Homework answers / question archive / QUESTION 1 Which of the following was introduced by ancient cultures more than 2000 years ago? Choose all answers that apply

QUESTION 1 Which of the following was introduced by ancient cultures more than 2000 years ago? Choose all answers that apply

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QUESTION 1

1. Which of the following was introduced by ancient cultures more than 2000 years ago? Choose all answers that apply.

   		observations that show that Earth is a sphere.
   		the division of the day and night cycle in 24 parts; a year slightly longer than 365 days.
   		observed parallax of stars.
   		the idea that Earth may be orbiting the Sun.
   		measuring time in a system based on 60; a week of 7 days.
   		most names of constellations.

5 points   

QUESTION 2

1. The Ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science because _____________.

   		they were the first ancient culture to keep written records of their astronomical observations.
   		they were the first people to create a calendar.
   		the books of every other culture were lost in the destruction of the library of Alexandria.
   		they were the first people known to try to explain the universe with geometrical models based on observations and reasoning.

1 points   

QUESTION 3

1. The first person to suggest that the Earth moved around the Sun was

   		Aristarchus
   		Copernicus
   		Newton
   		Galileo

1 points   

QUESTION 4

1. What made Aristarchus (about 2300 years ago in Ancient Greece) suggest that Earth orbits the Sun? Explain.

4 points   

QUESTION 5

What observations made the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle suggest a spherical Earth in the center of the universe?

6 points   

QUESTION 6

1. The contribution of Copernicus to astronomy included:

   		inventing the telescope
   		proving that Earth revolves around the Sun
   		suggesting the Heliocentric model as a simpler way to explain the observed retrograde motion of planets
   		collecting data that allowed Kepler to discover the laws of planetary motion

1 points   

QUESTION 7

What was not quite correct in the Heliocentric model of Copernicus? Why did he make a mistake, in your opinion? Explain your reasoning.

4 points   

QUESTION 8

1. Galileo Galilei ___________

    

   		showed that the orbits of the planets were ellipses and not circles.
   		made detailed measurements of the positions of stars in the sky.
   		was the first to observe evidence that planets orbit the Sun.
   		developed a theory of gravity to explain the motions of the planet.

1 points   

QUESTION 9

1. The observations of sunspots on the Sun and craters on the Moon by Galileo contradicted the commonly held belief that the universe was

   		unchanging
   		spherical
   		perfect
   		infinite

1 points   

QUESTION 10

1. The possibility of extraterrestrial life was first debated

   		after the invention of the telescope.
   		only in the last 20 years.
   		at the turn of the 20th century.
   		in ancient times, thousands of years ago.

1 points   

QUESTION 11

1. If Jupiter orbits the Sun in 11.9 years, how many astronomical units (A.U.) away is Jupiter from the Sun? Apply Kepler's 3rd law (P² = a³) to estimate.

   		5.2 A.U.
   		1.5 A.U.
   		9.7 A.U.
   		none of these.

2 points   

QUESTION 12

1. The planet Neptune was discovered _________________.

   		by accident, when an astronomer was testing a new type of telescope
   		by calculated prediction of Newton's Theory of Gravity
   		by a robotic space probe
   		by the Ancient Greeks

1 points   

QUESTION 13

1. The Heliocentric model of Copernicus was a …………………………. because it was only a tentative explanation, which still needed testing by observations.

2 points   

QUESTION 14

1. When did humans observe that other planets orbit the Sun, and not Earth?

   		around the time that early humans developed language
   		about 2000 years ago
   		within the past 500 years
   		there is still considerable scientific debate about whether Earth is the center of the universe.

1 points   

QUESTION 15

1. The discovery of four moons in orbit about Jupiter by Galileo suggested that

   		bodies could stay in orbit around a moving Jupiter
   		Jupiter moved around the Sun
   		the Earth moved around Jupiter
   		the Earth moved around the Sun

1 points   

QUESTION 16

1. In science, new observations are considered to be valid if they

   		are made by a famous and respected scientist
   		can be reproduced by other scientists
   		are consistent with ideas held by the majority of scientists at the time
   		can be repeated by the scientist who first made the observations

1 points   

QUESTION 17

Suppose you could travel back in time and show the Ancient Greeks one observation from modern times (and the tools to observe it). If you wanted to convince them to accept the Sun-centered model, what observation will you choose to show them? Do you think you would convince them?

5 points   

QUESTION 18

1. List the 4 main observations of Galileo, made with a telescope about 400 years ago. For each of these explain what was observed and how it was interpreted. Which of these four observations do you consider to be were the strongest evidence against the Geocentric model?

10 points   

QUESTION 19

1. According to Kepler's second law, Earth moves the fastest on its orbit

   		in January, when it is the nearest to the Sun.
   		in July, when it is the furthest from the Sun.
   		when its axis points to the Sun (which is during our summer).
   		on the days of the equinoxes.

1 points   

QUESTION 20

1. Correct the mistakes in this sentence by writing an improved version:

   “Kepler formulated the laws of motion and realized that planets move slower when they are closer to the Sun. Distant planets take less time to orbit the Sun than planets close to the Sun."

4 points   

QUESTION 21

1. Correct the sentence by writing an improved version of it:

   "Newton discovered gravity, and found out that that the Sun attracts the planets with a larger force, than the force that planets exert on it."

4 points   

QUESTION 22

1. Newton explained the observed accelerations as the result of ……………… between objects.

2 points   

QUESTION 23

The Moon is less massive than Earth, and orbits Earth. Does this mean that Earth pulls the Moon with a larger force? Explain your reasoning.

4 points   

QUESTION 24

1. The gravitational force that Earth applies on you is ______________

    

   		your acceleration
   		your weight
   		your mass
   		larger than the force you apply to Earth

1 points   

QUESTION 25

1. If Newton's Theory of Gravity is so well-tested and confirmed by many observations, why did Einstein develop his theory of gravity (the General Relativity Theory)? Can we say that Newton's theory of gravity is wrong? Explain your reasoning.

4 points   

QUESTION 26

1. Modern science attempts to seek explanations for phenomena that are based on

   		new subjective laws that are yet to be confirmed experimentally
   		the known laws of nature
   		intuitive expectations
   		the views of leading scientists

1 points   

QUESTION 27

1. Scientific models supported by a large, compelling body of evidence are referred to as

   		ideas
   		theories
   		hypotheses
   		facts