Astronomy A Exam Study Guide

Astronomy A Exam Review


















Questions: For each of the following events, identify if they are caused by:
A) Earth's Rotation
B) Earth's Orbit

1) Day and night
2) Year
3) Seasons
4) High and Low Tides
5) The reason a sundial can tell time.



6) How does the moon cause tides on the Earth?

7) During a new moon or full moon phase, the gravitational force of the sun adds to the effect of the gravitational force of the moon on the Earth. What type of tide does this cause?

8) True/False: If you look at the sky at 10:00 pm in the winter and at 10:00 pm in the summer, you will see the same constellations in the sky.

9) Why are there seasons on Earth?

10) What is the ecliptic?













11) Where in the picture is Earth in winter in the Northern hemisphere?

12) Where in the picture is Earth in summer in the Northern hemisphere?

13) Where on the earth is the sun directly overhead at noon in picture B?

14) Where on the earth is the sun directly overhead at noon on the summer solstice?

15) What causes the moon to be seen in our sky?

16) Why do we see different amounts of the moon lit up over the course of a month?

17) What is synchronous rotation?




Use the following pictures to answer questions









A B C D E

18) Which picture of the moon above is caused because the Earth is between the sun and the moon?

19) Which picture of the moon above is caused because the moon is found between the Earth and the sun?

20) Which phase is picture B?

21) Which phase is picture C?

22) Which phase would the moon need to be in to have a solar eclipse?

23) Which phase would the moon need to be in to have a lunar eclipse?
















A B C
24) Which of the pictures above shows a total solar eclipse?

25) What is the name of the North Star?

Read the following statements about the movements of the stars that would help you to navigate. Determine if the statements are true or false.

26) Polaris is the only star in the sky that stays in the same position in the sky all night long (as long as you stay at the same latitude).
A) True B) False

27) As you move towards the equator, Polaris will seem to be higher in the sky. At the equator Polaris will be directly overhead.
A) True B) False

28) How long does it take the Earth to rotate?

29) How long does it take the Earth to revolve around the sun?

30) Which ancient Greek man calculated the circumference of the Earth using shadows and the distance 2 cities were apart.

31) Which ancient Greek man wrote a book called the Almagest in which he described his geocentric model of the universe? His geocentric model was accepted for over 1000 years.

32) Which ancient Greek man used philosophy to create his model of the geocentric celestial sphere?




Use the following picture to answer questions:
33) Whose model of the solar system looks most like the one to the right?
34) What is the name of the small circles that connect to the larger orbit of the planets?
35) Which culture recorded a supernova that was known as a "guest star?" It was so bright that it was visible in the daytime.


36) Which of the following was NOT a discovery that Galileo made using his telescope?


37) Who was the first "modern" western astronomer to subscribe to the heliocentric model?

38) Who fought with the Catholic Church about the heliocentric model and was forced to recant his ideas under the threat of torture?

39) What is retrograde motion?

40) What did Brahe do that was so useful for Kepler?

41) Who was the first person to point a telescope at the sky?


42) What shape did Kepler determine is the orbit of planets?

43) Which planet will move the fastest in its orbit?

44) Which physicist explained Kepler's laws by saying that there is an attractive force felt between any two objects that depend on the size of the objects and their distance away from each other?
45) Which physicist explained Kepler's laws by saying that massive objects actually bend space and time and that planets orbit stars because of the curvature of space?

How many planets in the solar system are there?

How old is the Earth?

What is the smallest planet?

Planetesimals collide and stick together to form protoplanets because


The stream of charged particles emitted by the sun is called the solar _?_.

Immediately outside the orbit of Neptune lies a flat region of space which is the source of short-period comets. This region is called the _?_.

Heavier elements are formed when a star explodes. This is called a ….

Name 3 reasons why a nebula might collapse.

When the nebula begins to collapse what happens to the speed of its rotation?

According to the Nice model, which planet formed first?

As the gas and dust in the nebula fall rapidly to its center, the temperature inside the nebula increases. What is formed?

Which planet has the longest year?

How many stars are there in the solar system?


What word do we use to name a cloud of dust and gas in space, such as the one which formed into our Solar System?
What was missing from the inner solar system, due to the radiation coming from the forming sun?

What was the line called that separated the inner solar system from the outer solar system before the formation of the planets?

Small pieces of matter coming together to form larger pieces is known as …

Which two of the inner planets are almost the same size?

The 4 large moons of Jupiter are known as the….

The Earth's moon looks like which planet?

Which planet has the shortest year?

Which planet has the shortest day?

Which planet has a day that is longer than its year?
What two gases make up most of Jupiter and Saturn?

What are most of the moons of Saturn made up of?

Which planet is the least dense?

Which planet has the largest magnetic field?

Which planet's rotation is tilted almost 90 degrees?

If the solar system were laid out on a football field with the sun at one endzone…where would the Earth be?

What is the name of the unit that is used to measure distances within our solar system? (It is equal to the distance from the Earth to the sun).

Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?

Which of the following is NOT a Gas or Ice Giant?

What is thought to be the reason for the formation of our moon?

Which of the following planets does NOT have rings?

What is the most famous surface feature on Jupiter?

As you go farther away from the sun, the distance between the planets…

What was formed when Saturn, Uranus and Neptune moved farther away from the sun and kick leftover debris into the inner solar system?

What is the name of the period of time where there were lots of craters formed from the debris being flung into the inner solar system?

What gas is present in Uranus and Neptune and is the reason that they appear to be blue?


What is the area surrounding our solar system in all directions called?
The surface of the moon is covered with crushed rocks called:

Which statement about the Moon's rotation and/or revolution is correct?


What causes weather on Earth?

