i>clicker quiz #1:

If I am standing at the north pole, which of the following is at the zenith?

A. The celestial equator B. The moon C. The nearby galaxy, M31 D. The north celestial pole E. The Sun

Four i>clicker quizzes (#2 –#5):

Santa Cruz is at about 36 o north Latitude and 122 o (about 8 hrs west of Greenwich, UK).

west longitude From here, can I see an object at the: South Celestial Pole?

A. Yes B. No Celestial equator?

A. Yes B. No Moon?

A. Yes B. No North Celestial Pole?

A. Yes B. No

i>clicker quiz #6: Visibility of the Constellations at Different Times of the Year

From the image below, what constellation is overhead at midnight on the Northern Hemisphere vernal equinox (March 21)?

A- Virgo B- Pisces C- Sagittarius D- Gemini

i>clicker quiz #7: Siderial vs Solar Time

If the earth ’ s orbit around the Sun and the earth ’ s spin on its own axis were in

opposite

senses (i.e. one clockwise and one anticlockwise), which of the following would be true:

A.

A siderial and solar day would be of the same length

B.

A siderial day would be 4 minutes longer than a solar day

C.

A siderial day would be 8 minutes longer than a solar day

D.

A solar day would be 4 minutes longer than a siderial day

E.

A solar day would be 8 minutes longer than a siderial day

i>clicker quiz #8: Siderial vs Solar Time

If the earth ’ s spin rate about its own axis were to slow down to

half

its present rate (while spinning in the same sense as its orbit around the Sun), so that the length of the day became ~48 hours, which of the following would be true:

A.

A siderial and solar day would be of the same length

B.

A siderial day would be 2 minutes longer than a solar day

C.

A siderial day would be 8 minutes longer than a solar day

D.

A solar day would be 4 minutes longer than a siderial day

E.

A solar day would be 16 minutes longer than a siderial day

i>clicker quizzes #9 and #10

You observe a solar eclipse just before sunSET, then the phase of the Moon is observed to be:

A- Full B New C- First quarter D- Third quarter

You observe a solar eclipse just before sunRISE, then the phase of the Moon is observed to be:

A- Full B New C- First quarter D- Third quarter E- None of the above

i>clicker quizzes #9 and #10 (answers)

As day progresses, moon moves in between earth and sun..

You observe a solar eclipse just before sunSET, then the phase of the moon is observed to be: B-

New Solar eclipse = Moon between Earth and Sun. Must be a new Moon. Always.

You observe a solar eclipse just before sunRISE, then the phase of the moon is observed to be: E-

None of the above You ’re dreaming. Sun must be up in the sky to get a solar eclipse.

i>clicker quiz #11

As day progresses, moon moves in between earth and sun..

You observe a lunar eclipse just before sunRISE, then the phase of the Moon must be:

A- Full B New C- First quarter D- Third quarter E- None of the above

i>clicker quiz #11 (answer)

As day progresses, moon moves in between earth and sun..

You observe a lunar eclipse just before sunRISE, then the phase of the Moon must be: A-

Full Lunar eclipse = Earth between Moon & Sun. Must be a full Moon.

Always.

i>clicker quiz #12

• When a photon interacts with an atom, what changes occur in the atom?

A) The atomic number increases. B) The nucleus begins to glow.

C) An electron changes its orbital energy.

D) The photon becomes trapped, orbiting in the atom.

i>clicker quiz #13

• If a photon A has a longer wavelength (redder) than another photon B, then photon A has ______ than photon B – A- higher energy – B- lower energy – C- lower frequency – D- higher frequency – E- B and C

i>clicker quiz #14: Moon

’

s motion

The moon

’

s spin period and orbital period around the Earth are about the same (both equal to about a month). Which of the following statements is FALSE ?

A.

Only one half of the Moon

’

s surface is sunlit at any given time but all parts of the Moon receive sunlight at one point in time or another B . One half of the Moon is never visible to a person on Earth C.

