Part I: Multiple Choice Questions (135 points total). There are 45 multiple choice questions worth 3 points each. Choose the best answer and record it on the scan sheet. 1. If the average density of the Universe were greater than the critical density, the Universe would A. continue to contract forever. B. eventually stop contracting and begin expansion. C. eventually stop expanding and begin contraction. D. continue to expand forever. 2. A Type I supernova occurs when A. a low mass star reaches the end of its life. B. a massive star has burnt the last of its nuclear fuel. C. two neutron stars collide. D. an accreting white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit. 3. Compared to its neighboring planets, Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the surface of the Earth is relatively young. This youthful appearance results from A. the Earth is furthest from the Sun. B. the fact that few major impacts ever occur on the Earth. C. tectonic activity still shaping the surface of the Earth. D. the Earth having the largest Moon of all of these planets. 4. The visible light spectrum of a typical star like our Sun shows A. bright emission lines B. shows all of the other answers depending on the season on Earth C. no spectral lines at all D. dark absorption lines 5. A lunar eclipse is caused by A. the Earth moving directly between the Sun and Moon. B. the Moon making its closest approach to the Earth. C. the planet Venus entering its crescent phase. D. the Moon moving directly between the Sun and Earth. 6. Planets around stars other than the sun have recently been discovered by A. The variation in the Doppler shift in the star's spectrum. B. The astrometric motion of the stars on the sky. C. Direct imaging. D. It is impossible to detect planets around other stars. 7. The pulses seen from a pulsar are caused by A. the star's radius expanding and contracting as it burns iron in its core. B. the star's rapid rotation sweeping beams of radiation across the viewer's line of sight. C. gobs of hot gas from an accretion disk falling rhythmically onto the star's surface. D. a dark companion periodically eclipsing the bright ``pulsar' itself. 8. Many things that we use today, such as automobiles, are made from iron. What was the original source of the iron mined from Earth? A. the core of an exploding supernova. B. blobs of liquid metal ejected from the Sun. C. mass lost from red giant stars. D. the original Big Bang creation event. 9. Active galaxies such as Seyfert galaxies are thought to be powered by A. the Big Bang. B. the formation of many low mass stars. C. numerous supernova explosions. D. enormous black holes at their center. 10. In which part of the Milky Way are Population I stars most likely to be found? A. bulge. B. nucleus. C. disk. D. halo. 11. The proton proton chain A. produces chains of protons which are then broken apart to produce the Sun's energy. B. is a three step process which converts some mass to energy as helium nuclei are formed. C. is the runaway reaction that produces the fission of iron during a supernova explosion. D. adds protons together until a massive carbon nucleus is produced at the core of the Sun. 12. The measurements of radial motions of astronomical objects using the Doppler effect have been instrumental in A. the discovery that our Universe is expanding. B. All of these answers. C. illustrating the need for dark matter in galaxies. D. discovering planets around other stars. 13. The cosmic background radiation comes from A. the Big Bang. B. radio galaxies. C. the solar nebula. D. quasars. 14. You find yourself driving south on Route 1 on the winter solstice. The sun is directly ahead of you. Consequently, A. this situation is not possible. B. you are out early, shortly after sunrise. C. the time is about noon. D. there will be a full moon that day. 15. Star formation in the Milky Way galaxy is A. no longer taking place. B. occurring uniformly in the galactic disk. C. occurring primarily in the spiral arms. D. occurring only in globular clusters. 16. The main sequence is primarily a sequence in stellar A. composition. B. size. C. age. D. mass. 17. Hubble's Law enables astronomers to estimate the distance to a galaxy if they can determine the galaxy's A. temperature. B. velocity of recession. C. mass. D. spectral type. 18. Most of the helium in the Universe is believed to have been produced in A. supernovae. B. red giants. C. the Big Bang. D. main sequence stars. 19. The ecliptic plane is A. the plane in which the comets orbit the Sun. B. the plane in which the Moon orbits the Earth. C. the plane in which the satellite Dactyl orbits the asteroid Ida. D. the plane in which the planets orbit the Sun. 20. Hubble classified galaxies by their appearance. Which of the following types of galaxies do NOT fall on Hubble's tuning fork diagram? A. Peculiar galaxies. B. Spiral galaxies. C. Barred spiral galaxies. D. Elliptical galaxies. 21. If our galaxy were a spherical system rather than a disk, how would the appearance of the night sky be different? A. The Milky Way band would not exist. B. There would be no faint stars in the sky. C. There would be no appreciable difference. D. Constellations would not exist. 22. Most of the stars in our galaxy (about 90%) are now on the main sequence line of the HR diagram. That is because A. there are no young stars in our galaxy. B. it is the longest lived phase of evolution for most stars. C. it is the only stable configuration for a star. D. there are no old stars in our galaxy. 