Deck 4: The Origin of Modern Astronomy

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Galileo's observations of a complete set of phases of Venus proved

A) that Venus orbited the Sun.
B) that Earth orbited the Sun.
C) that all of the planets orbited the Sun.
D) that the Moon orbited Earth.
E) that Venus had an atmosphere.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

____ occur when the Moon is first or third quarter.

A) Neap tides
B) Spring tides
C) Total solar eclipses
D) Annular eclipses
E) A coppery red Moon will

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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

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

Question 5

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

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

Question 6

A(n) ____ is a single conjecture that can be tested.

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

Question 7

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

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

Question 8

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

A) the Copernican system assumed the Earth was at rest at the center
B) the Copernican system used elliptical planetary orbits
C) the Copernican system used uniform circular motion
D) the Copernican system assumed all planets orbited the Sun

Question 9

The geometry of an ellipse is described by two numbers: the ____ which is half the longest diameter of the ellipse and the ____ which tells us the shape of the ellipse.

A) radius, eccentricity
B) radius, deferent
C) semi-major axis, deferent
D) semi-major axis, epicycle
E) semi-major axis, eccentricity

Question 10

A(n) ____ is well supported (observationally and/or experimentally) system of rules and principles that can be applied to a wide variety of circumstances.

A) hypothesis
B) paradigm
C) theory
D) model

Question 11

Tycho'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 12

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) were the same kind of object.
B) were not perfect spheres.
C) were inhabited.
D) orbited each other.
E) did not orbit Earth.

Question 13

____ orbit is one in which an object orbiting Earth has an orbital period equal to the rotation period of Earth.

A) A daily
B) A lunar
C) An epicycle
D) A geosynchronous
E) An open

Question 14

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 20 years of careful observations of the planets.
E) his model of the universe and his telescope observations.

Question 15

Spring tides occur

A) at new Moon and first-quarter Moon.
B) at first quarter and third-quarter Moons.
C) at new Moon and full Moon.
D) at third-quarter and full Moons.
E) at noon and midnight.

Question 16

Retrograde motion (east to west among the stars) is observed

A) for some planets as Earth passes between that planet and the Sun.
B) for the Sun during the entire year.
C) for Earth's Moon during an entire month.
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 17

Parallax is

A) the apparent motion of an object due to the motion of the observer.
B) the distance between two foci of an ellipse.
C) the small circle that the planets slid along in Ptolemy's geocentric universe.
D) the circular orbits used in Copernicus' heliocentric universe.
E) half the length of the shortest diameter of an ellipse.

Question 18

Tycho failed to detect ______ for the nova of 1572 indicating it was ______.

A) parallax; beyond the orbit of Earth's Moon
B) parallax; inside the Earth's atmosphere close to Earth
C) light; beyond the orbit of Earth's Moon
D) light; inside the Earth's atmosphere close to Earth

Question 19

Ptolemy's model of the universe

A) was heliocentric.
B) included elliptical orbits.
C) contained epicycles.
D) was heliocentric, included elliptical orbits, and contained epicycles.
E) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 20

The semimajor axis of an ellipse is

A) the ratio of the longest diameter of the ellipse to that of the shortest diameter of the ellipse.
B) half the length of the shortest diameter of the ellipse.
C) half the length of the longest diameter of the ellipse.
D) the distance between the two foci of the ellipse.
E) the ratio of the distance between the two foci to the length of half the longest diameter of the ellipse.

Question 21

The period of Jupiter's orbit around the Sun is approximately 12 years. What is the approximate distance from the Sun to Jupiter?

A) 144 AU
B) 1728 AU
C) 42 AU
D) 5.2 AU
E) 2.3 AU

Question 22

The diagram below illustrates a portion of the model for the universe described by

A) Kepler.
B) Tycho.
C) Ptolemy.
D) Copernicus.
E) Galileo.

Question 23

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

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

Question 24

Which of the following books of tabulated predicted planet positions was not based on uniform circular motion?

A) the Rudolphine Tables by Kepler
B) the Prutenic Tables based on Copernicus' model
C) the Alphonsine Tables based on Ptolemy's observations and calculations

Question 25

An object has been located orbiting the Sun at a distance from the Sun of 65 AU. What is the approximate orbital period of this object?

A) 65 years
B) 275,000 years
C) 4225 years
D) 8.1 years
E) 524 years

Question 26

The greatest inaccuracy in Copernicus's 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) orbited the Sun.

Question 27

The force due to gravity between two objects depends on
I) the mass of each object.
II) the distance each object is from Earth.
III) the distance between the two objects.
IV) the speed of light.

A) I & II
B) I & III
C) II & IV
D) I, II, & III
E) I, II, III, & IV

Question 28

When Mars is located directly behind 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 29

Halley's comet has an orbital period of 76 years, what is the average distance of Comet Halley from the Sun?

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

Question 30

The force of gravity from one object extends to infinity never going to zero. When we say that gravitation is universal we mean that

A) the Earth exerts gravitational force on objects on its surface.
B) the Earth exerts a gravitational force on its Moon and vice versa.
C) the Earth, Moon, and Sun exert gravitational forces on each other.
D) all material objects in the universe exert gravitational forces on one another.

