Question 1

A comet moves on an elliptical orbit around the Sun.Where is the comet's velocity largest?

Accepted Answer

A)  perihelion 
B)  aphelion 
C)  the focus 
D)  nowhere; it travels at a constant velocity 
A)  perihelion 
B)  aphelion 
C)  the focus 
D)  nowhere; it travels at a constant velocity

Question 2

A child's top begins to spin.As it spins,a battery shrinks the top.How does the rate at which the top spins change as it shrinks? What physical principle determines this?

Accepted Answer

The top spins faster

Question 3

Had it been observed in the 16th century,which of the following astronomical sources might have challenged Aristotelian physics for the same reasons that Tycho's supernova did?

Accepted Answer

A)  interstellar dust 
B)  comets 
C)  a bright source appearing in the sky for only a single night 
D)  atmospheric seeing 
A)  interstellar dust 
B)  comets 
C)  a bright source appearing in the sky for only a single night 
D)  atmospheric seeing

Question 4

Which of the following objections to the heliocentric model was Copernicus able to reject through his calculations?

Accepted Answer

A)  the wind from Earth's rotation 
B)  the stellar parallax 
C)  the equant 
D)  the phases of the Moon 
A)  the wind from Earth's rotation 
B)  the stellar parallax 
C)  the equant 
D)  the phases of the Moon

Question 5

The astronomer who made the most sophisticated and accurate naked-eye measurements of astronomical objects was:

Accepted Answer

A)  Tycho Brahe. 
B)  Hipparchus. 
C)  Galileo Galilee. 
D)  Johannes Kepler. 
A)  Tycho Brahe. 
B)  Hipparchus. 
C)  Galileo Galilee. 
D)  Johannes Kepler.

Question 6

A rocket engine accelerates its exhaust gas in one direction,moving the rocket in the other direction.Which law explains this phenomenon?

Accepted Answer

A)  Kepler's second law 
B)  universal gravitation 
C)  Newton's first law 
D)  Newton's third law 
A)  Kepler's second law 
B)  universal gravitation 
C)  Newton's first law 
D)  Newton's third law

Question 7

In the period 500 CE to 1000 CE,astronomical innovations were centered in:

Accepted Answer

A)  Germany. 
B)  Persia. 
C)  Italy. 
D)  Russia. 
A)  Germany. 
B)  Persia. 
C)  Italy. 
D)  Russia.

Question 8

Which of the following observations provided the most direct challenge to the Aristotelian view of the nature of celestial objects?

Accepted Answer

A)  the topography of the Moon 
B)  phases of Venus 
C)  moons of Jupiter 
D)  phases of the Moon 
A)  the topography of the Moon 
B)  phases of Venus 
C)  moons of Jupiter 
D)  phases of the Moon

Question 9

A planet follows the orbit around the Sun shown in the following figure.What is the orbital period?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A planet follows the orbit around the...

Question 10

Kepler's second law is a direct manifestation of:

Accepted Answer

A)  Newton's third law. 
B)  hydrostatic equilibrium. 
C)  conservation of angular momentum. 
D)  the inverse square law. 
A)  Newton's third law. 
B)  hydrostatic equilibrium. 
C)  conservation of angular momentum. 
D)  the inverse square law.

Question 11

Two asteroids have elliptical orbits around the Sun with the same semimajor axes but different eccentricities.Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The orbit with the smaller eccentricity comes closest to the Sun. 
B)  The orbit with the smaller eccentricity has a longer period. 
C)  The orbit with the larger eccentricity has a larger semiminor axis. 
D)  The orbit with the larger eccentricity has a larger change in speed. 
A)  The orbit with the smaller eccentricity comes closest to the Sun. 
B)  The orbit with the smaller eccentricity has a longer period. 
C)  The orbit with the larger eccentricity has a larger semiminor axis. 
D)  The orbit with the larger eccentricity has a larger change in speed.

A comet moves on an elliptical orbit around the Sun.Where is the comet's velocity largest?

A child's top begins to spin.As it spins,a battery shrinks the top.How does the rate at which the top spins change as it shrinks? What physical principle determines this?

Had it been observed in the 16th century,which of the following astronomical sources might have challenged Aristotelian physics for the same reasons that Tycho's supernova did?

Which of the following objections to the heliocentric model was Copernicus able to reject through his calculations?

The astronomer who made the most sophisticated and accurate naked-eye measurements of astronomical objects was:

A rocket engine accelerates its exhaust gas in one direction,moving the rocket in the other direction.Which law explains this phenomenon?

In the period 500 CE to 1000 CE,astronomical innovations were centered in:

Which of the following observations provided the most direct challenge to the Aristotelian view of the nature of celestial objects?

A planet follows the orbit around the Sun shown in the following figure.What is the orbital period?

Kepler's second law is a direct manifestation of:

Two asteroids have elliptical orbits around the Sun with the same semimajor axes but different eccentricities.Which of the following statements is true?

Getting Started: Science, astronomy, and Being Human

A Universe Made, a Universe Discovered

A Universe of Universal Laws

The Architecture and Birth of Planetary Systems

Home Base: Earth and Moon

Sibling Worlds: Mercury, Venus, and Mars

Gas, ice, and Stone: the Outer Planets

Life and the Search for Habitable Worlds

The Sun As a Star

Measuring the Stars: the Main Sequence and Its Meaning

Nursery of the Stars: the Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

To the Graveyard of Stars: the End Points of Stellar Evolution

Down the Rabbit Hole: Relativity and Black Holes

Our City of Stars: the Milky Way

A Universe of Galaxies

The Cosmic Web: the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

Cosmology

Filters

Exam 3: A Universe of Universal Laws

A comet moves on an elliptical orbit around the Sun.Where is the comet's velocity largest?

A child's top begins to spin.As it spins,a battery shrinks the top.How does the rate at which the top spins change as it shrinks? What physical principle determines this?

Had it been observed in the 16th century,which of the following astronomical sources might have challenged Aristotelian physics for the same reasons that Tycho's supernova did?

Which of the following objections to the heliocentric model was Copernicus able to reject through his calculations?

The astronomer who made the most sophisticated and accurate naked-eye measurements of astronomical objects was:

A rocket engine accelerates its exhaust gas in one direction,moving the rocket in the other direction.Which law explains this phenomenon?

In the period 500 CE to 1000 CE,astronomical innovations were centered in:

Which of the following observations provided the most direct challenge to the Aristotelian view of the nature of celestial objects?

A planet follows the orbit around the Sun shown in the following figure.What is the orbital period?

Kepler's second law is a direct manifestation of:

Two asteroids have elliptical orbits around the Sun with the same semimajor axes but different eccentricities.Which of the following statements is true?

Getting Started: Science, astronomy, and Being Human

A Universe Made, a Universe Discovered

A Universe of Universal Laws

The Architecture and Birth of Planetary Systems

Home Base: Earth and Moon

Sibling Worlds: Mercury, Venus, and Mars

Gas, ice, and Stone: the Outer Planets

Life and the Search for Habitable Worlds

The Sun As a Star

Measuring the Stars: the Main Sequence and Its Meaning

Nursery of the Stars: the Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

To the Graveyard of Stars: the End Points of Stellar Evolution

Down the Rabbit Hole: Relativity and Black Holes

Our City of Stars: the Milky Way

A Universe of Galaxies

The Cosmic Web: the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

Cosmology

Filters