Question 1

Galileo found the rotation period of the Sun was approximately

Accepted Answer

A)  a day. 
B)  a week. 
C)  a month. 
D)  three months. 
E)  a year. 
A)  a day. 
B)  a week. 
C)  a month. 
D)  three months. 
E)  a year.

Question 2

How did Galileo's observations of Venus disprove the Ptolemaic model?

Accepted Answer

Ptolemy said that the epicycles for both

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

A)  Aristotle. 
B)  Pythagoras. 
C)  Hipparchus. 
D)  Ptolemy. 
E)  Erastothenes. 
A)  Aristotle. 
B)  Pythagoras. 
C)  Hipparchus. 
D)  Ptolemy. 
E)  Erastothenes.

Question 4

According to Newton's third law, the Voyager probes pulled just as hard on Jupiter as it did on them when they flew past it. Why were they accelerated enough to leave the solar system but Jupiter still is in orbit about the Sun?

Accepted Answer

Jupiter was much more massive

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

A)  elliptical, not circular. 
B)  much larger than Copernicus had envisioned. 
C)  around the Sun, not the Earth. 
D)  being on equants instead of epicycles. 
E)  complex, with epicycles to account for retrograde motions. 
A)  elliptical, not circular. 
B)  much larger than Copernicus had envisioned. 
C)  around the Sun, not the Earth. 
D)  being on equants instead of epicycles. 
E)  complex, with epicycles to account for retrograde motions.

Question 6

Masses of the planets are easiest to determine if

Accepted Answer

A)  they are terrestrial and the extra size of the planet's disk can be measured. 
B)  they are jovian and their oblateness can be found. 
C)  they have natural satellites whose motions can be precisely measured. 
D)  they are dense and easily deflect the path of passing spacecraft. 
E)  they move rapidly and their periods are easily measured. 
A)  they are terrestrial and the extra size of the planet's disk can be measured. 
B)  they are jovian and their oblateness can be found. 
C)  they have natural satellites whose motions can be precisely measured. 
D)  they are dense and easily deflect the path of passing spacecraft. 
E)  they move rapidly and their periods are easily measured.

Question 7

Like the Sun and the Moon, the stars appear to move from west to east from one day to the next.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, if the Moon were three times further from Earth, the force by Earth on the Moon would

Accepted Answer

A)  increase by a factor of 3. 
B)  decrease by a factor of 3. 
C)  increase by a factor of 9. 
D)  decrease by a factor of 9. 
E)  stay the same. 
A)  increase by a factor of 3. 
B)  decrease by a factor of 3. 
C)  increase by a factor of 9. 
D)  decrease by a factor of 9. 
E)  stay the same.

Question 9

Name several characteristics the orbits of the eight planets share.

Accepted Answer

All orbit in almost circular orbits of l

Question 10

Occam's Razor

Accepted Answer

A)  divides the inner planets from the outer planets. 
B)  tells scientists to use the simplest model, all other things being equal. 
C)  is the term that describes how thin the rings of the Jovian planets are. 
D)  describes how a planet's orbital period and distance from the Sun are related. 
E)  is the tool that Copernicus used to shave. 
A)  divides the inner planets from the outer planets. 
B)  tells scientists to use the simplest model, all other things being equal. 
C)  is the term that describes how thin the rings of the Jovian planets are. 
D)  describes how a planet's orbital period and distance from the Sun are related. 
E)  is the tool that Copernicus used to shave.

Question 11

Which of the following are the jovian planets?

Accepted Answer

A)  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto 
B)  Only Jupiter 
C)  Only Jupiter and Saturn 
D)  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune only 
E)  Everything past Mars and the asteroid belt 
A)  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto 
B)  Only Jupiter 
C)  Only Jupiter and Saturn 
D)  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune only 
E)  Everything past Mars and the asteroid belt

Question 12

Planetary orbits

Accepted Answer

A)  are evenly spaced throughout the solar system. 
B)  are highly inclined to the ecliptic. 
C)  are almost circular, with low eccentricities. 
D)  have the Sun at their exact center. 
E)  are spaced more closely together as they get further from the Sun. 
A)  are evenly spaced throughout the solar system. 
B)  are highly inclined to the ecliptic. 
C)  are almost circular, with low eccentricities. 
D)  have the Sun at their exact center. 
E)  are spaced more closely together as they get further from the Sun.

