellipse with the sun at one focus
Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion - ANS As a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps
out equal areas in equal times.
a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the sun and slower when it is farther form the sun
Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion - ANS The square of the orbital period of any satellite
is proportional to the cube of its average distance from its central mass
More distant planets orbit the Sun at slower average speeds: p2 = a3 (p= orbital period in years
and a= average distance from Sun in AU)
Galileo - ANS his experiments and observations overcame the remaining objections to the
Sun-centered solar system model
what is a scientific theory - ANS A model that explains a wide variety of observations in terms
of a few general principles and that has survived repeated and varied testing
how is astrology different from astronomy - ANS - Astronomy is the scientific study of the
universe
and the celestial objects within it
- Astrology assumes that the positions of celestial
