Deck 4: Origins of Modern Astronomy

Question 1

Kepler's first law of planetary motion states "The orbits of the planets are _____ with the Sun at one focus."

A) spheres
B) ellipses
C) circular
D) rigid
E) random

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Most Greek philosophers believed in a geocentric Universe.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What was the most controversial issue surrounding the nature of the Universe during the Renaissance?

A) The movement of visible galaxies
B) The origins of the Universe
C) The number of planets in the Solar System
D) The position of Earth in the Universe
E) The existence of life on planets other than Earth

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Spheres are an essential part of Kepler's three fundamental rules of planetary motion.

Question 5

Pythagoras believed that the underlying rules to understanding the Universe were mathematical.

Question 6

Kepler's third law of planetary motion states, "A planet's _____ squared is proportional to its average distance from the Sun cubed."

A) radius
B) diameter
C) rotational speed
D) orbital period
E) rotational period

Question 7

Kepler's second law of planetary motion states "A line from a planet to the Sun sweeps over equal areas in equal intervals of ____."

A) time
B) space
C) arcs
D) ellipses
E) spheres

Question 8

Eudoxus of Cnidus (408-355 BCE), a student of Plato's, applied the principle of heliocentric motion to produce a mathematical description of the motions of the Universe.

Question 9

Ptolemy based his model on theories first developed by Plato, who believed each celestial body traveled around a small circle that followed a larger circle around Earth.

Question 10

Galileo's discovery of Saturn's moons proved that Earth, too, could move and still keep its satellite.

Question 11

The Inquisition condemned Galileo for heresy in 1616.

Question 12

In 1632, which book did the Inquisition order sales to be stopped?

A) De Revolutionibus
B) Stederreus Nunctus
C) Dialogo
D) De Stella Nova
E) Astronomia Nova

Question 13

Which book was authored by Copernicus that explained the Sun as the center of a planetary system?

A) Alfonsine Tables
B) De Revolutionibus
C) Stderreus Nunctus
D) The Prutenie Tables
E) The Forerunner of the Universe, Containing the Mystery of the Universe

Question 14

Though their contributions to astronomy were different, Galileo and Copernicus were astronomers during the same time period.

Question 15

Kepler discovered that planets do not move at uniform speeds along their elliptical orbits.

Question 16

In the Copernican system, Earth moves slower along its orbit than the planets that lie farther from the Sun.

Question 17

Why did Copernicus hesitate to consider alternatives to the Ptolemaic Universe?

A) A heliocentric Universe contradicted Christian theology at the time.
B) There was no way to prove uniform circular motion.
C) New star formation showed no parallax.
D) Most people already believed in a heliocentric Universe.
E) His mathematics could not disprove Ptolemy's epicycles, deferents and equants.

Question 18

The most important idea in De Revolutionibus was placing the Sun at the center of the Universe.

Question 19

Greek philosophers used religion and astrology to understand the mysteries of the universe.

Question 20

Whose geocentric model of the Universe dominated astronomy for 2,000 years?

A) Kepler
B) Copernicus
C) Aristotle
D) Galileo
E) Ptolemy

Question 21

Which planet did Galileo observe go through a complete set of phases, thus proving the Ptolemaic model wrong?

A) Saturn
B) Jupiter
C) Mars
D) Venus
E) Mercury

Question 22

Kepler's first law of planetary motion defied what long-held belief with ancient astronomers?

A) a heliocentric Universe
B) a geocentric Universe
C) uniform circular motion
D) parallax of newborn stars
E) perfection of the heavens

Question 23

Kepler's laws of planetary motion were _____ because he could not provide an explanation for his conclusions.

A) unnatural
B) empirical
C) hypothetical
D) principles
E) assumptions

Question 24

What was Tycho Brahe's contribution to astronomy?

A) He proved that Earth rotates on its own axis and revolves around the Sun.
B) He designed the three laws of planetary motion.
C) He discovered satellites around Jupiter, which proved Earth could move and keep its satellite.
D) He described why each of the planets moved in uniform circular motion.
E) He compiled detailed observations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets over a period of 20 years.

Question 25

Early astronomers believed that Earth did not move because they saw no ____, the apparent motion of an object because of the motion of the observer.

A) uniform circular motion
B) archeoastronomy
C) heliocentrism
D) eccentricity
E) parallax

Question 26

According to Kepler's third law, calculate the orbital period of a planet approximately 6.0 AU away from the Sun.

A) ˜ 6 years
B) ˜ 15 years
C) ˜ 30 years
D) ˜ 36 years
E) ˜ 214 years

Question 27

The 99 years that revolutionized Astronomy ended with whose death?

A) Aristotle
B) Kepler
C) Tycho
D) Copernicus
E) Galileo

Question 28

What was Eratosthenes's mathematical contribution to the history of astronomy, even though it was incorrect?

A) He calculated the diameter of Earth by what he learned from travelers' itineraries.
B) He estimated Earth's revolution rate by measuring the length of shadows casted on the surface.
C) He determined that all the planets orbited Earth every 24 hrs.
D) He attempted to calculate Earth's radius by utilizing the position of sunlight.
E) He believed all of nature was underlain by musical principles.

Question 29

A circle is an ellipse with an eccentricity of ____.

