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Test 6 The Scale of the Universe
Quiz Hints
How did Sir William Herschel use his big telescope to map the Milky Way? What
did he discover? Why were his conclusions erroneous?
What did Henrietta Leavitt find in her studies of variable stars? What is the
period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars?
Why is the relationship between a Cepheid variable star’s period and luminosity
important? What is a “standard candle?” Explain the inverse square law.
How did Harlow Shapley measure the distance to globular clusters? What did he
discover about them?
What were the key lines of evidence that the “spiral nebulae” were inside the
Milky Way? What did Adriaan van Maanen measure in spiral nebulae? Why did this
mean (even though his measurements were wrong) that the spiral nebulae had to be
close?
What was the “Great Debate?” Which side were Heber Curtis and Harlow Shapley on?
How was the Great Debate settled? What did Edwin Hubble use to measure the
distances to the spiral nebulae?
Test 7 Hubble’s Expanding Universe
Quiz Hints
How did Edwin Hubble measure the distances to other galaxies?
What is the Doppler effect? What is a blue shift? What is a red shift? What can
it tell us about an object’s motion?
How were Edwin Hubble’s measurement flawed? Why don’t we use his measurements
today?
What is the Hubble law? What does it say about a galaxy’s Doppler shift? What is
the Hubble Constant? How is it used today?
What is a galaxy? What happens when they collide?
What are the classifications of galaxies according to Hubble? How do elliptical
galaxies differ from spiral/spiral bar galaxies? What type of galaxy is the
Milky Way?
Test 8 The Runaway Universe
Quiz Hints
What is Einstein’s theory of general relativity? How was it first tested?
What did steady-state theorists believe about the history and future of the
universe? What did they believe accounted for the observed expansion and how was
the void at the center of expansion filled?
How was the term “Big Bang” coined and did any steady-state theorists deny the
Big Bang after the cosmic microwave background was discovered?
What is the cosmic microwave background radiation? Why did it have to exist? How
was it discovered? Who got credit for discovering it?
Why did ripples in the microwave background radiation have to exist for the Big
Bang theory? How were they discovered?
What is a type 1A supernova? Why is it a “standard candle?” How can they be
found?
Do scientists know what dark energy is? Why do they think it exists if it cannot
be seen directly?
Why was it important that two teams competed to find out how fast the universe
was slowing down? What did they find out instead?
Test 9 Exploring the Inner Solar System
Quiz Hints
What were the first satellites and who launched them?
What was significant about Apollo 11? What did the astronauts do?
What happened on Apollo 13? Why was it called NASA’s “most successful failure?”
How did the Moon form? Why is this theory accepted by most scientists?
What is the greenhouse effect? How does this term relate to Venus? What are some
causes for the greenhouse effect on Venus?
Is there water ice beneath the surface of Mars? How was it found?
What were the twin Viking landers sent to Mars to search for? Did they find it?
Test 10 Exploring the Outer Solar System
Quiz Hints
What is a gas giant? Why is this a misnomer? What planets in our solar system
are gas giants?
Describe the Jupiter planetary system. What are the four major moons? Is Jupiter
a brown dwarf?
Describe Saturn’s ring system. What is a shepherd moon?
Describe the similarities between Uranus and Neptune.
What did the Huygens Probe find when it descended through Titan’s thick
atmosphere? How is Titan similar to early Earth? How is it different?
What is significant about the Voyager space craft? What part of the solar system
are they in?
What space craft is currently heading to Pluto? What will it do there? Why is
Pluto a scientifically interesting place?
Test 11 Searching for
Extrasolar Planets
Quiz Hints
How did scientists first look for extrasolar planets? Why were their discoveries
false?
How were their first extrasolar planets found? Why were scientists less
interested in them?
How was the first extrasolar planet orbiting a main sequence star found? Who
discovered it? Why was this discovery such a surprise?
Describe the various methods of detecting extrasolar planets. Which method has
found the most planets?
What is a “Hot Jupiter?” Why have most extrasolar planets so far been “Hot
Jupiters.”
Have any planets like Earth been found in other planetary systems? Why not? What
new telescope may be able to find them?
How does a planetary system form? What observational evidence supports this
theory?
Test 12 Rare Earth vs Life Everywhere
Quiz Hints
What conditions do most scientists agree are necessary for life to evolve and
thrive on a planet?
What evidence is there for a liquid watery past on Mars?
What was the Miller experiment and what did the scientists find?
What planets and moons in our solar system may harbor primitive life? What makes
these locations particularly hospitable?
What characteristics of extrasolar planets might act as evidence for abundant
life?
Has life ever been found beyond the Earth’s vicinity?
What are some possible futures of human space exploration?
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