Astronomy Chapter 3 Flashcard
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Which of the following claims can be tested by scientific means?
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People born when the Sun is in the constellation of Leo are more financially successful than other people.
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The ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science because _________.
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they were the first people known to try to explain nature with models based on reason and mathematics, without resort to the supernatural
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What was the Ptolemaic model?
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an Earth-centered model of planetary motion published by Ptolemy
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What do we mean by a geocentric model of the universe?
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a model designed to explain what we see in the sky while having Earth located in the center of the universe
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Which of the following was not a major advantage of Copernicus's Sun-centered model over the Ptolemaic model?
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It made significantly better predictions of planetary positions in our sky.
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One of the "nails in the coffin" for the Earth-centered universe was
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Galileo's observations of the moons of Jupiter.
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Imagine for a moment that despite all the evidence, Earth actually is not rotating and orbiting the Sun. Which of these hypothetical observations (none of them are real) would be inconsistent with our Sun-centered view of the solar system?
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We discover a small planet beyond Saturn that rises in the west and sets in the east each day.
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In science, a broad idea that has been repeatedly verified so as to give scientists great confidence that it represents reality is called _________.
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a theory
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Which of the following is not true about a scientific theory?
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A theory is essentially an educated guess.
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Only one of the statements below uses the term theory in its correct, scientific sense. Which one?
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Einstein's theory of relativity has been tested and verified thousands of times.
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Which of the following is not part of a good scientific theory?
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A scientific theory cannot be accepted until it has been proven true beyond all doubt.
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All of the following statements are true. Which one can be explained by Kepler's third law?
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Venus orbits the Sun at a faster orbital speed than Earth.
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The great contribution of Tycho Brahe was to _________.
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observe planetary positions with sufficient accuracy so that Kepler could later use the data to discover the laws of planetary motion
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The great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to _________.
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create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the center
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Earth is closer to the Sun in January than in July. Therefore, in accord with Kepler's second law:
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Earth travels faster in its orbit around the Sun in January than in July.
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According to Kepler's third law:
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Jupiter orbits the Sun at a faster speed than Saturn.
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Why did Tycho conclude that the Sun revolves around the Earth?
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He could not detect the parallax of stars expected if the Earth revolves around the Sun.
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Galileo's contribution to astronomy included:
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making observations and conducting experiments that dispelled scientific objections to the Sun-centered model.
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Which of the following is the reason for the solar day being longer than a sidereal day?
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the combined effect of the rotation of Earth and its orbit about the Sun
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According to Kepler's third law (p2 = a3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around the Sun?
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A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun.
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The Earth is instantly replaced in its orbit by a speck of dust. Which statement best describes the subsequent orbital motion of that piece of dust?
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The dust particle will continue in the same orbit as the Earth did, orbiting the Sun in 1 year.
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Galileo observed all of the following. Which observation offered direct proof of a planet orbiting the Sun?
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phases of Venus
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The principle of Occam's Razor states that
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in explaining natural phenomena, the simplest explanation consistent with the observations is to be preferred.
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Match the accomplishment to the person.
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Tycho collected data, Kepler found elliptical orbits, Newton explained in terms of physics.
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How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth in 240 B.C.?
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by comparing the maximum altitude of the Sun in two cities at different latitudes
