Deck 2: The Rise of Astronomy

Question 1

The Moon appears larger when it rises than when it is high in the sky because

A) you are closer to it when it rises (angular-size relation).
B) you are farther from it when it rises (angular-size relation).
C) it's an illusion from comparison to objects on the horizon.
D) it's brighter when it rises.

Answer 1

it's an illusion from comparison to objects on the horizon.

Question 2

_________ was the first person to measure the circumference of Earth.

A) Ptolemy
B) Copernicus
C) Eratosthenes
D) Galileo
E) Aristarchus

Answer 2

Eratosthenes

Question 3

When was it first known that Earth was spherical in shape?

A) It was always known to be spherical
B) at the time of the Greeks
C) at the beginning of the Renaissance
D) only after Galileo used a telescope to study other planets
E) only recently within the last hundred years

Answer 3

at the time of the Greeks

Question 4

What is the size of an object located at a distance of 1,000 meters and that has angular size A = 4 degrees?

A) about 11 meters
B) about 35 meters
C) about 70 meters
D) about 4,000 meters

Question 5

One observation supporting the idea of a spherical Earth is that _________.

A) the shape of Earth's shadow on the Moon during an eclipse is circular
B) a traveler moving south will see stars they could not previously see
C) a ship moving away from the observer will move such that the hull is not seen, then the sails
D) all of these choices are correct

Question 6

The curved shape of Earth's shadow during an eclipse was evidence for _________.

A) a flat, circular Earth
B) a spherical Earth
C) a spherical Moon
D) A flat, circular Moon
E) None of these choices is correct

Question 7

Which of the following is a contribution that Eratosthenes made to astronomy?

A) He determined the circumference of Earth.
B) He discovered epicycles.
C) He discovered his Three laws (of Planetary Motion).
D) He was the first person known to have pointed a telescope at the sky.

Question 8

What is meant by the phrase "angular size"?

A) an object's diameter
B) how big an object looks, expressed as an angle
C) the distance around an object
D) the angle between two circular objects

Question 9

If you triple your distance from an object, what happens to its angular size?

A) It decreases by one half.
B) It stays the same.
C) It reduces to one third of what it was.
D) It increases by a factor of nine.

Question 10

The Sun and the Moon have an angular size of approximately ____.

A) 1 degree
B) 5 degrees
C) 0.5 degree
D) 23.5 degrees
E) 2.35 degrees

Question 11

The similarity of the Sun's and the Moon's angular sizes allow ____ to occur.

A) tides
B) lunar phases
C) eclipses
D) sunspots
E) seasons

Question 12

The apparent size of an object based on the amount of sky it covers is called its ____.

A) diameter
B) shadow-width
C) horizon
D) angular size
E) celestial extent

Question 13

The Sun and the Moon have the same angular size. If the Sun is 400 times farther away from the Moon, the Sun must be ____ times the size of the Moon.

A) 400
B) 1/400
C) 1/4
D) 4
E) 4?

Question 14

One of two identical buildings is nearby, the other is twice as far away as the first. The angular size of the more distant building is ____ the nearby building's angular size.

A) two times
B) four times
C) one half
D) one fourth
E) the same as

Question 15

When the Moon is on the horizon, it appears larger than when it is high in the sky. Why?

A) When it is on the horizon, it is closer to us.
B) This is an optical illusion.
C) The brightness of the Moon makes it seem larger.
D) Earth's atmosphere acts like a lens, magnifying it.
E) Its angular size is larger on the horizon.

Question 16

One observation that supported an Earth-centered solar system is _________.

A) retrograde motion
B) the phases of the Moon
C) the lack of parallax in the stars
D) the shape of Earth's shadow on the Moon
E) the phases of Venus

Question 17

The shift of a star's apparent position due to Earth's motion around the Sun is called ____.

A) parallax
B) retrograde motion
C) prograde motion
D) geocentricity
E) proper motion

Question 18

The parallax shift of a nearby star would be ____ that of a more distant star.

A) greater than
B) less than
C) the same as
D) brighter than
E) faster than

Question 19

The paths of the planets in the sky are tilted with respect to the celestial equator by about

A) 5 degrees.
B) 23 degrees.
C) 45 degrees.
D) 90 degrees.

Question 20

One of the methods used to date supernova remnants (the remains of exploded stars) today is by using

A) the notebooks of Galileo.
B) the records of ancient Chinese, Japanese, and Korean astronomers.
C) the works of Ptolemy.
D) Kepler's laws.

Question 21

Which of the following objects passes through the zodiac?

