Question 1

The most massive galaxies in the universe are

Accepted Answer

A) Elliptical 
B) Spiral 
C) Barred spiral 
D) Irregular 
A) Elliptical 
B) Spiral 
C) Barred spiral 
D) Irregular

Question 2

What did early spectroscopic measurements show about spiral nebulae?

Accepted Answer

A) They are swirling gas clouds 
B) Most of them have redshifted spectra 
C) None of them are rotating 
D) Most of them are within our own galaxy 
A) They are swirling gas clouds 
B) Most of them have redshifted spectra 
C) None of them are rotating 
D) Most of them are within our own galaxy

Question 3

If a dwarf elliptical galaxy has an absolute magnitude of -15 and could be detected to an apparent magnitude of +20,how far away could such a galaxy be and still be detected?

Accepted Answer

A) 100 kiloparsecs 
B) 1 megaparsec 
C) 10 megaparsecs 
D) 100 megaparsecs 
A) 100 kiloparsecs 
B) 1 megaparsec 
C) 10 megaparsecs 
D) 100 megaparsecs

Question 4

What evidence do we have that galaxies have extended haloes of dark matter?

Accepted Answer

A) Orbital speed doesn't fall off in the outer parts of galaxies 
B) The outer parts of galaxies are intense infrared sources 
C) Light from background galaxies is blocked by the dark matter 
D) The orbits of distant globular clusters are distorted by the dark matter 
A) Orbital speed doesn't fall off in the outer parts of galaxies 
B) The outer parts of galaxies are intense infrared sources 
C) Light from background galaxies is blocked by the dark matter 
D) The orbits of distant globular clusters are distorted by the dark matter

Question 5

A rotation curve for a galaxy is a plot of

Accepted Answer

A) Orbital speed versus distance from center 
B) Number of rotations versus time 
C) Orbital distance versus eccentricity 
D) Amount of mass versus distance from center. 
A) Orbital speed versus distance from center 
B) Number of rotations versus time 
C) Orbital distance versus eccentricity 
D) Amount of mass versus distance from center.

Question 6

The Milky Way galaxy is

Accepted Answer

A) Irregular 
B) Elliptical 
C) Spiral 
D) Barred spiral 
A) Irregular 
B) Elliptical 
C) Spiral 
D) Barred spiral

Question 7

Physically,the Hubble constant is a measure of the

Accepted Answer

A) Luminosity of a galaxy 
B) Strength of hydrogen lines in galaxies 
C) Relation between temperature and age of a galaxy 
D) Age of the universe 
A) Luminosity of a galaxy 
B) Strength of hydrogen lines in galaxies 
C) Relation between temperature and age of a galaxy 
D) Age of the universe

Question 8

What type of galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy (M31)?

Accepted Answer

A) Barred spiral 
B) Normal spiral 
C) Elliptical 
D) Irregular 
A) Barred spiral 
B) Normal spiral 
C) Elliptical 
D) Irregular

Question 9

Hubble's law describes the relationship between

Accepted Answer

A) Red shift and recession speed 
B) Distance and parallax 
C) Distance and red shift 
D) Red shift and composition 
A) Red shift and recession speed 
B) Distance and parallax 
C) Distance and red shift 
D) Red shift and composition

Question 10

Suppose stars at 1000 ly from the center of a galaxy and those at 2000 ly from the center of the galaxy both revolve at the same speed.How would the mass within 2000 ly of the center of the galaxy compare to the mass within 1000 ly of the center of the galaxy?

Accepted Answer

A) Twice as great 
B) Half as great 
C) The same 
D) 1000 times as great 
A) Twice as great 
B) Half as great 
C) The same 
D) 1000 times as great

Question 11

The Magellanic clouds are

Accepted Answer

A) Ellipticals 
B) Spirals 
C) Barred spirals 
D) Irregulars 
A) Ellipticals 
B) Spirals 
C) Barred spirals 
D) Irregulars

Question 12

A galaxy at a distance of 100 Mpc is receding at 6000 km/s.How far away is a galaxy that is receding at 24,000 km/s?

Accepted Answer

A) 400 Mpc 
B) 600,000 Mpc 
C) 25 Mpc 
D) 200 Mpc 
A) 400 Mpc 
B) 600,000 Mpc 
C) 25 Mpc 
D) 200 Mpc

Question 13

Which of the following types would be assigned to a normal spiral galaxy with a bright nucleus and tightly wound spiral arms?

