Ancient History of Astronomy Quiz

Why may have ancient cultures studied astronomy?

• For timekeeping purposes

• For timing agriculture (planting and harvesting)

• For astrology or religion

• For historical record keeping

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Which of the following is the best description of Stonehenge?

• It was a sophisticated, scientific astronomical observatory that was capable of predicting the position of Mars.

• It was a basic solar calendar that matched up to every day of the year.

• It was a basic solar calendar that aligned with the sun on summer solstice and winter solstice (probably for religious purposes).

• It was a basic clock that measured the hours of the day using the Sun and shadows.

Of the following historical models of the solar system, circle all that were geocentric.

• Aristotle's

• Ptolemy's

• Copernicus's

• Eudoxus's

• Kepler's

Who were the Aztecs?

• a Greek civilization

• a Mesoamerican tribe in the 13th century

• An Egyptian tribe in the 13th century

• A Chinese tribe in the Tang Dynasty

What did the Mayans use to develop their written language? (Select all that apply)

• Glyphs

• Pictures

• Bricks

• Paint

The Ptolemaic model of the Solar System was

• Geocentric

• Heliocentric

• Neither

• Both Heliocentric and Geocentric

What did Ptolemy invent?

• The constellations

• the HR Diagram

• The star catalog

• the celestial sphere

What tool did the Persians use for Astronomy?

• An observatory

• A Celestial Sphere

• A moon map

• A telescope

What did Shi Shen use to plot stars?

• almanac

• globe

• celestial sphere

• armillary sphere

What did the Chinese use as their reference point?

• Circumpolar stars

• Circular stars