1. Disaster comes from the words:

a. Evil and Star

b. Angry and Gods

c. Bad and Happening

d. Non and Tie

2. The creation of the Earth's elements in the Big Bang occured:

a. some 15 billion years ago

b. some 10 billion years ago

c. some 4.5 billion years ago

d. some 3.5 billion years ago

3. Near the final stages of its growth it is believed that the Earth was suddenly hit by a Mars-sized 'final' planetisimal, resulting in:

a. The Earth's Moon

b. Earth's seasons

c. Earth's tides

d. All of the above

4. The Earth has evolved to its present state, benevolent for humans because

a. We shaped the Earth to suit our needs

b. By chance we evolved to need such an Earth

c. we evolved in response to the environment existing in this stage of the planet's history

d. The Earth is not that different from its originzl state

5. As life sprung up, it pursued a course of evolution, with changes induced by

a. mutation

b. environmental adaptation

c. punctuated extinction

d. all of the above

6. Earth Sciences has long been influenced by which basic schools of thought:

a. uniformitarianism and non-uniformitarianism

b. catastrophism and non-catastrophism

c. uniformitarianism and catastrophism

d. non-uniformitarianism and non-catastrophism

7. This is the notion that the present is the key to the past via several fundamental laws

a. uniformitarianism

b. non-uniformitarianism

c. catastrophism

d. non-catastrophism

8. There is no progress in the system, it is in equilibrium a. Uniformity of Process (actualism)

b. Uniformity of Rate (gradualism)

c. Uniformity of Law

d. Uniformity of Conditions

9. Can explain past results as outcome of causes in operation today

a. Uniformity of Process (actualism)

b. Uniformity of Rate (gradualism)

c. Uniformity of Law

d. Uniformity of Conditions

10. Natural laws are invariant in space and time

a. Uniformity of Process (actualism)

b. Uniformity of Rate (gradualism)

c. Uniformity of Law

d. Uniformity of Conditions

11. Ordinary processes operating over long times yield substantial results

a. Uniformity of Process (actualism)

b. Uniformity of Rate (gradualism)

c. Uniformity of Law

d. Uniformity of Conditions

12. He said "The most incomprehensible thing about the Universe is that it is comprehensible"

a. Georges Cuvier

b. Albert Einstein

c. Charles Lyell

d. Stephen Jay Gould

13. The doctrine that changes in the Earth have been brought about suddenly, by physical forces operating in ways that cannot be observed today.

a. uniformitarianism

b. non-uniformitarianism

c. catastrophism

d. non-catastrophism

From Rocks and Toenails to the Big Bang

14. Exploration of the physical properties of rocks and other natural substances was initially prompted by

a. the consideration of the fundamental essence of our surroundings

b. the practical necessity of tool and weapon making

c. continual scraping for subsistence

d. intellectual pursuit of fundamental questions

15. Evolutionary theory now sees human organisms as having evolved in a manner so as to

a. optimize our utilization of our environment

b. minimize our utilization of our environment

c. maximize our utilization of our environment

d. none of the above

16. The advance of scientific approaches to the nature of living organisms was impeded for many centuries by

a. the onset of the Industrial Age

b. the flourishing of knowledge that followed the upheavals of the Renaissance

c. theological dogma

d. the scientific method

17. Used in the analysis of radiation emitted by an object when it is heated

a. mass spectrometers

b. spectroscopic sensors

18. These are able to take tiny samples of materials and break them apart to measure the relative abundance of their constituent atoms

a. mass spectrometers

b. spectroscopic sensors

19. What is the Earth and what is it made of? How can we answer this question?

a. drill holes to the Earth's core

b. analyze rocks brought up to the surface in volcanic eruptions

c. in part by looking outside the Earth at the solar system, galaxy and universe

d. by studying the varieties of plant life on the surface

20. He viewed the Earth as one of the planets orbiting the Sun.

a. Pythagoras

b. Copernicus

c. Kepler

d. all of the above

21. That the Sun and its planets formed together is strongly suggested by

a. the common rotational plane of the planets

b. the diagonal rotational plane of the planets

c. the plane of the ecliptic

d. two of the above

22. The wavelength is

a. the spatial distance between crests and valleys of the wave

b. the length between peaks in a set of waves

c. the time it takes between the passage of one wave crest and the next past a fixed point

d. the speed of the wave

23. Using a prism to separate 'white' sunlight into its separate colors, one finds colors ranging from blue to green to yellow to orange to red to violet, but in the colors there are dark lines. The colors represent ___________, and the dark lines represent ___________ of certain wavelengths of light.

a. ommissions, absorptions

b. absorptions, emissions

c. emissions, absorptions

d. absorptions, ommissions

24. True or False. Unique wavelengths of light are emitted or absorbed by different materials under very hot conditions.

25. The Sun's spectrum indicates a great relative abundance of

a. hydrogen (H) and helium (He) relative to, say, Silicon (Si).

b. hydrogen (H) and Silicon (Si) relative to, say helium (He).

c. helium (He). and Silicon (Si) relative to, say hydrogen (H)

d. Silicon (Si) relative to, say hydrogen (H) and helium (He).

