As you are aware, the first exam is scheduled for Monday, February 7.  It will consist of 40 multiple choice questions.  The primary purpose of this note is to provide you with sample questions so that you will be aware of the general format of the exam.  You can also find other multiple choice questions on the second web site on the LINKS page that you can access off the PHY 111 main page.  Please note that these are sample questions only.  I.e., I do NOT guarantee that any of them will appear on the exam.  They are intended to merely give you a flavor for the type of question that will appear on the exam.  Not all exam topics are represented.  For example, none of the questions appearing below require any computations.  Some simple computations will undoubtedly be necessary for a small number of the exam questions you will see on Monday.  Group study is encouraged.

                         Sample Exam Questions

INSTRUCTIONS: The questions are multiple choice. Choose the best answer
 and mark your choice on the answer sheet. Use a number 2 pencil. 


  1. If a star is described as being in the constellation Leo, a modern
     astronomer knows that it is
     A. inside our solar system.
     B. somewhere in a particular region of sky having definite
        boundaries.
     C. one of a few individual bright stars making up a picture (of a
        lion) in the sky.
     D. in a distant galaxy located in a particular direction from Earth.

  2. How much of the overall sky is above the celestial equator, i.e. in
     the northern hemisphere?
     A. All of it, by definition.
     B. More than one half, because of the precession of the poles.
     C. Exactly one half.
     D. Less than one half, because of the tilt of the equator to the
        ecliptic plane.

  3. The nightly motion of objects across the sky is caused by the
     A. rotation of the Earth on its axis.
     B. motion of the solar system around the galaxy.
     C. rotation of the whole celestial sphere of stars around the fixed
        Earth.
     D. revolution of Earth around the Sun.

  4. An arc second is a measure of
     A. angle.
     B. time taken for the Earth to move through 1ø along its orbit.
     C. length along the circumference of a circle.
     D. time interval; the time between oscillations of a standard clock.

  5. What basic pattern do stars follow over a period of hours as they
     are observed (or photographed) near the north celestial pole?
     A. Almost straight lines, because of the motion of the Earth in its
        orbit.
     B. Ellipses, with the north pole at the focus.
     C. Circles with the north pole at the center.
     D. Wobbly circles, because of the precession of the Earth's axis.

  6. The ecliptic plane can be defined as
     A. the extension of the Earth's equator onto the sky.
     B. the path traced out by the Moon in our sky in one month against
        the background stars.
     C. the path traced out by the Sun in our sky over one year against
        the background stars.
     D. the plane that is perpendicular to the Earth's spin axis.

  7. The word "planet" is derived from a Greek term meaning
     A. wanderer.
     B. bright night-time object.
     C. non-twinkling star.
     D. astrological sign.

  8. Retrograde motion of a planet when viewed from the Earth is caused
     by the fact that
     A. the planet's orbit is inclined at an angle to the Earth's orbit.
     B. the planet's orbit is elliptical.
     C. the Earth is moving.
     D. the Sun is moving.

  9. In the geocentric model of the solar system developed by Ptolemy,
     A. planets move in circular epicycles while the centers of the
        epicycles move in circular orbits around the Earth.
     B. planets move in circular epicycles around the Sun while the Sun
        moves in a circular orbit around the Earth.
     C. planets move with varying speeds in elliptical orbits around the
        Earth.
     D. planets move at constant speeds in circular orbits around the
        Earth.

 10. The person who developed the first mathematical model for a
     heliocentric cosmogony was
     A. Ptolemy.
     B. Kepler.
     C. Aristarchus.
     D. Copernicus.





                     ANSWER KEY         


   ³  Exam  ³        ³
   ³Question³ Answer ³

   ³    1   ³    B   ³
   ³    2   ³    C   ³
   ³    3   ³    A   ³
   ³    4   ³    A   ³
   ³    5   ³    C   ³
   ³    6   ³    C   ³
   ³    7   ³    A   ³
   ³    8   ³    C   ³
   ³    9   ³    A   ³
   ³   10   ³    D   ³