Term
| "Laws of nature" can be characterized by saying that they: |
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Definition
| Represent our best understanding of how the universe works under certain circumstances. "Trefil and Hazen 7) |
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Term
| Which of the following would be funded by a typical federal grant for scientific research? |
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Definition
| all of the above (computer time to run analyses, salaries of investigators, equipment to conduct proposed research, travel to field sites) (Trefil and Hazen 18) |
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Term
Which combination of the following statements best describes how a hypothesis is tested?
i. By using the hypothesis to make concrete propositions?
ii. By comparing observations in nature with predictions on the basis of the hypothesis
iii. By constructing new hypotheses |
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Definition
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Term
| Kepler's laws of planetary motion stated that: |
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Definition
| all planets orbit in elliptical paths |
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Term
| To calculate the gravitational forces between objects, we need all of the following except: |
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Definition
| acceleration of both objects (slide 51) |
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Term
| If the Moon were positioned twice as far from the Earth as it is now, the gravitational attraction between the Earth and the Moon would be: |
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Definition
| one-fourth as great (Trefil and Hazen 42) |
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Term
| Newton's three Laws of Motion do NOT include the statement that: |
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Definition
| the kinetic energy of an object is equal to one-half its mass times its velocity squared (Trefil and Hazen 37-39) |
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Term
| The paired forces in Newton's third law: |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The first law of thermodynamics states that |
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Definition
| while the type of energy in a closed system can change, the total amount of energy cannot |
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Term
| Thermal energy is measured in: |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Lighting a fire with a match uses which kinds of energy? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which statement best represents the Second Law of Thermodynamics? |
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Definition
| every isolated system becomes more disordered with time (Trefil and Hazen 82) |
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Term
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Definition
| The ratio of energy output to energy input |
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Term
| What type of heat transfer occurs in a fluid? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The phrase "Heat-death of the universe" refers to |
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Definition
| Everything in the universe ultimately becoming the same temperature |
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Term
| Which following statement(s) is/are true about the relationship between the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the theory that complex life evolved from single-celled organisms by neo-Darwinian means (natural selection sifting random genetic mutations) |
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Definition
| The fact that the Earth is not a closed system does not resolve the fundamental problem of improbability that challenges neo-Darwinian accounts of the emergence of biological complexity |
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Term
| Coulomb's law states that electric force is dependent on all of the following except |
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Definition
| the sizes of the two objects |
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Term
| Which of the following can produce a magnetic field? |
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Definition
| moving electrical charges |
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Term
|
Definition
| voltage (volts) = current (amps) times resistance (ohms) |
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Term
| The functioning of an electric motor depends on the fact that |
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Definition
| an electrical current produces a magnetic field |
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Term
| What important technology followed from Michael Faraday’s invention of the electric generator? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which of the following is not a consequence of Maxwell’s equations for the electromagnetic field? |
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Definition
| that unlike charges repel while like charges attract |
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Term
| If you are observing a light source moving very rapidly toward you, the Doppler Effect predicts that the light will be |
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Definition
| shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum |
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Term
| The fundamental difference between electromagnetic waves and other kinds of waves is that |
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Definition
| they transfer energy without transferring mass |
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Term
| The electromagnetic ether was postulated in an effort to provide |
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Definition
| a medium through which electromagnetic radiation might propagate |
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Term
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which of the following is not a consequence of the Special Theory of Relativity? |
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Definition
| Gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light |
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Term
| Which of the following is the most accurate description of the cases in which the predictions of general relativity have been confirmed? |
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Definition
| Gravitational shifts in the frequency of light, gravitational lensing, time dilation, and a precession of planetary orbits that differs from Newtonian prediction |
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Term
| Which of the following was not taken as evidence for the correctness of the atomic theory of matter? |
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Definition
| electromagnetic induction |
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Term
| An electrically charged atom is known as |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The Rutherford atom is unstable because |
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Definition
| accelerating charges radiate energy |
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Term
| Each electron shell in the Bohr atom corresponds to |
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Definition
| a different electron energy level |
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Term
| What technology produces coherent photons having wave crests in alignment? |
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Definition
| light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation |
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Term
| Each time an electron moves from a higher energy shell to a lower energy shell in an atom |
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Definition
| another electron occupies the space it vacated |
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Term
| The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that |
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Definition