Accepted Answer

A) SBa 
B) Sa 
C) SBc 
D) Sc 
A) SBa 
B) Sa 
C) SBc 
D) Sc

Question 14

Which of the following would be least useful in determining distances to other galaxies?

Accepted Answer

A) Parallax 
B) Cepheid variables 
C) The sizes of HII regions 
D) The brightness of a supernova 
A) Parallax 
B) Cepheid variables 
C) The sizes of HII regions 
D) The brightness of a supernova

Question 15

According to current ideas on the evolution of galaxies,in the remote past,elliptical galaxies would have been

Accepted Answer

A) Much more massive than at present 
B) Redder and fainter than now 
C) The only type of galaxy in the universe 
D) Brighter and bluer than at present 
A) Much more massive than at present 
B) Redder and fainter than now 
C) The only type of galaxy in the universe 
D) Brighter and bluer than at present

Question 16

Elliptical galaxies are reddish in color because they

Accepted Answer

A) Shine due to synchrotron radiation 
B) Are moving away faster than other galaxies 
C) Contain relatively few young,hot stars 
D) Are surrounded by intergalactic dust clouds 
A) Shine due to synchrotron radiation 
B) Are moving away faster than other galaxies 
C) Contain relatively few young,hot stars 
D) Are surrounded by intergalactic dust clouds

Question 17

The black hole mass at the center of the Sombrero Galaxy may be as large as __________ solar masses.

Accepted Answer

A) one billion 
B) one million 
C) 100 billion 
D) 100 million 
A) one billion 
B) one million 
C) 100 billion 
D) 100 million

Question 18

Suppose an astronomer living on a planet in a galaxy of the Perseus cluster (distance = 300 Mpc)looked back at our Milky Way galaxy.If she measured the hydrogen line H alpha (rest wavelength 6500 A),what wavelength would she actually measure? (H = 70 km/s/Mpc)

Accepted Answer

A) 6955 A 
B) 6500 A 
C) 5850 A 
D) 6200 A 
E) 6600 A 
A) 6955 A 
B) 6500 A 
C) 5850 A 
D) 6200 A 
E) 6600 A

Question 19

The expansion of the universe was discovered by

Accepted Answer

A) Hertzsprung 
B) Schmidt 
C) Penzias and Wilson 
D) Hubble 
A) Hertzsprung 
B) Schmidt 
C) Penzias and Wilson 
D) Hubble

Exam 23: Galaxies

The most massive galaxies in the universe are

What did early spectroscopic measurements show about spiral nebulae?

If a dwarf elliptical galaxy has an absolute magnitude of -15 and could be detected to an apparent magnitude of +20,how far away could such a galaxy be and still be detected?

What evidence do we have that galaxies have extended haloes of dark matter?

A rotation curve for a galaxy is a plot of

The Milky Way galaxy is

Physically,the Hubble constant is a measure of the

What type of galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy (M31)?

Hubble's law describes the relationship between

Suppose stars at 1000 ly from the center of a galaxy and those at 2000 ly from the center of the galaxy both revolve at the same speed.How would the mass within 2000 ly of the center of the galaxy compare to the mass within 1000 ly of the center of the galaxy?

The Magellanic clouds are

A galaxy at a distance of 100 Mpc is receding at 6000 km/s.How far away is a galaxy that is receding at 24,000 km/s?

Which of the following types would be assigned to a normal spiral galaxy with a bright nucleus and tightly wound spiral arms?

Which of the following would be least useful in determining distances to other galaxies?

According to current ideas on the evolution of galaxies,in the remote past,elliptical galaxies would have been

Elliptical galaxies are reddish in color because they

The black hole mass at the center of the Sombrero Galaxy may be as large as __________ solar masses.

Suppose an astronomer living on a planet in a galaxy of the Perseus cluster (distance = 300 Mpc)looked back at our Milky Way galaxy.If she measured the hydrogen line H alpha (rest wavelength 6500 A),what wavelength would she actually measure? (H = 70 km/s/Mpc)

The expansion of the universe was discovered by

Journeys Start

Patterns in the Sky

Ancient Astronomy

Renaissance Astronomy

Gravity and Motion

Light and Telescopes

Overview of the Solar System

The Earth

The Moon

Mercury and Venus

Mars

Jupiter and Saturn

The Outer Solar System

Satellites

Small Solar System Bodies

Basic Properties of Stars

The Sun

The Formation of Stars and Planets

The Evolution of Stars

White Dwarfs, neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Binary Star Systems

The Milky Way

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Galaxy Clusters and the Structure of the Universe

Cosmology

Life in the Universe

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