Chapter 3 - Quiz 3

24 July 2022
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question
Galileo observed all of the following. Which observation offered direct proof of a planet orbiting the Sun? Four moons of Jupiter. Phases of Venus. Patterns of shadow and sunlight near the dividing line between the light and dark portions of the Moon's face. The Milky Way is composed of many individual stars.
answer
Phases of Venus.
question
Only one of the statements below uses the term theory in its correct, scientific sense. Which one? I have a new theory about the cause of earthquakes, and I plan to start testing it soon. I wrote a theory that is 152 pages long. Einstein's theory of relativity has been tested and verified thousands of times. Evolution is only a theory, so there's no reason to think it really happened.
answer
Einstein's theory of relativity has been tested and verified thousands of times.
question
The astrology practiced by those who cast predictive horoscopes can be tested by __________. comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance. asking astrologers if it works. counting how many times the predictions come true. polling people to find out what percentage believe their horoscopes to be accurate.
answer
comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance.
question
All the following statements are true. Which one follows directly from Kepler's third law (p2 = a3)? Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury. Venus has a thicker atmosphere than Mercury. Venus is more massive than Mercury. Venus takes longer to rotate than it does to orbit the Sun.
answer
Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury.
question
Galileo challenged the idea that objects in the heavens were perfect by _________. Four moons of Jupiter. Phases of Venus. Patterns of shadow and sunlight near the dividing line between the light and dark portions of the Moon's face. The Milky Way is composed of many individual stars.
answer
Patterns of shadow and sunlight near the dividing line between the light and dark portions of the Moon's face.
question
According to Kepler's third law (p2 = a3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around the Sun? A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun. More massive planets must have more circular orbits. A more massive planet must have a larger semimajor axis. More massive planets orbit the Sun at higher average speed.
answer
A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun.
question
Which of the following is not part of a good scientific theory? A scientific theory must make testable predictions that, if found to be incorrect, could lead to its own modification or demise. A scientific theory must explain a wide variety of phenomena observed in the natural world. A scientific theory should be based on natural processes and should not invoke the supernatural or divine. A scientific theory cannot be accepted until it has been proven true beyond all doubt.
answer
A scientific theory cannot be accepted until it has been proven true beyond all doubt.
question
Suppose a comet orbits the Sun on a highly eccentric orbit with an average (semimajor axis) distance of 1 AU. How long does it take to complete each orbit, and how do we know? Each orbit should take about 2 years, because the eccentricity is so large. It depends on the eccentricity of the orbit, as described by Kepler's first law. It depends on the eccentricity of the orbit, as described by Kepler's second law. 1 year, which we know from Kepler's third law.
answer
1 year, which we know from Kepler's third law.
question
How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? The model showed that apparent retrograde motion occurs as Earth passes by another planet in its orbit of the Sun. The planets resided on giant spheres that sometimes turned clockwise and sometimes turned counterclockwise. The planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Earth. The planets sometimes stopped moving and then reversed to move backward along their circular orbits.
answer
The planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Earth.
question
Suppose the planet Uranus were much brighter in the sky, so that it was as easily visible to the naked eye as Jupiter or Saturn. Which one of the following statements would most likely be true in that case? Its slow motion through the sky would have led it to be named after the Goddess of Procrastination. The discovery that the Earth is a planet going around the Sun would have come hundreds of years earlier. Its gravity would cause the tides to be much higher than they actually are. Its brightness would make it possible to read by starlight at night. A week would have eight days instead of seven.
answer
A week would have eight days instead of seven.
question
Imagine for a moment that despite all the evidence, Earth actually is not rotating and orbiting the Sun. Which of these hypothetical observations (none of them are real) would be inconsistent with our Sun-centered view of the solar system? We discover an Earth-sized planet orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Pluto. We discover a small planet beyond Saturn that rises in the west and sets in the east each day. We discover that the universe is actually contracting, not expanding. We find that we are unable to measure any parallax for a distant galaxy.
answer
We discover a small planet beyond Saturn that rises in the west and sets in the east each day.
question
Earth is farthest from the Sun in July and closest to the Sun in January. During which Northern Hemisphere season is Earth moving fastest in its orbit? Spring. Summer. Winter. Fall.
answer
Winter.
question
Which of the following best describes a set of conditions under which archaeoastronomers would conclude that an ancient structure was used for astronomical purposes? The structure has holes in the ceiling that allow viewing the passage of constellations that figure prominently in the culture's folklore, and many other structures built by the same culture have ceiling holes placed in the same way. They find that, looking out from the center of the building, there are two windows that align with the rise and set points of two bright stars. The structure has 29 straight lines pointing out from a center, just like there are 29 days in the lunar cycle. The structure has the same dome shape as modern astronomical observatories.
answer
The structure has holes in the ceiling that allow viewing the passage of constellations that figure prominently in the culture's folklore, and many other structures built by the same culture have ceiling holes placed in the same way.
question
Which of the following is not consistent with the major hallmarks of science? Science progresses through the creation and testing of models that explain observation as simply as possible. Science consists of proven theories that are understood to be true explanations of reality. Scientific explanations should be based solely on natural causes. A scientific model must make testable predictions.
answer
Science consists of proven theories that are understood to be true explanations of reality.
question
When Copernicus first created his Sun-centered model of the universe, it did not lead to substantially better predictions of planetary positions than the Ptolemaic model. Why not? Copernicus misjudged the distances between the planets. Copernicus used perfect circles for the orbits of the planets. Copernicus placed the Sun at the center, but did not realize that the Moon orbits the Earth. Copernicus placed the planets in the wrong order going outward from the Sun.
answer
Copernicus used perfect circles for the orbits of the planets.
question
How does a 12-month lunar calendar differ from our 12-month solar calendar? It has about 11 fewer days. Its new year always occurs in February instead of on January 1. It uses a 23-hour rather than a 24-hour day. It does not have seasons.
answer
It has about 11 fewer days.