scottahill

OK, here are the last two quizzes I gave my astronomy class (they get a quiz every Friday).

QUIZ #1

1. Why is a solar day four minutes longer than a sidereal day?
A) Because the Sun is moving.
B) Because the Moon is slowing the Earth’s rotation.
C) Because the Earth’s axis precesses.
D) Because the Earth is orbiting the sun.
E) Because the stars are moving.

2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE during the vernal equinox?
A) The Sun is above the horizon for 12 hours everywhere in the United States.
B) The Earth’s axis is tilted towards the sun.
C) It is in March.
D) The Sun is on the celestial equator.
E) All of the above are true.

3. The ecliptic
A) is always north of the celestial equator.
B) is always south of the celestial equator.
C) is another name for the celestial equator.
D) is sometimes north and sometimes south of the celestial equator.
E) passes through the zenith [in Dallas].

4. Which of the following statements about Polaris (the north star) is FALSE?
A) Polaris is at the zenith [in Dallas].
B) Polaris is higher in the sky in Boston than it is in Dallas.
C) Ignoring precession, the axis of the Earth always points at Polaris.
D) Polaris can’t be seen in Australia.
E) The stars in the sky seem to circle Polaris.

After this quiz (on which they had a class average of 1.7 out of 4), I decided that my multiple choice quizzes tend to kick my classes' butts, so I switched to a short-answer format. It helped; the average score of the following was 2.8.

QUIZ #2
1. The apparent size of the moon is about 0.5 degrees. If the moon were twice as far away from the Earth, what would be its apparent size? (Extra credit: give your answer in arc-minutes.)

2. What are the two conditions for a lunar eclipse to occur?

3. What is an epicycle?

4. What was Stonehenge originally used for? (Hint: it wasn't tourism!)

Edit: Answers posted in the comments; huzzah!