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

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
Stellar parallax
Cepheid variables

Question 2

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

5 parsecs.
4 parsecs.
6 parsecs.

Question 3

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

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

Question 4

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

1.
2.
4.

Question 5

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

Question 6

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 7

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 8

What happens to the mass in electron-positron annihilation?

Its rest energy is converted into kinetic energy of the produced photons.
The mass is conserved, and converted into the mass of the photons.
Its rest energy is converted into gravitational potential energy of the produced photons.

Question 9

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 10

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

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

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

Which of the following is a main-sequence star?

G2 IV
K6 V
B5 II

Question 13

A proton is made of...

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

Question 14

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 15

Which of the following is the longest?

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

Question 16

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

Green.
Red.
Blue.

Question 17

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

8
6
7

Question 18

Which of the following is a blue giant?

O4 III
M2 III
M5 V

Question 19

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

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

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

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

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

Question 22

Which of the following stars is the coolest?

K3
K5
K9

Question 23

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 B is more luminous.
Star A is more luminous.

Question 24

A star is located on the bottom right of the H-R diagram. This star has...

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

Question 25

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

-1.
+1.
0.