PSU ASTRO 7N STUDY EXAM GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔When is the waning gibbous moon highest in the sky?
A: about 9:00am
B: about 3:00am
C: about noon
D: about midnight
E: about 3:00pm - ✔✔B
✔✔What phase is the Moon in, when observed by the person standing on the Earth in
the diagram above?
A: New
B: Third Quarter
C: Waning Gibbous
D: Full
E: First Quarter - ✔✔B
✔✔At what time will the Moon set on the day of a Solar eclipse?
A: Sunrise.
B: Noon.
C: Sunset.
D: Midnight.
E: It will not set at all. It will be up for 24 hours. - ✔✔C
✔✔Stars that are in the same constellation ...
A: appear in all different directions around the sky.
B: are all at close to the same distance from us.
C: are likely to be at very different distances from us.
D: are all in our Solar System.
E: are all in orbit around the same larger star. - ✔✔C
✔✔The "North Star" is a star in the constellation of Ursa Minor, which lies just above the
North pole of Earth. Which of the following is true? A: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac
constellation in the winter but not in the summer.
B: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation in the summer but not in the winter.
C: Ursa Minor is not a Zodiac constellation.
D: The Zodiac constellations are located near the axis below the South pole.
E: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation all year. - ✔✔C
✔✔A particular Zodiac constellation is high in the sky at midnight in April. Where will it
be in October?
A: high in the sky at midnight
B: near the Sun in the daytime sky
C: near the horizon a couple of hours after sunset
, D: near the horizon a couple of hours before sunrise
E: visible at midnight, but only from the Southern hemisphere - ✔✔B
✔✔What do you expect the spectrum of an object that is 1,000,000 Kelvin to be like?
A: It should peak at radio wavelengths.
B: It should peak at violet wavelengths.
C: It should peak at X-ray wavelengths.
D: It should give off less total light than the Sun.
E: It should give off about 10 times more total light than the Sun. - ✔✔C
✔✔As compared to a cool star, a hotter star emits ...
A: shorter wavelength, lower frequency, bluer color
B: shorter wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color
C: longer wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color
D: shorter wavelength, higher frequency, redder color
E: shorter wavelength, lower frequency, redder color - ✔✔B
✔✔Radio waves can travel large distances without interference because ...
A: they have shorter wavelengths than visible light
B: they have higher energies than visible light
C: they have longer wavelengths than visible light
D: they travel at the speed of light
E: they travel slower than the speed of light - ✔✔C
✔✔Compared to ultraviolet radiation, X-rays have a wavelength that is ...
A: the same
B: longer
C: shorter
D: sometimes shorter and sometimes longer
E: zero - ✔✔C
✔✔Star A is 4000 K, and Star B is 8000 K. Which of the following is true?
A: The wavelength of the dominant light from Star A is shorter than that from Star B.
B: The color of Star A is bluer than Star B. C: The color of Star A is redder than Star B.
D: The two stars have the same color.
E: The frequency of the dominant light from Star A is larger/higher than that from Star B.
- ✔✔C
✔✔In the diagram above, what is happening in the box in the center?
A: helium gas is emitting photons at specific wavelengths
B: a continuous spectrum is being produced
C: electrons are being absorbed by hydrogen gas
D: hydrogen gas is absorbing photons at specific wavelengths
E: photons are being emitted at specific wavelengths - ✔✔D
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔When is the waning gibbous moon highest in the sky?
A: about 9:00am
B: about 3:00am
C: about noon
D: about midnight
E: about 3:00pm - ✔✔B
✔✔What phase is the Moon in, when observed by the person standing on the Earth in
the diagram above?
A: New
B: Third Quarter
C: Waning Gibbous
D: Full
E: First Quarter - ✔✔B
✔✔At what time will the Moon set on the day of a Solar eclipse?
A: Sunrise.
B: Noon.
C: Sunset.
D: Midnight.
E: It will not set at all. It will be up for 24 hours. - ✔✔C
✔✔Stars that are in the same constellation ...
A: appear in all different directions around the sky.
B: are all at close to the same distance from us.
C: are likely to be at very different distances from us.
D: are all in our Solar System.
E: are all in orbit around the same larger star. - ✔✔C
✔✔The "North Star" is a star in the constellation of Ursa Minor, which lies just above the
North pole of Earth. Which of the following is true? A: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac
constellation in the winter but not in the summer.
B: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation in the summer but not in the winter.
C: Ursa Minor is not a Zodiac constellation.
D: The Zodiac constellations are located near the axis below the South pole.
E: Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation all year. - ✔✔C
✔✔A particular Zodiac constellation is high in the sky at midnight in April. Where will it
be in October?
A: high in the sky at midnight
B: near the Sun in the daytime sky
C: near the horizon a couple of hours after sunset
, D: near the horizon a couple of hours before sunrise
E: visible at midnight, but only from the Southern hemisphere - ✔✔B
✔✔What do you expect the spectrum of an object that is 1,000,000 Kelvin to be like?
A: It should peak at radio wavelengths.
B: It should peak at violet wavelengths.
C: It should peak at X-ray wavelengths.
D: It should give off less total light than the Sun.
E: It should give off about 10 times more total light than the Sun. - ✔✔C
✔✔As compared to a cool star, a hotter star emits ...
A: shorter wavelength, lower frequency, bluer color
B: shorter wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color
C: longer wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color
D: shorter wavelength, higher frequency, redder color
E: shorter wavelength, lower frequency, redder color - ✔✔B
✔✔Radio waves can travel large distances without interference because ...
A: they have shorter wavelengths than visible light
B: they have higher energies than visible light
C: they have longer wavelengths than visible light
D: they travel at the speed of light
E: they travel slower than the speed of light - ✔✔C
✔✔Compared to ultraviolet radiation, X-rays have a wavelength that is ...
A: the same
B: longer
C: shorter
D: sometimes shorter and sometimes longer
E: zero - ✔✔C
✔✔Star A is 4000 K, and Star B is 8000 K. Which of the following is true?
A: The wavelength of the dominant light from Star A is shorter than that from Star B.
B: The color of Star A is bluer than Star B. C: The color of Star A is redder than Star B.
D: The two stars have the same color.
E: The frequency of the dominant light from Star A is larger/higher than that from Star B.
- ✔✔C
✔✔In the diagram above, what is happening in the box in the center?
A: helium gas is emitting photons at specific wavelengths
B: a continuous spectrum is being produced
C: electrons are being absorbed by hydrogen gas
D: hydrogen gas is absorbing photons at specific wavelengths
E: photons are being emitted at specific wavelengths - ✔✔D
