Page 1 of 23 Queen s University Faculty of Arts and Science Department of Physics Physics 014 Mid Year Examination December 17 1998 PHYS 014 The Astronomer s Universe Thursday 17 December 1998 0900 1200 HRS Examiner Brad Waugh Time 3hrs All answers to be written on the answer sheet attached to the back of the exam You may tear the answer sheet off Please remember to write your name on it The exam consists of 150 multiple choice questions worth one mark each D Page 2 of 23 Page 3 of 23 Q1 In its daily journey across the sky a star travels west to east parallel to the ecliptic 1 2 travels east to west parallel to the equator travels east to west parallel to the ecliptic 3 4 travels west to east parallel to the equator Q2 In its daily journey across the sky a planet 1 2 3 4 travels west to east parallel to the ecliptic travels east to west parallel to the equator travels east to west parallel to the ecliptic travels west to east parallel to the equator Q3 When I do a pushup the Earth moves a tiny amount and I move a lot This is a direct manifestation of 1 Newton s third law 2 the conservation of energy 3 the conservation of angular momentum 4 the inverse square law of gravity Q4 If you lived at the south pole you would see 1 the stars rising in the west and setting in the east 2 the stars moving in circles parallel to the horizon and never setting 3 the Sun would always appear to be right on the horizon and would stay in a fixed location due north of you 4 the Sun would always appear to be right on the horizon but would move around the horizon as the day progressed Q5 The Earth s equatorial bulge is due to 1 the tidal influence of the Moon 2 the relatively low density of the oceans which are found nearer the equator than the poles 3 its rotation 4 the downward pressure of the extra weight of ice in the polar caps Q6 The day after the heliacal setting of Sirius 1 Sirius would be visible for most of the night 2 Sirius would not be visible 3 Sirius would be visible for more than one hour 4 Sirius would be visible for less than one hour Q7 Which of the following statements is not a true representation of astronomical knowledge in hunter gatherer societies 1 They used the lunar calendar to predict season changes 2 They were intimately familiar with the cycles of the sky 3 They used the cycles of the sky as both clock and calendar 4 They were able to use their knowledge of the sky to navigate Q8 It is midnight in September You are facing directly north and you see the constellation Ursa Major just above the horizon In March you go out again at midnight You find that 1 Ursa Major is in the same place 2 Ursa Major is not visible Page 4 of 23 3 Ursa Major is in the same place but upside down 4 Ursa Major is pretty much overhead Q9 The constellations are 1 mere chance patterns of stars in which we identify certain images 2 true clusters of stars physically associated and moving under the influence of one another s gravity 3 solar systems with one true star surrounded by orbiting objects which reflect its light 4 described in mythological terms in ancient records but not even given a mention in modern astronomy Q10 The Ptolemaic description of the solar system predicted a certain consequence which could be tested in principle If Ptolemy was right 1 then the Earth must be round as was later shown when Columbus sailed across the Atlantic 2 then we should see stellar parallax 3 then the planet Venus should show phases which never differ very much from a thin crescent 4 then the rotation axis of the Earth should slowly precess about in space Q11 Astronomy prior to Thales ca 600 B C is called 1 hunter gatherer astronomy 2 agricultural astronomy 3 Mesopotamian astronomy 4 empirical period astronomy Consider this diagram for the next three questions Q12 The object with the greatest parallax if observed from points A and B is 1 2 3 4 the hill the house the tree the flower Q13 The baseline for such observations 1 has no effect on the parallax 2 is the distance from A to B is the distance from A to the object 3 4 is the distance from B to the object Q14 The angular size as measured from A will 1 be greatest for the hill 2 be greatest for the flower 3 be smaller than the angular sizes as measured from B 4 be greater than the angular sizes as measured from B Page 5 of 23 Q15 The innermost planets take less time to go around the Sun than the outermost planets do This is because 1 their orbits are shorter in length so the fact that they travel somewhat more slowly than the outer planets is compensated for 2 although they travel at the same speed as the outer planets their orbits are shorter in length 3 they move more rapidly and their orbits are shorter in length 4 since they are small and dense they can plow more quickly in bullet like fashion through the interplanetary gas in the solar system the bigger planets feel more resistance Consider the following diagram for the next three questions the Ptolemaic model of the solar system Q16 This diagram represents 1 2 an heliogeocentric model of the solar system 3 an heliocentric model of the solar system 4 all of the above Q17 The geometric shapes in this diagram are 1 all circles 2 all ellipses 3 some circles and some ellipses 4 one of the five geometric solids Q18 In this model Mercury as seen from the Earth would 1 display a full set of phases 2 show no phases at all 3 always be fully illuminated 4 never have more than a thin crescent illuminated a knowledge of their densities which we assume to be all roughly the same Q19 We determine the mass of the other planets by 1 2 bouncing radar beams off their surfaces 3 observing how they gravitationally affect other objects their own Moons or passing spacecraft Page 6 of 23 4 knowing their compositions from the spectra we obtain Q20 Which of the following plays no part in the scientific method 1 observation and experimentation 2 deductive reasoning leading to a prediction 3 selective reasoning leading to a theory 4 inductive reasoning leading to a hypothesis Q21 The size or scale of the solar system is best known from 1 radar determinations of the distances to some of the planets 2 a simple application of Kepler s laws if we know the orbital periods we know the distances 3 the apparent size of the planets coupled with their known true sizes 4 the fact that the Sun has to be just …