A person on the Moon would see the Earth go through various phases (i.e. different sunlit fractions) at different times and would see the Earth periodically rise and set D.

A person on the Moon would see the Earth go through various phases but would not see the Earth periodically rise and set E.

The reason for the equality of the Moon

’

s spin and orbital periods is because it is tidally locked to the Earth 12

i>clicker quiz #15: Tidal locking

Venus

’

s spin period and orbital period around the Sun are about the same (analogous situtation to the Moon Earth system). Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.

We always see the same half of Venus from Earth B.

The same half of Venus always faces the Sun C.

It is not possible to observe phases of Venus from the Earth D.

It is possible to observe phases of Pluto from the Earth 13

i>clicker quiz #16

Which of the following pictures properly depicts the crescent moon in the evening sky shortly after sunset?

#1

A.

Neither picture #1 nor picture #2 B.

Picture #1 does, but picture #2 does not C.

Picture #2 does, but picture #1 does not D.

Both picture #1 and picture #2

#2

•

i>clicker quiz #17

Say it ’ s midday for an astronomer on Jupiter and, at the same instant, it is midnight for an astronomer on Earth. The sunlit face of the Earth looks like a full circle (i.e., a “ full earth ’’ ) to the astronomer on Jupiter. Which of the following statements is

TRUE

: A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Jupiter, Earth, and the Sun are in a straight line in that order Jupiter is visible to the astronomer on Earth at that instant Jupiter is not visible to the astronomer on Earth at that instant Jupiter, the Sun, and Earth form a right angle Earth, Jupiter, and the Sun are in a straight line in that order

i>clicker quiz #18

Which one of the following is

TRUE

:

A.

The Sun and Solar System lie about 1,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way galaxy B.

The carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen present in the Sun and Earth were synthesized in nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun ’ s core C.

Mature galaxies tend to look more straggly than infant galaxies D.

The subtle ripples in the density of the early Universe from which galaxies formed left imprints that are visible in the afterglow from the Big Bang

i>clicker quiz #19

Which of the following statements is

TRUE : A. Einstein first postulated the constancy of the speed of light in formulating his general theory of relativity B. The equivalence of mass and energy is best expressed through the formula: E = mc 2 C. Gravitational redshift is a feature of the special theory of relativity D. The fact that gravity is equivalent to an accelerated frame of reference is the basis of the special theory of relativity

i>clicker quiz #20 Which of the following statements is

FALSE

?

A.

Black holes emit Hawking radiation that can be characterized as black-body radiation with a temperature that is proportional to the black hole ’ s mass B.

The radius of the event horizon (Schwarzschild radius) of a black hole, the region over which it can trap light, is proportional to the black hole ’ s mass C.

“ A black hole has no hair ” is a statement that describes the loss of identity of matter when it is swallowed by a black hole D.

The gravitational field of a black hole extends out to an infinite distance

18

i>clicker quiz #21

Which of the following statements is

FALSE

?

A.

Radio jets and lobes are lit up by synchrotron radiation produced by charged particles moving along spiral paths in a magnetic field B.

The typical mass of a super-massive black hole that powers the nucleus of a quasar is about five thousand times the mass of our Sun C.

The light-emitting region of a typical quasar is roughly comparable in size to our Solar System D.

Quasars and AGNs can be 100 to 1000 times more luminous than our Milky Way galaxy E.

Most galaxies have massive black holes at their centers

19

i>clicker quiz #22

Which of the following statements most accurately describes what happens when

I HOLD A PIECE OF CHALK IN MY HAND

?

A.

A gravitational force and an electromagnetic force are canceling each other B.

Only a gravitational force is acting on the piece of chalk C.

Only an electromagnetic force is acting on the piece of chalk D.

A gravitational force and a strong nuclear force are canceling each other

20

i>clicker quiz #23

Which of the following statements is

TRUE

?

A.

Hubble ’ s discovery that most distant galaxies are receding from us tells us that we are at the center of the Universe B.

The Universe started with the Big Bang and will end in the Big Crunch C.

