Question 1

What evidence supported Aristotle's argument that the Earth is a sphere?

Accepted Answer

A) The sun projected a curved shadow of the Moon on to the Earth during a total solar eclipse. 
B) The Sun projected a curved shadow of the Earth on to the Moon during a lunar eclipse. 
C) The Sun projected a curved shadow of the Earth on to the Moon during a first quarter lunar phase. 
D) The Sun projected a curved shadow of a stick on to the curved surface of the Earth. 
A) The sun projected a curved shadow of the Moon on to the Earth during a total solar eclipse. 
B) The Sun projected a curved shadow of the Earth on to the Moon during a lunar eclipse. 
C) The Sun projected a curved shadow of the Earth on to the Moon during a first quarter lunar phase. 
D) The Sun projected a curved shadow of a stick on to the curved surface of the Earth. B

Question 2

An object with an angular size of 1 degree moves 10 times farther away.What is its new angular size?

Accepted Answer

A) 10 degrees 
B) 10 minutes of arc 
C) 6 minutes of arc 
D) 33 seconds of arc 
A) 10 degrees 
B) 10 minutes of arc 
C) 6 minutes of arc 
D) 33 seconds of arc C

Question 3

How did Eratosthenes determine the circumference of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

A) By sailing around it 
B) By comparing the altitude of the Sun at different locations 
C) By noting the size of Earth's umbral shadow 
D) By assuming that the Earth and Moon are the same size 
A) By sailing around it 
B) By comparing the altitude of the Sun at different locations 
C) By noting the size of Earth's umbral shadow 
D) By assuming that the Earth and Moon are the same size B

Question 4

What is the angular size of a 2 cm diameter coin at a distance of 1 km?

Accepted Answer

A) 4" 
B) 40" 
C) 4' 
D) 40' 
A) 4" 
B) 40" 
C) 4' 
D) 40'

Question 5

According to Pythagoras,what was the shape of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

A) Cylinder 
B) Flat disk 
C) Cube 
D) Sphere 
A) Cylinder 
B) Flat disk 
C) Cube 
D) Sphere

Question 6

What body was located at the center of Ptolemy's model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A) The Sun 
B) The Moon 
C) The Earth 
D) The central fire 
A) The Sun 
B) The Moon 
C) The Earth 
D) The central fire

Question 7

The Greek astronomer Thales is reported to have predicted

Accepted Answer

A) The discovery of Uranus 
B) The appearance of a comet 
C) A total solar eclipse 
D) The discovery of variable stars 
A) The discovery of Uranus 
B) The appearance of a comet 
C) A total solar eclipse 
D) The discovery of variable stars

Question 8

Something that is 1000 km away has an angular size of 2 seconds of arc.Approximately how big is it?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 m 
B) 10 m 
C) 100 m 
D) 1 km 
A) 1 m 
B) 10 m 
C) 100 m 
D) 1 km

Question 9

An astronaut lands on an unknown planet.After walking a distance of 400 km toward the north pole of the planet,she notices that the pole star for that planet is 5 degrees higher in the sky.What is the circumference of the planet?

Accepted Answer

A) 28,800 km 
B) 400 km 
C) 4600 km 
D) 7200 km 
A) 28,800 km 
B) 400 km 
C) 4600 km 
D) 7200 km

Question 10

What procedure did Aristarchus propose to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a full moon phase. 
B) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a first or last quarter phase. 
C) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a waxing crescent phase. 
D) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a waxing gibbous phase. 
A) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a full moon phase. 
B) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a first or last quarter phase. 
C) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a waxing crescent phase. 
D) Measuring the angle between the Moon and the Sun during a waxing gibbous phase.

Question 11

What was the main result of Aristarchus's determination of the sizes and distances of the Sun and Moon?

