Astronomy 101 FINAL UW questions and Verified
Answers
An astronaut who fell into a black hole would be stretched because - ANSWER the force of
gravity increases quickly over short distances.
If the Sun collapsed to a black hole today, how would it affect the Earth? - ANSWER It would be
dark.
The formation of the Milky Way's ______ depended on the presence of gas. - ANSWER disk
Halo objects orbit the center of the Milky Way, - ANSWER in random orientations and
directions.
The Milky Way's ______ composed of stars (and gas and dust) in randomly oriented orbits. -
ANSWER halo and bulge are
Most of the mass in the Milky Way is, - ANSWER dark matter.
A DVD's rotation curve (velocity vs. radius) graph - ANSWER increases as radius increases.
A disk galaxy's rotation curve - ANSWER is relatively constant as radius increases.
The Milky Way's rotation curve provides evidence of dark matter because: - ANSWER -
additional, invisible matter is required to keep the rotation speed relatively constant
-the rotation curve extends far beyond the Milky Way's disk.
Which type of galaxies appear to have many young stars? - ANSWER Disk Galaxies
, Do the galaxies you identified in the previous question also contain old stars? - ANSWER Yes
Which type of galaxies are more likely to show evidence of dust? - ANSWER Disk Galaxies
If a galaxy is experiencing active star formation, it must contain - ANSWER cool, dense gas.
Which type of galaxies have cool, dense gas available for star formation? - ANSWER Disk
Galaxies
Which type of galaxy shows evidence of significant numbers of O-stars and M-stars? - ANSWER
Disk Galaxies
Which type of galaxy is likely to contain many M-stars but few O-stars? - ANSWER Elliptical
Galaxies
Consider the discussion among three students about a galaxy that appears red. Check (✓) the
box of any of the students who are correct. - ANSWER Student 2 replies "I disagree; it's just that
blue stars don't last very long. I think the blue stars that may have been there in the past have
already evolved into red giants, so the galaxy looks red due to the light from all the red giants."
You've found a dwarf galaxy that may be orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy. Refer back to your
text to determine which of the following steps on the distance ladder could be used to
determine its distance, assuming it is nearby Andromeda. (check all that apply) - ANSWER -
White Dwarf (Type Ia) Supernova
-Cepheid variable star
Which object can not be used to measure distances? - ANSWER A massive star (type II)
supernova
Answers
An astronaut who fell into a black hole would be stretched because - ANSWER the force of
gravity increases quickly over short distances.
If the Sun collapsed to a black hole today, how would it affect the Earth? - ANSWER It would be
dark.
The formation of the Milky Way's ______ depended on the presence of gas. - ANSWER disk
Halo objects orbit the center of the Milky Way, - ANSWER in random orientations and
directions.
The Milky Way's ______ composed of stars (and gas and dust) in randomly oriented orbits. -
ANSWER halo and bulge are
Most of the mass in the Milky Way is, - ANSWER dark matter.
A DVD's rotation curve (velocity vs. radius) graph - ANSWER increases as radius increases.
A disk galaxy's rotation curve - ANSWER is relatively constant as radius increases.
The Milky Way's rotation curve provides evidence of dark matter because: - ANSWER -
additional, invisible matter is required to keep the rotation speed relatively constant
-the rotation curve extends far beyond the Milky Way's disk.
Which type of galaxies appear to have many young stars? - ANSWER Disk Galaxies
, Do the galaxies you identified in the previous question also contain old stars? - ANSWER Yes
Which type of galaxies are more likely to show evidence of dust? - ANSWER Disk Galaxies
If a galaxy is experiencing active star formation, it must contain - ANSWER cool, dense gas.
Which type of galaxies have cool, dense gas available for star formation? - ANSWER Disk
Galaxies
Which type of galaxy shows evidence of significant numbers of O-stars and M-stars? - ANSWER
Disk Galaxies
Which type of galaxy is likely to contain many M-stars but few O-stars? - ANSWER Elliptical
Galaxies
Consider the discussion among three students about a galaxy that appears red. Check (✓) the
box of any of the students who are correct. - ANSWER Student 2 replies "I disagree; it's just that
blue stars don't last very long. I think the blue stars that may have been there in the past have
already evolved into red giants, so the galaxy looks red due to the light from all the red giants."
You've found a dwarf galaxy that may be orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy. Refer back to your
text to determine which of the following steps on the distance ladder could be used to
determine its distance, assuming it is nearby Andromeda. (check all that apply) - ANSWER -
White Dwarf (Type Ia) Supernova
-Cepheid variable star
Which object can not be used to measure distances? - ANSWER A massive star (type II)
supernova