The expansion rate of the Universe is speeding up because of a repulsive anti-gravity force D.

The Andromeda galaxy is moving away from the Milky Way galaxy as a result of the expansion of the Universe

21

i>clicker quiz #24 Which of the following statements is

TRUE

?

A.

Black holes emit Hawking radiation which can be characterized as black-body radiation with a temperature that is proportional to the black hole ’ s mass B.

The radius of the event horizon (Schwarzschild radius) of a black hole, the region over which it can trap light, is inversely proportional to the black hole ’ s mass C.

“ A black hole has no hair ” is a statement that describes the loss of identity of matter when it is swallowed by a black hole D.

The gravitational field of a black hole only extends out to an finite distance, its Schwarzschild radius

22

i>clicker quiz #25

Which of the following statements is

FALSE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is considered to be strong evidence in favor of the Big Bang theory The Steady State theory is founded on the Cosmological Principle Most astronomers believe that the Universe satisfies the Cosmological Principle but not the Perfect Cosmological Principle The Steady State theory postulates that, as the Universe expands, matter in the form of galaxies is created out of the energy in the C-field ( “ Creation ” field)

23

i>clicker quiz #26 Which of the following statements is

FALSE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

Most of the mass in the Milky Way galaxy is thought to be in the form of non-luminous “ dark matter ” whose exact nature is unknown Albert Einstein introduced the Cosmological constant Λ to obtain a static solution to the field equations of General Relativity because he believed at that time that the Universe was not expanding Hubble ’ s law: v = H 0 d indicates that the Universe is expanding uniformly Edwin Hubble discovered that the expansion rate of the Universe is speeding up because of a repulsive anti gravity force associated with “ dark energy ”

24

i>clicker quiz #27

Which of the following statements is

FALSE

?

A.

Black holes emit Hawking radiation which can be characterized as thermal radiation and it is related to pair-production/annihilation from vacuum energy near the Schwarzschild radius or event horizon B.

C.

D.

The event horizon or Schwarzschild radius of a black hole, the region over which it is capable of trapping light (radiation), is proportional to the black hole ’ s mass “ A black hole has no hair ” is a statement that describes the loss of identity of matter when it is swallowed by a black hole The gravitational field of a black hole extends only out to its event horizon or Schwarzschild radius

25

i>clicker quiz #28 Which of the following statements is

TRUE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

Most of the mass in the Milky Way galaxy is thought to be in the form of ordinary luminous stars Albert Einstein introduced the Cosmological constant Λ to obtain a static solution to the field equations of General Relativity because he believed at that time that the Universe was not expanding Hubble ’ s law: v = H 0 d indicates that the Universe ’ s expansion is accelerating Edwin Hubble discovered that the expansion rate of the Universe is slowing down because of gravitational forces between galaxies

26

i>clicker quiz #29 Which of the following statements about the EPOCH OF CONFINEMENT is

TRUE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

At this instant, quarks became bound in sets of three to produce protons and neutrons, while matter and radiation continued to interact strongly The Universe was matter dominated at this epoch Protons and electrons formed stable hydrogen atoms for the first time at this epoch, and the matter in the Universe became mostly transparent to radiation This epoch was immediately followed by Inflation

27

i>clicker quiz #30

Which of the following statements is

TRUE

?

A.

Inflation ended right at Planck time when the Universe was 10 -50 seconds old B.

A.

B.

Gravity was the last of the four fundamental forces of Nature to “ freeze ” out (i.e. develop a unique identity) Radiation dominated over matter at very early times in the Universe ’ s history, but matter has dominated over radiation ever since the Universe ’ s 300,000 th birthday Most of the elements in the periodic table that we learn about in school/college today were synthesized in the early Universe and this is known as Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

28

i>clicker quiz #31

Which of the following statements about INFLATION is

FALSE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

The Universe expands faster than the speed of light during Inflation The rapid expansion during Inflation naturally explains why spacetime appears to be “ flat ” in terms of its geometric properties Inflation solves the CMBR horizon problem Inflation violates the principles of Einstein ’ s General Theory of Relativity E.

