Unit 1: History of Astronomy

Unit 1: History of Astronomy

Review Session

Multiple Choice

What Earth motion is the basis (cause) of the cycle of day and night?

• rotation

• revolution

• precession

Multiple Choice

The law of universal gravitation is credited to whom?

• Einstein

• Galileo

• Darwin

• Newton

Multiple Choice

Complete the following statement: The farther away two planets are the _______ the gravitational force between them.

• more
• same
• dosen't matter
• less

Multiple Choice

Two objects are attracted to each other with 36 N of gravitational force.
What would the force between them be if the distance between them were doubled?

• 9
• 18
• 72
• 144

Multiple Choice

Planets orbit the Sun in the shape of a(n) _______

• ellipse

• circle

• square

• circle within a circle

Multiple Choice

The heliocentric model

• means "earth centered"

• is relatively new

• says that the Sun is at the center of the universe

• was established by Ptolemy

Multiple Choice

What was one of the contributions of Copernicus to astronomy?

• He discovered that planets moved in elliptical orbits

• He used telescopes to observe the heavens which reinforced the idea of heliocentricity

• He made extensive and detailed observations of the positions of the planets

• He said the Earth was not the center of the universe

Multiple Choice

What problems did early astronomers face when trying to justify a geocentric model?

• Retrograde motion of planets farther out than the Earth
• Bodies in the night sky moved from horizon to horizon making people think the Sun was the center
• No observations of bodies in the night sky were observable to make any logical conclusions about celestial orbits
• The lack of evidence for stellar parallax

Multiple Choice

Which astronomer of antiquity first applied a telescope to astronomical observation?

• Ptolemy
• Galileo Galilei
• Tycho Brahe
• Copernicus

Multiple Choice

Which astronomer of antiquity made elaborate models of an earth-centered universe?

• Copernicus
• Aristarchus
• Ptolemy
• Tycho Brahe

Multiple Choice

The eccentricity of a planet's orbit is equal to the distance between the foci of the ellipse divided by the length of the semi-major axis. So, if the distance between the foci is equal to 1 AU, and the length of the semi-major axis is 3, the eccentricity is _____.

• 3

• 0.33

• 1

• 2

Multiple Choice

The name for the average sun-to-earth distance is

• A Year
• A Light Year
• An Astronomical Unit
• A Parsec

Multiple Choice

Tycho Brahe's biggest contribution to astronomy was...?

• Accurate Observations of the stars and planets
• His telescopic observations
• Heliocentric Universe
• His Silver Nose

Multiple Choice

Astronomer Johannes Kepler...

• Published Almagest
• Invented the first Radio Telescope
• Suggested elliptical orbits for the planets
• Was made head astronomer for the Church

Multiple Choice

The formula P2 = a3 is an expression of

• Kepler's 3rd Law
• Newton's 2nd Law
• Kepler's 1st Law
• Kepler's 2nd Law

Multiple Choice

The formula we get from the second law is...?

• F = m*a
• v = d/t
• a = v/t
• f = 1/T

Multiple Choice

A light year is _____

• a unit of time

• a unit of distance

• how fast light travels

• all of these

Multiple Choice

Ancient Greeks believed, the earth to be the centr of the universe. What do we call this model?

• Ptolemic System
• Geocentric Universe
• Heliocentric Universe
• Copernican Model