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Physic
Q:
If you travel at high speed, then compared with your friends who "stay at home," you are
A) older.
B) younger.
C) neither younger or older.
D) taller.
Q:
When we speak of time dilation, we mean that time
A) compresses with speed.
B) stretches with speed.
C) is constant at all speeds.
Q:
Einstein theories tell us that the speed of light
A) depends on one's frame of reference.
B) is constant in all frames of reference.
C) provides accurate clocks.
D) slows in a transparent medium.
Q:
In his special theory of relativity, Einstein stated that the laws of physics are
A) different in different situations.
B) common sense applied to microscopic and macroscopic things.
C) the same in all frames of reference.
D) the same in all uniformly moving frames of reference.
Q:
What Einstein discovered about space and time is that they
A) are separate entities.
B) are parts of one whole.
C) follow an inverse-square law.
D) are special to space travelers.
Q:
If the elliptical orbit of Mercury were more eccentric, its precession rate would be
A) larger than it is now.
B) smaller than it is now.
C) the same as it is now.
D) nonexistent.
Q:
If the orbit of Mercury were perfectly circular, its rate of precession would be
A) larger than it is now.
B) smaller than it is now.
C) the same as it is now.
D) zero.
Q:
According to relativity theory, it is possible to reverse time and grow younger when you
A) are near a black hole.
B) are near a very large gravitational field.
C) travel at nearly the speed of light.
D) you can never grow younger.
E) none of these
Q:
The elliptical orbit of Mercury measurably precesses because
A) Mercury moves in the gravitational field of the other planets.
B) Mercury travels faster than any other planet.
C) Mercury is closest to the Sun.
D) the Sun's gravitational field varies along Mercury's orbit.
E) none of these
Q:
The quantity that undergoes a red shift is
A) wave frequency.
B) wavelength.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Q:
Light bends when it
A) passes a massive star.
B) passes through a gravitational field.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Q:
A clock on the surface of a shrinking star will run progressively
A) slower.
B) faster.
C) no difference
Q:
Compared to a clock at the bottom of a very tall skyscraper, a clock at the top of this skyscraper will appear to run
A) slower.
B) faster.
C) the same.
Q:
In a 1-g gravitational field, in 1 s, a light beam will curve beneath a perfectly straight line by
A) much less than 4.9 m.
B) about 4.9 m.
C) much more than 4.9 m.
Q:
A strong gravitational field
A) slows a clock.
B) speeds up a clock.
C) has no effect on the speed of a clock.
Q:
A person on the ground floor of a skyscraper ages
A) faster than a person on the top floor.
B) slower than a person on the top floor.
C) at the same speed as a person on the top floor.
Q:
Fire a cannonball from a cannon and it curves due to gravity. Shine a light from a flashlight and it
A) curves per second the same as the cannonball.
B) follows a straight-line path with no curvature at all.
C) curves half as much as the cannonball.
D) curves slightly, but not as much per second as the cannonball.
Q:
Suppose at the surface of the Earth a person can do 20 pushups. In a spaceship far away from any gravitational influence, accelerating at g, the same person could do
A) less than 20 pushups.
B) 20 pushups.
C) more than 20 pushups.
Q:
General relativity is most concerned with
A) acceleration.
B) gravitation.
C) space-time geometry.
D) all of these
E) none of these
Q:
Space and time are
A) bound together.
B) independent entities.
Q:
A greater gravitational field causes time to
A) speed up.
B) slow down.
C) fluctuate.
D) Gravity has no measurable effect on time.
Q:
Technically, its not mass that causes the curvature of spacetime, but
A) mass density.
B) energy density.
C) thermal mass.
D) thermal mass fluctuations.
Q:
Precession is
A) when the elliptical orbits of planets slip forward with each revolution.
B) the process of planetary evolution.
C) the stage before planets stabilize into a stationary orbit.
D) the wobbling of a planet's axis of rotation.
Q:
Light is without mass, so how can gravity have an effect on light?
A) The space through which the light passes is curved.
B) Photons actually have a very small mass, so gravity does have an effect on them.
C) When light interacts with particles, it loses some energy, and thus takes on some mass.
