Chapter 2: The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science Review Sheet

Question 1

The principal culture that transferred Greek astronomical knowledge to Renaissance Europe was:

Answer 1

Islamic

Question 2

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

Answer 2

Ptolemy

Question 3

The Ptolemaic model probably persisted for all these reasons EXCEPT:

Answer 3

It accounted well for Galileo’s observations of the phase cycle of Venus

Question 4

The greatest contribution of the Greeks to modern thought was:

Answer 4

the development of scientific inquiry and model building

Question 5

On which of these assumptions do Ptolemy and Copernicus agree?

Answer 5

All orbits must be perfect circles

Question 6

The heliocentric model was actually first proposed by:

Answer 6

Aristarchus

Question 7

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

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Which was a contribution to astronomy made by Copernicus?

Answer 8

He laid out the order and relative motion of the known solar system

Question 9

Which of these was NOT seen telescopically by Galileo?

Answer 9

Stellar parallax

Question 10

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

Answer 10

All of the above

Question 11

Which of these observations of Galileo refuted Ptolemy’s epicycles?

Answer 11

The complete cycle of Venus’ phases

Question 12

A fatal flaw with Ptolemy’s model is its inability to predict the observed phases of:

Answer 12

Mercury and Venus

Question 13

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

Answer 13

elliptical, not circular

Question 14

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

Answer 14

his detailed and accurate observations of the planet’s position

Question 15

The most famous prehistoric astronomical observatory is:

Answer 15

Stonehenge

Question 16

What contribution to astronomy was made by Tycho Brahe?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

According to Kepler’s third law, the square of the planet’s period in years is:

Answer 17

Proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis in A.U.

Question 18

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

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Today we rely largely on what technique to precisely measure distances in the solar system?

Answer 19

Radar echo timings

Question 20

The Law of Universal Gravitation was developed by

Answer 20

Newton

Question 21

The force of gravity between two objects:

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Which of these was a contribution of Newton to astronomy?

Answer 22

All of these were due to Newton’s work

Question 23

Kepler’s second law implies what about planetary motion?

Answer 23

A planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun

Question 24

SHORT ANSWER: What did Galileo discover about Jupiter that supported Copernicus?

Answer 24

Its four moons were a model solar system, orbiting a larger central body just as the smaller planets orbit the Sun

Question 25

Explain how Kepler’s laws allow us to use the motion of an asteroid to find its average distance from the Sun

Answer 25

By watching it long enough to find its period of revolution around the Sun, we can use Kepler’s third law to get the average distance by squaring the period in years, then finding the cube root of this value for the average distance of the asteroid from the Sun in astronomical units.