A) Sun
B) Planets
C) Earth and Moon
D) All of these choices are correct.
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 22

What is retrograde motion?

A) east to west motion of the Sun over many successive nights
B) east to west motion of the Moon relative to the stars over many successive nights
C) occasional east to west motion of the planets relative to the stars over many successive nights
D) occasional west to east motion of the planets relative to the stars over many successive nights

Question 23

During retrograde motion, a planet moves from ______ to ______ relative to the stars.

A) east; west (moves westward)
B) west; east (moves eastward)

Question 24

Retrograde motion is discernible by watching a planet over the course of

A) a few minutes.
B) many hours.
C) many nights.
D) many years.

Question 25

During the course of a single night, a planet that is moving in retrograde motion will move

A) east to west.
B) west to east.
C) not at all.
D) randomly about the sky.

Question 26

Imagine the much more massive Jupiter were to switch places with the less massive Mercury. Which of the following would accurately describe the outcome?

A) Jupiter would orbit the Sun in less time than it did before.
B) Jupiter would orbit the sun in more time than it did before.
C) Mercury would orbit the Sun in less time than it did before.
D) The orbital time for each of the planets would not change.

Question 27

Where on the celestial sphere would you look for the planets?

A) on the celestial equator
B) on the galactic equator
C) in the zodiac (near the ecliptic)
D) at the north celestial pole

Question 28

If you see a bright "star" in the sky, how could you tell whether it is a star or a planet?

A) Planets are too dim to be seen without a telescope.
B) Planets are round; stars have five points.
C) Planets always appear right next to the Moon.
D) Look at it several days later-if it's a planet, it will move across the background stars.

Question 29

The planets move ____ through the sky, relative to the background stars.

A) east to west
B) west to east
C) retrograde
D) northeast to southwest
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 30

Of the terrestrial planets, or inner planets, which exhibit(s) retrograde motion?

A) only Mars
B) Mercury, Venus, and Mars
C) Mars and Mercury
D) None of these choices is correct.

Question 31

What do we call it when a planet moves backward (east to west) through the stars?

A) retrograde motion
B) the Zodiac
C) regression
D) prograde motion

Question 32

Where will a planet in retrograde motion rise?

A) in the north
B) in the south
C) in the east (just like everything else in the sky)
D) in the west (the opposite of everything else in the sky)

Question 33

The planets (other than Earth) known to ancient Western cultures were ____.

A) Mercury, Venus, and Mars
B) Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
C) Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
D) Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
E) Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

Question 34

As the planets orbit the Sun, they are never far from the ____ on the celestial sphere.

A) ecliptic
B) celestial equator
C) horizon
D) celestial pole
E) meridian

Question 35

The path of the planets through the sky is tipped 23.5 degrees from the ____.

A) celestial equator
B) ecliptic
C) zodiac
D) north celestial pole
E) the plane of the galaxy

Question 36

The geocentric model was based on the observation that _________.

A) everything moves around Earth from east to west
B) the sphere was a divine shape
C) crystalline spheres rotated through the sky
D) the Sun and Moon were flawless spheres
E) Earth is motionless in space

Question 37

One phenomenon that the geocentric models struggled to explain was ____.

A) sunspots
B) the rotation of Earth
C) retrograde motion
D) parallax
E) epicycles

Question 38

An epicycle was used in geocentric models to explain ____.

A) parallax
B) aurora
C) retrograde motion
D) eclipses
E) Earth's circular shadow

Question 39

Islamic scholars _________.

A) studied and expanded upon older texts in astronomy
B) made detailed studies of the motions of the planets
C) influenced the naming of bright stars
D) developed algebra
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 40

Asian astronomers _________.

A) kept detailed records of unusual celestial events
B) devised ways to predict eclipses
C) recorded the existence of sunspots
D) All of these choices are correct.

Question 41

Kepler's Third, or harmonic, law states that the

A) period of an orbit cubed equals the semi-major axis squared.
B) semi-major axis of an orbit cubed equals the period squared.
C) planets move fastest when they are closest to the Sun.
D) semi-major axis of an orbit is inversely proportional to the period.

Question 42

Copernicus' heliocentric model failed to work as well as it might fail to predict the positions of planets because Copernicus insisted the orbits were

A) circular.
B) elliptical.
C) circular, mounted on epicycles.
D) hyperbolic.

Question 43

One of Tycho Brahe's major contributions to astronomy was to prove that _________ was _________.

