Quiz 9 - May 5, 2004

Question 1:

The recently discovered Comet Bradfield is currently visible

1. In the evening sky looking SE
2. Just before dawn looking NE
3. Just after sunset looking SW
4. At midnight near the zenith
5. Can't be seen until mid-May

Question 2:

Which statement is incorrect concerning Comet Bradfield?

1. It was discovered by the SOHO satellite as it passed by the Sun
2. It has a visible tail approximately 3 degrees long
3. It has already passed perihelion
4. The discoverer is an amateur astronomer
5. It is not presently not visible to the unaided eye

Question 3:

Which of the following is not one of the four fundamental forces of nature?

1. Gravity
2. Weak nuclear force
3. Strong nuclear force
4. Friction
5. Electromagnetism

Question 4:

The 'Isotropy Problem' is a problem because the Universe is

1. not isotropic
2. [nearly] isotropic but too large to be connected
3. homogeneous not not isotropic
4. Only isotropic on large scales
5. Isotropic only for dark matter

Question 5:

The concept of inflation in cosmology is invoked primarily to explain

1. The 3K microwave background radiation spectrum
2. The nearly isotropic nature of the CBR
3. The elemental abundance of the elements at early epochs
4. The short timescale for galaxy formation
5. The absence of anti-matter in the present Universe

Question 6:

If a proton and anti-proton collide, the result is

1. Matter annihilation, creating two gamma rays
2. Creation of a deuterium nucleus
3. Elastic scattering, with both particles reversing direction
4. Creation of a third particle, the protino
5. Fusion, producing a Helium nucleus and neutrinos

Question 7:

The 'epoch of inflation' occurred

1. About 300,000 yrs after the Big Bang
2. Close to one billinoys after the Big Bang
3. In the first 10^-35 seconds
4. After the first three minutes
5. Continuous (It is still happening today)

Question 8:

Cosmological 'grand unified theories' predict

1. Matter and energy reversed roles in the Big Bang
2. The Universe has negative energy
3. The decoupling time occurred at 3 minutes
4. The Universe is more than 100 billion years old
5. The four forces of nature had the same strength immediately after the Big Bang

Question 9:

Before the first stars formed, the two most abundant elements in the Universe were

1. Helium and Litium
2. Hydrogen and Oxygen
3. Hydrogen and Iron
4. Helium and Deuterium
5. Hydrogen and Helium

Question 10:

300,000 years after the Big Bang, the temperature of the gas in the Universe was closest to

1. 3K
2. 300K
3. 3,000K
4. 300,000K
5. more than 1,000,000K

Grades: