Sample Questions
1. If the axis of rotation of the earth were tilted at an angle of 50 degrees relative to the axis of the earth’s orbit around the sun (instead of the actual 23.5 degrees), then
a. our summer would be hotter and our winter colder
b. our summer would be longer and our winter shorter
c. both summer and winter would be longer
d. our summer would be cooler and our winter warmer
2. Suppose that the moon was twice as far away from the earth as it actually is. Then
a. we would have no seasons
b. there would be no total eclipses of the sun
c. there would be one total eclipse of the moon each month
d. there would be no full moons
3. You see that the moon is in the first quarter phase. About how long will it be before you see the moon in the third quarter phase?
a. 29.5 days
b. about a week
c. about two weeks
d. about 3 weeks
4. You are looking to the east. You see the full moon low above the eastern horizon. About what time is it?
a. sunrise
b.
c.
d. sunset
5. Which star or group of stars is circumpolar as seen from
a. alpha Centauri
b. The Big Dipper
c. Altair
d. Sagittarius
6. Light from the sun takes about ____ to reach us.
a. 8 minutes
b. 5 years
c. 4 seconds
d. 2 days
7. Light from the nearest star other than the sun takes about _____ to reach us.
a. one hour
b. 12 days
c. 4 years
d. 500 years
8. In Ptolemy’s geocentric universe
a. the earth is at the center
b. the earth is not a planet, like Mars or Jupiter
c. the earth does not move
d. all of the above
9. Ptolemy and Copernicus both believed that planets moved
a. in perfect circles, or combinations of circles
b. in elliptical orbits
c. around the sun
d. always from west to east as seen from the earth
10. A new asteroid is found which moves in an elliptical orbit. At its closest to the sun, it
is 1 AU from the sun. At its farthest from the sun, it is 7 AU from the sun. What is the semi-major axis of the orbit of the asteroid?
a. 1 AU
b. 8 AU
c. 4 AU
d. 3 AU
11. How long will it take the asteroid in question 10 to complete one orbit around the sun?
a. 8 years
b. 4 years
c. 2 years
d. 64 years
12. Galileo disproved Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the solar system when he observed
a. Mars in the gibbous phase
b. Mars in the crescent phase
c. Venus in the crescent phase
d. Venus in the gibbous phase
13. Planets which are farther from the sun than the earth can never be seen
a. in the crescent phase
b. in the full phase
c. in the gibbous phase
d. all of the above
14. The parallax of the stars
a. is expected in Ptolemy’s geocentric universe
b. was predicted but not seen by Copernicus
c. was first observed by Tycho Brahe
d. was first observed by Kepler
15. A planet moves fastest when
a. it is farthest from the sun
b. when it is closest to the sun
c. when it is in retrograde motion
d. when it is in epicyclic motion
Answers: 1) a 2)b 3)c 4)d 5)b 6)a 7)c 8)d 9)a 10)c 11)a 12)d 13)a 14)b 15)b