Deck 3: Ancient Astronomy

Question 1

Precession can be detected by noting the

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

Answer 1

Changes in the celestial coordinates of stars over many years

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

10 m

Question 3

How did Eratosthenes determine the circumference of the Earth?

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

Answer 3

By comparing the altitude of the Sun at different locations

Question 4

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

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.

Question 5

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?

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

Question 6

The Greek astronomer Thales is reported to have predicted

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

Question 7

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

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

Question 8

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

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 9

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

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

Question 10

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

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

Question 11

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

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

Question 12

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

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

Question 13

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

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

Question 14

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

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

Question 15

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

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 20^th century

Question 16

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

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.