Deck 3: A Universe of Universal Laws

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT a reason the geocentric worldview was so popular in Europe in 1400 CE?

A) The geocentric model matched physical intuition.
B) The geocentric model made accurate predictions about the night sky.
C) The geocentric model was compatible with the worldview of the Catholic Church.
D) The geocentric model had been continuously improved by European astronomers over the previous millennium.

Answer 1

The geocentric model had been continuously improved by European astronomers over the previous millennium.

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

Tycho Brahe.

Question 3

The astronomer who first introduced the model shown below was:

A) Ptolemy.
B) Johannes Kepler.
C) Nicolaus Copernicus.
D) Galileo Galilei.

Answer 3

Nicolaus Copernicus.

Question 4

Kepler's second law is a direct manifestation of:

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

Question 5

Planets in the solar system follow:

A) circular orbits with the Sun displaced from the center.
B) circular orbits with the Sun at the center.
C) elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus.
D) elliptical orbits with the Sun at the center.

Question 6

The Copernican explanation for retrograde motion requires that:

A) the planets have circular orbits.
B) the planets move on epicycles.
C) the planets have different orbital periods.
D) only planets outside of Earth's orbit undergo retrograde motion.

Question 7

Kepler's laws of planetary motion were formulated using data recorded by:

A) Tycho Brahe.
B) Nicolaus Copernicus.
C) Galileo Galilei.
D) Isaac Newton.

Question 8

The Copernican model required the solar system to be ________ than it was in Ptolemy's model.

A) older
B) younger
C) larger
D) smaller

Question 9

Suppose two planets outside of Earth's orbit both show retrograde motion.Planet A's retrograde loop fills a larger angle on the sky than Planet B's does.How are Planet A and B related to each other?

A) Planet A is closer to Earth than Planet B.
B) Planet A is farther from Earth than Planet B.
C) Planet A moves slower in its orbit than Planet B.
D) Planet A has a larger epicycle than Planet B.

Question 10

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

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

Question 11

The astronomer who formulated the three general laws of planetary motion was:

A) Nicolaus Copernicus.
B) Johannes Kepler.
C) Galileo Galilei.
D) Isaac Newton.

Question 12

In the heliocentric model,retrograde motion occurs when:

A) a planet travels along an epicycle in the opposite sense of its usual orbit.
B) Earth is moving along its orbit on the opposite side of the Sun from another planet.
C) a planet's velocity changes as it moves nearer to or farther from the Sun.
D) Earth catches and passes another planet in its orbit.

Question 13

The Ptolemaic and Copernican models differed in all of the following respects EXCEPT the:

A) the appearance of epicycles.
B) their explanation for retrograde motion.
C) the central object in the planetary system.
D) the rotation of Earth.

Question 14

What was the first observation to challenge Aristotle's conception of perfect and unchanging heavens?

A) phases of the Moon
B) craters on the Moon
C) retrograde motion
D) Tycho's supernova

Question 15

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

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

Question 16

Suppose Earth and Jupiter move along their orbits in the following sequence.What would we observe?

A) an eclipse
B) retrograde motion
C) strong tides
D) a transit

Question 17

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

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

Question 18

The orbital periods of planets ________ with their average distance from the Sun.

A) decrease
B) remain constant
C) increase
D) vary irregularly

Question 19

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?

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

Question 20

Consider the two ellipses shown below.How are they related to each other?

A) Ellipse A has a larger eccentricity and smaller semiminor axis than Ellipse B.
B) Ellipse A has a larger eccentricity and larger semiminor axis than Ellipse B.
C) Ellipse A has a smaller eccentricity and smaller semiminor axis than Ellipse B.
D) Ellipse A has a smaller eccentricity and larger semiminor axis than Ellipse B.

Question 21

Consider an object on a circular orbit around the Sun.Which of the following quantities remains unchanged throughout the orbit?

A) acceleration
B) speed
C) velocity
D) position

Question 22

Galileo overturned Aristotelian physics by showing that:

A) Earth is spherical.
B) Earth rotates daily.
C) the gravitational force decreases with distance.
D) objects accelerate as they fall.

Question 23

Galileo was put on trial by the Catholic Church for:

A) publishing a book in support of the heliocentric model.
B) using a telescope to study the heavens.
C) believing in the heliocentric model.
D) showing that the Sun was imperfect.

Question 24

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

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

Question 25

Which of the following people was the first to introduce experimental methods to science?