23. In order from the hottest to the coolest stars, the order of the stellar spectral sequence is A. OBAFGKM B. ABFGKMO C. MKGFABO D. OBFGAMK 24. Direct observational evidence that the scale of the Universe is expanding is shown by the A. existence of quasars. B. cosmic background radiation. C. clustering of the distant galaxies. D. redshifts of the spectra of distant galaxies. 25. Evidence that the Universe contains much unobserved dark matter is the A. excessive amounts of gas found in spiral galaxies. B. excessive amount of dark dust in spiral galaxies. C. flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies. D. powerful radio emission from the centers of spirals. 26. The large scale distribution of galaxies in space is A. like the surfaces of soap bubbles. B. very uniform. C. like the pattern of ripples on a pond. D. not a topic we are able to study. 27. Which of the following is NOT one of Kepler's Three Laws? A. objects of different masses fall at the same rate. B. planets sweep out equal areas in equal times. C. the shapes of planetary orbits are ellipses. D. the square of the period of a planet's orbit equals the cube of its semi-major axis. 28. In the "Great Debate" between Curtis and Shapley, evidence that the sun is not near the center of the Milky Way was provided by the observation that A. most globular clusters are on one side of the sky. B. dust reddens star light. C. cepheids had been seen in other galaxies. D. spiral nebulae could be seen to rotate. 29. If an alien astronomer in a distant galaxy looks at the galaxies it can see, it will observe that A. other galaxies are moving toward it. B. other galaxies are moving away from it. C. other galaxies are stationary. D. half of the galaxies are moving away and half of them are moving toward it. 30. The age of a star cluster can be deduced from A. the number of stars it contains. B. its location in the Milky Way galaxy. C. the turn-off point of stars on its main sequence. D. its radial velocity. 31. Galileo found that the Ptolemaic system can not explain A. lunar phases. B. his observation of the phases of the planet Venus. C. his observations of parallax. D. the retrograde motions of the planets. 32. The phases of the Moon are caused by A. the rotation of the Earth. B. the highly elliptical orbit of the Moon. C. the Earth's shadow cast on the Moon as the Earth moves in between the Sun and the Moon. D. our differing viewing angle of the illuminated half of the Moon. 33. Why is the cosmic background radiation so cool? A. interstellar dust grains absorbs and cools it. B. it is emitted by cool stars. C. the expansion of the Universe has lengthened its wavelength. D. we are moving through it so fast it just looks cool. 34. What is the Solar Nebula? A. A cloud of gas around the outer edges of the Solar System. B. Gas ejected from the Sun which fills the inner Solar System. C. The disk of gas from which the Sun and planets formed. D. Another name for the Sun's outer atmosphere. 35. The Sun derives its energy from A. the fusion of hydrogen into helium. B. the conversion of energy into mass. C. a steady gravitational contraction of its core. D. chemical reactions that convert hydrogen and oxygen into carbon, accompanied by the release of neutrinos. 36. For main sequence stars, the general rule is: the higher the surface temperature, the A. more common are binary stars. B. more numerous are the stars. C. greater the masses of the stars. D. less luminous are the stars. 37. Modern cosmology supposes that the Universe came from a "big bang" event about 13 billion years ago. Evidence for this is A. the uniformity of the abundance of hydrogen and helium. B. the Hubble expansion. C. the cosmic background radiation. D. all of these answers. 38. Strong evidence for the presence of a 2.6 million solar mass black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is provided by A. Bursts of gamma rays from the direction of the galaxy's center. B. Seyfert type emission lines. C. The orbits of individual stars very close to the center of the galaxy. D. Strong jets of relativistic particles observed by radio telescopes. 39. In about 5 billion years, the sun will become A. a supernova. B. a neutron star. C. a red giant. D. a black hole. 40. Which planet can never be seen on the meridian at midnight? A. Mars B. Venus C. Jupiter D. Saturn 41. The distribution of galaxies in space is A. completely random. B. burrito shaped. C. such that galaxies tend to clump together. D. such that galaxies avoid one another. 42. Interstellar dust between Earth and a star causes the star's light to appear A. brighter and redder. B. dimmer and bluer. C. dimmer and redder. D. brighter and bluer. 43. The feature of the Earth being layered into a core, mantle, and crust is called A. erosion. B. volcanism. C. plate tectonics. D. differentiation. 44. Which statement below concerning the Jovian planets is INCORRECT? A. All the Jovian planets have rings encircling them. B. The Jovian planets have more satellites than the terrestrial planets. C. The Jovian planets all have nearly circular orbits. D. The Jovian planets have shorter orbital periods than terrestrial planets. E. The Jovian planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. 45. What is the Chandrasekhar limit? A. The maximum possible mass of a white dwarf. B. The distance from the center of a galaxy at which Population I stars turn to Population II stars. C. The smallest mass a star can have and still burn hydrogen. D. The size of a black hole. 1. C. 2. D. 3. C. 4. D. 5. A. 6. A. 7. B. 8. A. 9. D. 10. C. 11. B. 12. B. 13. A. 14. C. 15. C. 16. D. 17. B. 18. C. 19. D. 20. A. 21. A. 22. B. 23. A. 24. D. 25. C. 26. A. 27. A. 28. A. 29. B. 30. C. 31. B. 32. D. 33. C. 34. C. 35. A. 36. C. 37. D. 38. C. 39. C. 40. B. 41. C. 42. C. 43. D. 44. D. 45. A.