Astronomy Exam 1 Questions And Answers

Astronomy Exam 1 Questions And Answers What are the size and time scales seen in astronomy compared to what we use here on Earth everyday? - ANS 1 year= time between solstices, 1 month= time between new moons, 1 day= time between noons, 1 week= 7 days= number of objects in the seen in the sky with the naked eye (sun, moon, and visible planets) How are the distance units light-year and astronomical unit defined? - ANS Scientific notation: 9.4607 x 10^12 km How far away are the nearest stars, and how big are galaxies and even large structures? - ANS Nearest stars are 4.24 light years away. The milky way is 100,000 light years across in diameter and 3000 light years thick. Most galaxies in the universe are actually smaller than the Milky Way How old is the Universe, and how old is the Earth? - ANS The Universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old and the Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old In how many different ways are we moving relative to the rest of the Universe? - ANS Earth rotates on axis: > 1,000 km/hr. Earth orbits Sun: > 100,000 km/hr Solar System moves among stars: ~70,00 km/hr Milky Way rotates: ~800,000 km/hr Milky Way moves in local group: ~ 1,100,000 km/hr. Universe expands What is the relationship between distance, velocity, and time? - ANS Velocity is the measure of the amount of distance an object covers in a given amount of time v= d/t What is meant by science, and how can a science be distinguished from a non-science? - ANS Science is the study of the natural world based on simple repeatable steps used to acquire and interpret data. It can be distinguish from non-science because it seeks explanations for observed phenomena that rely solely on natural causes What are the steps of the scientific method? - ANS Ask a question, do background research, construct a hypothesis, test an experiment, results, analyze data/ draw conclusions, confirm or deny hypothesis What are constellations, and how are they used now and how were they used in the past? - ANS Artificial groupings of stars which are projected near each other on the sky. They used to be used to organize the night sky (help to know when to plant crops, tell time, etc.) now they are used to learn more about the universe