ASTR 1401 Chapter 3 – Flashcards

By the late 1600s, science and technology in China fell behind that of Europe. Many historians believe that this happened because the Chinese never learned how to do experiments. many Chinese scientists fled to Europe. a culture of secrecy discouraged broad collaborative efforts. the Chinese did not keep good records of past observations. the Chinese stopped making careful observations of the skies.

The path that led to modern science emerged from ancient civilizations in which part of the world? - China - North America - Southern Asia - Central and South America - the Mediterranean and the Middle East

How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of the earth in 240 B.C.? - by observing the duration of a solar eclipse - by measuring the size of the earth's shadow on the Moon in a lunar eclipse - by comparing the maximum altitude of the Sun in two cities at different latitudes - by sending fleets of ships around the earth - We don't know how he did it since all his writings were destroyed.

Which of the following statements about scientific models is true? - A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena. - All current models are correct. - All models that explain nature well are correct. - A model tries to represent all aspects of nature. - A model tries to represent only one aspect of nature.

When did Ptolemy live? - about 100 years ago - about 2000 years ago - about 500 years ago - about 5000 years ago - about 1000 years ago

How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? - It varied the motion of the celestial sphere so that it sometimes moved backward. - It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Sun. - It placed the Sun at the center so that the planets' apparent retrograde motion was seen as the earth passed each one in its orbit. - It held that sometimes the planets moved backward along their circular orbits. - It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the earth.

Where was the Sun in Ptolemy's model of the universe? - at the outer edge, beyond Saturn's orbit - at the center - between the orbits of Venus and Mars - between the earth and the Moon's orbit - slightly offset from the center

During the Dark Ages in Europe, the scientific work of the ancient Greeks was preserved and further developed primarily by scholars in - Greece. - China. - Rome. - Baghdad. - India.

He developed a system for predicting planetary positions that remained in use for some 1,500 years. - Copernicus - Galileo - Ptolemy - Tycho Brahe - Kepler

He was the first to prove that comets lie beyond the earth's atmosphere. - Copernicus - Aristotle - Tycho Brahe - Galileo - Kepler

He discovered that Jupiter has moons. - Kepler - Aristotle - Ptolemy - Galileo - Tycho Brahe

He discovered what we now call Newton's first law of motion. Copernicus Galileo Kepler Tycho Brahe Ptolemy

When did Copernicus live? - about 1000 years ago - about 5000 years ago - about 500 years ago - about 100 years ago - about 2000 years ago

Which of the following was not observed by Galileo? - stellar parallax - craters on the Moon - sunspots - phases of Venus - Jupiter's moons

When we see Venus in its full phase, what phase would the earth be in as seen by a hypothetical Venetian? - waning crescent - new - full - first quarter - third quarter

Which of the following is not one of, nor follows directly from, Kepler's laws? - More distant planets move at slower speeds. - The orbit of each planet about the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. - The force of attraction between any two objects decreases with the square of the distance between their centers. - As a planet moves around its orbit, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times. - A planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.

From Kepler's third law, a hypothetical planet that is twice as far from the Sun as the earth should have a period of - 1/2 Earth year. - 1 Earth year. - 2 Earth years. - more than 2 Earth years. - It depends on the planet's mass.

From Kepler's third law, an asteroid with an orbital period of 8 years lies at an average distance from the Sun equal to - 2 astronomical units. - 4 astronomical units. - 8 astronomical units. - 16 astronomical units. - It depends on the asteroid's mass.

All the following statements are true. Which one follows directly from Kepler's third law? - Venus is more massive than Mercury. - Venus is farther from the Sun than Mercury. - Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury. - Venus has a thicker atmosphere than Mercury.

What do scientists mean by verifiable observations? - observations that can be interpreted in only one way - observations that support a scientific theory - statements that anyone can, in principle, verify for himself or herself - observations that a model does not have to predict - statements that anyone would agree are obvious

What is meant by a hypothesis? - an explanation for a phenomenon that makes a prediction - a historical theory that has been proved inaccurate - a pseudoscientific idea - a natural phenomenon that requires explanation

What is meant by Occam's Razor? - the shaving implement of a medieval scholar - the fine line between science and pseudoscience - a well designed experiment that clearly shows the differences between two competing theories - a poorly designed experiment that fails to show the difference between two competing theories - the idea that scientists should prefer the simpler of two models that agree equally well with observations

The ancient goal of astrology was to - make a more accurate model of the universe. - predict human events. - antagonize astronomers. - understand the origin of the earth. - predict the passing of the seasons.

The astrology practiced by those who cast predictive horoscopes can be tested by - polling people to find out what percentage believe their horoscopes to be accurate. - asking astrologers if it works. - counting how many times the predictions come true. - comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance.