Sample questions for the NEW material on the final exam

1. An elliptical galaxy

a. has lots of ongoing star formation

b. has an active galactic nucleus

c. has little interstellar gas and dust

d. contains a disk

2. Edwin Hubble

a. used Cepheid variable stars to show that the Andromeda Nebula was really a galaxy separate from our own

b. found that most galaxies have spectra which are blueshifted

c. showed that quasars have spectra which are highly redshifted

d. showed that galaxy clusters contain large amounts of dark matter

3. A galaxy is observed to be receding from us at a speed of 10,000 km/s.  Suppose that the Hubble constant is 100 km/s/Mpc.

What is the distance of this galaxy?

a. 1 Mpc

b. 10 Mpc

c. 100 Mpc

d. 1,000 Mpc

4. A galaxy is observed to be 2 billion light years away.  The lookback time to this galaxy is about

a. 14 billion years

b. 6 billion years

c. 3 billion years

d. 2 billion years

5. There is evidence that the halo of the Milky Way Galaxy was built

a. from Population I stars

b. from stars richer in heavy elements than the Sun

c. by the merger of smaller systems of stars and gas

d. from dark matter alone, with no visible material

6. Stars in the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy

a. orbit the center of the galaxy in very elongated elliptical orbits

b. have a higher abundance of heavy elements than stars in the halo

c. all take more than one billion years to complete one orbit around the galactic center

d. are thought to be the oldest stars within our galaxy

7. Quasars are believed to be powered

a. by a central supermassive black hole

b. by an extended halo of dark matter

c. by type Ia supernovas

d. by vacuum energy

8. Which of the following provides evidence that galaxy clusters contain large amounts of dark matter?

a. Galaxy clusters contain many elliptical galaxies

b. The spread in redshifts among galaxies in a cluster is bigger than expected

c. Galaxy clusters emit light at infrared wavelengths

d. All galaxies in a galaxy cluster recede from us with exactly the same speed

9. What is located at the center of the universe?

a. the Milky Way Galaxy

b. the Virgo cluster of galaxies

c. a quasar

d. there is no center

10. The principle of equivalence tells us that

a. we cannot distinguish between the effects of gravity and the effects of an acceleration

b. we cannot travel faster than the speed of light

c. matter and antimatter combine to produce energy

d. we live in a critical universe

11. In the standard Big Bang universe, if the density is greater than the critical density then

a. the universe will expand forever

b. the universe will expand at an accelerating rate

c. the universe is infinite in size

d. the universe will eventually recollapse in a Big Crunch

12. If the rate of expansion of the universe increases with time, then we live in

a. a critical universe

b. an accelerating universe

c. a coasting universe

d. a recollapsing universe

13._____________ are standard candles which we can see to distances of more than a billion light years.

a. type Ia supernovas

b. Cepheid variable stars

c. quasars

d. blue supergiant stars

14. GUT theories attempt to

a. unify the forces of nature

b. explain the existence of dark matter

c. explain the existence of antimatter

d. unify the elementary particles seen in nature

15. The basic idea behind the Big Bang theory is that

a. the universe will expand forever

b. what seem to be four forces of nature are really one force

c. the expansion of the universe began at a specific time in the past

d. the universe is infinitely old

16. Olbers paradox tells us that

a. the universe must have a critical density

b. the universe cannot be infinitely old, infinite in size, and filled with stars throughout

c. the forces of nature cannot be unified into a single force

d. the universe must expand forever, but at an ever slower rate

17. The standard Big Bang predicts

a. that the microwave background should be perfectly isotropic

b. that the visible mass of the universe was about 75% hydrogen and 25% helium before stars formed

c. that the density of the universe is greater than the critical density

d. that early in its history the universe underwent an interval of very rapid inflation

18. The vicinity of an O type main sequence star might not be a good place to search for a planet with life because

a. O type stars emit too much infrared light

b. such stars only live for about 10 million years

c. only very close to an O type star would one expect to find liquid water on an earth-type planet

d. such stars contain no elements heavier than helium

19. With current technology we can find

a. earth-sized planets around other stars like the Sun

b. giant planets around other stars

c. earth-sized planets around giant stars

d. no planets beyond the solar system

20. If you could travel at the speed of light, about how long would it take you to travel to the star nearest to the Sun?

a. 6 months

b. 4 years

c. 100 years

d. 10,000 years

21. In an inflationary universe, a rapid early expansion of the universe makes the universe

a. filled with dark matter

b. filled with equal amounts of matter and antimatter

c. produce mainly hydrogen and helium

d. look nearly “flat”, with a density close to the critical density

22. The Drake Equation attempts to predict

a. the number of civilizations now in the Milky Way Galaxy

b. the speed at which distant galaxies recede from us

c. the ratio of matter to antimatter in the universe

d. the temperature of the microwave background radiation

23. 10 billion years in the future, we would expect the microwave background radiation

a. to no longer exist

b. to correspond to thermal radiation from a temperature higher than 3 degrees Kelvin

c. to correspond to thermal radiation from a temperature lower than 3 degrees Kelvin

d. to exist mainly at wavelengths shorter than the wavelength of visible light

24. A main sequence star of spectral type M would be expected

a. to have a lifetime shorter than that of the Sun

b. to have a habitable zone smaller than that of the Sun

c. to be made mainly of elements heavier than helium

d. to always be older than the Sun

25. If most galaxies were observed to have blueshifted spectra, we would deduce that

a. the universe was contracting not expanding

b. the sun was at the center of the universe

c. the universe was an accelerating universe

d. the density of the universe was much smaller than the critical density

Answers: 1) c 2) a 3) c 4) d 5)c 6) b 7)a 8)b 9)d 10) a 11)d 12)b 13)a 14)a 15)c 16)b 17) b 18) b 19)b 20)b 21)d

22) a 23)c 24)b 25)a