PHYS 1600 Guelph Final Exam Review
UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Which word, in the list below, goes in the space? The _____________ period of a planet is the time it
takes the planet to go from a position among the fixed stars back to the same position - CORRECT
ANSWER sidereal
The Sun is at one focus of the Earth's elliptical orbit. What is at the other focus? - CORRECT
ANSWER nothing
A planet closer to the Sun will have ... - CORRECT ANSWER the orbits were circular rather
than elliptical.
The major contribution of Tycho Brahe to the development of modern astronomy was - CORRECT
ANSWER measure planetary positions very accurately
Which observation of Venus through his new telescope convinced Galileo that it orbited around the
Sun and not the Earth? - CORRECT ANSWER Venus showed phases similar to those of the
Moon and appeared largest when it was at crescent phase
An orbit with which of the following eccentricities is most circular? - CORRECT ANSWER
0.10
If an astronaut landed on a planet of the same radius as the Earth but 4 times the mass, then the
astronaut's weight on the planet would be - CORRECT ANSWER 4 times her weight on the
Earth.
All planets undergo retrograde motion as seen from Earth. - CORRECT ANSWER True
When a planet is directly between the Earth and the Sun it is said to be in what configuration? -
CORRECT ANSWER inferior conjunction
,The Earth, and all planets, move about the Sun in ___1____ orbits with the ___2___ at one focus and
____3___ at the other. Which choice of 1, 2, 3 below is correct? - CORRECT ANSWER
elliptical, Sun, nothing
Of the following planets, which takes the longest to go around the Sun? - CORRECT ANSWER
Uranus
The concept of the universe adopted by most ancient Greek philosophers was - CORRECT ANSWER
Tycho Brahe
What two things about Venus couldn't be explained by a geocentric cosmology - CORRECT
ANSWER That it has phases and changes apparent size.
Its mass would be the same as it is here on Earth. - CORRECT ANSWER How would the mass
of a brick change if it were placed on the Moon?
The occasional westward (left to right) motion of planets across the celestial sphere is called: -
CORRECT ANSWER retrograde motion
When Mercury is at its farthest distance from the Earth, it is at - CORRECT ANSWER
superior conjunction
The shape of a Mar's orbit around the Sun is best described as a(n): - CORRECT ANSWER
ellipse
The planet Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth. Which value below is the sidereal period of
Venus? - CORRECT ANSWER 225 days
What assumption made Copernicus' heliocentric cosmology no more accurate than geocentric
cosmology - CORRECT ANSWER That planets orbit the Sun along circular paths
An object orbiting a star with an orbital eccentricity of e=0 has an orbit whose shape is - CORRECT
ANSWER circular
, What did Galileo not observe with his new telescope? - CORRECT ANSWER Uranus
If the distance between the Earth and the Sun is suddenly doubled, how does the gravitational
attraction between the two bodies change? - CORRECT ANSWER It decreases by a factor of
4.
Which of the following correctly describes the
rotation of the Moon? - CORRECT ANSWER The Moon rotates once per month to keep
one side always pointing toward the Earth
Leap years, which contain one extra day, are needed in order to correct for the fact that - CORRECT
ANSWER I year is not exactly 365 days but
about 365.25 days
The Moon shows different phases because: - CORRECT ANSWER we view the sunlit
hemisphere of the Moon
from different angles as the Moon orbits the
Earth.
The reason why eclipses do not occur at
every new moon and every full moon is that: - CORRECT ANSWER the Moon's orbit is
inclined at an angle to
the Earth's orbit.
If we choose as a model of the Earth and Moon a large dinner plate (diameter 1/3 m) and a saucer.
How far apart should they be placed to give a correct scale for the Earth-Moon system? - CORRECT
ANSWER 10 m
What is the basic structure of Earth's interior? - CORRECT ANSWER solid iron inner core,
molten iron outer core, rocky mantle, lighter
rocky crust
UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Which word, in the list below, goes in the space? The _____________ period of a planet is the time it
takes the planet to go from a position among the fixed stars back to the same position - CORRECT
ANSWER sidereal
The Sun is at one focus of the Earth's elliptical orbit. What is at the other focus? - CORRECT
ANSWER nothing
A planet closer to the Sun will have ... - CORRECT ANSWER the orbits were circular rather
than elliptical.
The major contribution of Tycho Brahe to the development of modern astronomy was - CORRECT
ANSWER measure planetary positions very accurately
Which observation of Venus through his new telescope convinced Galileo that it orbited around the
Sun and not the Earth? - CORRECT ANSWER Venus showed phases similar to those of the
Moon and appeared largest when it was at crescent phase
An orbit with which of the following eccentricities is most circular? - CORRECT ANSWER
0.10
If an astronaut landed on a planet of the same radius as the Earth but 4 times the mass, then the
astronaut's weight on the planet would be - CORRECT ANSWER 4 times her weight on the
Earth.
All planets undergo retrograde motion as seen from Earth. - CORRECT ANSWER True
When a planet is directly between the Earth and the Sun it is said to be in what configuration? -
CORRECT ANSWER inferior conjunction
,The Earth, and all planets, move about the Sun in ___1____ orbits with the ___2___ at one focus and
____3___ at the other. Which choice of 1, 2, 3 below is correct? - CORRECT ANSWER
elliptical, Sun, nothing
Of the following planets, which takes the longest to go around the Sun? - CORRECT ANSWER
Uranus
The concept of the universe adopted by most ancient Greek philosophers was - CORRECT ANSWER
Tycho Brahe
What two things about Venus couldn't be explained by a geocentric cosmology - CORRECT
ANSWER That it has phases and changes apparent size.
Its mass would be the same as it is here on Earth. - CORRECT ANSWER How would the mass
of a brick change if it were placed on the Moon?
The occasional westward (left to right) motion of planets across the celestial sphere is called: -
CORRECT ANSWER retrograde motion
When Mercury is at its farthest distance from the Earth, it is at - CORRECT ANSWER
superior conjunction
The shape of a Mar's orbit around the Sun is best described as a(n): - CORRECT ANSWER
ellipse
The planet Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth. Which value below is the sidereal period of
Venus? - CORRECT ANSWER 225 days
What assumption made Copernicus' heliocentric cosmology no more accurate than geocentric
cosmology - CORRECT ANSWER That planets orbit the Sun along circular paths
An object orbiting a star with an orbital eccentricity of e=0 has an orbit whose shape is - CORRECT
ANSWER circular
, What did Galileo not observe with his new telescope? - CORRECT ANSWER Uranus
If the distance between the Earth and the Sun is suddenly doubled, how does the gravitational
attraction between the two bodies change? - CORRECT ANSWER It decreases by a factor of
4.
Which of the following correctly describes the
rotation of the Moon? - CORRECT ANSWER The Moon rotates once per month to keep
one side always pointing toward the Earth
Leap years, which contain one extra day, are needed in order to correct for the fact that - CORRECT
ANSWER I year is not exactly 365 days but
about 365.25 days
The Moon shows different phases because: - CORRECT ANSWER we view the sunlit
hemisphere of the Moon
from different angles as the Moon orbits the
Earth.
The reason why eclipses do not occur at
every new moon and every full moon is that: - CORRECT ANSWER the Moon's orbit is
inclined at an angle to
the Earth's orbit.
If we choose as a model of the Earth and Moon a large dinner plate (diameter 1/3 m) and a saucer.
How far apart should they be placed to give a correct scale for the Earth-Moon system? - CORRECT
ANSWER 10 m
What is the basic structure of Earth's interior? - CORRECT ANSWER solid iron inner core,
molten iron outer core, rocky mantle, lighter
rocky crust
