What practical value did astronomy offer to ancient civilizations?
answer
It helped them keep track of time and seasons, and it was used by some cultures for navigation.
Only a few ancient cultures were good a predicting eclipses, and eclipses play little practical role in civilization.
question
Scientific thinking is _________.
answer
based on everyday ideas of observation and trial-and-error experiments
In that sense, modern science is just a formalization of ideas that innate to human beings.
question
The names of the 7 days of the week are based on _________.
answer
the seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellations
The days got their original names long before the time of the prophets.
question
The Metonic cycle is
answer
used to keep lunar calendars approximately synchronized with solar calendars.
This is the saros cycle, not the Metonic cycle.
question
Ptolemy was important in the history of astronomy because he _________.
answer
developed a model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions to remain in use for many centuries
This idea predated him by centuries and later proved to be wrong.
question
The ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science because _________.
answer
they were the first people known to try to explain nature with models based on reason and mathematics, without resort to the supernatural
Many books were indeed lost, but certainly not all other books from all other cultures.
question
What do we mean by a geocentric model of the universe?
answer
A model designed to explain what we see in the sky while having the Earth located in the center of the universe.
The geocentric model developed in ancient Greece and was generally accepted until the time of the Copernican revolution.
question
What was the Ptolemaic model?
answer
An Earth-centered model of planetary motion published by Ptolemy
Ptolemy did not have the Sun in the center of his model.
question
The great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to _________.
answer
create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the center
Newton discovered the law of gravity.
question
The great contribution of Tycho Brahe was to _________.
answer
observe planetary positions with sufficient accuracy so that Kepler could later use the data to discover the laws of planetary motion
Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter.
question
Which of the following was not observed by Galileo?
answer
Stellar parallax
Stellar parallax, which essentially offers direct proof that the Earth orbits the Sun, was not observed until some two centuries after Galileo.
question
Which of the following statements about an ellipse is not true?
answer
The focus of an ellipse is always located precisely at the center of the ellipse.
question
Which of the following is not one of, nor a direct consequence of, Kepler's Laws?
answer
The force of attraction between any two objects decreases with the square of the distance between their centers.
This is a direct consequence of Kepler's second law.
question
Scientific models are used to _________.
answer
make specific predictions that can be tested through observations or experiments
A "model" that does not make such predictions cannot be tested and hence is not scientific.
question
In science, a broad idea that has been repeatedly verified so as to give scientists great confidence that it represents reality is called _________.
answer
a theory
A hypothesis is an educated guess.
question
Which of the following best describes how modern astronomers view astrology?
answer
Astrology played an important part in the development of astronomy in ancient times, but it is not a science by modern standards.
Although many astronomers might consider astrology to be a waste of time today, no serious astronomer would disregard the importance of astrology to the ancient development of astronomy.
What practical value did astronomy offer to ancient civilizations?
answer
It helped them keep track of time and seasons, and it was used by some cultures for navigation.
Only a few ancient cultures were good a predicting eclipses, and eclipses play little practical role in civilization.
question
Scientific thinking is _________.
answer
based on everyday ideas of observation and trial-and-error experiments
In that sense, modern science is just a formalization of ideas that innate to human beings.
question
The names of the 7 days of the week are based on _________.
answer
the seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellations
The days got their original names long before the time of the prophets.
question
The Metonic cycle is
answer
used to keep lunar calendars approximately synchronized with solar calendars.
This is the saros cycle, not the Metonic cycle.
question
Ptolemy was important in the history of astronomy because he _________.
answer
developed a model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions to remain in use for many centuries
This idea predated him by centuries and later proved to be wrong.
question
The ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science because _________.
answer
they were the first people known to try to explain nature with models based on reason and mathematics, without resort to the supernatural
Many books were indeed lost, but certainly not all other books from all other cultures.
question
What do we mean by a geocentric model of the universe?
answer
A model designed to explain what we see in the sky while having the Earth located in the center of the universe.
The geocentric model developed in ancient Greece and was generally accepted until the time of the Copernican revolution.
question
What was the Ptolemaic model?
answer
An Earth-centered model of planetary motion published by Ptolemy
Ptolemy did not have the Sun in the center of his model.
question
The great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to _________.
answer
create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the center
Newton discovered the law of gravity.
question
The great contribution of Tycho Brahe was to _________.
answer
observe planetary positions with sufficient accuracy so that Kepler could later use the data to discover the laws of planetary motion
Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter.
question
Which of the following was not observed by Galileo?
answer
Stellar parallax
Stellar parallax, which essentially offers direct proof that the Earth orbits the Sun, was not observed until some two centuries after Galileo.
question
Which of the following statements about an ellipse is not true?
answer
The focus of an ellipse is always located precisely at the center of the ellipse.
question
Which of the following is not one of, nor a direct consequence of, Kepler's Laws?
answer
The force of attraction between any two objects decreases with the square of the distance between their centers.
This is a direct consequence of Kepler's second law.
question
Scientific models are used to _________.
answer
make specific predictions that can be tested through observations or experiments
A "model" that does not make such predictions cannot be tested and hence is not scientific.
question
In science, a broad idea that has been repeatedly verified so as to give scientists great confidence that it represents reality is called _________.
answer
a theory
A hypothesis is an educated guess.
question
Which of the following best describes how modern astronomers view astrology?
answer
Astrology played an important part in the development of astronomy in ancient times, but it is not a science by modern standards.
Although many astronomers might consider astrology to be a waste of time today, no serious astronomer would disregard the importance of astrology to the ancient development of astronomy.
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