Test your basic knowledge |

Subject : science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A small chunk of rock in space






2. The particle horizon is the farthest we can see. It exists because the universe had a beginning and thus a definite age. Light from distances farther away from the particle horizon have not had time to reach us yet.






3. Distribution of dust (tells us disk is thin) - find distances to O&B stars and H2 regions (arms are sights of star formation and OB stars live and die at location of birth) -Milky way has four arms. Sun is in spur apart from arms.






4. A phenomenon seen when the Earth passes through the orbit of a burned out comet






5. A fusion process in which a carbon atom transmutes to oxygen and back - creating a helium atom in the process






6. Form honeycomb like patterns surrounding empty or nearly empty voids.






7. The apparent backward motion of a planet against the background of stars.






8. A star that is burning hydrogen to helium in a shell surrounding it's core






9. Titan






10. A younger cluster of stars - found in the galaxy disk






11. The distance between a lens and its focal plane






12. In Ptolemy's geocentric solar system - the small circle on which a planet moved.






13. The dark - relativley smooth areas on the moon; Latin for sea






14. A point in the sky where meteors appear to come from during a shower






15. Largest moon in solar system - two differenet types of terrain - darker terrain is older - NOT ACTIVE SURFACE






16. A galaxy emitting large amounts of energy at long wavelengths.






17. The lens that gathers the light in a refractor






18. The elementary building blocks from which protons and neutrons are formed.






19. A star without enough mass to begin hydrogen fusion






20. Form honeycomb like patterns surrounding empty or nearly empty voids.






21. We can infer the absolute magnitude of pulsating variable stars by measuring their pulsation periods. The longer the pulsations - the greater their luminosities. We then again measure their apparent magnitudes - compare it with their absolute magnitu






22. The elementary building blocks from which protons and neutrons are formed.






23. The telescope configuration that has the focus placed at the back of the primary mirror






24. A plot of star absolute magnitude verses spectral type.






25. Mercury






26. In Ptolemy's geocentric solar system - the large circle on which a planet's epicycle moved around the Earth.






27. N=are*Fp(Ne)(Fl)(Fi)(Fc)(L) N: number of civilizations possible to communicate with are*: rate solar-like stars are created Fp: fraction of stars with planets Ne: number of planets like ours Fl: fraction of planets with life Fi: intelligent life Fc:






28. A large - irregularly shaped rocky object orbiting the sun mostly between mars and jupiter. Left-over planetesimals






29. The apparent magnitude a star would have if it were at a distance of 10 parsecs.






30. Very center of galaxy. suggestion of a black hole






31. The equation that describes how matter equates with energy






32. A large - irregularly shaped rocky object orbiting the sun mostly between mars and jupiter. Left-over planetesimals






33. A long-lived high-pressure bulge in Jupiter's southern hemisphere






34. The rotation period of the Earth measured relative to the Sun.






35. Mercury and venus






36. A star that erratically and explosively brightens and dims






37. A fusion process in which protons build together to form helium






38. The rotation of a star or planet at different speeds at its equator and poles






39. The shadow area behind the Earth or Moon where the Sun is completely obscured.






40. Light-flaky crust - convective currents cause it to wrinkle and bunch (1/5 of surface). uniform cratering suggests lack of weathering and tectonics. volcanoes are flat due to atmospheric pressure.






41. Large nebula consisting of very cold gas and dust






42. A two-filter measure of the color - and hence temperature - of a star.






43. The distance light travels in one year (=9.46x10^12km).






44. Dark areas on the sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere






45. When material is heated and moves taking the heat energy with it






46. The telescope configuration that has the focus placed at the back of the primary mirror






47. Sudden blasts of gamma radiation from a very distant galaxy caused possibly by a supernova explosion.






48. The state of having a balance between inward and outard pressures in a gas--the inward force from gravity is balanced by the outward force from heat.






49. The Greek philosopher responsible for making the stellar magnitude scale.






50. If stars have diff orbital periods - than any arms formed by stars will wind into a tight spiral pattern (billion yrs or so)