Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana

ASTR 101

Chapter 4 Quiz

Question1)Suppose the Moon's orbit were unchanged, but it rotated faster (meaning it did not have synchronous rotation). Which of the following would be true?

• Question 2

Suppose that the Sun shrank in size but that its mass remained the same. What would happen to the orbit of the Earth?

• Question 3

When space probe Voyager 2 passed by Saturn, its speed increased (but not due to firing its engines). What must have happened?

• Question 4

Suppose you kick a soccer ball straight up to a height of 10 meters. Which of the following is true about the gravitational potential energy of the ball during its flight?

• Question 5

Which of the following best explains why the Moon's orbital period and rotation period are the same?

• Question 6

The planets never travel in a straight line as they orbit the Sun. According to Newton's second law of motion, this must mean that                                       .

• Question 7

A rock held above the ground has potential energy. As the rock falls, this potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. Finally, the rock hits the ground and stays there. What has happened to the energy?

• Question 8

Which of the following scenarios involves energy that we would typically calculate with Einstein's formula E=mc2?

 Answer:

• Question 9

Each of the following lists two facts. Which pair of facts can be used with Newton's version of Kepler's third law to determine the mass of the Sun?

• Question 10

Suppose you are in an elevator that is traveling upward at constant speed. How does your weight compare to your normal weight on the ground?

• Question 11

Newton showed that Kepler's laws are                    .

• Question 12

Which of the following best describes the origin of ocean tides on Earth?

• Question 13

Suppose the Sun were suddenly to shrink in size but that its mass remained the same. According to the law of conservation of angular momentum, what would happen?

• Question 14

Which of the following represents a case in which you are not accelerating?

• Question 15

Imagine another solar system, with a star of the same mass as the Sun. Suppose a planet with a mass twice that of Earth (2MEarth) orbits at a distance of 1 AU from the star. What is the orbital period of this planet?

• Question 16

A net force acting on an object will always cause a change in the object's                    .