chapter1

Question 1

The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes made measurements to show the size of

Answer 1

earth

Question 2

When the Sun was directly overhead in Syene, why wasn’t it directly overhead in Alexandria?

Answer 2

earth is a sphere

Question 3

Earth, like everything else illuminated by the Sun, casts a shadow. Why does this shadow taper?

Answer 3

The Sun is much larger than the Earth

Question 4

How does the Moon’s diameter compare with the distance between Earth and the Moon?

Answer 4

The Moon’s diameter is 1/110 the distance between Earth and the Moon

Question 5

How does the Sun’s diameter compare with the distance between Earth and the Sun?

Answer 5

The Sun’s diameter is 1/110 the distance between Earth and the Sun.

Question 6

What are the circular spots of light seen on the ground beneath a tree on a sunny day?

Answer 6

These are pinhole images of the Sun

Question 7

What is the role of equations in this book?

Answer 7

Equations are guides to thinking and show connections between concepts.

Question 8

Equations in Conceptual Physics are used mainly _______.

Answer 8

guides to thinking

Question 9

Distinguish between a hypothesis and a theory

Answer 9

A hypothesis is an educated guess, whereas a theory encompasses well tested and verified hypotheses.

Question 10

In daily life, people are often praised for maintaining some particular point of view, for the “courage of their convictions.” A change of mind is seen as a sign of weakness. How is this different in science?

Answer 10

When a scientist finds evidence that contradicts a law, then the law must be abandoned

Question 11

What is the test for whether a hypothesis is scientific or not?

Answer 11

A hypothesis is scientific if it is possible to prove it wrong

Question 12

In daily life, we see many cases of people who are caught misrepresenting things and who soon thereafter are excused and accepted by their contemporaries. How is this different in science?

Answer 12

A scientist who lies in a scientific publication will suffer professional excommunication.

Question 13

Must people choose between science and religion?

Answer 13

No, there is no contradiction in being scientific and religious in one’s thinking.

Question 14

Psychological comfort is a benefit of having solid answers to religious questions. What benefit accompanies a position of not knowing the answers?

Answer 14

Not knowing answers opens the mind to a lifetime of exploring.

Question 15

A theory in science is ______.

Answer 15

a synthesis of well-tested ideas

Question 16

A fact in science is ______.

Answer 16

an agreement between trained investigators

Question 17

A scientific hypothesis deemed valid must have a test for proving it ______.

Answer 17

wrong

Question 18

Clearly distinguish between science and technology.

Answer 18

Science gathers the knowledge that technology uses for practical purposes.

Question 19

Religion is concerned mainly with the ______.

Answer 19

spiritual world

Question 20

Why is physics considered to be the basic science?

Answer 20

Because all other sciences can be shown to be derived from it.

Question 21

Science is a body of knowledge that

Answer 21

• is an ongoing human activity.
• condenses knowledge into testable laws.
• describes order in nature

Question 22

To a fair approximation, Early Greeks knew the

Answer 22

• size of Earth.
• Earth-Moon distance.
• size of the Moon

Question 23

When the Sun shines on the Moon, the Moon casts a shadow

Answer 23

• at all times.
• that is tapered.
• that sometimes falls on Earth.

Question 24

Spots of sunlight on the ground cast through openings between leaves in trees above are actually

Answer 24

images of the Sun

Question 25

A simple method of measuring the distance between the Earth and the Moon is to place in your line of sight to the Moon a

Answer 25

coin

Question 26

An educated scientific guess is a

Answer 26

hypothesis

Question 27

Facts in the field of science

Answer 27

are changeable

Question 28

When a dishonest scientist reports false information, he or she

Answer 28

gets no second chance in the scientific community.

Question 29

Which of the following is a scientific statement?

Answer 29

candy Bon Bons contain no sugar

Question 30

For a scientific hypothesis to be valid, there must be a test for proving it

Answer 30

wrong

Question 31

Science, art, and religion normally need not contradict one another because

Answer 31

all three involve different domains.

Question 32

A truly educated person is knowledgeable about

Answer 32

• science.
• the arts.
• religion.

Question 33

Technology is a tool that can

Answer 33

• be socially harmful when abused.
• be socially beneficial.
• lead to a better world.

Question 34

What test can you perform to increase the chance in your own mind that you are right about a particular idea?

Answer 34

See if you can state the objections of your opponents to their satisfaction.

Question 35

Eratosthenes’ measurements of Earth’s size involved

Answer 35

• a pillar’s shadow in Alexandria.
• a deep well in Syene.
• surveying the distance between Alexandria and Syene.

Question 36

When we see a half Moon in the sky, the lines between Earth, Moon, and Sun

Answer 36

form a right triangle.