ASTRONOMY 101 - FINAL EXAM
REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Explain ggthe ggphysical ggreason ggwhy ggwe ggon ggEarth ggexperience ggday ggand ggnight.
gg- ggAnswerEarth ggrotates ggabout ggan ggaxis ggof ggrotation ggonce ggevery gg24 gghours.
What ggis gga gglight ggyear? gg- ggAnswerThe ggdistance gglight ggtravels ggin ggone ggyear.
Approximately gghow ggfar ggis ggthe ggSun ggfrom ggEarth? gg- ggAnswer1 ggAU, gg150
ggmillion ggkm, gg93 ggmillion ggmiles, gg8 gglight ggminutes
About gghow ggfar ggis ggthe ggclosest ggstar ggto ggthe ggSun? gg- ggAnswer4 gglight ggyears
Explain ggwhy ggEarth gghas ggseasons. gg- ggAnswerEarth's ggaxis ggis ggtilted ggwith
ggrespect ggto ggthe ggorbital ggplane. ggWhen ggthe ggnorthern gghemisphere ggis ggtilted
ggtoward ggthe ggSun ggit ggis ggsummer, ggeven ggthough ggwe ggare ggfurther ggfrom ggthe
ggSun.
Objects ggin ggthe ggsky ggrise ggin ggthe ggeast ggand ggset ggin ggthe ggwest ggbecause
ggEarth ggrotates ggfrom gg___ ggto gg___ ggabout ggits ggaxis. gg- ggAnswerWest ggto ggEast
What ggtwo ggmain ggfactors ggdictate gghow ggbright gga ggstar ggis ggas ggseen ggfrom
ggEarth? gg- ggAnswerHow ggintrinsically ggbright ggit ggis ggand gghow ggfar ggaway ggit ggis.
What ggare ggcommonly ggrecognized ggstar ggpatterns ggknown ggas? gg-
ggAnswerConstellations
What ggis ggsignificant ggabout ggthe ggZodiac ggin ggthe ggsky? gg- ggAnswerThey gglie
ggalong ggthe ggplane ggof ggthe ggecliptic gg(the ggplane ggof ggthe ggsolar ggsystem)
Explain ggwhy ggstars ggappear ggat ggthe ggsame gglocations ggon ggthe ggcelestial ggsphere
ggwhile ggthe ggSun, ggMoon, ggand ggplanets ggmove ggduring ggthe ggcourse ggof ggthe
ggyear. gg- ggAnswerThe ggstars ggare ggso ggincredibly ggfar ggaway ggthat ggeven ggthough
ggthey ggare ggmoving, ggthe ggmotion ggis gghardly ggrecognizable ggfrom ggEarth gg.
, List ggthe gg7 ggmajor ggtypes ggof ggelectromagnetic ggradiation gg(light) ggfrom gghighest ggto
gglowest ggenergy. gg- ggAnswerGamma, ggx-ray, ggultra ggviolet, ggvisible, gginfra ggred,
ggmicrowave, ggradiowave
What ggis ggthe gglight ggcarrying ggparticle ggknown ggas? gg- ggAnswerPhoton
A ggfundamental gglimitation ggof gga ggtelescope's ggability ggto ggresolve ggimages, ggbased
ggon ggthe ggwave-like ggnature ggof gglight ggis ggknown ggas gg_____. gg-
ggAnswerDiffraction
What ggcan ggbe ggdetermined ggby ggthe ggpeak ggof gga ggblackbody ggspectrum? gg-
ggAnswerPeak ggindicates ggthe ggtemperature ggof ggthe ggobject
How ggwould ggthe ggblackbody ggspectrum ggof ggstars ggthat ggare ggthe ggsame
ggtemperature ggdiffer ggbetween gga gglarge ggand ggsmall ggstar? gg- ggAnswerThe ggpeaks
ggwould ggbe ggat ggthe ggsame gglocation, ggsince ggthey ggare ggthe ggsame ggtemperature,
ggbut ggthe ggpeak ggwould ggbe gghigher ggfor ggthe gglarger ggstar gg(more ggenergy
ggemitted ggper ggsecond)
How ggis ggan ggabsorption ggspectrum gggenerated? gg- ggAnswerPhotons ggare ggabsorbed
ggby ggatoms ggraising ggelectrons ggin ggatoms ggto gghigher ggenergies
How ggis ggan ggemission ggspectrum ggspectrum gggenerated? gg- ggAnswerPhotons ggare
ggemitted ggby ggatoms gglowering ggthe ggenergy ggof ggelectrons ggin ggthe ggatom
Do ggany ggelements ggon ggthe ggperiodic ggtable gghave ggthe ggexact ggsame
ggabsorption/emission ggspectrum? gg- ggAnswerAll ggelements gghave ggtheir ggown
ggunique ggabsorption/emission ggspectra
What ggtypes ggof ggtelescopes ggcan ggbe ggused ggon ggEarth? ggWhy? gg- ggAnswerRadio
ggand ggoptical/visible. ggEarth's ggatmosphere ggis ggtransparent ggat ggthose
ggwavelengths.
