PSU Astro 7N Exam 1 Questions and
Correct Answers, 100% Correct, Updated
Fall 2024/2025.
What two properties of a planet affect the gravity we feel on its surface?
Mass and radius
Two planets have the same radius. If Planet A is 5 times more mass than Planet B, how does gravity differ
on the surfaces of the two planets?
Gravity is 5 times stronger on planet A
Say that there were a planet X in our Solar System with a mass 1/4 the mass of Earth and a radius 1/2 the
radius of Earth. How will the gravity on its surface compare to the surface gravity of Earth?
Surface gravity on planet X is the same as on earth
A planet in a nearly circular orbit with its rotation axis tilted by 5 degrees relative to its orbital plane
around its star would ...
Have seasons that are not very different from each other as compared to Earth
The rotation axis of the Earth is ...
Tilted at about 23 degrees relative to the axis of the Earth's orbit around the Sun
In the diagram above, what season and planet is being represented by the red X on the planet on the left
in orbit around the Sun?
When is the waning gibbous moon highest in the sky?
About 3 am
What phase is the Moon in, when observed by the person standing on the Earth in the diagram above?
New
At what time will the Moon set on the day of a Solar eclipse?
Sunset
Stars that are in the same constellation ...
are likely to be at very different distances from us.
The "North Star" is a star in the constellation of Ursa Minor, which lies just above the North pole of
Earth. Which of the following is true?
,Ursa Minor is a Zodiac constellation in the summer but not in the winter
A particular Zodiac constellation is high in the sky at midnight in April. Where will it be in October?
Near the Sun in the daytime sky
What do you expect the spectrum of an object that is 1,000,000 Kelvin to be like?
It should peak at X-ray wavelengths
As compared to a cool star, a hotter star emits ...
Shorter wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color
Radio waves can travel large distances without interference because ...
They have longer wavelengths than visible light
Compared to ultraviolet radiation, X-rays have a wavelength that is ...
Shorter
Star A is 4000 K, and Star B is 8000 K. Which of the following is true?
The color of Star A is redder than Star B
In the diagram above, what is happening in the box in the center?
A star is a hot, dense gas surrounded by a cooler, low density atmosphere. What type of spectrum will a
star create?
Absorption Spectrum
What makes a transition from a lower energy state to a higher energy state when a photon is absorbed
into an atom?
Electron
An emission line is produced when:
An electron passes from a higher to a lower energy level
Bright lines in an emission spectrum represent:
particular energies of light that are emitted from a distant object
The faintness of an object that a telescope can observe is mostly determined by the ...
Diameter of the opening of a telescope
, In what ways does a 5 meter telescope outperform a 1 meter telescope?I
its images are 25 times brighter than a 1 meter
A mountain top is a good location for optical telescopes because the site ...
Is above much of the atmosphere
Which statement about the rotation of the Inner planets is true?
Venus rotates in the opposite direction from the three other inner planets
Which of the following is TRUE?
Mercury rotates exactly one and a half times for every one revolution around the Sun.
Why do the orbits of the planets all lie in nearly the same plane?
The early solar nebula flattened into a disk.
Of these choices, which planet has the most moons?
Saturn has more than Earth, Mercury, Mars, and Venus
Venus is visible to us ...
only near sunrise or sunset
A planet is in orbit around the Sun. The semimajor axis of the orbit is 5 Astronomical Units (AU). Use P^2
= a^3 to calculate the period of the orbit, in years.
11.2 years
In the above diagram, how should the parameters of the white curve be changed in order that it
matches the observed distance versus time graph of Callisto?
increase P and shift the curve
How do most craters on moons form?
impact of asteroids
Which planet has a temperature of 800 degrees Fahrenheit on the side facing the Sun and -290 degrees
Fahrenheit on the side opposite the Sun?
Mercury
How many Earth years does it take Uranus to orbit the Sun?
84
Meteors are ...
asteroids or comet debris that passes into Earth's atmosphere and burns up
Which feature of Neptune is most responsible for its blue color?
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