Astronomy, practice question set quiz 1!

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1. What is the maximum number of planets readily visible to the!
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naked eye on a given night?!
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a. 1!
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b. 2!
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c. 3!
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d. 4!
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e. 5!
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2. Planets!
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a. move rapidly across the sky relative to the stars.!
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b. are stationary relative to the stars.!
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c. all move at the same rate relative to the stars.!
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d. move slowly relative to the stars.!
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e. can appear anywhere in the sky.!
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3. The Moon!
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a. may appear anywhere in the sky.!
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b. always appears within a few degrees of the zodiac.!
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c. always appears within a few degrees of the celestial!
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equator.!
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d. generally appears opposite the Sun.!
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4. The most readily observed motion of a celestial object is!
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produced by!
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a. the motion of the planets across the sky.!
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b. the rotation of the Earth.!
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c. the revolution of the Earth.!
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d. the motion of the Sun around the galaxy.!
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5. An astronomical unit is the!
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a. distance from the Earth to the Moon.!
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b. distance from the Earth to the Sun.!
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c. distance from the Earth to the nearest star.!
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d. distance light travels in one year.!
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e. circumference of the Earth.!
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6. Which of the following statements about planets is FALSE?!
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a. none are visible to observers on the Earth!
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b. they move relative to the stars!
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c. they are found along the zodiac!
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d. they do not twinkle as stars do!
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7. Where must an observer be located on the Earth to view the!
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entire sky over the course of a year?!
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a. the north pole!
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b. the south pole!
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c. the equator!
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d. anywhere on the Earth!
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8. Diurnal motions are caused by!
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a. the rapid rotations of heavenly bodies.!
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b. the motion of the Moon about the Earth.!
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c. the motion of the Sun about the Earth.!
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d. the motion of the Earth on its rotation axis.!
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e. the precession of the Earth's axis.!
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9. Suppose you are on a strange planet. Since you have had an!
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astronomy class at the university, you are aware of the daily!
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motion of stars about a fixed point in the sky. Furthermore,!
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you notice that this fixed point is 30 degrees above the!
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horizon. You then deduce that your latitude on this planet is!
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a. 0ø.!
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b. 15ø.!
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c. 30ø.!
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d. 45ø.!
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e. 60ø.!
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10. Precession is!
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a. the accuracy with which numbers are given in astronomy.!
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b. the slow motion of the Earth's rotation axis on the!
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celestial sphere.!
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c. the apparent backward motion of planets on the celestial!
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sphere.!
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d. the daily eastward motion of the Sun around the celestial!
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sphere.!
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11. Planet X has its rotation axis perpendicular to its orbital!
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plane. Its seasons would be!
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a. shorter than those on Earth.!
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b. longer than those on Earth.!
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c. the same as those on Earth.!
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d. constant.!
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12. If a solar eclipse occured 2 weeks ago, what would be the phase!
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of the Moon today?!
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a. first quarter!
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b. full!
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c. third quarter!
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d. new!
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e. waxing crescent!
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13. Eclipses do not occur each month because!
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a. the Moon is always in the ecliptic.!
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b. the Moon is never in the ecliptic.!
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c. the Earth's axis is tilted to the ecliptic.!
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d. the Moon's orbit is in the ecliptic.!
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e. the Moon's orbit is not in the ecliptic.!
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14. In order for a solar eclipse to occur, the Moon must be!
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a. near new Moon.!
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b. near first or last quarter.!
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c. high in the sky.!
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d. near full Moon.!
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e. in a retrograde loop.!
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15. The length of the tropical year is!
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a. equal to the length of the Earth's sidereal period.!
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b. equal to the length of the Earth's synodic period.!
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c. the time interval from one vernal equinox to the next.!
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d. twelve lunar months.!
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16. If the Moon did NOT rotate we would observe!
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a. the same as we now observe.!
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b. only the lunar back side.!
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c. the lunar north polar region.!
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d. both the front and back side of the Moon.!
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17. Aristotle!
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a. was the first great observational astronomer.!
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b. stated physical laws and then attempted to use them to!
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explain how the universe works.!
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c. discovered the first four elements in the periodic table of!
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elements.!
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d. taught Plato the basic laws of nature.!
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18. Ptolemy!
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a. invented calculus and used it to predict the positions of!
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the planets at any given time.!
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b. wrote books summarizing the astronomical knowledge of!
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earlier cultures.!
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c. was the first of the great Greek astronomers.!
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d. was the first to detect stellar parallax.!
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19. The Almagest was written by!
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a. Plato!
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b. Aristotle!
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c. Hipparchus!