A) a supernova (exploding star); much farther away than the planets
B) a comet; outside Earth's atmosphere
C) the Sun; the center of the solar system
D) both A; and B
E) A; B and C

Question 44

The general heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus was appealing, and eventually became preferred, because

A) it explained why we do not observe stellar parallax.
B) it replaced Earth with the Sun as the center of the solar system.
C) it was more aesthetically pleasing than the complicated Ptolemaic model.
D) it made more accurate predictions than the Ptolemaic model.

Question 45

In _________ models, the Sun is assumed as the center of the solar system.

A) Geocentric
B) Anthropomorphic
C) Epicyclic
D) Heliocentric

Question 46

Galileo was the first to observe the phases of _____.

A) the moon
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) the sun

Question 47

In Copernicus' model of the solar system, the planets orbited the _____ in ______ orbits.

A) Earth; circular
B) Sun; elliptical
C) Sun; circular
D) Earth; elliptical

Question 48

______ major contribution to astronomy is his extensive series of measurements of planetary positions.

A) Tycho Brahe's
B) Galileo's
C) Kepler's
D) Copernicus's

Question 49

_______ used the extensive records of planetary positions measured by ______ to discover that the orbits of the planets are ________.

A) Tycho; Kepler; circular
B) Tycho; Kepler; elliptical
C) Kepler; Tycho; elliptical
D) Kepler; Galileo; elliptical

Question 50

Kepler's ____ law states that the orbits of planets are elliptical, with the Sun at one focus.

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth

Question 51

From Kepler's ____ law, we conclude that the planets do not move with constant speed.

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth

Question 52

From Kepler's ____ law, we conclude that Mars completes a full orbit much faster than Pluto.

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth

Question 53

Observations indicate that it takes Saturn longer than Jupiter to complete one orbit about the Sun. This is in agreement with which of Kepler's laws?

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth

Question 54

The time between the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox is somewhat greater than the time between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox. This is a result of Kepler's _____ law.

A) First
B) Second
C) Third
D) Fourth

Question 55

Which of the following is a contribution that Kepler made to astronomy?

A) He determined the size of Earth.
B) He discovered epicycles.
C) He discovered his Three laws (of Planetary Motion).
D) He discovered four moons (or satellites) of Jupiter.

Question 56

Which of the following is a contribution that Galileo made to astronomy?

A) He determined the size of Earth.
B) He discovered epicycles.
C) He developed the first successful heliocentric theory.
D) He discovered four moons (or satellites) of Jupiter.

Question 57

Galileo's observation of sunspots showed that _________.

A) the Sun was not a flawless sphere
B) Earth revolved around the Sun
C) planets moved along elliptical orbits around the Sun
D) the stars could change
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 58

Galileo's observation of the satellites of Jupiter showed that _________.

A) there were objects that did not orbit Earth
B) planets orbited the Sun
C) the Moon was not a flawless sphere
D) nothing orbited Earth
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 59

The angular size of an object increases as the distance to the observer increases.

Question 60

The angular size of the Sun as observed from Earth is about 0.5 degree.

Question 61

The angular size of the Moon as observed from Earth is about 0.5 degree.

Question 62

The paths of the planets' orbits lie in all different directions in the sky.

Question 63

The inability to observe parallax of stars contributed to the ancient Greek astronomers' rejection of the idea that Earth revolves around the Sun.

Question 64

The motion of the Sun with respect to the stars is retrograde, i.e., east to west relative to the stars.

Question 65

During retrograde motion, the planet Mars rises in the west and sets in the east.

Question 66

Parallax is the shift in a star's apparent position due to Earth's motion around the Sun.

Question 67

The concept of the epicycle was introduced in the heliocentric model to explain the retrograde motion of the planets.

Question 68

In the heliocentric model, the retrograde motion of the planets was explained as the consequence of the different orbital speeds of the planets, without the use of epicycles.

Question 69

Copernicus' model was significantly better at predicting future positions of planets than Ptolemy's.

Question 70

Galileo deduced many empirical laws of motion before Newton was even born.

Question 71

During the month of January, Earth goes through the point of closest approach to the Sun. Using Kepler's Second law we can conclude that Earth moves faster in January than in July.

Question 72

In geocentric theories, Earth is assumed to be the center of the solar system.

Question 73

The Sun is located at the center of Earth's elliptical orbit.

Question 74

According to Kepler's laws the Sun is located at one of the foci of Earth's orbit.

Question 75

Copernicus was able to calculate the distances to the observed planets relative to Earth's distance from the Sun.

Question 76

Tycho Brahe relied on the use of telescopes to record his accurate positions for the planets.