Answer Options:
Jocelyn Bell
Robert Dicke
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Ben Stein
Answer: Jocelyn Bell
Question: Suppose you and I have very accurate atomic clocks. We synchronize the clocks, then you go on a balloon ride up to about 100,000 ft above the Earth’s surface. Compared to my clock, your clock runs…
Answer Options:
the same.
faster.
backward.
slower.
Answer: faster.
Question: Why do older stars have lower heavy-element abundances?
Answer Options:
The relative abundances of heavy elements was much higher in the past, but today young stars use up lots of hydrogen in their masses.
The interstellar medium from which they formed was not enriched with heavy elements formed in stellar interiors.
Only stars with low heavy-element abundances are easily observed. This is a survivorship bias.
Old stars are lower mass and are not able to fuse elements beyond carbon.
Answer: The interstellar medium from which they formed was not enriched with heavy elements formed in stellar interiors.
Question: ________ explains gravitation as the interaction of matter in spacetime.
Answer Options:
General relativity
The principle of equivalence
Newton’s law of gravity
LIGO
Answer: General relativity
Question: What does the statement “Black holes have no hair” mean?
Answer Options:
There is nothing about the black hole that tells you what’s going on inside.
Black holes are smooth without topographic features.
That only sophisticated rational, not hairbrained material, can enter a black hole.
That black holes cause crucial moments in one event horizon to be smoothed out.
Answer: There is nothing about the black hole that tells you what’s going on inside.
Question: Astronomers are able to observe hydrogen in HII regions with optical telescopes. How do astronomers observe cold hydrogen clouds (HI regions) that aren’t near a star?
Answer Options:
Since cold hydrogen is blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, astronomers launch shuttles periodically into outer space to observe these absorption areas.
They use radio telescopes and observe the hydrogen through 21-cm radiation.
They use optical telescopes with detectors tuned to the wavelength of 21-cm.
Answer: They use radio telescopes and observe the hydrogen through 21-cm radiation.
Question: What do we call the spherical region of matter that surrounds the visible portion of the Milky Way Galaxy?
Answer Options:
the galaxy’s cluster
the galaxy’s disk
the galaxy’s bulge
the galaxy’s halo
Answer: the galaxy’s halo
Question: If a star’s degenerate core is greater than about ______ then nothing can stop the core from collapsing forever.
Answer Options:
a bread box
3 solar-masses
1.4 solar-masses
the speed of light
2.1 solar-masses
Answer: 3 solar-masses
Question: When astronomers use the term “metals,” they are referring to all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The fraction of a star’s mass that is composed of these elements is referred to as the star’s ______.
Answer Options:
Metallica
Metallicity
Eclipse
Answer: Metallicity
Question: The event horizon is…
Answer Options:
the physical edge of a black hole where nothing can exit.
the surface of a black hole where speculative physics speculate particles.
the region of a black hole where only light can escape.
the surface of a black hole defined by the Schwarzschild radius.
Answer: the surface of a black hole defined by the Schwarzschild radius.
Question: The most massive region of the Milky Way Galaxy is _____.
Answer Options:
the galaxy’s bulge
the dark matter halo
the galaxy’s disk
the supermassive black hole
Answer: the dark matter halo
Question: How do we know dark matter exists in the halo?
Answer Options:
Measurements of orbital speeds at different distances from the MWG’s center show rotation curves that do not obey Keplerian physics. This indicates a large amount of unseen mass.
The formation of stars and low luminosity stars from dark matter points to the existence of vast amounts of unseen matter.
The gravitational interaction of stars near the center of the MWG point to the existence of large amounts of unseen matter.
Measurements of dark matter imply that its orbital velocity falls off very far from the MWG’s center. This can best be explained as a large amount of dark matter existing in the halo.
Answer: Measurements of orbital speeds at different distances from the MWG’s center show rotation curves that do not obey Keplerian physics. This indicates a large amount of unseen mass.
Question: ____ stars are held up by electron degeneracy.
Answer: White dwarf
Question: For a Sun-sized star …
Answer Options:
core fusion will stop when a carbon core is formed
core fusion will stop when an iron core is formed
core fusion will stop when a helium core is formed
all core fusion will cease after the main sequence stage
Answer: core fusion will stop when a carbon core is formed
Question: A star of spectral class B2 undergoes core collapse and explodes in a supernova. What type of supernova is this?
Answer Options:
Type Ia
Type Ib
Type II
Main sequence
Answer: Type II
Question: A hot BRY star whose spectra shows a high metallicity is most likely a _____ star.
Answer Options:
Pop I
Dark Matter Star
Pop III
Pop II
Answer: Pop I
Question: The general theory of relativity, the spacetime metric tells how to move. It is quote by whom?
Answer Options:
Albert Einstein
Karl Schwarzschild
Isaac Newton
John Wheeler
Arthur Eddington
Answer: John Wheeler
Question: If a cluster shows a main sequence turnoff point at G2, what is the approximate age of the cluster?
Answer Options:
200 million years old
10 million years old
4-5 billion years old
10 billion years old
Answer: 4-5 billion years old
Question: Black holes form…
Answer Options:
from stars of very low mass.
from stars of very high mass.
when LIGO detects gravitational waves.
from stars that are like our Sun.
Answer: from stars of very high mass.
Question: Harlow Shapley concluded that the Sun was not in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy by…
Answer Options:
mapping the distribution of globular clusters in the galaxy.
mapping the distribution of stars in the galaxy.
mapping the distribution of gas clouds in the spiral arms.
looking at the phase of the “milky band” across the sky.
Answer: mapping the distribution of globular clusters in the galaxy.
Question: Which of the following is closest in size (radius) to a neutron star?
Answer Options:
Earth
the Sun
a small city
a beach ball
Answer: a small city
Question: The overall fusion reaction by which the Sun currently produces energy is
Answer Options:
3 H -> 3 He + energy
3 He -> 3 C + energy
4 H -> 4 He + energy
6 H -> 1 He + energy
4 H -> 1 He + energy
Answer: 5. 4 H -> 1 He + energy