Question 31

The ____ of an object is a measure of the amount of matter it contains. On the other hand ____ is a measure of the gravitational force on an object.

A) weight; mass
B) mass; weight
C) energy; force
D) force; energy
E) momentum; energy

Question 32

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 33

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

A) the planets traveled in elliptical orbits about 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) Earth was at the center of the universe.
E) None of the above was believed.

Question 34

Gravity obeys an inverse square relation. This statement implies that the force due to gravity between two masses

A) will increase as the distance between the two masses increases.
B) will decrease as the square of the distance between the two masses increases.
C) will cause the two masses to move away from each other.
D) will cause the two masses to move in a straight line.
E) will cause the two masses to orbit each other.

Question 35

Kepler's first law of planetary motion implies that

A) the planets move at a constant speed at all points in their orbits.
B) the planets all move around Earth in elliptical orbits.
C) uniform circular motion is adequate to describe the motion of all planets.
D) planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun.

Question 36

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's and Venus's 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 37

Kepler's second law implies that

A) a planet should move at its greatest speed when it is closest to the Sun.
B) the most massive planets will have the greatest speed in their orbits.
C) the speed of a planet in its orbit depends on the size of the epicycle.
D) the mass of the planet determines how far the planet is from the Sun.
E) the deferent and the epicycle have to be attached to the Sun and not Earth.

Question 38

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 39

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

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) Mercury and Venus
E) All of the other choices are correct.

Question 40

Newton concluded that a force from the Earth had to act on the Moon because

A) a force is needed to keep the Moon in motion in its orbit.
B) a force is needed to pull the Moon outward.
C) a force is needed to accelerate the Moon toward Earth away from straight-line motion.
D) the Moon moved at a constant velocity in a straight line.
E) All of the other choices are correct.

Question 41

Newton's law of gravitational force is expressed as follows:

A) An object with no force on it moves in a straight line with constant velocity.
B) An object with a force on it is accelerated in the direction of the force an amount inversely proportional to its mass and directly proportional to the size of the force.
C) For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
D) The force between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the distance between them squared.

Question 42

The eccentricity of a planet's orbit describes

A) westward motion in the night sky when observed on successive nights.
B) the deviation in shape when compared to a circle.
C) its tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane.
D) the tilt of the planet's rotational axis with respect to the ecliptic.

Question 43

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) the universe could contain centers of motion other than Earth, Earth might move along an orbit and not leave the Moon behind, and Jupiter was much more massive than Earth.
E) the universe could contain centers of motion other than Earth and Earth might move along an orbit and not leave the Moon behind.

Question 44

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 above.

Question 45

When two objects of unequal masses orbit each other, the center of mass is

A) at the center of the more massive object.
B) at the center of the least massive object.
C) half way between the centers of each object.
D) always closer to the less massive of the two objects.
E) always closer to the more massive of the two objects.

Question 46

Which of the following statements best describes Kepler's 3rd law of planetary motion?

A) The smaller the diameter of a planet, the faster its rotational period is.
B) The orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the diameter of the planet.
C) The smaller the orbit, the longer its orbital period is.
D) The larger the orbit, the longer its orbital period is.

Question 47

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.

Question 48

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 49

Tides occur because the gravitational force of the Moon on Earth ____ with increasing distance from the Moon.

A) stays constant
B) increases
C) decreases

Question 50

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 51

The orbit of the planet Jupiter is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. What is located at the other focus?

A) the asteroid belt
B) Earth
C) Saturn
D) Jupiter
E) nothing

Question 52

What is the circular velocity of an object orbiting Earth at a distance of 100,000 km from Earth's center?   G = 6.67 × 10 ^{− 11} m³ ⋅ kg ^{− 1} ⋅ s ^{− 2}; M _Earth = 5.98 × 10 ²⁴ kg

A) 2 m/s
B) 20 m/s
C) 200 m/s
D) 2000 m/s
E) 20,000 m/s

Question 53

A comet in a highly elliptical orbit is found to have a semimajor axis equal to one astronomical unit (AU). According to Kepler's 3rd law, what would be the sidereal period of this comet?

A) more than one year
B) one year
C) less than one year
D) 76 years; the same for every comet
E) Not enough information is given to determine this.

Question 54

Which type of curve would accurately represent a closed orbit?

A) ellipse
B) hyperbola
C) parabola
D) straight line

Question 55

Copernicus

A) proposed that the Earth orbited the Sun.
B) showed how retrograde motion could be explained without epicycles if the planets all orbited the Sun.
C) neither proposed that the Earth orbited the Sun and showed how retrograde motion could be explained without epicycles if the planets all orbited the Sun.
D) both proposed that the Earth orbited the Sun and showed how retrograde motion could be explained without epicycles if the planets all orbited the Sun.

