Part I: Multiple Choice Questions. There are 32 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each. Choose the best answer and record it on the scan sheet. 1. An optical spectrum of the Sun it would be a(n) _______ spectrum. A. absorption B. emission C. continuous D. filtergram 2. The minimum mass an object must have to be considered a star is 8% of the mass of the sun. This condition is imposed by A. the temperature required to ignite fusion in the core. B. the ability to fuse deuterium during the protostar phase. C. the dominance of the CNO cycle over the proton-proton chain. D. all of the other answers. 3. The "runaway greenhouse effect" occurred on which planet? A. Mercury B. Venus C. Mars D. Earth 4. The phase of the moon today is A. waxing crescent. B. waning crescent. C. waning gibbous. D. waxing gibbous. 5. Stars more massive than 1.5 solar masses burn most of their hydrogen via A. the CNO cycle. B. chemical reactions with oxygen. C. massive main sequnce stars burn helium, not hydrogen. D. the proton-proton chain. 6. Why do the spectral lines of an element act as a "cosmic fingerprint"? A. each element has the same pattern of lines B. only h and he emit spectral lines C. each element emits only one line D. each element has a unique pattern of lines 7. In order to determine a star's luminosity, one must measure its A. surface area. B. apparent brightness (flux) and distance. C. spectral type. D. parallax angle and temperature. 8. Which of the following main-sequence stars would be the smallest and most red in color? A. B5 B. M1 C. A0 D. G2 9. The mass of a main-sequence star determines all of the following properties EXCEPT A. radius. B. apparent brightness. C. lifetime. D. luminosity. 10. The Kuiper belt refers to a group of objects orbiting A. just within Earth's orbit. B. nearly halfway to the next star. C. between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. D. beyond Neptune's orbit. 11. For main sequence stars, the general rule is: the higher the surface temperature, the A. more luminous the star is. B. lower the mass of the star is. C. more common are binary stars. D. more numerous are the stars. 12. Which statement below concerning the Jovian planets is INCORRECT? A. The Jovian planets all have nearly circular orbits. B. The Jovian planets have more satellites than the terrestrial planets. C. The Jovian planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. D. All the Jovian planets have rings encircling them. E. The Jovian planets have shorter orbital periods than terrestrial planets. 13. In order to begin nuclear fusion, a high temperature is required in the center of a star to overcome the A. nuclear force between protons. B. nuclear force between neutrons. C. electrical repulsion between protons. D. gravitational force between particles. 14. Which of these is the correct mathematical statement of the law of gravity? A. F = GMm/r^2 B. v = square root(2GM/r^2) C. g = GM/r^2 D. M + m = a^3/P^2 15. Light can be described A. only as a wave B. only as a photon C. only as a particle D. only as what our eyes can see E. both as a wave and as a particle 16. By far, the largest object in the solar system is A. the earth. B. jupiter. C. the sun. D. the pacific ocean. 17. The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram plots a star's luminosity versus its A. mass. B. temperature. C. apparent magnitude. D. age. 18. Meteor showers (like the Perseids in August) occur annually A. when Earth passes through the tail of a bright and visible comet. B. when Earth crosses the asteroid belt. C. when Earth crosses the orbit of a comet. D. as Earth passes Jupiter which deflects comets into the inner solar system. 19. The various wavelengths of radiant energy travel in vacuum at a speed which A. is the smaller, the shorter the wavelength B. equals approximately 300,000 kilometers per second C. is the greater, the shorter the wavelength D. varies inversely as the square of the distance 20. The small bodies that combined together to form planets are called A. kuiper belt objects. B. terrestrial planets. C. planetesimals. D. interstellar grains. 21. The proton proton chain A. produces chains of protons which are then broken apart to produce the Sun's energy. B. is the runaway reaction that produces the fission of iron during a supernova explosion. C. is a three step process that converts hydrogen into helium and releases energy. D. adds protons together until a massive carbon nucleus is produced at the core of the Sun. 22. The main sequence is primarily a sequence in stellar A. size. B. age. C. composition. D. mass. 23. Wien's law relates A. the color of radiation to the temperature of the body emitting it. B. the shape of an orbit to its distance from the Sun. C. an object's speed to its mass. D. the wavelength of light to its velocity. 24. The majority of moons around jovian planets were probably formed A. long after the jovian planets formed. B. from a miniature solar nebula. C. by capture from the asteroid belt. D. by capture from the Kuiper belt. 25. What is a star's source of energy during its main-sequence phase? A. Hydrogen burning B. Helium burning C. Gravitational contraction D. Convection 26. Most stars are composed of A. mostly iron in their core. B. about 3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium. C. about 1/4 hydrogen and 3/4 helium. D. equal parts hydrogen and helium. 27. Which of the following is NOT one of Kirchhoff's Laws: A. a hot, diffuse gas emits an emission line spectrum. B. a hot, dense object emits a continuum spectrum. C. a cool, diffuse gas forms an absorption line spectrum in light which shines through it. D. the light emitted by an object shifts to shorter wavelengths as the object's temperature increases. 28. According to the nebular hypothesis of solar system formation, the Earth is A. about the same age as our Sun. B. younger than our Sun. C. not statistically likely to exist, nor is any other planet. D. older than our Sun. 29. Why are the terrestrial planets so much smaller than the Jovian ones? A. Near the Sun, only hard to melt substances which are rare compared to hydrogen could condense. Thus, there was less material to build them. B. The Sun has pulled material off of them. C. They spin so fast they flung off most of their original matter which has ended up in the comet cloud. D. They are formed from highly compressible material such as hydrogen and helium so they could be squeezed to a very small size. 30. The composition of solid objects in the outer solar system differs from those inside the frost line in that A. they are composed of gas, ice, and rock. B. they are composed of ices as well as rocks and metals. C. there is no difference. D. they are composed of ices instead of rock. 31. The bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, in order of increasing photon energy (decreasing wavelength), are A. radio, microwave, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, X-ray, gamma-ray B. gamma-ray, X-ray, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, radio, microwave C. gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, microwave, radio D. radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma-ray 32. In order from the hottest to the coolest stars, the order of the stellar spectral sequence is A. ABFGKMO B. MKGFABO C. OBAFGKM D. OBFGAMK 1. A. 2. A. 3. B. 4. C. 5. A. 6. D. 7. B. 8. B. 9. B. 10. D. 11. A. 12. E. 13. C. 14. A. 15. E. 16. C. 17. B. 18. C. 19. B. 20. C. 21. C. 22. D. 23. A. 24. B. 25. A. 26. B. 27. D. 28. A. 29. A. 30. B. 31. D. 32. C.