Astronomy Cosmology and Deep Space 5

Question 1

The period of rapid exponential expansion just after the Big Bang is called:

Accepted Answer

Inflation

Answer

Recombination

Answer

Nucleosynthesis

Answer

Reionization

Question 2

What eventually happens to the light of extremely distant galaxies as space expands?

Accepted Answer

Its wavelength is stretched, increasing redshift

Answer

It becomes bluer

Answer

It disappears instantly

Answer

It speeds up beyond light speed

Question 3

A supernova of Type Ia is valuable to cosmologists because it:

Accepted Answer

Has a consistent peak brightness usable as a distance marker

Answer

Emits only radio waves

Answer

Never fades

Answer

Occurs only in our galaxy

Question 4

What does the term 'redshift' generally tell astronomers about a distant object?

Accepted Answer

How fast it is receding and roughly how far away it is

Answer

Its exact chemical age

Answer

Its surface temperature only

Answer

Its number of moons

Question 5

The eventual fate of the universe in which expansion continues forever and stars burn out is called:

Accepted Answer

The Big Freeze (Heat Death)

Answer

The Big Crunch

Answer

The Big Rip's reversal

Answer

The Steady State

Question 6

Baryonic matter—the ordinary atoms making up stars and planets—accounts for roughly what fraction of the universe?

Accepted Answer

About 5%

Answer

About 27%

Answer

About 68%

Answer

About 50%

Question 7

The era when the universe cooled enough for electrons and protons to form neutral atoms, releasing the CMB, is called:

Accepted Answer

Recombination

Answer

Inflation

Answer

The Big Rip

Answer

Gravitational collapse