Deck 4: The Origin of Modern Astronomy

Question 1

The Almagest

A) is the book that first described the heliocentric solar system.
B) is a collection of the science and mathematics of the Greeks.
C) caused the author to be sentenced to house arrest.
D) is a book of astrological myths and predictions produced by the Arabs.
E) first described the Copernican theory.

Answer 1

is a collection of the science and mathematics of the Greeks.

Question 2

The diagram below shows three approximate locations of the sun along the western horizon.Which number indicates the location of the sun at sunset on December 21st for an observer at latitude 48 $\degree$ N?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) The sun will set in the east.
E) The sun will not set on December 21st at this latitude.

Answer 2

1

Question 3

____ introduced the concept of the eccentrics and epicycle to planetary motion about Earth,created a star catalog,and is generally credited with the development of trigonometry.

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

Answer 3

Hipparchus

Question 4

A ____ is a commonly accepted set of scientific ideas and assumptions.

A) theory
B) paradigm
C) hypothesis
D) natural law
E) model

Question 5

Ptolemy's model of the universe

A) was heliocentric.
B) included elliptical orbits.
C) contained epicycles.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 6

The purpose of the astronomical alignments of Stonehenge are known

A) from ancient manuscripts found buried in the monument
B) by asking Druid priests who have worshiped there since it was built
C) by studying the stories about King Arthur
D) Wrong! The exact purposes are not known.
E) Wrong! There are no astronomical alignments at Stonehenge

Question 7

In the context of the Aristotle's geocentric ideas,Galileo's telescopic discoveries of mountains on the moon and spots on the sun were controversial because they suggested that the sun and moon

A) are the same kind of object.
B) are not perfect.
C) are inhabited.
D) orbit each other.
E) do not orbit Earth.

Question 8

A ____ is a single conjecture that can be tested.

A) hypothesis
B) paradigm
C) natural law
D) model
E) theory

Question 9

The Copernican system was no more accurate than the Ptolemaic system in predicting the positions of the planets because

A) the Copernican system used the old value for the radius of Earth.
B) Copernicus had been unable to detect parallax.
C) the Copernican system used uniform circular motion like Ptolemy.
D) in the Copernican system only Mercury and Venus orbit the sun,all other planets orbited Earth.
E) Copernicus used inaccurate data from Ptolemy's system.

Question 10

The primary alignment in Stone Henge is an alignment of the center with the outer "heel" stone toward

A) the full moon on the summer solstice.
B) the southern most point on the horizon where Venus rises.
C) Polaris,the north star.
D) the summer solstice sunrise point.
E) the location of the sun at noon on the Vernal equinox.

Question 11

A ____ is a description of some natural phenomenon that can't be right or wrong.It is merely a convenient way to think about a natural phenomenon.

A) hypothesis
B) paradigm
C) natural law
D) model
E) theory

Question 12

Which of these were things ancient Greek astronomers never even considered in astronomy?

A) The Earth is round.
B) Everything in the universe goes around the Earth.
C) The Earth goes around the sun.
D) Wrong! They considered the possibility of all the above.

Question 13

A(n)____ is a circle whose center is located on the circumference of another circle.

A) equant
B) deferent
C) retrograde loop
D) ellipse
E) epicycle

Question 14

The book "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium"

A) describes how Galileo's observations and Kepler's calculations proved the Copernican theory.
B) describes the construction of Galileo's telescope and his observations.
C) is a dialog written to convince the general public of the merits of the Copernican theory.
D) first described the Copernican theory.
E) describes the Tychonian theory.

Question 15

Which of the following people did not accept a heliocentric model of the universe?

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

Question 16

Brahe's universe was the same as the Copernican universe except that

A) Earth did not move.
B) the sun did not move.
C) the moon orbited the sun.
D) the orbits were elliptical with the sun at one focus.
E) the orbits followed uniform circular motion.

Question 17

Galileo's observations of the gibbous phase of Venus proved

A) that Venus orbits the sun.
B) that Earth orbits the sun.
C) that all of the planets orbit the sun.
D) that the moon orbits Earth.
E) that Venus has an atmosphere.

Question 18

Galileo's telescopic discovery of moons orbiting Jupiter was important because it showed that

A) the universe could contain centers of motion other than Earth.
B) Earth might move along an orbit and not leave the moon behind.
C) Jupiter was much more massive than Earth.
D) all of the above
E) a and b above

Question 19

The distance from Alexandria to Syene is about 500 miles.On the summer solstice the sun is directly overhead at noon in Syene.At Alexandria on the summer solstice,the sun is 1/50th of the circumference of the sky (about 7 $\degree$ )south of the zenith.Based on this information,what is the circumference of Earth?

A) 25,000 miles
B) 10 miles
C) 3500 miles
D) 3140 miles
E) 6480 miles

Question 20

Tycho Brahe's greatest contribution to astronomy was

A) his model of the universe.
B) his telescopic observations.
C) his discovery of three laws of motion.
D) his years of careful observations of the planets.
E) a and b above.

Question 21

Copernicus

A) was the first person to propose that the earth orbited the sun
B) showed how retrograde motion could be explained without epicycles if the planets all orbited the sun
C) showed how retrograde motion could be explained without epicycles if the planets all orbited the earth
D) first used the telescope for astronomical purposes

Question 22

A ____ is a system of rules and principles that can be applied to a wide variety of circumstances but may not be universally accepted.

