Chapter 3 Astronomy
State Kepler's three laws of planetary motion.
(The Law of Ellipses) An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The Law of Harmonies)
13)The controversial book of this famous person,published in 1543 (the year of his death),suggested that Earth and other planets orbitthe Sun. A)Copernicus B) Kepler C)Galileo D)Tycho Brahe E) Ptolemy
A)Copernicus
He discovered that the orbits of planets areellipses. A)Kepler B) Tycho Brahe C)Copernicus D)Ptolemy E) Galileo
A)Kepler
23)Which of the following is not one of, nor follows directly from, Kepler's laws? A)The force of attraction between any two objects decreases with the square of the distance between their centers. B) A planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun. C)More distant planets move at slower speeds. D)The orbit of each planet about the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. E) As a planet moves around its orbit, its weeps out equal areas in equal times.
A)The force of attraction between any two objects decreases with the square of the distance between their centers.
28)All the following statements are true. Which one follows directly from Kepler's third law? A)Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury. B) Venus is more massive than Mercury. C)Venus is larger than Mercury. D)Venus has a thicker atmosphere than Mercury.
A)Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury.
From Kepler's third law, a hypothetical planet that is twice as far from the Sun as Earth should have a period of A)more than 2 Earth years. B) 2 Earth years. C)1 Earth year. D)1/2 Earth year. E) It depends on the planet's mass.
A)more than 2 Earth years.
19)When Copernicus first created his Sun-centered model of the universe, it did not lead to substantially better predictions of planetary positions than the Ptolemaic model. Why not? A)Copernicus misjudged the distances between the planets. B) Copernicus used perfect circles for the orbits of the planets, whereas planets actually have elliptical orbits. C)Copernicus placed the planets in the wrong order going outward from the Sun. D)Copernicus placed the Sun at the center but did not realize that the Moon orbits Earth. E) Copernicus misjudged the speeds at which the planets orbit the Sun.
B) Copernicus used perfect circles for the orbits of the planets, whereas planets actually have elliptical orbits.
10)How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? A)It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Sun. B) It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles, also known as epicycles, around Earth. C)It varied the motion of the celestial sphere so that it sometimes moved backward. D)It placed the Sun at the center so that the planets' apparent retrograde motion was seen as Earth passed each one in its orbit. E) It held that sometimes the planets moved backward along their circular orbits.
B) It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles, also known as epicycles, around Earth
14)He developed a system for predicting planetary positions that remained in use for some 1,500 years. A)Tycho Brahe B) Ptolemy C)Kepler D)Galileo E) Copernicus
B) Ptolemy
15)He was the first to prove that comets lie beyond Earth's atmosphere. A)Copernicus B) Tycho Brahe C)Kepler D)Aristotle E) Galileo
B) Tycho Brahe
27)Kepler's second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that A)the period of a planet does not depend on its mass. B) a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun. C)planets that are farther from the Sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets. D)a planet's period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit. E) planets have circular orbits.
B) a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.
32)What is meant by Occam's Razor? A)the fine line between science and pseudoscience B) a well-designed experiment that clearly shows the differences between two competing theories C)a poorly designed experiment that fails to show the difference between two competing theories D)the shaving implement of a medieval scholar E) the idea that scientists should prefer the simpler of two models that agree equally well with observations
B) a well-designed experiment that clearly shows the differences between two competing theories
11)Why did Ptolemy have the planets orbiting Earth on "circles upon circles" in his model of the universe? A)to explain why more distant planets take longer to make a circuit through the constellations of the zodiac B) to explain the fact that planets sometimes appear to move westward, rather than eastward, relative to the stars in our sky C)to explain why Venus goes through phases as seen from Earth D)to explain why the Greeks were unable to detect stellar parallax E) to properly account for the varying distances of the planets from Earth
B) to explain the fact that planets sometimes appear to move westward, rather than eastward, relative to the stars in our sky
26)From Kepler's third law, an asteroid with an orbital period of 8 years lies at an average distance from the Sun equal to A)8 astronomical units. B) 2 astronomical units. C)4 astronomical units. D)16 astronomical units. E) It depends on the asteroid's mass.
C)4 astronomical units.
He discovered what we now call Newton's first law of motion. A)Ptolemy B) Kepler C)Galileo D)Tycho Brahe E) Copernicus
C)Galileo
31)What is meant by a hypothesis? A)a pseudoscientific idea B) a tentative understanding of a natural phenomenon C)a natural phenomenon that requires explanation D)an explanation for a phenomenon that makes a prediction E) a historical theory that has been proved inaccurate
C)a natural phenomenon that requires explanation
When did Copernicus live? A)about 5000 years ago B) about 100 years ago C)about 500 years ago D)about 2000 years ago E) about 1000 years ago
C)about 500 years ago
9) Ptolemy was important in the history of astronomy because he A)developed a scientifically accurate model of the universe. B) was the first to create a model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center. C)developed a model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions to remain in use for many centuries. D)was the first to believe in an Earth-centered universe. E) was the first to believe that all orbits are perfect circles.
C)developed a model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions to remain in use for many centuries.
When and where did the Library of Alexandriaexist? A)from 300 B.C. to A.D. 400 in Rome B) from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1800 in Greece C)from 300 B.C. to A.D. 400 in Egypt D)from 300 B.C. to A.D. 400 in Greece E) from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1800 in Egypt
C)from 300 B.C. to A.D. 400 in Egypt
29)What do scientists mean by verifiable observations?A)observations that can be interpreted in only one way B) observations that a model does not have to predict C)statements that a person can, in principle,verify for himself or herself D)observations that support a scientific theory E) statements that anyone would agree are obvious
C)statements that a person can, in principle,verify for himself or herself
21)Which of the following was not observed by Galileo? A)phases of Venus B) sunspots C)stellar parallax D)Jupiter's moons E) craters on the Moon
C)stellar parallax
Describe one major accomplishment for each of the following people: Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Newton.
Copernicus- HIS WORK ESTABLISHED THE HELIOCENTRIC MODEL OVER PTOLEMY'S GEOCENTRIC MODEL Tycho Brahe- The astronomical data that Brahe collected over his lifetime led to the development of the three laws of planetary motion because the data was based on empirical facts that had been observed.Kepler- He discovered the 3 laws of planetary motionGalileo- GALILEO PROVED THE HELIOCENTRIC MODEL THROUGH HIS DISCOVERY OF THE PHASES OF VENUS
In order to tell time at night, the ancient Egyptians of 3000 B.C. used... A)hourglasses, measuring the flow of sand through an opening. B) Moon clocks, which measured time based on the Moon's position relative to the stars. C)sundials, with light provided by the Moon. D)star clocks, which measured time-based on the positions of stars at particular times of night and particular times of year. E) water clocks, measuring the flow of water through an opening.
D) star clocks, which measured time-based on the positions of stars at particular times of night and particular times of year.
8) Which of the following statements about scientific models is true?A) A model tries to represent only one aspect of nature. B) A model tries to represent all aspects of nature. C)All models that explain nature well are correct. D)A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena. E) All current models are correct.
D)A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena
He discovered that Jupiter has moons. A)Kepler B) Ptolemy C)Tycho Brahe D)Galileo E) Aristotle
D)Galileo
22)One of the "nails in the coffin" for Earth-centered universe was A)Galileo's observation of stars in the Milky Way. B) the retrograde motion of the planets. C)the phases of the Moon. D)Galileo's observations of the moons of Jupiter. E) eclipses of the Sun.
D)Galileo's observations of the moons of Jupiter.
4) Which ancient culture had the greatest knownsuccess in predicting eclipses? A)Egyptians B) Aztecs C)Greeks D)Mayans E) Babylonians
D)Mayans
12)Where was the Sun in Ptolemy's model of the universe? A)slightly offset from the center B) at the outer edge, beyond Saturn's orbit C)at the center D)between the orbits of Venus and Mars E) between Earth and the Moon's orbit
D)between the orbits of Venus and Mars
How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth in 240 B.C.? A)by observing the duration of a solar eclipse B) by measuring the size of Earth's shadow on the Moon in a lunar eclipse C)by sending fleets of ships around Earth D)by comparing the maximum altitude of the Sun in two cities at different latitudes on the summer solstice E) We don't know how he did it since all his writings were destroyed
D)by comparing the maximum altitude of the Sun in two cities at different latitudes on the summer solstice
24)Kepler's third law, p2 = a3, means that A)the period of a planet does not depend on its mass. B) all orbits with the same semimajor axis have the same period. C)planets that are farther from the Sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets. D)a planet's period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit. E) All of the above are correct.
E) All of the above are correct.
30)What is meant by a scientific paradigm? A)a pseudoscientific idea B) a historical theory that has been proved in accurate C)a radical change in scientific thought D)a conundrum or unexplained set of facts E) a generally well-established scientific theory or set of theories
E) a generally well-established scientific theory or set of theories
Describe the Ptolemaic model of the solar system. How did Ptolemy account for the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, or the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets all orbited Earth.
33)Describe how Eratosthenes first measured the size of Earth over 2,000 years ago.
Recognizing the curvature of the Earth and knowing the distance between the two cities enabled Eratosthenes to calculate the planet's circumference.
The path that led to modern science emerged from ancient civilizations in which part of the world? a) the Mediterranean and the Middle East b) Southern Asia c) North America d) Central and South America
a) the Mediterranean and the Middle East
Historians trace the origins of a 24-hour day to... a) the Aztecs. b) the ancient Egyptians. c) the druids of Stonehenge.d) the Babylonian astronomer, Meton. e) the Mayans.
b) the ancient Egyptians.
What do the structures of Stonehenge, the Templo Mayor, and the Sun Dagger all have in common? a) They all can be used as lunar calendars. b) They were all built on the orders of ancient Mediterranean kings. c) They were all used by ancient peoples for astronomical observations. d) They were all places used for religious sacrifice.
c) They were all used by ancient peoples for astronomical observations.