UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

ASTRONOMY 101H1F MIDTERM TEST


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015

DURATION: 45 MINUTES
NO AIDS ALLOWED


DO NOT WRITE ANYWHERE ON THIS BOOKLET!

Instructions:

1. This midterm consists of three parts:

i. This booklet of multiple-choice questions.
ii. A booklet of short-answer questions.
iii. A bubble sheet.
2. ON THE SHORT-ANSWER BOOKLET: Fill in your name (as it appears on ROSI), your
student number, and your UTorID (e.g. smithm1).
3. ON THE BUBBLE SHEET: Fill in your last name, first initial, and student number in the
spaces given and, using pencil, darkly shade in the corresponding bubbles. Then sign the card.
There is no form code.
4. For each multiple choice question, mark your answer on the bubble card by darkly shading the
appropriate bubble. All answers to multiple choice questions must be transferred to the Scantron
card. Under no circumstances will answers to multiple choice questions written on this paper
be accepted. DO NOT MAKE EXTRA MARKS ON THE BUBBLE SHEET.
5. Answer short answer questions in the spaces provided. Answers in other places will not count
for marks.
6. Mark values are indicated with each question.






























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PART A: Multiple choice questions. SELECT THE MOST CORRECT ANSWER (1 mark each)


1. The main reason that the Moon goes through a cycle of phases is that:


(a) The Earth orbits the Sun

(b) The Moon spins on its axis
(c) The Moon does not spin on its axis
(d) The Moon orbits the Earth *
(e) The Moon passes in and out of the shadow of the Earth


2. The Moon produces two tidal bulges on the Earth because the Moon's force of gravity:


(a) is stronger than the Sun's force of gravity

(b) partly cancels Earth's gravity
(c) is larger on one side of Earth than on the other *
(d) is attractive on one side of the Earth and repulsive on the other
(e) is balanced by the Sun's gravity on the side of the Earth facing away from the Moon


3. Which of the following best describes the group of people who can see the Moon when it is in
its first quarter phase?


(a) Everyone on the night side of Earth

(b) Everyone on the daylight side of Earth
(c) Only those in the shadow of the Moon
(d) Everyone for whom the time is later than noon but earlier than midnight *
(e) Everyone in the southern hemisphere at a time when the Moon is above the horizon


4. Which of the following is closest to the distance between the Earth and the Moon?


(a) 1 light second *

(b) 1 light minute
(c) 1 AU
(d) 1 light year
(e) Many light years


5. Consider an object in our solar system which is 3000 km in diameter and approximately
spherical. What can you say about this object based on this information?


(a) It's a planet

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 (b) It's a dwarf planet
(c) It's a moon
(d) It could be either a planet or a dwarf planet
(e) It could be a planet, a dwarf planet, or a moon *








6. Which of the following most accurately describes the Sun's energy source?


(a) The Sun oxidizes hydrogen to produce helium.

(b) The Sun breaks apart heavy atoms to produce lighter atoms plus energy.
(c) Chemical reactions between hydrogen atoms produce helium.
(d) The Sun burns hydrogen.
(e) The Sun converts matter to energy. *


7. A hot low-density gas all on its own will produce:


(a) A continuous spectrum.

(b) A blueshifted spectrum.
(c) An absorption line spectrum.
(d) An emission line spectrum. *
(e) Mostly short wavelengths of light.


8. Compared to a cold blackbody with the same surface area, a hot blackbody:


(a) has a larger Doppler shift.

(b) appears brighter. *
(c) appears redder.
(d) produces more emission lines.
(e) produces more absorption lines.


9. In terms of atomic energy levels, an absorption line is produced when:

(a) an electron absorbs a photon and moves to a higher energy level. *

(b) an electron absorbs a photon and moves to a lower energy level.
(c) an electron emits a photon and moves to a lower energy level.
(d) an electron emits a photon and moves to a higher energy level.
(e) an photon turns into a wave.