How ggcan ggEarth ggbased ggobservatories gg(telescopes) ggreduce gginterference ggfrom
ggthe ggatmosphere? gg- ggAnswerLocate ggthe ggobservatory ggin gghigh ggand ggdry
gglocation ggand gguse ggadaptive ggoptics.
What ggare ggfive ggmajor ggdifferences ggbetween ggthe gginner ggplanets ggand ggouter
ggplanets? gg- ggAnswerInner ggplanets ggare ggrocky, ggwarmer, gghave ggfew ggmoons,
ggshort ggyears, ggand ggare ggsmall ggin ggsize
Excluding ggeclipses, gghow ggmuch ggof ggthe ggmoon ggis gglit ggat ggall ggtimes? gg-
ggAnswer1/2 ggthe ggmoon ggis ggalways gglit
What ggcauses ggthe ggphases ggof ggthe ggMoon? gg- ggAnswerThe ggrelative gglocation ggof
ggthe ggSun, ggMoon ggand ggEarth
REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Explain ggthe ggphysical ggreason ggwhy ggwe ggon ggEarth ggexperience ggday ggand ggnight.
gg- ggAnswerEarth ggrotates ggabout ggan ggaxis ggof ggrotation ggonce ggevery gg24 gghours.
What ggis gga gglight ggyear? gg- ggAnswerThe ggdistance gglight ggtravels ggin ggone ggyear.
Approximately gghow ggfar ggis ggthe ggSun ggfrom ggEarth? gg- ggAnswer1 ggAU, gg150
ggmillion ggkm, gg93 ggmillion ggmiles, gg8 gglight ggminutes
About gghow ggfar ggis ggthe ggclosest ggstar ggto ggthe ggSun? gg- ggAnswer4 gglight ggyears
Explain ggwhy ggEarth gghas ggseasons. gg- ggAnswerEarth's ggaxis ggis ggtilted ggwith
ggrespect ggto ggthe ggorbital ggplane. ggWhen ggthe ggnorthern gghemisphere ggis ggtilted
ggtoward ggthe ggSun ggit ggis ggsummer, ggeven ggthough ggwe ggare ggfurther ggfrom ggthe
ggSun.
Objects ggin ggthe ggsky ggrise ggin ggthe ggeast ggand ggset ggin ggthe ggwest ggbecause
ggEarth ggrotates ggfrom gg___ ggto gg___ ggabout ggits ggaxis. gg- ggAnswerWest ggto ggEast
What ggtwo ggmain ggfactors ggdictate gghow ggbright gga ggstar ggis ggas ggseen ggfrom
ggEarth? gg- ggAnswerHow ggintrinsically ggbright ggit ggis ggand gghow ggfar ggaway ggit ggis.