Question 56

The circular velocity of a satellite orbiting Earth is given by . In this equation,

A) M represents the mass of the satellite, and r is its radius.
B) M represents the mass of Earth, and r the radius of Earth.
C) M represents the mass of the satellite, and r the distance from Earth to the satellite.
D) M represents the mass of Earth, and r the distance from Earth to the satellite.
E) M represents the mass of the satellite, and r the distance from Earth's surface to the satellite.

Question 57

The ____ produce(s) tides on the Earth.

A) Moon alone
B) Sun alone
C) Moon and Sun

Question 58

Why did Galileo's observations of moons orbiting Jupiter disagree with geocentric model of the universe of his time?

A) The moons moved in non-circular orbits about Jupiter.
B) The moons did not appear to orbit the Sun.
C) The moons did not appear to orbit Earth.
D) The moons appeared to be too small, and therefore too far away, to be considered part of the solar system.

Question 59

In Ptolemy's view of the universe, a planet moves on an epicycle whose center moves around the Earth on the deferent circle.

A) Correct
B) FALSE; Ptolemy put the Sun at the center.
C) FALSE; The planet stays on the deferent circle.
D) FALSE; Earth is at the center of the epicycle.
E) FALSE; Both c and d are correct.

Question 60

A(n) ____ orbit is one where the orbiting object is always above the same location on Earth's surface.

A) elliptical
B) geosynchronous
C) closed
D) hyperbolic
E) parabolic

Question 61

Uranus's orbital period is 84 years. How far is Uranus from the Sun?

Question 62

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

Question 63

If a satellite is in orbit around Earth and the satellite's altitude is decreased, then the circular velocity __________________.

A) decreases
B) increases
C) stays the same
D) is zero

Question 64

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out, raise your straight arm out with your thumb up such that your thumb aligns with one of your big toes, rapidly blink your left and right eye, and observe how your big toe appears to shift positions. This demonstration is an example of _________________.

A) Newton's first law
B) uniform circular motion
C) parallax
D) retrograde motion

Question 65

One body weighs twice as much as another on a seesaw, as such the center of mass is located

A) in the center of the seesaw.
B) towards the less massive body.
C) towards the more massive body.
D) at the heaviest body.

Question 66

An object in orbit around Earth

A) is not experiencing gravity.
B) is in free fall.
C) is accelerating towards Earth.
D) is in free fall and is accelerating toward Earth.

Question 67

If a body's acceleration is doubled then the amount of force acting on the body had to _______.

A) double
B) halve
C) stay the same
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 68

____________________ made very accurate observations of the positions and movements of the planets that were later used to help develop the Rudolphine Tables.

Question 69

If a satellite is in orbit around Earth and the satellite's altitude increases, then the circular velocity __________________.

A) decreases
B) increases
C) is zero
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 70

Saturn orbits the Sun and follows which laws? Choose the best answer.
I) Kepler's first
II) Kepler's second
III) Kepler's third
IV) Newton's law of gravitation

A) I and II
B) I, II, and III
C) I, III, and IV
D) I, II, III, and IV

Question 71

If you are standing on the floor then you actions (or lack of action) can count as a test of

A) Newton's first law
B) Newton's second law
C) Newton's third law
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 72

If the force on a body is halved then the acceleration of the body

A) increases by half
B) increases by double
C) decreases by half
D) decreases by double

Question 73

This person developed his own model in which the Sun and Moon orbited Earth and the planets circled the Sun.

A) Galileo
B) Newton
C) Kepler
D) Tycho

Question 74

If an object's orbital velocity is greater than its escape velocity, then the shape of the path is a/an __________________ and the orbit is____________.

A) ellipse, closed
B) circle, closed
C) parabola, open
D) parabola, closed

Question 75

Which law refers to a planet sweeping out equal areas in equal times as it orbits its host star?

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

Question 76

Jupiter orbits the Sun and follows which laws? Choose the best answer.
I) Kepler's first
II) Kepler's second
III) Kepler's third
IV) Newton's first
V) Newton's second
VI) Newton's third
VII) Newton's law of gravitation

A) I, II, III, V, VI
B) II, IV, VI, VII
C) I, II, III, IV, V, VII
D) I, II, IV, V, VI, VII

Question 77

If the period of a body's orbit is doubled, then the distance from the host has ___________. Assume the units of period are years and the units of distance are A.U. Choose the best answer.

A) doubled
B) halved
C) stayed the same
D) increased by  about 1.5 times

Question 78

Geosynchronous satellites

A) have an orbital period of 24 hours.
B) remain above a geographical point on Earth while Earth rotates underneath.
C) have an orbital period of 24 hours and remain above a geographical point on Earth while Earth rotates underneath.
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 79

Which produces tides on Earth?

A) Moon
B) Sun
C) Moon and Sun
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 80

You and your friend put the palms of your hands together and push equally on each other so your hands don't move. Which law(s) does this follow? Choose the best answer.
I) Newton's first
II) Newton's second
III) Newton's third
IV) Newton's law of gravitation

A) I, III
B) II, IV
C) I, II, III, IV
D) III