Quiz about The Copernican Revolution Textbook Review

Question 1

Islamic scholars helped preserve the astronomy of Ancient Greece during Europe's Dark Ages.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 2

When a planet retrogrades, it appears to move westward for weeks at a time.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 3

As originally stated, the Copernican model did no better job of predicting planetary behavior than did the Ptolemaic one.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 4

Galileo's observations of the entire phase cycle of Venus proved that Ptolemy's epicycles could not be correct in keeping Venus between us and the Sun.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 5

Galileo's observations of sunspots proved the Sun was rotating, like the Earth.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 6

Kepler found the orbits of planets are ellipses, not circles.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 7

Kepler based his theories on the precise planetary observations of Tycho Brahe.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 8

Kepler determined the shape of each planet's orbit by triangulation from different points on Earth's orbit, using observations made at many different times of the year.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 9

A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 10

Newton's Laws completely replaced the incorrect work of Kepler.

Accepted Answer

False

Answer

True

Question 11

Newton's Law of Gravity would explain why Saturn, so far from the Sun, moves so slowly across the sky.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 12

According to Newton's second law, if you double the force acting on a body, the acceleration will double.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 13

The most accurate Greek attempt to explain planetary motion was the model of:

Accepted Answer

Ptolemy.

Answer

Erastothenes.

Answer

Aristotle.

Answer

Hipparchus.

Answer

Pythagoras.

Question 14

The Ptolemaic model probably persisted for all these reasons EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

it accounted well for Galileo's observations of the phase cycle of Venus.

Answer

it was consistent with the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

Answer

it explain why stellar parallax was not observed by the Greeks.

Answer

it had the authority of Aristotle behind it.

Answer

it used perfect circles, which appealed to geometry.

Question 15

The greatest contribution of the Greeks to modern thought was:

Accepted Answer

the development of scientific inquiry and model building.

Answer

that their observation of stellar parallax proved the Earth orbited the Sun.

Answer

the idea that all the planets orbited the Sun.

Answer

the invention of the telescope.

Answer

that their mythology was the basis for the naming of the constellations.

Question 16

Scientists today do not accept the Ptolemaic model because:

Accepted Answer

the work of Tycho and Kepler showed the heliocentric model was more accurate.

Answer

it had no explanation for retrograde motion.

Answer

it has been shown that Ptolemy faked his data.

Answer

it was too complicated, compared to Copernicus' heliocentric model.

Answer

it is ancient history.

Question 17

On which of these assumptions do Ptolemy and Copernicus agree?

Accepted Answer

Venus must always stay between us and the Sun.

Answer

The Sun was bigger than the Earth.

Answer

The Earth must be the center of all motion in the Cosmos.

Answer

The Sun must orbit us, but the planets do orbit the Sun.

Answer

All orbits must be perfect circles.

Question 18

The heliocentric model was actually first proposed by:

Accepted Answer

Aristarchus.

Answer

Aristotle.

Answer

Hipparchus.

Answer

Archimedes.

Answer

Alexander the Great.

Question 19

According to Copernicus, the retrograde motion for Mars must occur:

Accepted Answer

at opposition, when the Earth overtakes Mars and passes between Mars and the Sun.

Answer

at superior conjunction, when Mars lies on the far side of the Sun.

Answer

at inferior conjunction, when Mars laps the Earth and passes between us and the Sun.

Answer

at greatest elongation, when Mars can get up to 47 degrees from the Sun.

Answer

at quadrature, when Mars lies exactly 90 degrees east or west of the Sun.

Question 20

Which of the following was NOT included in Copernicus' heliocentric model?

Accepted Answer

The orbits of the planets are ellipses.

Answer

The stars are much farther away than the Sun.

Answer

The planets of the solar system revolve around the Sun.

Answer

Apparent retrograde motion is not the actual motion of the other planets.

Answer

The Earth is not the center of everything.

Question 21

Which of the statements below is part of both the Ptolemaic and Copernican models?

Accepted Answer

Epicycles are needed to explain retrograde motion of the planets.

Answer

Venus's epicycle must always lie between us and the Sun.

Answer

The Moon orbits the Earth once a month.

Answer

The Sun lies in the center of the Cosmos.

Answer

The Earth orbits the Sun once a year.

Question 22

Which of the following was NOT a contribution of Galileo to astronomy?

Accepted Answer

The changing appearance of Saturn's rings corresponds to our seasons.

Answer

Sunspots showed the Sun was rotating on its axis, like the Earth does.

Answer

The four moons of Jupiter are a model for the solar system motions in general.

Answer

The craters and mare of the Moon prove it a world in its own right.

Answer

The phases of Venus prove it orbits completely around the Sun.

Question 23

Which of the following is a contribution to astronomy made by Galileo?

Accepted Answer

All of the above.

Answer

Jupiter has four moons orbiting it.

Answer

The astronomical telescope can show us far more detail than the eye can.

Answer

Venus appears almost fully lit when it lies on the far side of the Sun.

Answer

The Moon has craters, mountain, valleys, and dark flat areas on its surface.

Question 24

Which of these was NOT a telescopic discovery of Galileo?