26. Silicon is a major component of the _____________ of the Earth.

a. atmosphere

b. ocean

c. rocks

d. plants

27. True or False. The Earth has fewer of the light, volatile gasses that the Sun has retained, which makes sense because the Earth's gravity is so much less than that of the Sun that very light gasses easily escape into space, leaving only a modest amount of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) on the planet.

28. Meteorites come in vastly different types, some being

a. pure metal

b. extensively melted rock

c. rock-metal combinations that have little evidence of melting

d. all of the above

29. Carbonaceous Chondrites, being meteorites that

a. have experienced extensive heating

b. have experienced extensive remixing

c. have experienced extensive melting

d. appear to have formed from the most primitive soup of the solar nebula

30. True or False. Carbonaceous Chondrites, being meteorites that are almost devoid of heavy gasses like, H, He, O, N.

31. True or False. Melting and mixing of the Earth has undoubtedly redistributed the components internally, but the bulk composition may be very similar to the Carbonaceous Chondrite.

32. The Earth is a Layered Planet. The correct order from surface to center is

a. Core, Crust, Mantle

b. Crust, Mantle, Core

c. Mantle, Crust, Core

d. Crust, Core, Mantle

33. The compositions of the earth's core is mainly

a. SiO2

b. MgO2

c. Fe

d. Ni

34. True or False. The composition of the Earth is not unusual relative to the whole Universe.

35. The angle subtended by two observing positions relative to a known reference point while imaging a very distant object

a. the parallax

b. the cosmology

c. the nebula

d. the andromeda

36. The Galaxy in which our solar system resides is

a. the Andromeda Nebula

b. the Milky Way

c. the parallax

d. the cosmology

37. The Galaxy in which our solar system resides is about light years across, and that it is light years to the next nearest galaxy,

a. 1,000 / 2,000

b, 2,000 / 1,000

c. 2,000,000 / 100,000

d. 100,000 / 2,000,000

38. A light year is

a. the distance traveled at the speed of light in one year

b. the amount of light yielded by the sun in one year

c. the amount of light that reaches the earth in one year

d. none of the above

39. The speed of light is about

a. 300,000 km/s

b. 300,000 km/h

c. 300,000 m/s

d. 300,000 m/h

40. The important notion in determine whether an object is moving toward or away from the Earth is the concept of

a. parralax

b. cosmology

c. the ecliptic

d. the Doppler Shift.

41. Assume some distant object is X km away from an observer, and the object radiates a particular light wave with a wavelength, Ltrue. If the object is stationary the observer will measure the true period of the waves. If the object is moving away from the observer, the observed wavelength is _______________ than the true one, which shifts the observation toward the _________________ end of the spectrum.

a. longer / blue

b. shorter / blue

c. longer / red

d. shorter / red

42. If the object is moving toward the observer the wavelength will be ____________ , toward the _____________ end of the spectrum.

a. longer / blue

b. shorter / blue

c. longer / red

d. shorter / red

43. In 1929 found strong evidence that the Universe is expanding.

a. Lyell

b. Darwin

c. Hubble

d. Hillary

44. The notion that the Universe should look the same to observers in all galaxies if the scale is big enough and motions are less than the speed of light.

a. the Coefficient of Expansion

b. the Hubble Constant

c. the Cosmological Principle

d. the Threory of Equilibrium

45. True or False. All material in the Universe was in one place, say 15 million years ago, and has been spreading outward ever since, creating space as it goes.

46. All material in the Universe was in one place, then it was projected outward by the

a. SMALL BONG

b. BIG BONG

c. SMALL BANG

d. BIG BANG

47. True or False. One second after the Big Bang the volume of space was growing, rapidly increasing the density of the Universe and letting it cool to only 10 billion degrees

48. True or False. One hundred eighty seconds after the Big Bang, at a temperature of 1 billion degrees, protons and neutrons became stable forms of matter, providing H and He nuclei. In this instant the Universe became comprised of 73% H, 27% He.

49. True or False. Looking at the stars is like looking back in time, as we look to more and more distant objects we are seeing events longer and longer ago. This is because it has taken longer for light from distant objects to reach us today, so that light had to have left the object longer ago.

50. Can we see all the way to the Big Bang?

Yes

No

From the Big Bang to Our Solar Nebula

51. The Big Bang commenced a process that persists to today: the creation of larger and larger atomic structures by

a. nucleodigestion

b. nucleosynthesis.

c. protodigestion

d. protosynthesis

52. True or False. By three minutes into the existence of the Universe there was 1 He atom for every 10 H atoms, and this set the 24% mass of He that exists in the Universe today.