What ggare ggcommonly ggrecognized ggstar ggpatterns ggknown ggas? gg-
ggAnswerConstellations
What ggis ggsignificant ggabout ggthe ggZodiac ggin ggthe ggsky? gg- ggAnswerThey gglie
ggalong ggthe ggplane ggof ggthe ggecliptic gg(the ggplane ggof ggthe ggsolar ggsystem)
Explain ggwhy ggstars ggappear ggat ggthe ggsame gglocations ggon ggthe ggcelestial ggsphere
ggwhile ggthe ggSun, ggMoon, ggand ggplanets ggmove ggduring ggthe ggcourse ggof ggthe
ggyear. gg- ggAnswerThe ggstars ggare ggso ggincredibly ggfar ggaway ggthat ggeven ggthough
ggthey ggare ggmoving, ggthe ggmotion ggis gghardly ggrecognizable ggfrom ggEarth gg.
, List ggthe gg7 ggmajor ggtypes ggof ggelectromagnetic ggradiation gg(light) ggfrom gghighest ggto
gglowest ggenergy. gg- ggAnswerGamma, ggx-ray, ggultra ggviolet, ggvisible, gginfra ggred,
ggmicrowave, ggradiowave
What ggis ggthe gglight ggcarrying ggparticle ggknown ggas? gg- ggAnswerPhoton
A ggfundamental gglimitation ggof gga ggtelescope's ggability ggto ggresolve ggimages, ggbased
ggon ggthe ggwave-like ggnature ggof gglight ggis ggknown ggas gg_____. gg-
ggAnswerDiffraction
What ggcan ggbe ggdetermined ggby ggthe ggpeak ggof gga ggblackbody ggspectrum? gg-
ggAnswerPeak ggindicates ggthe ggtemperature ggof ggthe ggobject
How ggwould ggthe ggblackbody ggspectrum ggof ggstars ggthat ggare ggthe ggsame
ggtemperature ggdiffer ggbetween gga gglarge ggand ggsmall ggstar? gg- ggAnswerThe ggpeaks
ggwould ggbe ggat ggthe ggsame gglocation, ggsince ggthey ggare ggthe ggsame ggtemperature,
ggbut ggthe ggpeak ggwould ggbe gghigher ggfor ggthe gglarger ggstar gg(more ggenergy
ggemitted ggper ggsecond)
How ggis ggan ggabsorption ggspectrum gggenerated? gg- ggAnswerPhotons ggare ggabsorbed
ggby ggatoms ggraising ggelectrons ggin ggatoms ggto gghigher ggenergies
How ggis ggan ggemission ggspectrum ggspectrum gggenerated? gg- ggAnswerPhotons ggare
ggemitted ggby ggatoms gglowering ggthe ggenergy ggof ggelectrons ggin ggthe ggatom
Do ggany ggelements ggon ggthe ggperiodic ggtable gghave ggthe ggexact ggsame
ggabsorption/emission ggspectrum? gg- ggAnswerAll ggelements gghave ggtheir ggown
ggunique ggabsorption/emission ggspectra
What ggtypes ggof ggtelescopes ggcan ggbe ggused ggon ggEarth? ggWhy? gg- ggAnswerRadio
ggand ggoptical/visible. ggEarth's ggatmosphere ggis ggtransparent ggat ggthose
ggwavelengths.
How ggcan ggEarth ggbased ggobservatories gg(telescopes) ggreduce gginterference ggfrom
ggthe ggatmosphere? gg- ggAnswerLocate ggthe ggobservatory ggin gghigh ggand ggdry
gglocation ggand gguse ggadaptive ggoptics.
What ggare ggfive ggmajor ggdifferences ggbetween ggthe gginner ggplanets ggand ggouter
ggplanets? gg- ggAnswerInner ggplanets ggare ggrocky, ggwarmer, gghave ggfew ggmoons,
ggshort ggyears, ggand ggare ggsmall ggin ggsize
Excluding ggeclipses, gghow ggmuch ggof ggthe ggmoon ggis gglit ggat ggall ggtimes? gg-
ggAnswer1/2 ggthe ggmoon ggis ggalways gglit
What ggcauses ggthe ggphases ggof ggthe ggMoon? gg- ggAnswerThe ggrelative gglocation ggof
ggthe ggSun, ggMoon ggand ggEarth
