Cosmology Science Test Practice

What is cosmology?

a) The study of how the sun affects the Earth

b) A sequence in the star life cycle
c) The study of the universe, including its origin and future
d) A form of cloud dust that surrounds the universe

What is the Big Bang theory?

The Big Bang theory states that the universe began from a single point with a big explosion and that all the universe
is moving out from this point. As with all objects in the universe, the Earth was created as a result of the Big Bang.

Describe gravity.
Gravity is the force of attraction between two objects.

Describe nebulas and state what forms from a nebula.

A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Stars are formed from nebula.

What is a star? Circle all that are appropriate.

a) A ring that circles around a planet

b) A luminous ball of gas
c) It is made of hydrogen and helium
d) The sun

What do astronomers find out from the colour of a star?

The colour of a star gives us information about the size of the star, its temperature and where it is in its lifecycle.

Outline the difference between apparent and absolute magnitude.

The apparent magnitude of a star is how bright the star appears when viewed from Earth. The absolute magnitude
of a star is how bright the star actually is and this is measured as if the star were a certain fixed distance from the
Earth and the same fixed distance is used when calculating the absolute magnitude of all stars.

Define a light year and a parsec. Write down their formulas of conversion.

A light year is the distance that light will travel in one year.

A parsec is equivalent to 3.26 light years (it is based on parallax).

To convert from ly to pc divide by 3.26.

To convert from pc to ly multiply by 3.26.

Define an error of parallax. Why don’t astronomers use parallax to measure the distances to other galaxies?

An error of parallax is caused by the position of the observer when taking a measurement. Stellar parallax is very
small for stars that are very far away and so cannot be used to measure the distance to the star.

Which of the following pieces of evidence can be used to prove that the universe is expanding?

a) Blue shift
b) Telescope Imagery
c) Chemical reactions
d) Red shift

How does ___red shift____________ show that the universe is expanding?

When stars are moving away from us, light shifts towards the red end of the spectrum because the wavelengths are
lengthened. Since everything in the universe is expanding according to the Big Bang theory, stars are moving away
and therefore light coming from them is red-shifted.

Which of the following solidifies the theory of the Big Bang?

a) Cosmic wave background radiation

b) Blue shift
c) Mathematics
d) Telescope imagery

With the answer you chose above, define it.

There is measurable background low-frequency radiation in the universe which is a result of the Big Bang explosion.

Fill in the blanks.

Gamma ultraviolet infrared radiowaves

rays
X-rays Visible microwaves
light

What is an electromagnetic spectrum?

It is the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

Define the following types of waves.

Type Definition
Radio waves Long wave radiation. Emitted by radio stations and by stars.

Microwaves Long wave radiation. Used in microwave ovens to cook food and used by astronomers to
provide information about the structures of galaxies.

Infrared Long wave radiation. Better known as heat.

Visible
The light that can be detected by human eyes.

Ultraviolet Shortwave radiation. Emitted by the sun (and all stars).

X-rays Shortwave radiation. Used to take images of bones and teeth.

 Gamma-rays Short wave radiation.

Categorize the following pictures according to their type of wave.

Possibly heat UV Visible

Radio Describe Radio
(infrared Xrays light
waves waves
radiation) from
the engine?

nuclear fusion and explain how it occurs in stars.

Nuclear fusion occurs when two hydrogen nuclei fuse. This occurs inside stars due to the enormous temperature
inside a star.

State the life cycle for medium sized or main sequence stars.

nebula  protostar  main sequence star  red giant  planetary nebula  white dwarf black dwarf

Explain why black dwarf is still a theory.

A black dwarf cannot be seen as no light escapes a black dwarf but the effect of a black dwarf on other objects can
be detected.

State the life cycle for high mass stars.

nebula  protostar  main sequence high mass star  supergiant  supernova  black hole or neutron star

Define a neutron star.

Neutron stars are the remains of high mass stars.

Define a black hole. Describe a method to identify a black hole.

The most massive stars become black holes when they die. After a large star explodes the gravity is so strong that
gas is pulled inwards into a smaller and smaller space. Eventually the gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, not
even light.
 What colour are Type A stars? What colour are Type G stars?
a) Blue a) Yellow-white
b) Yellow b) Blue-white
c) White c) Orange
d) Pink d) Yellow

What colour are Type K stars? What colour are Type O stars?
a) Red a) Red
b) Blue b) Blue
c) Red c) Blue-white
d) Orange d) Orange

Why are light years more appropriate to use than kilometers when measuring the distance to stars?

The distance to stars is so great that kilometers are too small as a unit. (the closest star is 4 x 10 13 km away)

Explain why we cannot observe more than 13.7 billion light years of the universe.

Possibly because it is so far away that there hasn’t been enough time passed for light to reach us from so great a
distance.
What characteristics of Cepheid variables makes them useful in measuring distances to other galaxies?

You don’t need to know this for the exam.

Cepheid variable stars are stars which pulsate in a predictable way. In addition, a Cepheid star's period (how often it
pulsates) is directly related to its luminosity or brightness.

Define the following.

Red Giant A star produced when the core of a small to medium

sized star runs out of hydrogen.

White Dwarf A hot dense star that is the remains of a red giant.

Black Dwarf Cold dark remains of a white dwarf.

Blue Supergiant Stars that are ten or more times more massive than the
sun

Supernova A giant explosion that occurs when a star much larger

than our sun runs out of fuel

Alpha Centauri is the brightest star we see in our sky, although it is only a medium sized star similar to our sun.
Betelgeuse is a much bigger star, but it doesn’t not appear to be as bright as Alpha Centauri. Use these examples
to explain the difference between absolute and apparent magnitude.

Apparent magnitude is the brightness of a star as it appears to an observer on Earth and it depends on the size of the
star and the distance that it is from Earth. Absolute magnitude is the actual brightness of the star. This is compared
for all stars as if they were the same distance from Earth. Betelgeuse does not appear as bright as Alpha Centauri
because Betelgeuse is further from Earth.

Heat causes objects in space to expand, State the factor which prevents a star from blowing apart due to the
explosive power of the nuclear reaction occurring in the star.

gravity