The theory of Inflation predicted that there should be fluctuations at the level of 1 part in 10 5 in the CMBR

29

i>clicker quiz #32

Which of the following statements is FALSE ?

A. The Michelson-Morley experiment established that light is bent in a strong gravitational field B. Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining the photo-electric effect and the

“

particle

”

(photon) nature of light C. Kepler

’

s laws can be used to describe the motion of planets around the Sun D. Hubble is credited with the discovery of the expansion of the Universe E. Guth and Linde formulated the theory of Inflation 30

i>clicker quiz #33 Which of the following statements about the EPOCH OF CONFINEMENT is

TRUE

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

At this instant, quarks became bound in sets of three to produce protons and neutrons, while matter and radiation continued to interact strongly The Universe was matter dominated at this epoch Protons and electrons formed stable hydrogen atoms for the first time at this epoch, and the matter in the Universe became mostly transparent to radiation This epoch was immediately followed by Inflation

31

i>clicker quiz #34

The Moon

’

s spin period about its own axis is the same as its orbital period around the Earth. Which of the following statements can be TRUE based astronomer?

about a Moon A. She sees the Earth rise and set once every spin period B. She sees the Sun rise and set once every spin period C. She does not experience day and night D. She always sees the Sun 32

i>clicker quiz #35

How much bigger / smaller is a 15 M sun sequence compared to an 0.5 M sun star main main sequence star?

A. 50 times smaller B. 10 times smaller C. 10 times larger D. Same size 33

i>clicker quiz #36

How much longer / shorter is the lifetime of a 5 M sun star main sequence compared to the lifetime of a 1 M sun main sequence star?

A. 5 times longer B. 2 times shorter C. 50 times shorter D. 50 times longer E. They both have the same lifetime 34

i>clicker quiz #37

The uniform expansion of the Universe can be characterized by which of the following?

A. Absolutely everything in the Universe is expanding B. The Universe expanded faster than the speed of light in its very early phase C. The expansion is now slowing down because of the mutual gravitational attraction of galaxies in the Universe D. The effects of dark matter are dominant over the effects of dark energy today E. There is more anti-matter than matter in the Universe and this is known as baryon asymmetry 35

i>clicker quiz #38

In a Hubble tuning fork diagram that describes galaxy morphology, which of the following is TRUE ?

A. An SBc galaxy has more tightly wound spiral arms than an Sbc galaxy B. An Sbc galaxy has a

“

bar

”

shaped (i.e., linear) configuration of stars near its center C. An SBc galaxy has a smaller bulge-to-disk ratio than an Sbc galaxy D. An E7 galaxy is an elliptical galaxy with a perfectly circular shape E. An Sa galaxy has younger stars on average than an Sd galaxy 36

i>clicker quiz #39

Which of the following statements about our observable Universe is FALSE ?

A. It is shaped like a sphere B. We are at its center C. It has a radius of about 14 billion light years D. It is infinite in size E. It is uniform on large scales

i>clicker quiz #40

Which of the following is a founding principle of the General Theory of Relativity ?

A. All objects, irrespective of their mass, move in identical fashion within a given gravitational field B. The speed of light is the same to all observers C. Mass and energy are equivalent to each other and one can be converted to the other D. A moving ruler is measured to be shorter than its twin ruler at rest E. A moving clock is observed to run slower than its twin clock at rest

i>clicker quiz #41

Which of the following statements about protostars is FALSE ?

A. Their path on an H-R diagram is called a Hayashi track B. The luminosity of a 15 M sun protostar is nearly constant along its Hayashi track C. The points on the H-R diagram where proto-stars of different masses start nuclear fusion reactions in their core (and thereby become stars) is called the ZAMS D. The temperature of a 0.5 M sun protostar is nearly constant along its Hayashi track E. A protostar shines because of nuclear fusion reactions in their core