MSU ISP 205 Final Exam UPDATED 2026 ACTUAL Exam MOST TESTED
Questions and CORRECT Answers (GRADED A+)
How would the gravitational force between Earth and Moon change if the Moon were moved 4
times further away? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ The force would be 16 times weaker.
Which planet is moving more slowly around the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Jupiter
Why are astronauts weightless in the Space Station? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ because the
Space Station is free falling around the Earth.
The mass of Jupiter can be calculated by measuring... - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ ...the orbital
period of one of Jupiter's moons and the distance between Jupiter and that moon.
Consider the elliptical orbit of a comet around the Sun. Where in its orbit is the comet
moving the fastest? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ When it is closest to the Sun.
If you left a camera out to take time-lapse photographs of the moon for a whole month,
would you be able to photograph the Moon's entire surface? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ No, half
of the Moon is always pointed away from Earth.
You observe a full moon rising at sunset. What will you see 6 hours later? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ a full moon on or near your meridian
,When we see Venus in its new phase, what phase would Earth be in as seen by a hypothetical
Venetian? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ full
Which of the following statements about the orbits of the planets is true? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ The eight major planets go around the Sun in the same direction and do so all in
the same plane like a disk.
According to Kepler's third law (p2 = a3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around
the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun.
Suppose the Sun were to shrink suddenly in size while its mass stayed the same. According
to the law of conservation of angular momentum, what would happen? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ The Sun's rate of rotation would speed up.
Imagine a Star Wars type spaceship in orbit around a planet. Its engine suffers a severe
malfunction, and explodes. What is the most physically realistic depiction of this event? -
VERIFIED ANSWER✅ The spacecraft breaks apart, and the pieces continue to orbit the
planet.
Conservation of angular momentum dictates that the orbital speed of a planet - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ is faster when it is closer to the Sun and slower when it is farther away.
Rank the following 4 items by how long it takes for light to reach us from these object, from
shortest to longest.
The Andromeda Galaxy
,the center of the Milky Way
Pluto
Sun. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Sun, Pluto, center of the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy.
The current best estimate for the age of the universe is about - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 14
billion years.
What do astronomers mean when they say the universe is expanding? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ Average distances are increasing between most galaxies.
Which statement is false?
1. A constellation demarcates a patch of sky, making it easier for astronomers to locate
interesting sources.
2. Modern-day constellations include Musca the Fly and Triangulum the Triangle.
3. There are 88 constellations, as defined by the International Astronomical Union.
4. Practically every ancient culture had their own version of constellations, typically used
for story telling. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 1
Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that
case, - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ We are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the
history of the universe than Galaxy 2
Identify the falsifiable statement below:
, 1. President Kennedy's murder was orchestrated by an undetectable shadow government of
the United States.
2. The laws of nature are magnificent and beautiful.
3. The Sun is at the center of the solar system.
4. The universe was created by God. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 3
The Greeks rejected the notion that the Earth orbits the Sun. Why? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅
They could not measure parallax (a change in stars' positions on the sky due to the Earth's
orbit)
What did Tycho, Kepler, and Newton do? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Tycho collected the data,
Kepler provided the model in the form of laws, Newton explained the model in terms of
gravity.
Galileo observed all of the following. Which observation offered direct proof of a planet
orbiting the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ phases of Venus.
During the period each year when we see Mars undergoing apparent retrograde motion in
our sky, what is really going on in space? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Earth is catching up with
and passing by Mars in their respective orbits.
What would change if the Earth started spinning faster? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ A day would
be shorter.
Questions and CORRECT Answers (GRADED A+)
How would the gravitational force between Earth and Moon change if the Moon were moved 4
times further away? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ The force would be 16 times weaker.
Which planet is moving more slowly around the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Jupiter
Why are astronauts weightless in the Space Station? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ because the
Space Station is free falling around the Earth.
The mass of Jupiter can be calculated by measuring... - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ ...the orbital
period of one of Jupiter's moons and the distance between Jupiter and that moon.
Consider the elliptical orbit of a comet around the Sun. Where in its orbit is the comet
moving the fastest? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ When it is closest to the Sun.
If you left a camera out to take time-lapse photographs of the moon for a whole month,
would you be able to photograph the Moon's entire surface? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ No, half
of the Moon is always pointed away from Earth.
You observe a full moon rising at sunset. What will you see 6 hours later? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ a full moon on or near your meridian
,When we see Venus in its new phase, what phase would Earth be in as seen by a hypothetical
Venetian? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ full
Which of the following statements about the orbits of the planets is true? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ The eight major planets go around the Sun in the same direction and do so all in
the same plane like a disk.
According to Kepler's third law (p2 = a3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around
the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun.
Suppose the Sun were to shrink suddenly in size while its mass stayed the same. According
to the law of conservation of angular momentum, what would happen? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ The Sun's rate of rotation would speed up.
Imagine a Star Wars type spaceship in orbit around a planet. Its engine suffers a severe
malfunction, and explodes. What is the most physically realistic depiction of this event? -
VERIFIED ANSWER✅ The spacecraft breaks apart, and the pieces continue to orbit the
planet.
Conservation of angular momentum dictates that the orbital speed of a planet - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ is faster when it is closer to the Sun and slower when it is farther away.
Rank the following 4 items by how long it takes for light to reach us from these object, from
shortest to longest.
The Andromeda Galaxy
,the center of the Milky Way
Pluto
Sun. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Sun, Pluto, center of the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy.
The current best estimate for the age of the universe is about - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 14
billion years.
What do astronomers mean when they say the universe is expanding? - VERIFIED
ANSWER✅ Average distances are increasing between most galaxies.
Which statement is false?
1. A constellation demarcates a patch of sky, making it easier for astronomers to locate
interesting sources.
2. Modern-day constellations include Musca the Fly and Triangulum the Triangle.
3. There are 88 constellations, as defined by the International Astronomical Union.
4. Practically every ancient culture had their own version of constellations, typically used
for story telling. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 1
Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that
case, - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ We are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the
history of the universe than Galaxy 2
Identify the falsifiable statement below:
, 1. President Kennedy's murder was orchestrated by an undetectable shadow government of
the United States.
2. The laws of nature are magnificent and beautiful.
3. The Sun is at the center of the solar system.
4. The universe was created by God. - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ 3
The Greeks rejected the notion that the Earth orbits the Sun. Why? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅
They could not measure parallax (a change in stars' positions on the sky due to the Earth's
orbit)
What did Tycho, Kepler, and Newton do? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Tycho collected the data,
Kepler provided the model in the form of laws, Newton explained the model in terms of
gravity.
Galileo observed all of the following. Which observation offered direct proof of a planet
orbiting the Sun? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ phases of Venus.
During the period each year when we see Mars undergoing apparent retrograde motion in
our sky, what is really going on in space? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ Earth is catching up with
and passing by Mars in their respective orbits.
What would change if the Earth started spinning faster? - VERIFIED ANSWER✅ A day would
be shorter.
