EARTH SCIENCE TEST Astronomy Test #1

EARTH SCIENCE TEST

Astronomy Test #1

Name: _______________________________________________________________ Period:_______

Part 1: Multiple Choice ( 22 points)

1. The modern heliocentric model of planetary motion states that the planets travel around

(1) the Sun in slightly elliptical orbits

(3) Earth in slightly elliptical orbits

(2) the Sun in circular orbits

(4) Earth in circular orbits

2. The diagram below represents a portion of the constellation Ursa Minor. The star Polaris is identified. Ursa Minor can be seen by an observer in New York State during all four seasons because

Ursa Minor is located almost directly

(1) above Earth's equator

(3) overhead in New York State

(2) above Earth's North Pole

(4) between Earth and the center of the Milky Way

3. The diagram below represents positions of Earth in its orbit around the Sun and twelve constellations that can be seen in the midnight sky by an observer in New York State at different times of the year. The approximate locations of the constellations in relation to Earth's orbit are shown.

Which date is correctly paired with two constellations that can be seen in the sky at midnight?

(1) May 21: Scorpius and Taurus

(3) November 21: Gemini and Capricorn

(2) August 21: Libra and Virgo

(4) February 21: Leo and Cancer

Base your answers to questions 4 through 7 on the diagram below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The diagram represents Earth's revolution around the Sun. Points A, B, C, and D represent Earth's positions in its orbit on the first day of each of the four seasons. The major axis and the foci (the center of the Sun and the other focus) of Earth's orbit are shown.

4. Approximately how many days (d) does it take Earth to travel from position A to position C?

(1) 91 d

(2) 182 d (3) 274 d (4) 365 d

5. Since Earth has an elliptical orbit, the (1) distance between the Sun and Earth varies (2) distance between the Sun and the other focus varies

(3) length of Earth's major axis varies (4) length of Earth's period of revolution varies

6. At positions A, B, C, and D, the north end of Earth's axis of rotation is pointing toward

(1) Betelgeuse

(2) Polaris (3) the center of the Milky Way

(4) the center of our solar system

7. At which two positions will an observer in New York State experience approximately 12 hours of daylight

during one rotation of Earth?

(1) A and B

(2) A and C

(3) B and C

(4) B and D

8. As seen from New York State, the noon Sun is

(1) directly overhead every day.

(3) directly overhead on the first day of summer.

(2) directly overhead on the first day of spring. (4) never directly overhead.

9. Which sequence of stars is listed in order of increasing luminosity?

(1) Spica, Rigel, Deneb, Betelgeuse

(3) Barnard's Star, Alpha Centauri, Rigel, Spica

(2) Polaris, Deneb, 40 Eridani B, Proxima Centauri (4) Procyon B, Sun, Sirius, Betelgeuse

10. Which list shows stars in order of increasing temperature? (1) Barnard's Star, Polaris, Sirius, Rigel (3) Rigel, Polaris, Aldebaran, Barnard's Star (2) Aldebaran, the Sun, Rigel, Procyon B (4) Procyon B, Alpha Centauri, Polaris, Betelgeuse

11.Which statement best describes Earth's approximate rates of rotation and revolution? (1) Earth's rotation rate is 15?/hour and its revolution rate is 1?/day. (2) Earth's rotation rate is 1?/hour and its revolution rate is 15?/day. (3) Earth's rotation rate is 24?/hour and its revolution rate is 360?/day. (4) Earth's rotation rate is 360?/hour and its revolution rate is 24?/day.

Base your answers to questions 12 and 13 on the diagram below, which represents the Sun's apparent paths and the solar noon positions for an observer at 42? N latitude on December 21, September 23, and June 21.

12. In which direction will sunrise occur on June 21? (1) north of due west (2) north of due east (3) south of due west (4) south of due east

13. How many hours occurred between sunrise and solar noon on September 23?

(1) 6

(2) 8

(3) 12

(4) 24

__________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Positions 1, 2, and 3 in the diagram below represent the noon Sun above the horizon on three different days during the year, as viewed from Binghamton, New York.

At which position was the noon Sun on January 21, as viewed from Binghamton? (1) above position 1 (2) below position 3 (3) between position 1 and position 2 (4) between position 2 and position 3

15. The diagram below represents the apparent path of the Sun as seen by an observer at 65? N on March 21.

The Sun's position shown in the diagram was observed closest to which time of day? (1) 9 a.m. (2) 11 a.m. (3) 3 p.m. (4) 6 p.m.

16. At a location in the Northern Hemisphere, a camera was placed outside at night with the lens pointing straight up. The shutter was left open for four hours, resulting in the star trails shown below.

At which latitude were these star trails observed? (1) 1? N (2) 30? N (3) 60? N (4) 90? N

Base your answers to questions 17 and 18 on the time-exposure photograph shown below. The photograph was taken by aiming a camera at a portion of the night sky above a New York State location and leaving the cameras shutter open for a period of time to record star trails.

17. Which celestial object is shown in the photograph near the center of the star trails?

(1) the Sun

(2) the Moon

(3) Sirius (4) Polaris

18. During the time exposure of the photograph, the stars appear to have moved through an arc of 120?. How

many hours did this time exposure take?

(1) 5 h

(2) 8 h

(3) 12 h

(4) 15 h

19. Which diagram best represents the regions of Earth in sunlight on June 21 and December 21?

[NP indicates the North Pole and the shading represents Earth's night side. Diagrams are not drawn to scale.]

Base your answers to question 20 on the diagram below, which shows a model of Earth's orbit around the Sun. Letters A, B, C, and D represent Earth's position at the beginning of each season.

20. Which position of Earth represents the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere? (1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D

21. The Foucault pendulum provides evidence of Earth's (1) revolution around the Sun in a geocentric solar system (2) revolution around the Sun in a heliocentric solar system (3) rotation on its axis in a geocentric solar system (4) rotation on its axis in a heliocentric solar system

22. Seasonal changes on Earth are primarily caused by the (1) parallelism of the Sun's axis as the Sun revolves around Earth (2) changes in distance between Earth and the Sun (3) elliptical shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun (4) tilt of Earth's axis as Earth revolves around the Sun

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download