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Astronomy quiz question: morning star Venus?

Astronomy 210 Quiz 2, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The locations of Mercury, Venus, and Earth are shown in the diagram below (not to scale, and orbits have been simplified as circles instead of ellipses).


At sunrise, Venus will be:
(A) low over the east horizon.
(B) somewhere high up in the sky.
(C) low over the west horizon.
(D) not visible in the sky.

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (A)

If a line is drawn from Earth to the sun, the observer at sunrise (6 AM) is located perpendicular to that line.


Everything above that line would be above the horizon, such that Venus will be visible at sunrise, low over the east horizon.

Section 30676
Exam code: quiz02SnRl
(A) : 20 students
(B) : 2 students
(C) : 8 students
(D) : 14 students

Success level: 48% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.60

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