D) Gravity has no effect on light.
Q:
"Local observations made in an accelerated frame of reference cannot be distinguished from observations made in a gravitational field" is known as the principle of
A) equivalence.
B) equality.
C) equanimity.
D) interchangeability.
Q:
According to Einstein, gravity is not the force exerted by one object on another, but rather the
A) effect we witness when a large mass causes a curvature in the shape of spacetime.
B) force of attraction that exists between two objects.
C) effects of the graviton particle.
D) curvature of space caused by objects reaching the speed of light.
Q:
If the Sun suddenly became less massive, what would happen to Earth's orbit?
A) Spacetime around the Sun would become flatter, and the Earth, with its current momentum, would exit its orbit around the Sun.
B) Spacetime around the Sun would become less flat, and the Earth would go plunging into the Sun.
C) The Earth's orbital distance from the Sun would increase correspondingly.
D) The Earth's orbital distance from the Sun would decrease correspondingly.
Q:
The universe as a whole is
A) curved.
B) flat.
C) the shape of a saddle.
D) has yet to be determined, although most astrophysical data points to a flat universe.
Q:
Spacetime is curved by
A) mass.
B) the force of gravity.
C) quantum fluctuations.
D) the vacuum force.
Q:
Relativity is the
A) study of how space, energy, and mass are related to time.
B) concept that there are no absolutes that can be postulated.
C) idea that space bends in relationship to the square of the mass contained within it.
D) study of wormholes and time travel.
Q:
According to cosmic inflation theory, the distribution of galaxies we see today is a consequence of
A) the evolution of dark matter.
B) quantum fluctuations in the exceedingly small early universe.
C) random expansion.
D) some force yet to be identified.
Q:
According to Alan Guth, magnetic monopoles are not observed in our universe because
A) they are theoretically impossible.
B) space expanded so much that they are exceedingly rare.
C) of the presence of electromagnetic radiation.
D) they easily collapse under the force of gravity.
Q:
According to inflation theory, parallel lines appear to remain parallel because
A) the universe is so unbelievably large.
B) mass has the effect of balancing the natural curvature of space-time.
C) space is inherently flat.
D) the universe is so very old.
Q:
In a flat universe parallel lines
A) never converge.
B) are concentric to each other.
C) are mirror images.
D) eventually meet.
Q:
How is it possible that today's diverse universe was able to arise from that which was very homogeneous at its first moments?
A) Inflation magnified ultrasmall quantum variations in position and momenta.
B) There is evidence of a second, slightly smaller Big Bang that took place very shortly after the initial Big Bang, which would account for the variation in structure.
C) The rapidly cooling universe created massive quantities of hydrogen, and then helium, which interacted with each other to create regions of relative structure.
D) Entropy immediately came into effect, slowing down some areas of expansion, while increasing others.
Q:
The currently accepted reasoning for why the cosmic background radiation is so uniform in temperature is because
A) this temperature uniformity was achieved in the moments before cosmic inflation.
B) as the universe has had time to cool, the hotter parts transferred their heat to the cooler regions.
C) microwaves can only function at a certain very limited range of temperature.
D) space is a vacuum and thus cannot retain heat very well.
Q:
Cosmic Inflation refers to
A) an extremely rapid expansion of the early universe that occurred in an extremely brief period of time.
B) the fact that there is an ever increasing energy cost in order for fusion within stars to occur.
C) the phenomenon of matter within the universe is becoming increasingly disordered.
D) is another way of referring to the Big Bang itself.
Q:
We are actually looking into the past when we look at
A) a distant star.
B) our physics book.
C) actually, both of these
D) none of these
Q:
The Big Bang is regarded as the expansion of
A) space.
B) energy.
C) time.
D) matter.
Q:
Astronomers who subscribe to the Big Bang theory believe the Big Bang occurred
A) about 14 billion years ago.
B) at the beginning of time.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Q:
The formation of more protons than neutrons (at about a 7:1. ratio) was favored in the early universe because
A) it takes more energy to create a neutron from a proton than a proton from a neutron.