A) Aristotle
B) Nicolaus Copernicus
C) Galileo Galilei
D) Isaac Newton

Question 26

A ball is launched upward from a baseball field.Assuming that it begins with an upward velocity of 10.5 m/s,what is its speed after three seconds have elapsed? (The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.8 m/s².)

A) 0.7 m/s
B) 10.5 m/s
C) 18.9 m/s
D) 39.9 m/s

Question 27

An asteroid follows a circular orbit around the Sun with a radius of 5 AU.Which of the following is closest to its orbital period?

A) 3 years
B) 11 years
C) 25 years
D) 125 years

Question 28

Two asteroids,A and B,orbit the Sun on circular orbits with radii of 1 AU and 4 AU,respectively.How do their orbital velocities compare to each other?

A) Asteroid A has twice the velocity of asteroid B.
B) Asteroid A has four times the velocity of asteroid B.
C) Asteroid A has eight times the velocity of asteroid B.
D) The asteroids have identical velocities.

Question 29

An object travels at 10 m/s through interstellar space.If no forces act upon it,it will:

A) enter a circular orbit.
B) gradually slow to a stop.
C) accelerate.
D) continue with the same velocity.

Question 30

According to Newton,satellites orbit Earth because:

A) of gravitational forces.
B) circular motion is natural.
C) of inertia.
D) of free-fall.

Question 31

Which of the following observations provided the most direct challenge to the geocentric model of solar system orbits?

A) the topography of the Moon
B) phases of Venus
C) sunspots
D) supernovae

Question 32

Which of the following correctly characterizes the velocity and angular momentum of a planet orbiting the Sun?

A) The velocity is maximum at aphelion, while the angular momentum is maximum at perihelion.
B) The velocity and angular momentum are both maximum at perihelion.
C) The velocity and angular momentum are constant throughout the orbit.
D) The velocity is maximum at perihelion, while the angular momentum is constant throughout the orbit.

Question 33

A physicist launches two asteroids in circular orbits with identical angular momenta.Asteroid A's orbit has twice the radius of Asteroid B's orbit.How do their orbital velocities compare to each other?

A) Asteroid A moves faster than Asteroid B.
B) Asteroid A moves slower than Asteroid B.
C) Asteroid A moves at the same speed as Asteroid B.
D) The velocities of both asteroids vary along their orbits.

Question 34

Who was the first astronomer to make measurements of the sky with a telescope?

A) Nicolaus Copernicus
B) Tycho Brahe
C) Galileo Galilei
D) Isaac Newton

Question 35

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

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

Question 36

Two asteroids,A and B,orbit the Sun.Asteroid A follows a circular orbit with a radius of 6 AU.
Asteroid B follows an elliptical orbit with a perihelion distance of 4 AU and an aphelion distance of 8 AU.
How do their orbital periods compare to each other?

A) Asteroid B has about half the period of asteroid A.
B) Asteroid B has about 1.5 times the period of asteroid A.
C) Asteroid B has about twice the period of asteroid A.
D) The asteroids have identical periods.

Question 37

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

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.

Question 38

Pluto is about 40 times farther from the Sun than Earth is.How much smaller is Pluto's acceleration due to the Sun's gravity than Earth's?

A) 1/40²
B) 1/40
C) 1/20
D) They are the same.

Question 39

Who was the first astronomer to discover sunspots?

A) Tycho Brahe
B) Galileo Galilei
C) Isaac Newton
D) William Herschel

Question 40

Two balls are dropped from rest in a vacuum chamber on Earth.They have identical sizes,but the red ball is twice as massive as the blue ball.What happens?

A) The balls accelerate at the same rate.
B) The red ball accelerates faster than the blue ball.
C) The blue ball accelerates faster than the red ball.
D) The balls will not move because they are in a vacuum.

Question 41

As a planet moves away from aphelion,how is its orbital velocity changing with time?

Question 42

Name the elements A,B,C,and D of the ellipse shown below.

Question 43

Why did Copernicus's model set the scale of the solar system?

Question 44

Why do astronauts feel "weightless" inside the International Space Station?

A) They are so far from Earth that the gravitational force is very small.
B) They follow the same orbit as the space station.
C) The space station rotates to cancel the effect of gravity.
D) The space station is continually accelerating away from Earth.

Question 45

Why did Ptolemy's work remain popular in Europe through 1500 CE?