A) zero
B) one
C) two
D) four
E) eight

Question 30

Figure 4-1
What field of science focuses most on the connections between ancient celestial observations and such structures as the one seen in the accompanying figure?

A) theology
B) astrology
C) archeology
D) archeoastronomy
E) archeophilosophy

Question 31

Which statement best describes a theory?

A) A group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about
B) A specific statement about nature that needs further testing
C) An idea considered so obviously true that the idea does not need to be questioned
D) A fundamental principle in which scientists have great confidence
E) A general description of some aspect of nature that has been thoroughly tested and widely accepted

Question 32

Which publication was Kepler's masterpiece, providing strong evidence to planetary motion and a heliocentric Universe?

A) Alfonsine Tables
B) De Revolutionibus
C) Rudolphine Tables
D) The Prutenic Tables
E) Sidereus Nuncius

Question 33

Kepler originally proposed that the planets were spaced apart by ____.

A) five spheres
B) five regular solids
C) six tetrahedrons
D) five epicycles
E) six regular solids

Question 34

Which model did Galileo disprove by discovering the transit of Venus?

A) Ptolemaic
B) Copernican
C) Aristotelian
D) Plutonic
E) Kepler

Question 35

What tool did Galileo use to prove that the Moon was not perfect?

A) microscope
B) telescope
C) quadranoscope
D) thermometer
E) anemometer

Question 36

What principle was Copernicus unable to provide evidence against?

A) uniform circular motion
B) heliocentric universe
C) geocentric universe
D) retrograde motion
E) Ptolemy's epicycles

Question 37

Galileo's book Dialogo strongly defended the work of which astronomer?

A) Ptolemy
B) Tycho
C) Copernicus
D) Kepler
E) Aristotle

Question 38

What did the Greek philosopher Philolaus believe about the Universe?

A) No parallax seen of new stars means Earth is the center of the Universe.
B) Perfect heavens must be made of up spheres rotating at constant rates.
C) The most perfect geometrical form was the sphere.
D) The heavens are perfect and Earth is imperfect.
E) Earth moved around a central fire.

Question 39

Ptolemy tried to describe the motion of the planets by devising a small circle, called a(n) ____, which rotated around the edge of a larger circle.

A) epicycle
B) foci
C) deferent
D) equant
E) sphere

Question 40

Figure 4-9
The accompanying illustration demonstrates Copernicus's theory of ____.

A) uniform circular motion
B) retrograde motion
C) parallax
D) eccentricity
E) heliocentric Universe

Question 42

When Tycho saw no parallax in the position of a new star, he published his evidence against which model of the Universe?

A) Aristotelian
B) Galilean
C) Ptolemaic
D) Copernican
E) Reinhold

Question 43

What were the three discoveries Galileo made with his telescope observations and quickly published into Sidereus Nuncius ?

Question 44

In the Copernican system, Earth moves _______________ along its orbit than the planets that lie farther from the Sun.

Question 45

Explain the geometry of an ellipse, which Kepler used to describe a planet's orbits.

Question 46

What did most Greek philosophers accept as a first principle?

A) Earth was the unmoving center of the Universe.
B) The heavens are imperfect.
C) The tetrahedron is the perfect geometric form.
D) There are only six planets in the Universe.
E) Earth travels on an elliptical orbit.

Question 47

What are Kepler's three laws of planetary motion?

Question 48

In Kepler's model of the Universe, what was the purpose of the five regular solids?

A) To differentiate the six planets
B) To define the shape of each of the orbits
C) To describe the internal shape of each planet
D) To be spacers for the orbits of the six planets
E) To support the calculations of each orbital period

Question 49

A well-known structure located in Britain and investigated by archeoastronomist is called _______________.

Question 50

Most Greek philosophers believed in a(n) _______________ Universe.

Question 51

Ancient astronomers often had difficulty explaining _____, the occasional westward motion of the planets.

A) parallax
B) eccentrics
C) retrograde motion
D) deferents
E) epicycles

Question 52

What was the evidence that ancient astronomers used to conclude that Earth did not move?

Question 53

_______________'s laws have been used for almost four centuries as a true description of orbital motion.

Question 54

Eratosthenes used simple geometry to determine the distance between Alexandria to Syene so that he could calculate Earth's_______________.

Question 55

The most important idea in Copernicus' De Revolutionibus was placing the _______________ at the center of the Universe.

Question 56

A(n) _______________is something that is held to be obviously true and needs no further examination.

Question 57

Explain why it is a common misconception that Galileo faced the Inquisition for his belief in a heliocentric Universe.

Question 58

Kepler's analysis of planetary motion showed that the planets move _______________ when close to the Sun and _______________ when farther away.

Question 59

Pythagoras proposed that all nature was underlain by musical principles, by which he meant _______________.

Question 60

Explain the differences between a hypothesis, theory and a natural law.

Question 61

Explain why Copernicus' hypothesis, where the Sun was the center of the planetary system, became known as the Copernican Revolution.

Question 62

What part of the Copernican model was incorrect?

Question 63

What are the two primary components of the Ptolemaic Universe model?

Question 64

Ancient astronomers often saw certain planets viewed, while viewed from Earth, slowly stop and then move westward, of which they called this movement _______________.