In Quest of the Universe, 5e: Explorations

Title Text: In Quest of the Universe, Fourth Edition

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Please read each question and select your answer from the choices provided. You must complete all of the questions in order to view your results. At the end of each exam, you have the option to e-mail your results to your instructor.

1: The temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation was about _____ K when it was first formed and is about _____ K now.
	A: 3, 3000
	B: 3000, 3
	C: 3000, 3000
	D: 3, 3
	E: 1 million, 3

2: About 380,000 years after the big bang
	A: galaxies started forming.
	B: the temperature of the universe was about 3 K.
	C: the universe's expansion started accelerating.
	D: the universe's expansion started decelerating.
	E: matter and radiation decoupled.

3: Which of the following would support the Steady State theory?
	A: Observational evidence that some of the nearby galaxies are young and others old.
	B: Observational evidence that the expansion of the universe is proceeding at a constant rate.
	C: Observational evidence that there is no CMB radiation.
	D: (All of the above.)
	E: (None of the above.)

4: When we talk about "isotropy" in cosmology we mean that
	A: the universe started from a point.
	B: the CMB radiation has the same intensity at all wavelengths.
	C: the universe looks about the same at any position.
	D: the CMB radiation propagates radially outwards from the origin.
	E: the universe looks the same in any direction.

5: According to the latest WMAP results, a galaxy that is 100 million parsecs away has a recession speed of about
	A: 6100 km/sec.
	B: 6500 km/sec.
	C: 7300 km/sec.
	D: 7700 km/sec.
	E: 8100 km/sec.

6: Which of the following is/are not true about Olbers' paradox?
	A: It is easily resolved by the finite age of the universe.
	B: It supports the idea of an expanding universe.
	C: It suggests that dark matter must exist in the universe.
	D: (Two of the above.)
	E: (None of the above.)

7: We expect the expansion of the universe to slow down with time because
	A: that is a necessary result of the presence of matter in the universe.
	B: of the presence of dark energy.
	C: of the loses in energy that occur in processes taking place throughout the universe.
	D: of collisions between clusters of galaxies.
	E: (This is a misleading statement. As a result of the big bang the universe never slows down.)

8: Which of the following is true about the amounts of heavy chemical elements in the early universe?
	A: They were insignificant.
	B: They were in the same proportion as they are today.
	C: They could not be produced because the temperatures were never high enough to form them through fusion reactions.
	D: They could not be produced because the densities were never high enough to form them through fusion reactions.
	E: (None of the above.)

9: The small fluctuations that are observed in the CMB radiation are significant because
	A: they suggest that the radiation is not at all isotropic.
	B: they show that the early universe was not completely homogeneous.
	C: they show that galaxies could form early in the evolution of the universe.
	D: they show the direction to the Galactic center.
	E: (Two of the above.)

10: Which of the following does not support the big bang theory?
	A: The time dilation of distant supernova light curves.
	B: The darkness of the night sky.
	C: Homogeneity and isotropy at large scales.
	D: The observed proportions of light chemical elements.
	E: (All of the above support the big bang theory.)

11: The presence of dark energy is currently accelerating the expansion of the universe. As a result, the universe
	A: will expand at an increasing rate.
	B: will expand up to a point and then start collapsing.
	C: will continue its expansion but at a reduced rate.
	D: (This is a misleading statement. We do not know the future of the universe.)
	E: (This is a misleading statement. Dark energy is not related to the expansion of the universe.)

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