PHYSICS 127                                       SAMPLE  EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS   

     The questions below have all been used in previous Physics 127 examinations given by your instructor.  Some may deal with topics not discussed this term.  These would not appear on this term's exam.

    1. The precession of the equinoxes does not cause (a) a gradual change in the constellations visible in a particular month of the year, (b) a gradual change in the best choice of a star for the "north star," (c) parts of the sky which are presently in the southern polar cap and therefore not observable from Provo, to become visible from Provo, (d) a gradual shift in the dates of the seasons.

    2. A man lying on his back notes that the stars are slowly circling clockwise about his zenith. The man is located (a) on the equator, (b) at the north pole, (c) at the south pole, (d) on either the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn.

    3. A star is just rising. One can conclude that its azimuth is between (a) 0° and 90°, (b) 0° and 180°, (c) 90° and 180°, (d) 90° and 270°, (e) 180° and 360°.

    4. A great circle which passes through both a star and the north celestial pole is known as that star's (a) celestial circle, (b) celestial meridian, (c) hour circle, (d) vertical circle.

    5. An underwater diver shines his flashlight towards altitude 60°. The beam of light emerging from the water is directed towards an altitude which is (a) less than 60°, (b) equal to 60°, (c) greater than 60°, (d) not possible to determine without further information.

    6. A parsec is defined as the distance (a) light travels in a vacuum in one year, (b) of the nearest star, (c) of the sun from our galactic center, (d) at which a transverse length of one astronomical unit would subtend one arc second, (e) equal to the earth's average separation from the sun.

    7. Another name for differential refraction is (a) diffraction, (b) dispersion, (c) interference, (d) polarization, (e) reflection.

    8. In a particular, polarized ray of light which is directed towards the zenith, the electrical field is oscillating in an east-west sense. The associated magnetic field is oscillating in which of the following directions? (a) East-west, (b) north-south, (c) up-down, (d) all of the preceding.

    9. The period of time required for the earth to turn exactly once on its axis is closest to (a) 23^hr56^min, (b) 24^hr00^min, (c) 24^hr04^min, (d) 365.2422 days.

    10. The earth's north pole is to the earth's equator as the zenith is to the (a) celestial equator, (b) celestial meridian, (c) ecliptic, (d) horizon.

    11. A Martian observes that the earth is located at inferior conjunction. At the same time an earthbound astronomer notes that Mars is at (a) conjunction, (b) greatest elongation, (c) opposition, (d) quadrature, (e) superior conjunction.

    12. The highest quality optical observatory sites known in the world are found in (a) California, (b) Chile, (c) Hawaii, (d) Nevada, (e) Russia.

    13. The phase of today's moon is (a) full, (b) waning crescent, (c) waning gibbous, (d) waxing crescent, (e) waxing gibbous.

14. The constellation in the figure at the right is (a) Auriga, (b) Cancer, (c) Canis Major, (d) Canis Minor, (e) Perseus.
15. The brightest star in the constellation at the right is (a) Algol, (b) Capella, (c) Castor, (d) Procyon, (e) Sirius.
16. Early in the evening, say at 9:00 pm, this constellation is currently found (a) low in the southwest, (b) moderately high in the east, (c) just rising in the east-northeast, (d) moderately high in the west, (e) near the zenith.

    17. The Balmer series is a (a) frequently repeated sequence of lunar eclipses, (b)
sequence of correcting lenses used to remove chromatic aberration, (c) hypothetical
succession of crystalline spherical shells used by the Greeks to explain planetary motions,
(d) repetitious sequence of planetary aspects exhibited by superior planets, (e) sequence
of visible spectral lines produced by hydrogen.

    18. Compared with the weight of an identical object on the BYU campus the weight of an object on the summit of Timpanogos is (a) slightly smaller, (b) equal, (c) slightly greater, (d) any of the preceding depending on the nature of the object.

    19. One of Galileo's telescopic discoveries can be said to have disproved the Ptolemaic model. That discovery was (a) the moons of Jupiter, (b) the rings of Saturn, (c) sunspots, (d) the full cycle of phases exhibited by Venus.

    20. Which of the following phenomena cannot be explained using Newton's laws of motion and gravity, but can be explained if one uses Einstein's theory of general relativity? (a) the tides, (b) the precession of the equinoxes, (c) the precession of the moon's orbital plane, (d) the gradual advance in the perihelion of Mercury, (e) the small periodic variation in the times of the eclipses of Jupiter's moons.

    21. Star A has a surface temperature of 6,000K. Star B is the same size as A but has a surface temperature of 18,000K. How may times more energy does B radiate into space than A? (a) 3, (b) 9, (c) 27, (d) 81, (e) it is not possible to say without knowing the size of the stars.