| it is impossible to know with precision both a particle’s position and its velocity |
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Term
| Measurements can be made on a macroscopic object without greatly disturbing its state because: |
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Definition
| the energy of the object is much greater than the energy of the probe |
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Term
| Experimental violations of various Bell inequalities demonstrate that: |
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Definition
| there can be no non-local explanation for quantum correlations |
|
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Term
| Which of the following represents the most stable arrangement of electrons in an atom? |
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Definition
| any or all of the above (atoms with completely filled valence shells, elements positioned in the far right column of the periodic table of elements, inert gases such as helium, argon, and neon, atoms with a total of 2, 10, 18, or 36 electrons) |
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Term
| Sodium chloride (NaCl) atoms form a crystal lattice that is held together by |
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Definition
|
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Term
| If a chemical bond forms spontaneously |
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Definition
| energy will be released in the interaction |
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Term
| A material that shows polarization in its chemical interactions is |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Most polymers are characterized as |
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Definition
| a collection of small molecules combined into long chains, sometimes with branches |
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Term
| Which state of matter maintains a constant volume but no fixed shape? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which kind of strength describes a material's ability to resist twisting? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| A superconductor has electrons that |
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Definition
| move freely through the material without losing energy |
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Term
| One important property of semiconducting diodes is that they |
|
Definition
| allow electricity to flow in only one direction |
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Term
| Integrated circuits contributed most directly to |
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Definition
| the miniaturization of computers |
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Term
| Which of the following can be communicated using only a series of yes-or-no questions? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| How is a microchip an improvement over a transistor? |
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Definition
| a microchip incorporates thousands of transistors into one integrated circuit designed for a specific function |
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Term
| Which of the following is true about radioactive decay? |
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Definition
| After beta decay, the number of protons in a nucleus is unchanged. |
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Term
| How do two isotopes of the same element differ? |
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Definition
| Their neutrons differ in number |
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Term
| The difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission is that |
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Definition
| Fusion combines two nuclei into one, fission splits apart a nucleus. |
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Term
| A particular isotope has a half-life of 10 minutes. If we start with 2,000 atoms now, in half an hour we will have how many atoms left? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are contained in Uranium-238? |
|
Definition
| 92 protons, 146 neutrons, 92 electrons. |
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Term
| A scientist who uses Carbon-14 dating is actually measuring the |
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Definition
| number of carbon ions in a material. |
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Term
| If you plotted the number of neutrons against the number of protons of all atoms listed in the Periodic Table of the Elements, what would you discover? |
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Definition
| All of the above are correct. |
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Term
| Which of the following statements is a characteristic of environmental radioactivity? |
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Definition
| Much of the earth's interior heat comes from alpha decay |
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Term
| An electron is to a beta particle as helium is to a(n) |
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Definition
|
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Term
| How does gamma radiation differ from alpha and beta radiation? |
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Definition
| Alpha and beta radiation change the chemical identity of the original element by changing the number of protons and neutrons; gamma radiation only changes the energy of the nucleus without altering the number of protons or neutrons. |
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Term
| Why were the medieval alchemists unsuccessful in find a philosopher’s stone? |
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Definition
| The medieval alchemists tried to change lead into gold using chemical reactions, but to change one element into another, it is necessary to manipulate the nucleus of the atom, not its electrons. |
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Term
| If an atom emits two protons and two neutrons, the atom has |
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Definition
| all of the above are correct. |
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Term
| What was the significance of Wolfgang Pauli’s discovery of the neutrino? |
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Definition
| It explained the apparent violation of the conservation of mass in alpha decay by showing that helium nuclei, when stripped of electrons, acquire two neutrinos. |
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Term
| Why are atomic nuclei greater than 92 rarely observed in nature? |
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Definition
| The structure of 92 protons seems to be the last stable geometry in nature. After uranium, elements with higher atomic numbers become increasingly unstable and can only be made in the laboratory, where they quickly decay. |
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Term
| The difference between a quark and a lepton is |
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Definition
| quarks exist in the nucleus, but leptons do not |
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Term
| Which elementary particles have the same mass but a different charge than one of the leptons? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Quarks are one of the basic building blocks of matter. Which of the following particles or structures would not contain any quarks at all? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| In what order are the fundamental forces unified as temperatures increase? |
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Definition
| electromagnetism and the weak force combine at the lowest temperature, followed by the strong force, then gravity is added to unify all four fundamental forces in the super-force that last existed right after the Big Bang. |
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Term
| If gravitons exist, which of the following pairs of objects exchange gravitons? |
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Definition
| all of the above and every other pair of objects in the Universe. |
