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Study Quizzes

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:  When Galileo observed Venus at its greatest size, Venus' phase was
A: crescent.
B: gibbous.
C: full.
D: new.
E: quarter.

2:  You are driving without wearing your seat belt (a bad idea!) and you are forced to suddenly break. Your body leans forward. This is an example of Newton's
A: third law of motion (that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction).
B: second law of motion ( F = m × a ).
C: universal law of gravitation.
D: the law of inertia.
E: (None of the above.)

3:  You are in your spaceship, motionless in space, far away from any other object. You fire the engines and you start moving forward. This demonstrates
A: Newton's first law of motion (the law of inertia).
B: Kepler's first law.
C: Newton's third law of motion (that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction).
D: Newton's universal law of gravitation.
E: (Both A and C.)

4:  You are in your spaceship, motionless in space, far away from any other object. This is the "system" we will study. You fire the engines and you start moving forward. The center of mass of the system
A: remains at the same place as before you fired the engines.
B: moves forward with the spaceship and is located inside it.
C: moves forward with the spaceship but is located outside it because of the loss of the exhaust gases.
D: moves backward.
E: (We do not have enough information to answer the question.)

5:  Planet X has been discovered to orbit a star just like our Sun and has a mass twice that of the Earth. Planet X orbits its star at a distance of 2 AU. The ratio of the gravitational force of the Sun on Earth to the gravitational force of the star on planet X
A: is equal to 1.
B: is equal to 2.
C: is equal to 0.5.
D: is equal to 4.
E: (We do not have enough information to answer the question.)

6:  Two stars orbit each other with a period of 10 years. The distance between the stars is 20 AU. What is the total mass of the system in units of the mass of the Sun?
A: 30
B: 2
C: 200
D: 0.5
E: 80

7:  Compared to her mass on Earth, an astronaut's mass on the Moon is
A: six times less (that's why she is able to move around so easily).
B: six times more. Her ability to move around has nothing to do with her mass.
C: six times less because the Moon is a smaller object compared to Earth.
D: six times more because the Moon is a more compact object than Earth.
E: the same.

8:  According to the general theory of relativity
A: gravity and acceleration are the same thing.
B: the curvature of space tells matter in its vicinity how to move.
C: we cannot distinguish effects of acceleration from gravitational effects.
D: (Both A and C.)
E: (Both B and C.)

9:  Which of the following derive(s) from Einstein's two postulates?
A: The observed length along the line of motion of a moving object is greater than its length when measured at rest.
B: The observed passage of time becomes faster for a fast-moving object.
C: The observed inertia of a fast-moving object is smaller than its inertia when at rest.
D: (Only A and B.)
E: (None of the above.)

10:  A planet orbits a star in an approximately circular orbit.
A: The planet revolves around the center of the star.
B: The planet revolves around the center of mass of the planet-star system.
C: The star revolves around the center of the planet.
D: The star revolves around the center of mass of the planet-star system.
E: (Both B and D.)

Optional: Enter your name and your instructor's E-mail address to have your results E-mailed to him or her.
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