Question 13

A star with a large parallax

Accepted Answer

A)  is at a great distance from Earth. 
B)  is moving at a great speed with respect to Earth. 
C)  is at a short distance from Earth. 
D)  is moving at a slow speed with respect to Earth. 
E)  is not moving with respect to Earth. 
A)  is at a great distance from Earth. 
B)  is moving at a great speed with respect to Earth. 
C)  is at a short distance from Earth. 
D)  is moving at a slow speed with respect to Earth. 
E)  is not moving with respect to Earth.

Question 14

Explain how the eccentricity describes the shape of an ellipse.

Accepted Answer

The higher the eccentricity, t

Question 15

Kepler determined the shape of each planet's orbit by triangulation from different points on Earth's orbit, using observations made at many different times of the year.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

How would Ptolemy explain the rising of the Sun? Contrast this to Copernicus' explanation of the same event.

Accepted Answer

Ptolemy would say that the celestial sph

Question 17

What is meant by the Astronomical Unit?

Accepted Answer

The Astronomical uni

Question 18

A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Which of these was a contribution of Newton to astronomy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Artificial satellites could be put into orbit about the Earth. 
B)  The Sun's gravity is greatest on a planet at perihelion, so the planet must speed up. 
C)  The Moon pulls as strongly on us as we do on it. 
D)  His differential calculus lets us calculate planetary motions more accurately. 
E)  All of these were due to Newton's work. 
A)  Artificial satellites could be put into orbit about the Earth. 
B)  The Sun's gravity is greatest on a planet at perihelion, so the planet must speed up. 
C)  The Moon pulls as strongly on us as we do on it. 
D)  His differential calculus lets us calculate planetary motions more accurately. 
E)  All of these were due to Newton's work.

Question 20

Of all the terrestrial planets, Mercury's orbit is most eccentric and tilted most above the ecliptic.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Galileo found the rotation period of the Sun was approximately

How did Galileo's observations of Venus disprove the Ptolemaic model?

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

According to Newton's third law, the Voyager probes pulled just as hard on Jupiter as it did on them when they flew past it. Why were they accelerated enough to leave the solar system but Jupiter still is in orbit about the Sun?

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

Masses of the planets are easiest to determine if

Like the Sun and the Moon, the stars appear to move from west to east from one day to the next.

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, if the Moon were three times further from Earth, the force by Earth on the Moon would

Name several characteristics the orbits of the eight planets share.

Occam's Razor

Which of the following are the jovian planets?

Planetary orbits

A star with a large parallax

Explain how the eccentricity describes the shape of an ellipse.

Kepler determined the shape of each planet's orbit by triangulation from different points on Earth's orbit, using observations made at many different times of the year.

How would Ptolemy explain the rising of the Sun? Contrast this to Copernicus' explanation of the same event.

What is meant by the Astronomical Unit?

A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun.

Which of these was a contribution of Newton to astronomy?

Of all the terrestrial planets, Mercury's orbit is most eccentric and tilted most above the ecliptic.

The Night Sky

Light and Telescopes

Earth and Its Moon

The Eight Planets

Small Bodies in the Solar System

Formation of Planetary Systems

The Sun

Measuring the Stars

Star Formation and Evolution

Stellar Explosions

Black Holes

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Cosmology and the Universe

Filters

Exam 3: The Solar System

Galileo found the rotation period of the Sun was approximately

How did Galileo's observations of Venus disprove the Ptolemaic model?

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

According to Newton's third law, the Voyager probes pulled just as hard on Jupiter as it did on them when they flew past it. Why were they accelerated enough to leave the solar system but Jupiter still is in orbit about the Sun?

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

Masses of the planets are easiest to determine if

Like the Sun and the Moon, the stars appear to move from west to east from one day to the next.

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, if the Moon were three times further from Earth, the force by Earth on the Moon would

Name several characteristics the orbits of the eight planets share.

Occam's Razor

Which of the following are the jovian planets?

Planetary orbits

A star with a large parallax

Explain how the eccentricity describes the shape of an ellipse.

Kepler determined the shape of each planet's orbit by triangulation from different points on Earth's orbit, using observations made at many different times of the year.

How would Ptolemy explain the rising of the Sun? Contrast this to Copernicus' explanation of the same event.

What is meant by the Astronomical Unit?

A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun.

Which of these was a contribution of Newton to astronomy?

Of all the terrestrial planets, Mercury's orbit is most eccentric and tilted most above the ecliptic.

The Night Sky

Light and Telescopes

Earth and Its Moon

The Eight Planets

Small Bodies in the Solar System

Formation of Planetary Systems

The Sun

Measuring the Stars

Star Formation and Evolution

Stellar Explosions

Black Holes

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Cosmology and the Universe

Filters