Practice Test

Please solve the following questions. This is not a real exam, it will not be graded, and you do not need to submit your solutions to anyone. The questions are simply intended to help you practice for the real exam.

These questions will not appear in the exam itself. Students who don't genuinely attempt to solve the questions on their own, and only memorize the solutions, will have a very hard time in the actual exam!

This sample exam is online, but the real exam will be given in person, at a time and place indicated on the course website.

THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL EXAM!
THIS IS JUST A PRACTICE EXAM!
THE REAL EXAM IS IN PERSON!

If you need any clarifications for these questions, you can ask for them on the course Teams channel.

Question 1

Which of the following stars is the least bright in the sky?

A star with apparent magnitude +3.1.
A star with apparent magnitude +7.0.
A star with apparent magnitude -4.4.

Question 2

I found a hydrogen-9 isotope. How many neutrons does it have?

6
7
8

Question 3

A proton is made of...

2 up quarks and 1 down quark.
1 up quark and 2 down quarks.
1 up quark and 1 down quark.

Question 4

I see a very bright star. This could mean:

Either the distance to the star is small or the luminosity of the star is large.
Either the distance to the star is large or the luminosity of the star is small.
Either the distance to the star is large or the luminosity of the star is large.

Question 5

In the proton-proton chain, how many total helium nuclei do we end up with?

2.
1.
4.

Question 6

Compared to RR Lyrae variables, Cepheid variables typically have...

Lower luminosity and shorter period.
Higher luminosity and shorter period.
Higher luminosity and longer period.

Question 7

Object A has mass 1 kg. Object B has mass 3 kg. According to E=mc², how much rest energy does object B have compared to A?

3 times more energy.
3 times less energy.
9 times more energy.

Question 8

Photon A has wavelength 1 cm. Photon B has wavelength 2 cm. Which photon has a higher frequency?

Photon B.
Both have the same frequency.
Photon A.

Question 9

Which of the following is the shortest?

1 trillion kilometers.
1 parsec.
1 light-year.

Question 10

Which of the following is a red dwarf?

O4 III
M5 V
G2 V

Question 11

What happens in electron-positron annihilation?

An electron and a positron annihilate each other and no photons are produced.
An electron and a positron annihilate each other and produce 1 photon.
An electron and a positron annihilate each other and produce 2 photons.

Question 12

If the spectral lines of a star shift toward blue, this means...

The star is moving toward us.
The star is not moving with respect to us.
The star is moving away from us.

Question 13

Which of the following is a main-sequence star?

K6 V
B5 II
G2 IV

Question 14

If a particle has charge +1, what would be the charge of its antiparticle?

+1.
-1.
0.

Question 15

In an atom, the protons are located...

Inside the nucleus.
Either inside or outside the nucleus, depending on the type of atom.
Outside the nucleus.

Question 16

Which is the dominant process used in a star with 2.7 solar masses to generate light?

The CNO cycle.
Deuterium fusion.
The proton-proton chain.

Question 17

A photon has a wavelength of 530 nm. What color is it?

Red.
Green.
Blue.

Question 18

What kind of mass is defined as resistance of an object to acceleration?

Neither of the other options is correct.
Gravitational mass.
Inertial mass.

Question 19

Star A has brighter absolute magnitude than star B. What does that say about the luminosity of the two stars?

Star B is more luminous.
There's no way to know unless we also know the distance to each star.
Star A is more luminous.

Question 20

I want to measure the distance to a star that is estimated to be a few million light-years away. Which method should I use?

RR Lyrae variables
Cepheid variables
Stellar parallax

Question 21

Which of the following stars is the hottest?

K3
K9
K5

Question 22

I observed an object, larger than Earth but smaller than the Sun, which does not generate light by either deuterium or hydrogen fusion. What is it?

A star.
A brown dwarf.
A planet.

Question 23

A star was measured to have a parallax of 0.2 arc seconds. How far away is the star?

6 parsecs.
5 parsecs.
4 parsecs.

Question 24

In the H-R diagram, red giants can be found...

On the main sequence.
At higher luminosity and higher temperature than the main sequence.
At higher luminosity and lower temperature than the main sequence.

Question 25

A star is located on the top left of the H-R diagram. This star has...

High luminosity and low temperature.
High luminosity and high temperature.
Low luminosity and low temperature.