Accepted Answer

the moons of Saturn

Answer

The craters and mare of the Moon

Answer

sunspots and the rotation of the Sun

Answer

the four largest moons of Jupiter

Answer

the phases of Venus

Question 25

It took two centuries for the Copernican model to replace the Ptolemaic model because:

Accepted Answer

there was no scientific evidence to support either model until Galileo made his observations.

Answer

in Copernicus' time, there were no telescopes.

Answer

The Copernican model required complicated new terms to explain it correctly.

Answer

The Ptolemaic model was simpler and more aesthetically pleasing.

Answer

the Church wouldn't let anyone talk about Copernicus' model for 200 years.

Question 26

Kepler's first law worked, where Copernicus' original heliocentric model failed, because Kepler described the orbits as:

Accepted Answer

elliptical, not circular.

Answer

much larger than Copernicus had envisioned.

Answer

around the Sun, not the Earth.

Answer

complex, with epicycles to account for retrograde motions.

Answer

being on equants instead of epicycles.

Question 27

Tycho Brahe's contribution to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion was:

Accepted Answer

his detailed and accurate observations of the planet's position.

Answer

a mathematical explanation of epicycles.

Answer

his observations of Jupiter's moons.

Answer

the correct explanation of lunar phases.

Answer

a precise lunar calendar.

Question 28

The most famous prehistoric astronomical observatory is:

Accepted Answer

Stonehenge.

Answer

Big Horn stone circle.

Answer

Mount Rushmore.

Answer

the Sphinx.

Answer

Caracol.

Question 29

Upon which point do Copernicus and Kepler disagree?

Accepted Answer

The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with one focus at the Sun.

Answer

Venus will appear as a crescent when she retrogrades between us and the Sun.

Answer

Retrograde motion occurs when one planet overtakes another.

Answer

The Moon orbits the Earth.

Answer

The Earth orbits the Sun.

Question 30

What contribution to astronomy was made by Tycho Brahe?

Accepted Answer

His observations of planetary motion with great accuracy proved circular orbits could not work.

Answer

The planets' orbits around the Sun are ellipses, not circles.

Answer

Retrograde motion must be explained by epicycles larger than those of Ptolemy.

Answer

His telescope revealed the moons of Jupiter before Galileo noted them.

Answer

The Earth is not the center of the Universe.

Question 31

Which concept was NOT a part of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion?

Accepted Answer

Epicycles are needed to explain the varying brightness of the planets.

Answer

All planetary orbits are ellipses.

Answer

A planet must move fastest in its orbit at perihelion.

Answer

The square of the planet's period is equal to the cube of its average distance.

Question 32

What does Kepler's third law imply about planetary motion?

Accepted Answer

Planets further from the Sun orbit at a slower speed than planets closer to the Sun.

Answer

Planets further from the Sun orbit at a faster speed than planets closer to the Sun.

Answer

All planets orbit the Sun at the same speed.

Answer

Planets closer to the Sun orbit at a slower speed than planets further from the Sun.

Answer

This law implies nothing about a planet's motion.

Question 33

The place in a planet's orbit that is closest to the Sun is called:

Accepted Answer

perihelion.

Answer

crossing the ecliptic.

Answer

aphelion.

Answer

vernal equinox.

Answer

None of these; a planet's distance from the Sun never changes.

Question 34

The Law of Universal Gravitation was developed by:

Accepted Answer

Newton.

Answer

Copernicus.

Answer

Kepler.

Answer

Galileo.

Answer

Einstein.

Question 35

The force of gravity between two objects:

Accepted Answer

increases with the masses of the bodies, but decreases with their separations.

Answer

increases with the square of their masses, but decreases with the cube of their periods of orbit about the Sun.

Answer

depends on the density, not the mass of the bodies.

Answer

depends on the temperature, density, and size of the bodies.

Answer

increases with the masses of the bodies, but decreases with the square of the distances between them.

Question 36

Which of these was a contribution of Newton to astronomy?

Accepted Answer

All of these were due to Newton's work.

Answer

The Moon pulls as strongly on us as we do on it.

Answer

The Sun's gravity is greatest on a planet at perihelion, so the planet must speed up.

Answer

His differential calculus lets us calculate planetary motions more accurately.

Answer

Artificial satellites could be put into orbit about the Earth.

Question 37

How does Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation explain Kepler's laws?

Accepted Answer

Both C and D are correct.

Answer

Universal gravitation implies that the orbits of the planets must be elliptical (Kepler's first law).

Answer

Universal gravitation implies that the planets will sweep out equal areas in equal times (Kepler's second law).

Answer

Universal gravitation implies that the planets further from the Sun will move more slowly than the planets closer to the Sun (Kepler's third law).

Answer

Universal gravitation implies that when a planet is closer to the Sun in its orbit, it will move faster than when it is farther from the Sun (Kepler's second law).

Question 38

Orbital speed is the speed with which a planet moves around the Sun. This speed is determined by:

Accepted Answer

the mass of both the planet and the Sun and the distance between the two.

Answer

the mass of the Sun only.

Answer

both the mass of the planet and the mass of the Sun.

Answer

the mass of the planet and its distance from the Sun.

Answer

the mass of the planet only.

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