10. Which of the following changes would cause us to stop considering Earth a planet?


(a) Remove half of the mass of Earth

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 (b) Make Earth's orbit around the Sun highly eccentric
(c) Make the Earth orbit the Sun beyond Neptune
(d) Remove the Moon from orbit around the Earth
(e) Put the Earth in orbit around Jupiter *


11. When would people in Toronto be able to see a star that was at the South Celestial Pole?


(a) Any time it's dark and clear in Toronto

(b) During the winter solstice.
(c) During the summer solstice.
(d) During an equinox.
(e) Never *
12. From the perspective of someone standing on the equator of Earth, a star that is on the celestial
equator:


(a) will always be below the horizon.

(b) will be visible all day, every day.
(c) will rise in the north and set in the south.
(d) will rise in the east and set in the west. *
(e) will only be above the horizon for half of the year


13. As a planet moving in a non-circular orbit reaches aphelion, which of the following properties
of the planet will decrease?

(a) orbital eccentricity

(b) the tilt of its rotation axis
(c) orbital semi-major axis
(d) orbital speed *
(e) angular momentum


14. We see the Sun by the light it:


(a) emits *
(b) reflects
(c) transmits
(d) scatters
(e) absorbs


15. If we were to slightly increase the rate of fusion in the core of the Sun, what would ultimately
happen to the Sun?


(a) It would heat up and become visibly brighter about 8 minutes later
(b) It would expand, cool, and return to its current fusion rate *

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 (c) It would expand and settle into a new equilibrium at a larger size
(d) It would heat up and quickly explode
(e) It would dissipate energy by releasing excess neutrinos and return to its current state


16. Which of the following is the most convincing reason to believe that the Sun has existed for
billions of years?


(a) Light travel time means that astronomers can see back in time
(b) Radioisotope dating of samples of the Sun indicate that it is billions of years old
(c) Calculations indicate that nuclear fusion can continue to power the Sun for approximately
another five billion years
(d) Radioisotope dating of Earth rocks suggest that Earth is at least 4.5 billion years old *
(e) If the Sun were powered by fire or gravitational contraction, it would burn out in only a few
thousand or million years




17. Imagine that we remove the axis tilt of the Earth, so that its rotation axis is perpendicular to the
plane of its orbit. Which of the following best describes the changes that would occur in
Toronto?


(a) seasons would be more extreme and days would be the same length all year long
(b) seasons would be more extreme, but the length of the day would still vary
(c) there would be no seasons and days would be the same length all year long *
(d) there would be no seasons, but the length of the day would still vary
(e) seasons would be less extreme, but the length of the day would still vary


18. What would happen if we launch a satellite with a speed less than Earth escape speed but more
than Earth circular speed? (Assume it is launched parallel to the surface of the Earth, neglect air
resistance, and assume Earth is a perfect sphere.)


(a) It would crash into Earth

(b) It would move in a circular orbit
(c) It would move in an elliptical orbit *
(d) It would move in a hyperbolic orbit
(e) We need more information to be sure.


19. Consider a small object orbiting the Sun. Its mass is half that of the Moon, its semimajor axis is
1 AU, its orbital eccentricity is 0.4, and it is roughly spherical. What can we say for certain
about this object?


(a) It's a moon

(b) It has the same orbital period as Earth *

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 (c) It's orbital semiminor axis is 0.4 AU
(d) It will collide with Earth
(e) It's an asteroid


20. Why do sunspots appear dark in pictures of the Sun?


(a) They are the tops of cool cells in the granulation pattern on the surface of the Sun.
(b) They actually are fairly bright, but appear dark against the even brighter background of the
surrounding photosphere. *
(c) They are too cold to emit visible light.
(d) They are so hot that they emit most of their light in wavelengths too short for the eye to see,
such as X-rays.
(e) They are regions where magnetic activity increases absorption of light from the interior of
the Sun.

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