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- 1. Multiple Choice
An astronomy textbook, when printed out, weighs four pounds on the surface of the Earth. After finishing your course, you are so tired of the book, you arrange for NASA to shoot it into space. When it is twice as far from the center of the Earth than when you were reading it, what would it weigh? (Note, assume that the book has been moving away from the Earth, not falling freely around it.)
4 lbs
8 lbs
2 lbs
1 lb
16 lbs
- 2. Multiple Choice
Which of the following statements about the force of gravity is FALSE?
it is a universal force, which acts everywhere in space
its strength decreases as the square of the distance
its strength is inversely proportional to the mass: the more mass, the less gravity
the force never becomes zero
it causes the paths of the planets to be ellipses and not straight lines
- 3. Multiple Choice
To come up with the precise mathematical form of his law of gravity, Newton first had to invent the mathematical techniques that we now call:
algebra
ratio and proportions
angular momentum
calculus
scientific notation
- 4. Multiple Choice
In Newton's Law of Gravity, the force of gravity goes up as the:
mass goes down
distance goes up
mass goes up
distance goes down
more than one of the above
- 5. Multiple Choice
Astronomers discover a new comet that orbits the Sun, but has its aphelion (the furthest point in its orbit) beyond Neptune. Astronomers studying this comet have the right to expect that it:
will follow Newton’s laws of motion
will move ahead in a straight line at a steady speed because of the law of inertia
will not obey Newton’s universal law of gravitation
will not have an equal and opposite force in empty space when the force of the Sun’s gravity pulls on it
astronomer have no right to expect ANY of the above.
- 6. Multiple Choice
Why do astronauts (and cans of soft drink) float around in the Shuttle instead of falling?
the Shuttle is so far from the Earth, gravity is negligible
the Shuttle's gravity balances the Earth's, so that the net gravity is zero
the Shuttle is falling around the Earth (and everything aboard is in free fall)
the Shuttle has an antigravity device on board, developed by NASA
the rules Newton developed for gravity only hold on Earth, not once you get into space
- 7. Multiple Choice
Newton's reformulation of Kepler's third law allows us to measure the masses of bodies in orbit around each other, if we can measure:
the rotation rate of each object
the distances and periods of revolution
the eccentricities and semi-major axes
the force and the reaction force
the sweetness of those fig-filled cookie bars
- 8. Multiple Choice
To figure out what you weigh on the surface of the Moon (how much gravity there pulls you downward), you need to know
just the mass of the Moon
just the distance from the Moon’s center to its surface
just the size of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth (its semi-major axis, say)
which part of its orbit the Moon is in
two of the above factors
- 9. Multiple Choice
When a comet like Comet Hale-Bopp comes closest to the Sun in its orbit, we say that it is at:
circular satellite velocity
the minimum angular momentum point
perihelion
apogee
the tail end of its journey
- 10. Multiple Choice
The planet in our solar system whose orbit actually brings it inside the orbit of another planet is:
Neptune
Pluto
Earth
Mars
Mercury
- 11. Multiple Choice
The planet in our solar system with the shortest period of revolution is:
Mercury
Pluto
Jupiter
Venus
you can't fool me, all the planets have the same period of revolution
- 12. Multiple Choice
The asteroid belt is
a region of icy chunks of material beyond the orbit of Pluto
a zone where rocky chunks orbit between Mars and Jupiter
a series of orbital zones around the Moon, from which fragments drop down to form craters
is a region around the Earth from which meteors (shooting stars) are observed to drop
a new fashion accessory being sold by NASA to raise funds for future missions
- 13. Multiple Choice
The first artificial satellite the human race lofted into orbit was called:
Pioneer
Explorer
Newton
Sputnik
Luna
- 14. Multiple Choice
According to Kepler's 2nd Law, comets (which have eccentric orbits) should spend a lot more of their time:
close to the planets
close to the Sun
losing angular momentum
far from the Sun
increasing the rate at which they spin
- 15. Multiple Choice
The minimum speed required to launch an object so that it remains the same distance above the ground and just falls around the Earth is called:
perigee speed
circular satellite velocity
Newtonian orbit velocity
the Keplerian speed
the speed of sound (or Mach 1)
- 16. Multiple Choice
Why do satellites launched into low-Earth orbits not remain there indefinitely?
they do not have enough speed to fall freely around the Earth
they tend to collide with other spacecraft and spacecraft fragments
they lose speed due to friction with the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere
they run out of fuel, and without fuel, all satellites, no matter what their orbit is, must fall
this is an unsolved problem, but a NASA committee has been assigned to work on it
- 17. Multiple Choice
To leave the gravitational pull of the Earth, and explore other planets, satellites must have at least:
circular satellite velocity
escape velocity
perigee velocity
three orbit perturbation
the permission of one Congressional committee
- 18. Multiple Choice
The Earth’s escape speed (the speed you need to get away forever) is about 25,000 miles per hour. Escape speed depends on the gravity of the object trying to hold the spacecraft from escaping. Based on your understanding of gravity, how will the escape speed from the Moon compare to the escape speed from Earth?
The Moon’s escape speed will be greater than Earth’s
The Moon’s escape speed will be smaller than Earth’s
The Moon’s escape speed will be exactly the same as Earth’s
The Moon’s escape speed will change depending on whether it’s a crescent Moon or a full Moon
The Moon’s escape speed will be balanced by the Earth being so close and it will be zero
- 19. Multiple Choice
The planet Neptune was discovered by means of:
careful observations of its motion by one astronomer in England (done over most of his lifetime)
observations of its motion performed over many years by astronomers all over the globe
radio observations of its large magnetic field
mathematical calculations of how it was perturbing the motion of a neighbor planet
discrepancies in the horoscopes of famous actors and actresses; errors in the horoscopes showed astrologers that there must be another cosmic influence on their love lives
- 20. Multiple Choice
Credit for the discovery of Neptune is shared by two astronomers. They are:
Hubble and Humason
Kepler and Newton
Adams and Leverrier
Doppler and Wien
Fraknoi and Morrison
- 21. Multiple Choice
Small changes in the orbits of planets caused by the gravitational pull of the other planets in the solar system are called:
perturbations
reaction forces
foci
perigee pulls
eccentricities
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