ASTR 1141 Introductory Astronomy The Solar
System- Final Exam Study Guide complete
solution Thompson Rivers University
,After a 9-year journey, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto in 2015. About how long
will it take it to reach the distance of the nearest stars? - --100,000 years
In nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, about 0.7% of the starting mass is converted to
energy. How much more efficient is matter-antimatter annihilation than fusion? - --More than
100 times as efficient
For a solar sail to be useful in accelerating a spacecraft, the sail would need to be ________. - --
very lightweight (low mass) and very large in area
Suppose that a spaceship is launched in the year 2120 on a round-trip journey to a star that is
50 light-years away, and it makes the entire trip at a speed of 99.99% of the speed of light. If
one of the crew members is 30 years old when the trip begins, about how old would she be
(biologically) when she returns? - --31
Suppose that a spaceship is launched in the year 2120 on a round-trip journey to a star that is
100 light-years away, and it makes the entire trip at a speed of 99.99% of the speed of light.
Approximately what year would it be on Earth when the ship returns to Earth? - --2220
Why do science fiction shows such as Star Trek and Star Wars use ideas such as "warp drive"
and travel through "hyperspace"? - --These ideas do not violate known laws of physics, even
though we do not yet know whether they are really possible.
According to current scientific understanding, the idea that the Milky Way might be home to a
civilization millions of years more advanced than ours is ________. - --One possible solution to
Fermi's paradox
, Suppose that a civilization is never able to build spacecraft that can travel faster than a few
percentage of the speed of light. Could they still colonize the galaxy? Why or why not? - --Yes,
in principle, within as little as about 10 million years.
Which of the following is not relative in the special theory of relativity? - --The speed of light
The special theory of relativity ________. - --has been well tested and verified
Which of the following is not a solution to the Fermi Paradox? - --We are not interested in
communicating.
How is the "Fermi Paradox" normally stated? - --Where is everybody?
The idea that other civilizations are waiting for us to reach a certain technological level before
revealing themselves to us is referred to as the - --Sentinel Hypothesis
The cosmic speed limit, the speed of light is established by - --Einstein's special theory of
relativity
The Earth's escape velocity is defined to be the - --minimum velocity required for an object to
escape the Earth's gravity
Nuclear fission is the process by which - --large nuclei break up into smaller nuclei with the
release of energy
Given how many times intelligent civilizations could have appeared over the universe's history,
it is most likely that if other civilizations exist, they will - --be much more advanced than us
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