Astronomy current events question: mass of galaxy NGC 1600's supermassive black hole

Astronomy 210L, spring semester 2016
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Ray Villard
, "Behemoth Black Hole Found in an Unlikely Place" (April 6, 2016)
nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/behemoth-black-hole-found-in-an-unlikely-place

The mass of the supermassive black hole in galaxy NGC 1600 was estimated by analyzing its gravitational effect on:
(A) supernova explosions.
(B) passing gravitational waves.
(C) satellite dwarf galaxies.
(D) its spiral arms.
(E) velocities of stars near it.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30678, 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 6 students
(C) : 5 students
(D) : 6 students
(E) : 22 students