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d. Ptolemy!
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e. Pythagorus!
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20. The reason Copernicus became a "heliocentrist" was that!
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a. the evidence was overwhelmingly strong.!
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b. the evidence was weak but gaining strength.!
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c. it was philosophically pleasing to him.!
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d. the laws of physics as then understood indicated a!
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heliocentric universe.!
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21. Which one of the following statements about the Copernican!
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model is FALSE?!
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a. it was more accurate than the Ptolemaic system in!
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predicting planetary motions!
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b. relative planetary distances could be deduced from it!
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c. relative planetary speeds could be determined from it!
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d. retrograde motion could be easily explained by it!
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e. none: all of the above statements are true!
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22. Tycho Brahe's principal contribution to astronomy was!
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a. his noble blood.!
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b. his suggested model for the solar system (which had a fixed!
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Earth with the Sun revolving about it but the rest of the!
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planets revolving about the Sun).!
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c. the accuracy of his observations and the completeness of!
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his records.!
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d. his choice of Galileo as an assistant.!
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23. Which of the following is a statement of Kepler's first law?!
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a. planets move in perfect circles with the Sun at the center!
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b. planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at the!
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center!
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c. planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at one!
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of the foci!
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d. planets move along an elliptical path with the Earth at one!
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of the foci!
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24. In simple language, Kepler's second law means that!
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a. a planet moves more rapidly when near the Sun than when!
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farther away.!
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b. planets close to the Sun have shorter periods than those!
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farther away.!
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c. the Sun is at the center of planetary orbits.!
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d. slowly moving planets are close to the Sun.!
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25. In non-mathematical terms, Kepler's third law says that!
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a. a planet moves more rapidly when near the Sun than when!
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farther away.!
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b. planets close to the Sun have shorter periods than those!
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farther away.!
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c. the Sun is at the center of planetary orbits.!
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d. slowly moving planets are close to the Sun.!
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26. Who is often considered to be the first truly modern scientist?!
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a. Brahe!
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b. Kepler!
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c. Copernicus!
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d. Aristotle!
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 e. Galileo!
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27. Which of the following did Galileo NOT observe?!
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a. sunspots!
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b. the moons of Mars!
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c. the phases of Venus!
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d. the craters on the Moon!
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28. Which of the following has the greatest mass?!
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a. 100 lbs of goose feathers!
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b. 100 lbs of lead!
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c. a 100 lb person!
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d. they all have the same mass!
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29. Acceleration is defined as!
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a. the rate of change of velocity.!
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b. the rate of change of position.!
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c. the rate of change of distance.!
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d. how fast an object moves.!
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e. how fast an object changes position.!
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30. Which of the following would NOT occur if the Earth's mass were!
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doubled? (NOTE: the radius remains the same)!
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a. your mass would double!
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b. your weight would double!
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c. the surface gravity would double!
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d. the escape velocity would increase!
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31. While on the Moon, the Apollo astronauts demonstrated Galileo's!
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experiment at the Leaning Tower of Pisa by dropping a feather!
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and a hammer. They reached the ground at the same time because!
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a. the force of gravity is larger on the feathers than on the!
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hammer.!
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b. the force of gravity has no effect on either object.!
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c. the acceleration of each object is the same.!
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d. the astronauts showed Galileo's experiment to be false.!
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32. Take three identical bricks; strap two of them together. Which!
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statement is true?!
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a. the combined bricks, when dropped, will fall twice as fast!
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as the single brick!
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b. the combined bricks, when dropped, will fall four times as!
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fast as the single brick due to the inverse square law of!
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gravity!
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c. the gravitational force between the Earth and the combined!
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bricks is twice as strong as the gravitational force!
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between the Earth and the single brick!
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d. the gravitational force between the Earth and the combined!
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bricks is the same as the gravitational force between the!
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 Earth and the single brick!
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33. If in a violent moment you kick a wall, your foot will hurt.!
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This is best explained by!
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a. Newton's first law of motion.!
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b. Newton's second law of motion.!
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c. Newton's third law of motion.!
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d. the universal law of gravity.!
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34. Which of the following statements about the Earth's orbit is!
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FALSE?!
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a. The orbit is elliptical!
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b. The average distance to between the Earth and the Sun is 1!
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A. U.!
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c. The orbital velocity is constant!
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d. the period of the orbit is 1 year!
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35. The escape velocity from a planet's surface depends upon!
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a. your mass and the planet's mass.!
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b. your mass and the planet's radius.!
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c. the planet's mass and radius.!
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d. your mass and the planets orbital period.!
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e. the planet's mass and orbital period.!
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