General Astronomy MCQs
General Astronomy MCQs
Our experts have gathered these General Astronomy MCQs through research, and we hope that you will be able to see how much knowledge base you have for the subject of General Astronomy by answering these 60+ multiple-choice questions.
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1: A head-tail radio galaxy is one that has ________ significantly while ejecting its radio lobes.
A. Spin faster
B. X-ray
C. Very hot
D. Spiral
E. Moved
2: A star with a parallax angle of 1/20 arcsecond is ________.
A. 20 parsecs away
B. 10 parsecs away
C. 1/20 parsecs away
D. 20 light-years away
3: A star with a spectral class of b2 and an absolute magnitude of 0, would be a _____________ star.
A. Main sequence
B. Lower right
C. Cooler and brighter
4: An observer on earth's equator would find _______
A. Polaris directly overhead
B. Polaris 40° above the northern horizon
C. That the celestial equator
5: As a blackbody becomes hotter, it also becomes __________ and __________.
A. Microwave; hotter
B. Bluer; microwave
C. More luminous; bluer
D. Cooler; bluer
6: Energy balance in the sun refers to a balance between _________.
A. The difference in mass between the four hydrogen nuclei and the single resulting helium nucleus.
B. The number of sunspots on the Sun tends to increase and decrease with an approximately 11-year cycle.
C. When a star contracts in size, gravitational potential energy is converted to thermal energy.
D. The rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun's core and the rate at which the Sun's surface radiates energy into space
7: In essence, the kepler mission is searching for extrasolar planets by____________.
A. Monitoring stars for slight dimming that might occur as unseen planets pass in front of them
B. They all search for planets by measuring properties of a star rather than of the planets themselves.
C. The size of the Doppler shift that we detect depends on the tilt of a planet's orbit.
D. In a decade or two, through space observatories now in the early planning stages.
8: Isaac newton synthesized _______.
A. Makes the units of measurement consistent
B. Terrestrial and cosmic laws
C. Before the plane is directly over the target
D. Increases to four times as much.
9: Recent counts show that jupiter has __________________ moons, not including the temporary ones.
A. 50
B. 60
C. 70
D. 90
10: Red light has a _____ wavelength and a _____ frequency than does blue light.
A. Shorter, higher
B. Longer, lower
C. Shorter, longer
D. Longer, higher
11: According to al, __________.
A. The green light illuminates him before the red light because the green light flashes first
B. The green light illuminates him at the same time as the red light because both flashes occur at the same time and at an equal distance from him.
C. The green light illuminates him before the red light because he is traveling toward the green light
D. The green light illuminates him at the same time as the red light because the green light flashes after the red light
12: To calculate the masses of stars in a binary system, we must measure their ________.
A. Mass and stage of life
B. Orbital period and average orbital distance
C. Both of these
D. None of these
13: To estimate the central temperature of the sun, scientists _________.
A. Use computer models to predict interior conditions
B. The convection zone is cooler than the radiation zone.
C. Apparent brightness and distance
D. 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 2% other elements
14: Kepler was the first to be credited for discovering that planets follow __________.
A. Elliptical paths
B. Orbital electrons
C. The vertical component
D. It is equal and opposite
15: The center-of-gravity method is often used to locate__________.
A. Service facilities
B. Demand markets
C. Site locations
D. Availability of raw materials
16: The term organic molecules generally refers to ________.
A. Molecules made from atoms of two or more different elements, such as water
B. Molecules containing carbon
C. Molecules grown without pesticides on certified farms
D. All molecules involved in life in any way, including iron compounds and water
17: The james webb space telescope is designed primarily to observe __________.
A. Light of all wavelengths
B. Gamma rays
C. X-rays
D. Infrared light
E. Visible light
18: As earth travels in its ____, different constellations are visible at different times of the year.
A. Atmosphere
B. Orbit
C. Galaxy
D. Star cluster
19: Hubble's galaxy classification diagram (the ""tuning fork"") ________.
A. Explains active galactic nuclei
B. Shows how galaxies evolve from one form to another
C. Suggests the existence of black holes
D. Relates galaxies according to their shapes, but not according to any evolutionary status
20: The overall result of the proton-proton chain is that __________.
A. 4 H --> 1 He + energy.
B. Explains active galactic nuclei
C. Shows how galaxies evolve from one form to another
D. Suggests the existence of black holes
21: Much of the solar wind comes from ____ where the magnetic field does not loop back into the sun.
A. Prominences
B. Coronal holes
C. Spicules
D. Granulation
E. Auroras
22: The spectra of most galaxies show redshifts. this means that their spectral lines _________.
A. Always are in the red part of the visible spectrum.
B. Have wavelengths that are longer than normal.
C. Have a higher intensity in the red part of the spectrum.
D. Have wavelengths that are shorter than normal
23: The surface of earth has _____ dimensions:
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
24: The total number of stars in the observable universe is about _________.