53. True or False. All of the early stars consisted of Si and Fe alone.

54. True or False. If not for the processes operating in stars, and their catastrophic terminal phases, there would be no stones, no iron, no flesh, no humans to think about these things.

55. Stars behavior differs widely, and is largely dependent upon the mass of material in the star. Eventually, meaning after some billions of years, the fuel that is available within the hottest interior of the star will be burned up (fused) into

a. ash

b. stable larger elements

c. all of the above

d. none of the above

56. Eventually, meaning after some billions of years, the fuel that is available within the hottest interior of the star will be burned up. What happens then is very dependent on the mass originally swept into the star. If the original star mass was > 30 Suns:

a. a Red Giant will form

b. a white dwarf will form

c. a neutron star will form

d. a Black Hole will form

57. A star involves a balance of

a. light and dark

b. matter and anti-matter

c. heat and gravity

d. chemistry and physics

58. In a star heat results from energy release during fusion and tends to

a. expand the star outward

b. collapse the star

c. change the shape of the star

d. change the direction of rotation of the star

59. In a star gravity tends to

a. expand the star outward

b. draw the material of the star toward its center

c. change the shape of the star

d. change the direction of rotation of the star

60. If you shut down the fusion reactions, in the center the core of the star begins to

a. expand

b. collapse

c. change shape

d. change direction of rotation

61. The equivalent of a skeleton for a Sun would be

a. A Red Giant

b. A supernova

c. white dwarf (or black dwarf) relic

d. none of the above

62. True or False. The confined interior of a star sustains the necessary conditions to generate substantial amounts of heavier elements by the burning (fusion) of lighter elements.

63. True or False. In a massive star, 6 times larger than the Sun, Iron (Fe) does not burn to produce heavier elements at any attainable pressure and temperature.

64. At temperatures of 50 billion degrees and high pressure, Protons and Electrons can collide and recombine to give the neutral charge particle called a

a. Nephron

b. Neutron

c. Polar Ion

d. Iconoplast

65. The transient conditions of vast temperatures and pressures in the shock wave of the Supernova allow small trace amounts of elements heavier than iron to be produced, building up the periodic chart of the atoms all the way to

a. Hydrogen and Helium

b. Carbon and Oxygen

c. Nitrogen and Sulfur

d. Uranium or Plutonium.

66. The dust and gas from a supernova then can reaccrete to build a ___________ star which now has a distribution of elements already containing elements heavier than H and He.

a. Protostar

b. First generation

c. Second generation

d. Clump star

67. True or False. Our star is big enough to produce very heavy elements. It will it explode in a supernova.

68. True or False. If the Earth consists of the same materials comprising the Sun (minus the very light gases, mostly H and He), then all the heavy elements that make up rocks, and that make up lifeforms including humans, were once forged in stars that have blown up.

69. Why do Neutron stars spin very fast?

a. any initial spin of the star is vastly exaggerated when it collapses

b. any initial spin of the star is vastly exaggerated when it expands

c. any initial spin of the star is vastly exaggerated when its mass doubles

d. any initial spin of the star is vastly exaggerated when its mass triples

70. Nucleosynthesis is very well understood as a result of:

a. Experimental Physics

b. The experiments and theory predict a specific relative abundance of products, which agrees very well with stellar spectroscopy and cosmic abundance of the elements.

c. Special short-lived products such as Technetium, with half-lives of several hundred thousand years are observed in Red Giants and Supernovas, confirming the special conditions of fusion and collapse in stars.

d. All of the above

71. Chinese records show 'new stars' (in Latin, Nova Stelli) at 185, 393 and 1006AD. Some of these were bright enough to be seen even during the day! They would typically last for a couple years before fading. These were

a. A Red Giant

b. A supernova

c. white dwarf (or black dwarf) relic

d. none of the above

72. This is the very dense rapidly rotating remnant, sending out radiation like a search light that passes the earth every few seconds.

a. A Red Giant

b. A supernova

c. white dwarf (or black dwarf) relic

d. a pulsar

73. He was a Danish astronomer who had made it his business to chart the heavens.

a. Tycho Brahe b. Albert Einstein c. Charles Darwin d. Alfred Wallace

74. During the 1500's there was a debate growing about the very nature of the cosmos -- whether it was

a. round, or flat

b. earth-centered, or sun-centered (heliocentric).

c. rotating or stationary

d. hot or cold

75. Given the number of stars in our galaxy, we would expect to see about

a. 0.5 supernova/century b. 1 supernova/century

c. 2 supernova/century d. 10 supernova/century

76. Supernova produce a specific kind of very high energy radiation, very high speed particles (mainly Hydrogen nuclei -- Protons) that we call 'cosmic radiation'. These cosmic rays play what significant role in life?

a. they heat the earth

b. they light up the earth

c. the cosmic radiation repairs mutations of genes

d. the damage from cosmic radiation causes mutations of genes