A) hypothesis
B) paradigm
C) natural law
D) model
E) theory

Question 23

Which of the following planets can be seen as a crescent phase from Earth?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above

Question 24

The greatest inaccuracy in Copernicus' model of the solar system was that the planets

A) traveled in circular orbits with uniform motion.
B) traveled on epicycles whose centers followed orbits around the Sun.
C) traveled in elliptical orbits.
D) were allowed to travel backwards in their orbits.
E) the planets orbited the Sun.

Question 25

Direct motion of a planet is its normal motion ____________ among the stars..

A) west to east along the ecliptic
B) east to west along the ecliptic
C) west to east along the celestial equator
D) east to west along the celestial equator

Question 26

Saturn is on average 10 AU from the sun.What is the approximate orbital period of Saturn?

A) 10 years
B) 32 years
C) 100 years
D) 1000 years
E) 1,000,000 years

Question 27

Parallax is the apparent change in location of an object due to the motion of the observer.

Question 28

Viewed from the center of Stonehenge,the summer solstice sun rises behind the Heelstone.

Question 29

Aristotle concluded that the earth is round because...

A) its shadow on the moon during an eclipse was always part of a circle.
B) ships going out to sea on a calm day appeared to sink into the ocean.
C) both of the above
D) Wrong! Aristotle thought the earth was flat.

Question 30

The purpose of using epicycles and deferents to explain the motion of the planets in the night sky was to account for

A) prograde motion.
B) Mercury and Venus' limited angular distance from the Sun.
C) retrograde motion.
D) non-uniform speed of the planets in their orbits.
E) precession of the equinoxes.

Question 31

When Mars is located directly behind the Earth with respect to the Sun in its orbit,it is

A) at the midpoint in the sky between east and west at sunset.
B) at the midpoint in the sky between east and west at midnight.
C) at the midpoint in the sky between east and west at sunrise
D) at the midpoint in the sky between east and west at noon.
E) not visible in the night sky

Question 32

An apparent westward motion of a planet in the sky compared to the background stars (as viewed from the Earth)when observed on successive nights is referred to as

A) epicycle
B) retrograde motion
C) prograde motion
D) heliocentric motion
E) deferent

Question 33

Galileo used a telescope to discover.

A) spots on the sun
B) craters on the moon
C) moons around Jupiter
D) moon-like phases of Venus
E) all of these

Question 34

The first person to propose that the Earth went around the sun was.

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

Question 35

Which of the following objects cannot transit (i.e.pass in front of)the Sun as seen from Jupiter?

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

Question 36

In pre-Copernican astronomy,it was almost universally believed that

A) the planets traveled in elliptical orbits about the Earth.
B) the center of the universe was the Sun with the Milky Way representing other distant planets.
C) the Sun was at the center of the universe.
D) the Earth was at the center of the universe.
E) None of the above was believed.

Question 37

Kepler used Tycho's observations to show that the planets...

A) followed perfectly circular orbits
B) followed perfectly cubical orbits
C) all circled the earth
D) followed elliptical orbits

Question 38

Halley's Comet has an orbital period of 76 years.What is the average distance of Halley's Comet from the sun?

A) 51 AU
B) 18 AU
C) 114 AU
D) 660 AU
E) 38 AU

Question 39

The ancient Greek astronomer Eratosthenes measured the size of.

A) the universe
B) the sun
C) the earth's orbit around the sun
D) the earth

Question 40

Which of the following was not based on uniform circular motion?

A) the Rudolphine Tables
B) the Prutenic Tables
C) the Alphonsine Tables
D) the Almagest
E) the Copernican system

Question 41

Classical Greek astronomers believed the motions of the heavens could be described by uniform circular motion.

Question 42

Many classical astronomers believed Earth could not move because they detected no parallax.

Question 43

If a planet orbits the sun at a distance of 4 AU,then its orbital period is 8 years.

Question 44

Kepler completed the Rudolphine Tables.

Question 45

Tables based on a heliocentric model of the universe which used elliptical orbits for the planets were more accurate than ____________________.

Question 46

Ptolemy formulated a(n)____________________ model of the solar system to predict positions of the Sun,Moon,and planets.

Question 47

The first observations of objects in the solar system that orbit neither the sun nor Earth were made by ____________________.

Question 48

Newgrange contains an alignment that indicates the winter solstice sunrise.

Question 49

The modern first astronomer to propose a heliocentric model for the solar system was ____________________.

Question 50

Copernicus was the first to propose that Earth moves around the sun.

Question 51

Galileo wrote the Almagest.

Question 52

The ____________________ Tables were based on a heliocentric model of the universe and used elliptical orbits for the planets.

Question 53

The Ptolemaic model of the universe was heliocentric.

Question 54

____________________ calculated the diameter of Earth using the distance between Alexandria and Syene and the angle of the sun at noon relative to the zenith on the summer solstice.

Question 55

The Copernican model of the solar system has the planets orbit the sun along elliptical paths.

Question 56

Kepler's 2^nd of planetary motion states that the orbits of the planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus.

Question 57

____________________ is a description of the Ptolemaic model of the solar system.

Question 58

Galileo used a telescope to observe the phases of Venus.