A. The number of grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth.
B. The number of grains of sand on Miami Beach.
C. Infinity
D. None of these
25: Two stars orbit each other in a(n) ____ star system.
A. Binary
B. Single
C. Closed
D. Individual
26: Dark matter may explain _____
A. Unexpected orbital velocities of stars in galaxies
B. The source of energy that fuels stars
C. The expansion of the universe
D. The origin of life
E. What came before the big bang
27: A satellite in elliptical orbit about earth travels fastest when it moves _______.
A. Between the near and far points from Earth
B. Anywhere in its orbit (speed is the same everywhere)
C. Far from Earth
D. Close to Earth
28: As wavelength increases, the energy of a photon __________ and its frequency __________.
A. Increases; decreases
B. Decreases; decreases
C. Decreases; increases
D. Increases; increases
29: Based on your answer to part e, the time from one new moon to the next must be _________.
A. Shorter than the Moon's actual orbital period by about 1/12 of the 27-day orbital period
B. Longer than the Moon's actual orbital period by about 1/12 of the 27-day orbital period
C. Both A & B
30: Compared to the distance between earth and mars, the distance between jupiter and saturn is ______.
A. Much larger
B. Much smaller
C. Just slightly less
D. About the same
31: From kepler's ____ law, we conclude that the planets do not move with constant speed.
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
32: If we could see our own galaxy from 2 million light-years away, it would appear _________.
A. As a flattened disk with a central bulge and spiral arms, spanning a few degrees across the sky
B. Ellipse
C. Deferent
D. Epicycle
33: Gamma rays have a very small ______.
A. Wavelength
B. Ellipse
C. Deferent
D. Epicycle
34: In copernicus' model of the solar system, the planets orbited the _____ in ______ orbits.
A. Sun, circular
B. Ellipse
C. Deferent
D. Epicycle
35: In materials like glass or water the speed of light is _________.
A. Reduced
B. Increased
C. Equal
36: In the formation of our galaxy, the ________ formed first.
A. Galactic disk
B. Galactic center
C. Globular clusters
D. Planetary nebulae
E. Spiral arms
37: In the standard anatomical position, the _____ is the bone of the pelvis found the most superior.
A. Ilium
B. Pubis
C. Ischium
D. Both ilium and ishium.
E. All of these choices are correct
38: Main sequence stars, such as the sun, shine by _________ in their interiors.
A. Converting hydrogen into helium
B. Converting helium into hydrogen
C. Converting oxygen into carbondioxide
39: Newton showed that kepler's laws are _________.
A. Natural consequences of the law of universal gravitation
B. The tremendous heat in the center of the Sun.
C. The fact that a single neutron has slightly more mass than a single proton.
D. The difference in mass between the four hydrogen nuclei and the single resulting helium nucleus
40: Pulsars are thought to be _________.
A. Rapidly rotating neutron stars
B. The tremendous heat in the center of the Sun.
C. The fact that a single neutron has slightly more mass than a single proton.
D. The difference in mass between the four hydrogen nuclei and the single resulting helium nucleus
41: Radio telescopes measure the galaxy's distribution of _____.
A. Hydrogen from which stars are formed
B. X-rays given off by black holes
C. Photons from the sun
D. Dust ejected from asteroid impacts on other planets
42: The belt of constellations through which all the planets move is called the ________.
A. Zodiac
B. Milky way
C. Ellipses
D. Gravity
43: The energy that is released in the hydrogen fusion reaction comes from __________.
A. E = mc2
B. The tremendous heat in the center of the Sun.
C. The fact that a single neutron has slightly more mass than a single proton.
D. The difference in mass between the four hydrogen nuclei and the single resulting helium nucleus
44: The virgin galactic will soon _____.
A. Offer rides into space
B. Be launched beyond the solar system
C. House people on Mars
D. Send back data from the edge of the Milky Way
45: We measure the temperature of the stars using the ________ temperature scale.
A. False
B. Kelvin
C. Luminosity
D. 10 pc
46: The point in a planet's orbit where it is closest to the sun is the _____.
A. Omnihelion
B. Perihelion
C. Aphelion
D. Solstice
47: Sensory information from skeletal muscles travels over ________ fibers.
A. Type A
B. Type B
C. Type C
D. Type D
E. Type E
48: The crust of mars is believed to ____ than earth's.
A. Be much thinner than
B. Be younger than
C. Contain more water than
D. Be more geologically active than
E. None of the above
49: The density of a ____ is greater than the density of a ____.
A. Pulsar, white dwarf
B. Pulsar, neutron star
C. White dwarf, neutron star
D. Neutron star, black hole
50: The hertzsprung-russell diagram plots ________ against the spectral type or temperature.
A. Luminosity or absolute magnitude
B. Doppler shifts and durations of stages of their eclipses
C. Like parallax, proper motion is measured over intervals of exactly six months.
D. Less massive and approaching us at this moment
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