B) it takes more energy to create a proton from a neutron than a neutron from a proton.
C) the more massive neutrons made better targets for nucleon collisions.
D) the positively charged protons were repelled away from the explosion.
Q:
Cosmic background radiation refers to
A) uniformly distributed residual radiation that resulted from the Big Bang.
B) pockets of radiation found in certain quadrants of the observable universe.
C) the radiation emitted from galactic nuclei.
D) redshifted microwave radiation being emitted from the center of the universe.
Q:
According to calculations made by modern astronomers, the age of the universe is close to
A) 14 billion years.
B) 7 billion years.
C) 21 billion years.
D) 6000 years.
Q:
How did Mr. Hubble calculate the age of the universe?
A) by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe
B) by looking at the age of the oldest stars
C) by measuring the redshift of stars within 360 degrees of the center of our galaxy
D) by measuring the rate of radioactive decay within the farthest galaxies
Q:
"Cosmological Redshift" refers to
A) the expansion of space itself.
B) the expansion of galaxies.
C) the expansion of red giants.
D) the tendency of light to expand when free of gravitational influences.
Q:
The "redshift" of a galaxy refers to the rate
A) at which is receding.
B) at which it is approaching.
C) at which it is spinning.
D) of its fusion.
Q:
The difference between lightwaves approaching and lightwaves receding is
A) when approaching, lightwaves have higher frequency; when receding their frequency is lower.
B) when approaching, lightwaves have lower frequency; when receding their frequency is higher.
C) the frequency of approaching lightwaves remain constant, while receding lightwaves are invisible.
D) There is no difference
Q:
Cepheids are types of stars that regularly change how bright they are over a period of a few
A) days.
B) months.
C) year.
D) decades.
Q:
The Big Bang
A) took place within space.
B) marked the beginning of space and time.
C) occurred as a result of disturbances within the Large Magellenic cloud.
D) took place within time.
Q:
The "Big Bang" refers to the
A) point in time in which the known (and perhaps knowable) universe came into being.
B) phenomenon of rapid chain reaction supernovae during the first 100 seconds of the universe.
C) time when our Sun will become a nova, rendering Earth into molten lava.
D) end of the universe when simultaneous supernovae will transform the universe into a supergiant black hole.
Q:
Edwin Hubble discovered that the farther away a galaxy is the
A) faster it is receding from us.
B) more massive it is.
C) more energetic it is.
D) more black holes it contains.
Q:
The Big Bang occurred
A) at the tip of your nose.
B) at the center of each galaxy.
C) at some undetermined yet vastly distant point.
D) within an unusually large supernova.
Q:
Cosmology is the study of the overall structure and evolution of
A) the universe.
B) stars.
C) beauty.
D) galaxies.
Q:
The masses of stars are found by measurements of
A) light intensity.
B) temperature.
C) Doppler shifting.
D) binaries.
E) relative sizes.
Q:
The longest living stars are those of
A) low mass.
B) high mass.
C) intermediate mass.
Q:
The event that changes a protostar to a full-fledged star is
A) gravitational collapse.
B) gravitational expansion.
C) thermonuclear fusion.
D) the emission of light.
E) a catastrophic increase in temperature.
Q:
Which is greater, the gravitational attraction between a newborn baby and the Earth, or the gravitational attraction between the Earth and all the planets of the solar system?
A) the attraction between the baby and Earth
B) the attraction between the planets and Earth
C) They are roughly equal.
D) The baby's and the planets gravitational attractions are inversely proportional to each other.
Q:
Red giant stars are
A) close to exhausting their supply of hydrogen.
B) have already exhausted their supply of hydrogen.
C) are close to exhausting their supply of helium.
D) have already exhausted their supply of helium.
Q:
On the H-R diagram our Sun is a
A) white dwarf.
B) star of average luminosity and temperature.
C) red supergiant.
D) relatively bright, blue star.
Q:
The temperature of a star is evidenced by its
A) brightness.
B) color.
C) angular momentum.
D) distance.
E) rate of burning.
Q:
Thermonuclear fusion occurs mainly in the
A) cores of stars.
B) outer layers of stars.