Question 46

A monkey throws a pineapple to its playmate.The pineapple,with a mass of 0.5 kg,is accelerated to the left at a rate of 6 m/s².The monkey has a mass of 2 kg.What is its acceleration?

A) 1 m/s²
B) 1.5 m/s²
C) 3 m/s²
D) 6 m/s²

Question 47

Planet A has twice the mass of planet B.Experiments determine that a bowling ball on planet A weighs eight times as much as it does on planet B.Relative to the radius of planet B,what is the radius of planet A?

A) Planet A has four times the radius of planet B.
B) Planet A has twice the radius of planet B.
C) Planet A has the same radius as planet B.
D) Planet A has half the radius of planet B.

Question 48

The acceleration experienced by Earth due to the Moon's gravity is ________ the acceleration experienced by the Moon due to Earth's gravity.(Note that the Moon is about 1% of the mass of Earth.)

A) 10^-4 times
B) 10^-2 times
C) equal to
D) 10⁴

Question 49

Sally Scientist applies an equal force to two objects.The first has a mass of 40 kg and the second has a mass of 10 kg.If the first object accelerates at 10 m/s²,what is the acceleration of the second?

A) 2.5 m/s²
B) 5.0 m/s²
C) 10 m/s²
D) 40 m/s²

Question 50

Why did Tycho Brahe's observations challenge the prevailing astronomical paradigm?

Question 51

The gravitational force experienced by Earth due to the Moon is ________ the gravitational force experienced by the Moon due to Earth.(Note that the Moon is about 1% of the mass of Earth.)

A) 10-4 times
B) 10-2 times
C) equal to
D) 104

Question 52

Why did Galileo's discovery of the moons of Jupiter support the heliocentric model?

Question 53

Pluto has a perihelion of about 50 AU and an aphelion of 30 AU.What is the ratio of the gravitational force at aphelion to the gravitational force at perihelion?

A) 1
B) 5/3
C) 25/9
D) 25/3

Question 54

Planet A has nine times the mass of planet B,but they have equal radii.How fast would you have to launch a rocket from planet A for it to escape the pull of its gravity,if the corresponding speed for planet A is 10 m/s?

A) 3 m/s
B) 10 m/s
C) 30 m/s
D) 90 m/s

Question 55

Both the Ptolemaic and Copernican models required equants.What assumption and observed phenomena necessitated these additions?

Question 56

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

Question 57

The scientist who explained orbits as an effect of gravity was:

A) Nicolaus Copernicus.
B) Johannes Kepler.
C) Galileo Galilei.
D) Isaac Newton.

Question 58

When planets undergo retrograde motion,they are also brighter on the sky than usual.How does the Copernican model account for this phenomenon?

Question 59

Suppose the Sun suddenly quadrupled its mass,while Earth remained at the same distance from it.What is the ratio of Earth's orbital period after the change to that before it?

A) 1:16
B) 1:4
C) 1:2
D) 1:1

Question 60

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?

Question 61

Galileo observed Venus to attain a full phase.Why did this disprove the geocentric model?

Question 62

A ball is dropped from the top of a tower in New York City.Assuming that it begins at rest,what is its speed after three seconds have elapsed? (The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.8 m/s².)

Question 63

How could Isaac Newton have measured the mass of Jupiter?

Question 64

Two asteroids orbit the sun at distances of 1 AU and 4 AU,respectively,both on circular orbits.If the first asteroid travels at about 30 km/s,what is the speed of the more distant asteroid? If you changed the more distant asteroid's speed to be 30 km/s,what would happen?

Question 65

If you kick a concrete wall hard,your foot will hurt.Explain this in terms of Newton's laws of motion.

Question 66

Suppose Galileo had observed the phases of Mars instead of the phases of Venus.Could he have used them to disprove the heliocentric model? Why or why not?

Question 67

The Moon has about 1% of Earth's mass,and its radius is about 1/4 as large as Earth's.How does the weight of a bowling ball on the Moon's surface compare to its weight on Earth's surface?

Question 68

List four of Galileo's pieces of observational evidence for the heliocentric model.

Question 69

A ball with a mass of 1 kg is launched upward from a baseball field.Assuming that it begins with an upward velocity of 15 m/s,what is its velocity after two seconds have elapsed? What would the answer be if the ball had a mass of 3 kg? (The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.8 m/s².)

Question 70

Newton's laws are often referred to as "universal." Why?

Question 71

Characterize the central difference between Aristotle's approach to understanding natural phenomena and Galileo's approach.