©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Astro1 UCSB Final Exam Questions and
Answers
A THEORY is a pattern in nature thought to have predictive power. The test of a theory is a prediction.
That's where pseudo-science fails. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Red giant stars are powered by hydrogen burning in a shell surrounding a core, which has been depleted
of hydrogen. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Jovian planets have densities similar to that of water, and we know in fact that they are mostly made of
water. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F - Jovian planets are gaseous
The Sun appears to circle the Celestial Sphere in one year because the Earth is circling the Sun. The Sun's
apparent path is called the horizon. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F - it's called the ecliptic
A planet can occasionally act as a circumpolar star as seen from Santa Barbara. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F
Opaque bodies approximately obey the blackbody laws: the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and Wien's Law. T/F -
ANSWER✔✔-T
Venus's surface is very hot because it absorbs more sunlight than the earth does. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-B -
its thick atmosphere keeps heat from escaping
Page 1/8
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Ozone depletion may have stabilized because of an international agreement to reduce emission of
certain industrial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Under exotic conditions, intuition sometimes fails, e.g. speed of light is the same for all observers. T/F -
ANSWER✔✔-T
Planetary orbits are circles with the Sun in the center. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F
The Cosmic Microwave Background has a blackbody spectrum. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Old streambeds and other topographic features indicate that Mars once had liquid water on its surface.
T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
A good example of a positive feedback effect in global warming is that melting sea ice causes a decrease
in the Earth's albedo, meaning we absorb more sunlight than ever. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
While the heavy elements have been cooked-up in stars, several of the light elements and isotopes were
made in the first few minutes of the Big Bang. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
How is the transparency of Earth's atmosphere changing in infrared light? - ANSWER✔✔-its decreasing
A pulsar is - ANSWER✔✔-a rapidly rotating neutron star, emitting beams of radio and sometimes x-ray
and visible energy.
Page 2/8
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Astro1 UCSB Final Exam Questions and
Answers
A THEORY is a pattern in nature thought to have predictive power. The test of a theory is a prediction.
That's where pseudo-science fails. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Red giant stars are powered by hydrogen burning in a shell surrounding a core, which has been depleted
of hydrogen. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Jovian planets have densities similar to that of water, and we know in fact that they are mostly made of
water. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F - Jovian planets are gaseous
The Sun appears to circle the Celestial Sphere in one year because the Earth is circling the Sun. The Sun's
apparent path is called the horizon. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F - it's called the ecliptic
A planet can occasionally act as a circumpolar star as seen from Santa Barbara. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F
Opaque bodies approximately obey the blackbody laws: the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and Wien's Law. T/F -
ANSWER✔✔-T
Venus's surface is very hot because it absorbs more sunlight than the earth does. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-B -
its thick atmosphere keeps heat from escaping
Page 1/8
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Ozone depletion may have stabilized because of an international agreement to reduce emission of
certain industrial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Under exotic conditions, intuition sometimes fails, e.g. speed of light is the same for all observers. T/F -
ANSWER✔✔-T
Planetary orbits are circles with the Sun in the center. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-F
The Cosmic Microwave Background has a blackbody spectrum. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
Old streambeds and other topographic features indicate that Mars once had liquid water on its surface.
T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
A good example of a positive feedback effect in global warming is that melting sea ice causes a decrease
in the Earth's albedo, meaning we absorb more sunlight than ever. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
While the heavy elements have been cooked-up in stars, several of the light elements and isotopes were
made in the first few minutes of the Big Bang. T/F - ANSWER✔✔-T
How is the transparency of Earth's atmosphere changing in infrared light? - ANSWER✔✔-its decreasing
A pulsar is - ANSWER✔✔-a rapidly rotating neutron star, emitting beams of radio and sometimes x-ray
and visible energy.
Page 2/8