Accepted Answer

A) It showed that the solar system was enormous compared to the size of the Earth 
B) It showed that the Sun was smaller than the Earth 
C) It proved that the Sun was at the center of the universe 
D) It produced results unequaled in accuracy until the 20th century 
A) It showed that the solar system was enormous compared to the size of the Earth 
B) It showed that the Sun was smaller than the Earth 
C) It proved that the Sun was at the center of the universe 
D) It produced results unequaled in accuracy until the 20th century

Question 12

In Ptolemy's model of the solar system,the circle on which the center of the epicycle moved about the Earth was called the

Accepted Answer

A) Equant 
B) Eccentric 
C) Deferent 
D) Capital 
A) Equant 
B) Eccentric 
C) Deferent 
D) Capital

Question 13

How did Aristarchus propose that the distance of the Moon could be found?

Accepted Answer

A) By bouncing light off the surface of the Moon 
B) By measuring the parallax of the Moon 
C) By observing the Moon during an eclipse 
D) By knowing the density of the Moon 
A) By bouncing light off the surface of the Moon 
B) By measuring the parallax of the Moon 
C) By observing the Moon during an eclipse 
D) By knowing the density of the Moon

Question 14

Precession can be detected by noting the

Accepted Answer

A) Changes in the celestial coordinates of stars over many years 
B) Westward motion of the stars during a night 
C) Motion of the Sun relative to that of the Earth 
D) Motion of the planets during retrograde motion 
A) Changes in the celestial coordinates of stars over many years 
B) Westward motion of the stars during a night 
C) Motion of the Sun relative to that of the Earth 
D) Motion of the planets during retrograde motion

Question 15

What object was located at the center of Aristarchus's model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A) The Sun 
B) The Earth 
C) The Moon 
D) The central fire 
A) The Sun 
B) The Earth 
C) The Moon 
D) The central fire

Question 16

When did a planet undergo retrograde motion in Ptolemy's model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A) When the deferent of a planet carried it closest to the Earth 
B) When the Earth passed the planet as they both orbited the Sun 
C) When the planet was dimmest and most distant 
D) When the planet was on the part of its epicycle that was nearest the Earth 
A) When the deferent of a planet carried it closest to the Earth 
B) When the Earth passed the planet as they both orbited the Sun 
C) When the planet was dimmest and most distant 
D) When the planet was on the part of its epicycle that was nearest the Earth

Exam 3: Ancient Astronomy

What evidence supported Aristotle's argument that the Earth is a sphere?

An object with an angular size of 1 degree moves 10 times farther away.What is its new angular size?

How did Eratosthenes determine the circumference of the Earth?

What is the angular size of a 2 cm diameter coin at a distance of 1 km?

According to Pythagoras,what was the shape of the Earth?

What body was located at the center of Ptolemy's model of the solar system?

The Greek astronomer Thales is reported to have predicted

Something that is 1000 km away has an angular size of 2 seconds of arc.Approximately how big is it?

An astronaut lands on an unknown planet.After walking a distance of 400 km toward the north pole of the planet,she notices that the pole star for that planet is 5 degrees higher in the sky.What is the circumference of the planet?

What procedure did Aristarchus propose to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun?

What was the main result of Aristarchus's determination of the sizes and distances of the Sun and Moon?

In Ptolemy's model of the solar system,the circle on which the center of the epicycle moved about the Earth was called the

How did Aristarchus propose that the distance of the Moon could be found?

Precession can be detected by noting the

What object was located at the center of Aristarchus's model of the solar system?

When did a planet undergo retrograde motion in Ptolemy's model of the solar system?

Journeys Start

Patterns in the Sky

Renaissance Astronomy

Gravity and Motion

Light and Telescopes

Overview of the Solar System

The Earth

The Moon

Mercury and Venus

Mars

Jupiter and Saturn

The Outer Solar System

Satellites

Small Solar System Bodies

Basic Properties of Stars

The Sun

The Formation of Stars and Planets

The Evolution of Stars

White Dwarfs, neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Binary Star Systems

The Milky Way

Galaxies

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Galaxy Clusters and the Structure of the Universe

Cosmology

Life in the Universe

Filters