|
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Term
| Bosons, as opposed to fermions, |
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Definition
| are the carriers of the fundamental forces AND have integral spin, and therefore cannot form structures AND obey Bose-Einstein statistics, but not Fermi-Dirac statistics AND do not obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle |
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Term
| Gravity is to a graviton as the strong force is to |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The super-unification project associated with string theory postulates that |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland, is hoping to discover evidence of |
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Definition
|
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Term
| A synchrotron is distinguished from a linear accelerator in that while both machines are particle accelerators that boost atomic particles to near-light speeds |
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Definition
| The synchrotron accelerates particles with intense radio waves while employing a ring of magnets to constrain them to move in a circular track, but the linear accelerator uses a vacuum tube into which particles are injected to ride an electromagnetic wave. |
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Term
| Which of the following are true? |
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Definition
| We know that the strong force is stronger than the electromagnetic force because it overcomes the electrical repulsion between protons to hold the nucleus together AND the weak force is associated with the phenomenon of radioactivity AND The electroweak force is carried by W and Z vector bosons. |
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Term
| The energy source of stars is primarily associated with |
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Definition
| the reactions of nuclei in the star core |
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Term
| Which of the following can be said about large stars? |
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Definition
| Large stars have a shorter lifetime than smaller stars. |
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Term
| The end products of fusion in the sun's core are: |
|
Definition
| helium isotopes, protons, and gamma rays. |
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Term
| Which of the following affects the lifetime of a star? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graphical technique used in astronomy to compare |
|
Definition
| the surface temperature versus the energy output of a star. |
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Term
| Where were the heaviest chemical elements on Earth created? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| If you were to observe a pulsar, what would you see? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which of the following is among the things that astrophysicists predict for the Sun’s demise? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| If you were describing the structure of the Sun correctly, you would say that |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Why do scientists think that black holes exist, considering that black holes cannot be seen and none have ever been directly observed in space? |
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Definition
| Their existence is predicted by general relativity AND black holes are predicted to give off a particular radiation signature that has been detected AND Stars near black holes exhibit strange orbits and have their mass gradually sucked away. |
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Term
| The Big Bang theory and the Steady State theory differ in that |
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Definition
| The Big Bang theory proposes that the Universe is expanding and has a finite history |
|
|
Term
| The discovery of ubiquitous cosmic microwave background radiation |
|
Definition
| gives support to the Big Bang theory. |
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Term
| What were the first three elements formed in the Big Bang? |
|
Definition
| hydrogen, helium, and lithium. |
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Term
| According to the current ideas about the origin of the Universe, which of the following forces existed before 10-43 seconds (the Planck time)? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is true about inflationary cosmology? |
|
Definition
| It was originally proposed to explain the horizon problem, the flatness problem, and the fact that the magnetic monopoles predicted by certain Grand Unified Theories had not been observed AND The first formulation of the theory was inadequate and remedying its defects led to the theory of chaotic eternal inflation, which entails the endless production of bubble universes AND inflation is eternal into the future AND It is intended to resolve problems with the fine-tuning of the Universe’s initial conditions. |
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Term
| Which of the following is NOT a problem with inflationary cosmology? |
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Definition
| It fails to satisfy the conditions of the BGV theorem |
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Term
| The existence of a multiverse follows from which of the following theories? |
|
Definition
| The Hartle-Hawking no boundary proposal in quantum cosmology. |
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Term
| Which of the following is true about quantum cosmology? |
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Definition
| All EXCEPT that it is a mathematical description of dubious merit |
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Term
| Which of the following is NOT a problem with quantum cosmology? |
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Definition
| Because it requires a realistic interpretation of the Feynman path-integral formalism for quantum mechanics, it relies on the many worlds interpretation of quantum theory, which is problematic from both a technical and a metaphysical standpoint. |
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Term
| Which of the following is NOT true about the String Landscape? |
|
Definition
| it presumes the truth of quantum cosmology and exists in a superspace of geometrical superpositions AND it relies on each of the vacua of string theory being associated with different laws in virtue of the size of the compactified spatial dimensions and different universal constants in virtue of the shape of the compactified extra dimensions |
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Term
| Which statement about dark matter is accepted by most astronomers? |
|
Definition
| Dark matter interacts with ordinary matter through its gravitational effects. |
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Term
| Which of the following is true of the Kālām Cosmological Argument? |
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Definition
| all of the above EXCEPT that the universe had a beginning |
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Term
| Which of the following is evidence for the Big Bang theory? |
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Definition
| The abundance of hydrogen, helium and lithium in the Universe, the cosmic microwave background radiation, universal expansion, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. |
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Term
| The argument to intelligent design in cosmology and astronomy rests on which of the following facts and correspondences? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Antimatter is rarely observed in our galaxy because |
|
Definition
| laboratory research indicates that matter was more plentiful in the early universe and annihilated the antimatter. |
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Term
| Why do scientists think that dark matter does not interact through the electromagnetic force? |
|
Definition
| because if it did, it would absorb or emit photons |
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