C) both, actually
Q:
Which star will emit the shortest wavelength of its peak frequency?
A) a blue star
B) a yellow star
C) a red star
D) a green star
Q:
Why does a star's color corresponds to its temperature?
A) Higher temperature means more energetic light, which is seen as higher frequencies.
B) Because of the light shifts that take place when star light interacts with the Earth's atmosphere
C) Because the core temperature averages with the surface temperature to create an overall color
D) Because the ultraviolet output of a star directly modifies the visible light spectrum the star is emitting
Q:
What is the reference that astronomers use to denote the luminosity of stars?
A) the luminosity of the Sun
B) the luminosity of the Northern Star
C) the luminosity of Proxima Centauri, our solar system's closest neighbor star
D) the luminosity of the cluster of stars at the center of the Milky Way galaxy
Q:
Luminosity is
A) the total amount of light energy that star emits into space.
B) the stars apparent brightness.
C) the stars particular color spectrum output.
D) the stars total infrared output.
Q:
The stars Procyon and Betelgeuse both appear equally bright to Earthbound viewers. Yet Betelgeuse emits 5000 times more light than Procyon. Why do they appear to be equally bright?
A) because Betelgeuse is much farther than Procyon
B) because Betelgeuse is undergoing fission, not fusion
C) because Betelgeuse lies in the same plane of Earth's orbit
D) because Procyon is superhot
Q:
A star's color tells us
A) how much energy a star produces.
B) its surface temperature.
C) its rotational speed.
D) both how much energy it produces and its surface temperature.
Q:
A star's luminosity tells us
A) how much energy a star produces.
B) its surface temperature.
C) its rotational speed.
D) both how much energy it produces and its surface temperature.
Q:
What are the relative compositions of the materials from which stars form?
A) about 74% hydrogen, about 24% helium, no more than 2% other materials
B) about 24% hydrogen, about 74% helium, no more than 2% other materials
C) about 2% hydrogen, about 74% helium, no more than 24% other materials
D) Stars have vastly differing combinations of materials.
Q:
A radio signal emitted from Earth would take about
A) 4 years to leave our galaxy.
B) 20,000 years to leave our galaxy.
C) 80,000 years to leave our galaxy.
D) 100,000 years to leave our galaxy.
Q:
The Milky Way galaxy is about
A) 4 light years in diameter.
B) 40 light years in diameter.
C) 100 light years in diameter.
D) 100,000 light years in diameter.
Q:
A light year is a unit of
A) time.
B) energy.
C) distance.
D) mass.
Q:
The nearest star system closest to our Sun is about
A) 4 light years away.
B) 20 light years away.
C) 100 light years away.
D) 40,000 light years away.
Q:
Seasons here are Earth are a result of
A) the rotation of our planet about its axis.
B) the revolution of our planet around the Sun.
C) the movement of our planet within the Milky Way.
D) the tilt of Earth's axis.
Q:
The changing shapes of constellations in the night sky is caused by
A) the rotation of our planet about its axis.
B) the revolution of our planet around the Sun.
C) the movement of our planet within the Milky Way.
D) the tilt of Earth's axis.
Q:
The yearly motion of celestial objects in the sky is caused by
A) the rotation of our planet about its axis.
B) the revolution of our planet around the Sun.
C) the movement of our planet within the Milky Way.
D) the tilt of Earth's axis.
Q:
The daily motion of celestial objects in the sky is caused by
A) the rotation of our planet about its axis.
B) the revolution of our planet around the Sun.
C) the movement of our planet within the Milky Way.
D) the tilt of Earth's axis.
Q:
We do not see stars in the daytime because
A) the Sun blocks their view.
B) they simply don't exist in the daytime part of the sky.
C) skylight overwhelms starlight.
D) of the lack of contrast with moonlight.
E) the solar wind obscures their view.
Q:
The star nearest the Earth is
A) the Sun.
B) Alpha Centauri.
C) Polaris.
D) the Moon.
Q:
The background stars during a solar eclipse are those of constellations
A) of the opposite season.
B) seen in the nighttime sky.
C) not seen normally.
D) seen in the opposite hemisphere.