Popquiz 1 Which of the following statements is

Pop-quiz #1 Which of the following statements is TRUE A. Studies of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation allow us to probe the properties of the Universe all the way back to Big Bang B. Galaxy collisions are usually accompanied by collisions between individual stars C. Kepler’s first law tells us that the orbit of each planet in the Solar System is a perfect ellipse with the Sun at the center of the ellipse D. The total mass of the Milky Way galaxy is 1011 kilograms E. Most of the matter in the Universe is in a non-luminous form but makes its presence felt through its gravity

Pop-quiz #2 Which of the following statements is FALSE A. The strong and weak nuclear forces are short-range forces that do not obey the inverse square law B. The force of friction is an example of the electromagnetic force C. Gravity is the primary force at play during the formation of galaxies D. There are five fundamental forces in Nature E. The nuclear fusion reactions that power the Sun involve the strong nuclear force

Pop-quiz #3 Which of the following “Scientist: Fact” associations is the LEAST DIRECT? A. Maxwell: Wave nature of electromagnetic radiation B. Kepler: The Sun orbits the Milky Way’s center C. Newton: Laws of gravity D. Einstein: Particle nature of electromagnetic radiation E. Kelvin: The motion of molecules ceases at absolute zero

Pop-quiz #4 Which of the following statements is FALSE? A. Einstein showed that the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation can explain the photoelectric effect and was awarded the Nobel Prize for this B. Each gamma-ray photon is more energetic than a radio photon and each source of gamma rays is more luminous than a radio source C. One of the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum where the atmosphere is transparent (“windows”) closely matches the portion to which the human eye is sensitive and this probably resulted from Darwinian evolution D. Scientists have directly measured the tiny fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation that represent the “seeds” from which galaxies and clusters of galaxies formed E. When you look at the student sitting next to you, you are effectively seeing them as they were a fraction of a second in the past

Pop-quiz #5 Star X has a surface temperature that is 3 times higher than that of the Sun. Both stars have exactly the same radius. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. The luminosity of the Sun is 81 times that of the star X B. The typical photon emitted by star X has a lower energy than the typical photon emitted by the Sun C. Star X is reddish in color whereas the Sun is yellowish white D. If both stars were at the same distance from us, the Sun would appear 81 times fainter than star X E. Most of the energy of star X is emitted at a longer wavelength than most of the Sun’s energy