PHYS 1160 INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ D. Answer: What observation convinced Hubble that M 31, the
Andromeda Galaxy, was indeed a separate galaxy?
a) Its trigonometric parallax.
b) Its large angular diameter.
c) Its spiral structure.
d) Cepheid variables within its spiral arms.
◉ D. Answer: According to current astronomical data, approximately
how old is the universe?
a) 65 Million years
b) 6000 years
c) 4.6 billion years
d) 13.7 billion years
,◉ D. Answer: Between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter we
find
a) the Oort cloud
b) Orion's belt
c) the Kuiper belt
d) the main asteroid belt
◉ A, B. Answer: Examples of orbiter (as opposed to lander or flyby)
space missions are
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]
a) Mars Global Surveyor
b) Magellan
c) Voyager 1
d) Venera 7
◉ A. Answer: Fossils of early life are very difficult to identify in very
old rocks because early life
a) was very simple and microscopic in size
b) was not made of organic material that could be replaced by minerals
,c) was so different to life found on Earth today that we are not capable
of identifying it
d) did not leave behind any fossilized remains
◉ B. Answer: The colour of a star is MOST DIRECTLY related to its:
a) mass
b) surface temperature
c) central (core) temperature
d) luminosity
◉ A, C, D. Answer: The planet Saturn is
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]
a) orbited by the only moon to possess a dense atmosphere.
b) the only planet in the solar system with rings.
c) was recently studied by the Cassini spacecraft.
d) the planet in the solar system with the lowest density.
◉ D. Answer: The dwarf planet Eris is
a) much larger than Pluto
, b) much smaller than Pluto
c) the same size as Mars
d) about the same size as Pluto
◉ B. Answer: We are not able to observe most of the Milky Way
visually due to:
a) black holes in the halo.
b) dust in the galactic plane.
c) gravitational lensing by the nucleus.
d) brown dwarfs in the Local Group.
◉ A. Answer: How long does it take the Moon to go through a full cycle
of phases - from one full moon to the next?
a) About a month
b) About two weeks
c) About a day
d) About a year
◉ B. Answer: You see the Moon high in the sky at midnight. What phase
is the Moon likely to show?
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ D. Answer: What observation convinced Hubble that M 31, the
Andromeda Galaxy, was indeed a separate galaxy?
a) Its trigonometric parallax.
b) Its large angular diameter.
c) Its spiral structure.
d) Cepheid variables within its spiral arms.
◉ D. Answer: According to current astronomical data, approximately
how old is the universe?
a) 65 Million years
b) 6000 years
c) 4.6 billion years
d) 13.7 billion years
,◉ D. Answer: Between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter we
find
a) the Oort cloud
b) Orion's belt
c) the Kuiper belt
d) the main asteroid belt
◉ A, B. Answer: Examples of orbiter (as opposed to lander or flyby)
space missions are
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]
a) Mars Global Surveyor
b) Magellan
c) Voyager 1
d) Venera 7
◉ A. Answer: Fossils of early life are very difficult to identify in very
old rocks because early life
a) was very simple and microscopic in size
b) was not made of organic material that could be replaced by minerals
,c) was so different to life found on Earth today that we are not capable
of identifying it
d) did not leave behind any fossilized remains
◉ B. Answer: The colour of a star is MOST DIRECTLY related to its:
a) mass
b) surface temperature
c) central (core) temperature
d) luminosity
◉ A, C, D. Answer: The planet Saturn is
[CHECK ALL THAT APPLY]
a) orbited by the only moon to possess a dense atmosphere.
b) the only planet in the solar system with rings.
c) was recently studied by the Cassini spacecraft.
d) the planet in the solar system with the lowest density.
◉ D. Answer: The dwarf planet Eris is
a) much larger than Pluto
, b) much smaller than Pluto
c) the same size as Mars
d) about the same size as Pluto
◉ B. Answer: We are not able to observe most of the Milky Way
visually due to:
a) black holes in the halo.
b) dust in the galactic plane.
c) gravitational lensing by the nucleus.
d) brown dwarfs in the Local Group.
◉ A. Answer: How long does it take the Moon to go through a full cycle
of phases - from one full moon to the next?
a) About a month
b) About two weeks
c) About a day
d) About a year
◉ B. Answer: You see the Moon high in the sky at midnight. What phase
is the Moon likely to show?
