About this Study Set
This study set covers Cosmology through
20 practice questions.
A collection of factual questions regarding the history, key figures, and pivotal inventions in the field of cosmology. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 20 questions from the
Milestones in Cosmological Discovery study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
Who was the first astronomer to provide observational evidence that the universe is expanding by measuring the redshift of distant galaxies?
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A
Edwin Hubble
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B
Carl Sagan
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C
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
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D
Fred Hoyle
2
In 1964, which two scientists accidentally discovered the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation while working at Bell Labs?
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A
Guth and Linde
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B
Penzias and Wilson
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C
Hawking and Penrose
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D
Einstein and de Sitter
3
The COBE satellite, launched in 1989, was the first mission to accurately measure the spectrum of what phenomenon?
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A
Dark Matter distribution
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B
The Cosmic Microwave Background
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C
Black hole event horizons
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D
Supernova expansion rates
4
Which cosmological principle states that the universe looks the same from any location, provided the scale is large enough?
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A
The Steady State Principle
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B
The Copernican Principle
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C
The Cosmological Principle
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D
The Anthropic Principle
5
Who first proposed the 'Big Bang' theory, originally referring to it as the 'hypothesis of the primeval atom'?
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A
Georges Lemaître
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B
Arthur Eddington
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C
George Gamow
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D
James Peebles
6
What instrument was the first to provide high-resolution images of the early universe's temperature fluctuations in 2001?
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A
Hubble Space Telescope
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B
WMAP
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C
James Webb Space Telescope
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D
Kepler
7
Which element was the first to be synthesized in the early universe following the Big Bang, according to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis?
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A
Carbon
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B
Helium
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C
Oxygen
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D
Iron
8
The concept of 'Dark Energy' was inferred from the observation of what objects in the late 1990s?
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A
Type Ia Supernovae
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B
Quasars
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C
Pulsars
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D
Neutron Stars
9
Which scientist first calculated the Schwarzschild radius, defining the event horizon of a non-rotating black hole?
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A
Karl Schwarzschild
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B
Enrico Fermi
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C
Max Planck
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D
Werner Heisenberg
10
What is the name of the first major telescope dedicated specifically to infrared astronomy, launched in 2021?
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A
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
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B
James Webb Space Telescope
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C
Spitzer Space Telescope
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D
Herschel Space Observatory
11
The 'Great Debate' of 1920 between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis centered on what astronomical mystery?
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A
The existence of dark matter
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B
The nature of spiral nebulae
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C
The temperature of the sun
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D
The composition of the moon
12
Which astronomer is credited with the first discovery of a planet orbiting another sun-like star in 1995?
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A
Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz
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B
Clyde Tombaugh
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C
Frank Drake
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D
Vera Rubin
13
The first evidence for the existence of dark matter in galaxy clusters was observed by which astronomer in the 1930s?
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A
Fritz Zwicky
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B
Vera Rubin
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C
Edwin Hubble
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D
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
14
What was the first major space telescope designed to study the composition and age of the universe by observing X-rays?
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A
Chandra
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B
Hubble
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C
Fermi
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D
Swift
15
Which theoretical model, later largely abandoned, proposed that the universe is constantly creating matter to maintain a constant density?
-
A
Steady State Theory
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B
Inflationary Universe
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C
Cyclic Model
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D
Big Crunch
16
Who was the first to mathematically predict that the universe could be expanding or contracting based on General Relativity?
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A
Alexander Friedmann
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B
Albert Einstein
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C
Niels Bohr
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D
Stephen Hawking
17
In 1974, what object was discovered at the center of the Milky Way, later confirmed to be a supermassive black hole?
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A
Sagittarius A*
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B
Andromeda Galaxy
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C
The Great Attractor
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D
Messier 87
18
The first detection of gravitational waves, confirming a major prediction of General Relativity, was achieved in what year?
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A
2005
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B
2015
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C
2010
-
D
2020
19
What is the term for the first epoch of the universe, characterized by a rapid, exponential expansion?
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A
Inflation
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B
Recombination
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C
Nucleosynthesis
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D
The Dark Ages
20
Which astronomer identified the first 'standard candle' (Cepheid variables) used to measure extragalactic distances?
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A
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
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B
Annie Jump Cannon
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C
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
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D
Maria Mitchell
