Please respond to the following FOUR questions. Your responses should

be as clear and as comprehensive as possible. You'll need to explain

yourself and justify that you understand the question and answer

completely in order to receive full credit.

Q1) Your friend just came into some money and plans to build a telescope

in his front yard. His choices are an x-ray telescope designed to look at the

spinning hot gasses around black holes OR a radio telescope that he plans

to use to search for alien life. Knowing that he is going to build one of

these, and based on your knowledge of telescopes, which one would you

suggest to him that he build. Give a very convincing argument in support of

the one you suggest he build as well as an equally convincing argument

against the one that you suggest he not throw his money at.

Q2) What are the advantages of studying objects at various wavelengths

(more than one) of radiation (radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray,

gamma)? Please site at least two very specific astronomy-related

examples to support your answer; the "flower blossom" example from the

textbook is NOT an astronomy-related example. Be sure to indicate how

your examples support your answer.

Q3) Describe reflection and refraction. How do these processes enable

astronomers to build telescopes? Do these principles work equally well for

ALL types of non-optical telescopes; i.e. those built to view the non-visible

regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray,

gamma)? Explain carefully by using at least two specific examples

from the list of the five.

Q4) Generally, advertisements for optical (visible light) telescopes

frequently give a magnification for the instrument. Unfortunately, this is

really not the best information to provide to consumers. Given what you've

read about telescopes, identify at least one piece of information that

advertisers should cite as criteria by which to evaluate a telescope? Explain

your answer.