ASTR 1P01/02: Introduction to Astronomy I/II

Practice Exam

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

A star was measured to have a parallax of 0.25 arc seconds. How far away is the star?

6 parsecs.
4 parsecs.
5 parsecs.

Question 2

In an atom, the protons are located...

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

Question 3

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 4

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

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

Question 5

In the proton-proton chain, how many total hydrogen nuclei do we start with? (Remember that steps 1 and 2 happen twice in a full chain!)

2.
4.
1.

Question 6

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

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

Question 7

Which of the following stars is the hottest?

K9
K3
K5

Question 8

What happens in electron-positron annihilation?

An electron and a positron annihilate each other and produce 2 photons.
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.

Question 9

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

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

Question 10

A photon has a wavelength of 700 nm. What color is it?

Blue.
Green.
Red.

Question 11

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

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

Question 12

Object A has mass 1 kg. Object B has mass 9 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 13

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

0.
+1.
-1.

Question 14

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 15

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

RR Lyrae variables
Cepheid variables
Stellar parallax

Question 16

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 brown dwarf.
A star.
A planet.

Question 17

A proton is made of...

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

Question 18

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

8
7
6

Question 19

Which of the following is a red dwarf?

M5 V
O4 III
G2 V

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

I see a very faint star. This could mean:

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

Question 22

Which of the following is a bright giant?

K6 V
B5 II
G2 IV

Question 23

Which of the following is the shortest?

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

Question 24

What kind of mass is defined as the strength of an object's gravitational field?

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

Question 25

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

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