Which energy source leads to mountain building on Earth?

The Caloris Basin is found on which planet?

Mar's atmosphere is made up primarily of which gas?

True/False: Earth is the only terrestrial planet that has EVER had liquid water flowing on it.

Which planet has the lowest temperature on the night side of the planet?

The moons of Mars, shown in this diagram, are similar to what other objects in our solar system?



The Earth shows very little evidence of meteor impacts because

Which planet is the MOST geologically active?

Some areas of the Moon are smooth, whereas other areas are heavily cratered. This is because:





Mare Imbrium is the largest of the 14 dark plains that dominate the Earth-facing side of the Moon. The darker, smoother mare has fewer craters, the lighter colored highlands surrounding the mare are covered with craters from asteroid impacts. Which region is older?




The magnetic field of a planet is produced by:
Which planet has the largest volcano found in the solar system?

If you landed on this planet/moon you would be flattened and boiled. Which planet/moon would you be on?

The scarps on Mercury are believed to have formed due to which of the following?


The Moon and Mercury are similar in that they both

The structure of Mercury is

Venus and Earth have similar

How did Venus acquire its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere?

A scarp on Mercury is best described as a:

Which pair of properties accounts for why the night side of Mercury is so cold?

Venus' atmosphere is primarily composed of which gas?

Which characteristic or property of Mars is most similar to the same characteristic or property of the Earth?

How does the density of Venus' atmosphere compare to Earth's atmosphere?

Most craters on Mercury are believed to have formed from:

Which of the following is found on Mars?

Which gas makes up most of the Earth's atmosphere?

As you move up and away from the Earth's surface what happens to the temperature of the gases in the atmosphere?

Mars has iron on the surface of the planet and does not have a magnetic field, even though its rotation is very fast. What do scientists think is the reason why?

Which planet has the youngest overall surface on the planet?

Which planet has the longest sidereal day?

Rocks on Venus tend to be much harder than rocks on Earth because they contain no

The NASA probe which made an extensive study of Venus ending in 1994 was named

We measured the age of the surface of Venus by studying which of these?

Which planet still has areas where new surface is being created?

What do we call the "effect" in which the Earth's atmosphere traps heat, resulting in a rise in temperature (possibly responsible for global warming)?

What specific gas is often mentioned as being particularly responsible for causing this effect?

What do we call the dark flat areas on the surface of the Moon?







Use the following answer choices when you the picture with the place
A) Venus B) Mercury C) Earth D) Earth's Moon E ) Mars





127)










Compares Jupiter and a small star.


For questions 130-138 identify the description as:
A) Jupiter B) Saturn C) Both Jupiter and Saturn D) Neither

Giant planet made up mainly of hydrogen and helium
The planet with the largest magnetic field.
This planet has rings
Galilean moons orbit this planet
The planet that has most visible bands and stripes on its surface.
This planet emits more internal heat than it receives from the sun
Least dense planet
Largest planet
Hexagonal storm on its North pole


What causes the stripes and bands seen on Jupiter and Saturn's surfaces?


Describe the size, age, and nature of the feature known as the Great Red Spot.



Jupiter radiates more energy than it receives because…


Which is a TRUE statement about Jupiter's shape?


The image below is a picture of Jupiter's magnetosphere. Where would the sun be to cause the magnetic field to look as it does in the picture below?


B






A D








C


Which moon of Jupiter is larger than the planet Mercury?

What are the rings of Saturn are made of?

The Roche limit is…

A shepherd moon causes…

Explain what is happening on the moon Io to make it such a violently active body, and what is causing that activity


Explain why the moon Europa has generated so much excitement among scientists, and what makes conditions there possible.


For the following questions identify the moon as…
A) Titan B) Miranda C) Triton D) Nereid E) Triton and Nereid

This moon is thought to be a captured object from the Kuiper belt
This moon has a retrograde orbit
This moon has lakes of hydrocarbons
This moon has an atmosphere
This moon looks as though it has been broken apart and then come back together
This moon has a highly elliptical orbit


For the following questions identify the planet as…
A) Uranus B) Neptune C) Both Uranus and Neptune D) Neither

This planet was discovered by an astronomer using a telescope.
This planet as predicted to be in its place because of its effect on another planet's orbit.
This planet has a magnetic field that is off center of the planet.
This planet is tilted sideways.
This planet has rings
This planet is known as an ice giant.
This planet has a blue color.
The clouds of this planet are ammonia ice

Which of the following characteristics would be an indication that a moon was captured by a planet's gravity instead of having formed along with the planet during its solar system formation?

Why was it important for the Voyager missions to launch when they did?



A dwarf planet is different than a planet in which of the following ways?

Which dwarf planet was once known as a planet?


Which was the first probe to go into the asteroid belt and out to Jupiter?

Which was the only probe to go past Uranus and Neptune?

Which of the following was NOT discovered by the missions to the outer planets?

Which of the following is NOT a required characteristic of a planet?

Which dwarf planet is located in the asteroid belt?

Which of the following statements about Pluto is NOT TRUE.

Trojan asteroids are found

What are Apollo asteroids?

What are most asteroids made up of?

Where are most asteroids found in our solar system?

How big are asteroids?

How far apart are asteroids in the asteroid belt?

Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt are caused by


Which of the following is NOT found in a comet?

Where do comets come from?

Kuiper belt objects include








Use the following picture to answer questions



D C





B

A E










Use the letters on the picture to answer the following questions:

Which letter is pointing to the ion tail?
Which letter is pointing to the dust tail?
Which letter is pointing to the coma?
Which letter is pointing to the nucleus?
Which letter is pointing to the hydrogen envelope?

What is a meteoroid?

What happens to a comet as it approaches the sun?