Astronomy 154 - Elementary Astronomy » Spring 2022 » Assignment 4

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Question #1
Scientific thinking is ___________.
A.   based on everyday ideas of observation and experiments
B.   completely different from any other type of thinking
C.   a difficult process that only a handful of people can do well
D.   produced by computers
E.   an ancient mode of thinking first invented in Egypt
Question #2
Why is Ptolemy important to the history of astronomy?
A.   developed the first scientific model of the universe
B.   He was the first to believe that the orbits of the planets are ellipses.
C.   He was the first to create a model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center.
D.   developed the first model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions.
Question #3
In the sky the apparent backward motion of a planet among fixed background stars is known as ____________ motion.
A.   parallax
B.   aphelion
C.   eccentricity
D.   retrograde
Question #4
According to Copernicus' model of the solar system a planet undergoes retrograde motion when ___________.
A.   the planets moves backward on its orbit.
B.   the planets passes the Earth while they orbit.
C.   the planet moves backward along its epicycle.
D.   Earth passes the planet while they orbit.
E.   the Earth moves backwards along its orbit.
F.   the Earth moves backwards along its epicycle.
Question #5
Which of the statements below were not made by Copernicus in his formulation of a heliocentric model?
A.   The celestial spheres do not have just one common center.
B.   The motions of the Sun are not its motions, but the motions of the Earth.
C.   All of the spheres revolve around the Sun.
D.   What appears to be forward and retrograde motion of the planets is naturally due to their motion around us.
Question #6
What feature of Greek model of the universe was included in the model kept by Copernicus?
A.   Earth is stationary and at the center
B.   Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn move around the Earth
C.   uniform circular motion
D.   elliptical orbits
E.   Mercury and Venus move around the Sun
Question #7
The apparent shift of a nearby celestial object, when viewed from 2 different positions, seen against the background of distant fixed stars is called the ____________.
A.   aphelion
B.   eccentricity
C.   parallax
D.   perihelion
Question #8
Which of the following was a contribution by Tycho Brahe?
A.   detailed and precise observations
B.   the law of gravity
C.   epicycles
D.   sun centered solar system
E.   elliptical orbits
Question #9
When Tycho Brahe observed the new star in 1572, later known to be a supernova, it showed no detectable parallax. What did that indicate to Tycho Brahe?
A.   This star is closer than the moon and thus smaller than other stars.
B.   This star is closer than the moon and thus stars are not all at the same distance.
C.   This star is farther than the moon and thus could have blown the sun away.
D.   This star is much farther away than the moon and that the heavens are not perfect and unchanging.
E.   This star is planet-like.
Question #10
Galileo challenged the idea that objects in the heavens were perfect by __________.
A.   measuring the properties of supernovae
B.   inventing the telescope
C.   showing that heavy objects fall slower than lighter objects 
D.   observing mountains on the Moon
E.    proving Kepler's laws were correct
Question #11
In his observations of the planet Venus, what was seen by Galileo that could only be explained by Venus revolving around the Sun?
A.   a complete cycle of phases
B.   Venus appearing brighter than Jupiter
C.   high temperatures
D.   a changing distance from Earth
E.   Venus rising in the morning
Question #12
Galileo discovered that the planet Jupiter ___________.
A.   is made of gases.
B.   has four moons orbiting it.
C.   undergoes a full set of phases as seen from Earth.
D.   undergoes retrograde motion.
E.   has mountains on its surface.
Question #13
Kepler's 1st law states that the orbits of the planets are _____ with the _____ located at _____ .
A.   eccentric, sun, one focus
B.   ellipse, sun, one axis
C.   ellipse, sun, one focus
D.   parallel, planets, one orbit
Question #14
Where is the focus of an ellipse?
A.   off center, but along neither axis
B.   off center and along the shorter axis
C.   at the center of the ellipse
D.   off center and along the longer axis
Question #15
According to Kepler's 3rd Law, when compared to planets closer to the Sun, those farther away __________.
A.   have more gravity.
B.   have more mass.
C.   take longer to rotate on their axis.
D.   have more elliptical orbits.
E.   take longer to revolve around the Sun.
Question #16
According to Kepler's 2nd Law, at which position will a planet move fastest in its orbit around the Sun?
A.   parallax
B.   aphelion
C.   apogee
D.   perigee
E.   perihelion
Question #17
___________ used his laws of motion and the Universal Law of Gravity to derive the orbits of the planets, thus explaining WHY the planets move as they do.
A.   Newton
B.   Copernicus
C.   Galileo
D.   Ptolemy
Question #18
In a planetary orbit the point closest to the Sun is known as _________.
A.   perihelion
B.   aphelion
C.   semimijor axis
D.   parallax
E.   eccentricity
F.   focus

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