Term
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Definition
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Term
Suppose that you lift an object by exerting an upward force of 22 Newtons on it. If gravity exerts a force of 10
Newtons downward on the ob ject, what is the total force on the object? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the path of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere. |
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Term
In Newton's Theory,
a. the Earth and Moon move around a common point which, in turn, goes around the Sun.
b. the Earth moves around the Moon which, in turn, goes around the Sun.
c. the Earth and Sun move around a common point, which, in turn, goes around the Moon.
d. the Moon moves around the Earth which, in turn goes around the Sun. |
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Definition
| a. the Earth and Moon move around a common point which, in turn, goes around the Sun. |
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Term
The fact that the International Space Station is above most of the Earth's atmosphere is important because it means that
a. there is no gravity to pull the space station down.
b. the space station can skim along the top of the atmosphere.
c. there is no air friction to slow the space station down. |
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Definition
| c. there is no air friction to slow the space station down. |
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Term
At 8pm, you see that the pointer stars of the Big dipper and the star Polaris are arranged in a vertical line. How
long, give or take a few minutes, would you need to wait to see them arranged in a horizontal line?
a. 6 hours.
b. 3 hours.
c. 12 hours.
d. It will never happen.
e. 24 hours. |
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Definition
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Term
Suppose that an object with a mass of one kilogram and an object with a mass of two kilograms are both in free fall near the Earth's surface. As compared to the one kilogram object, the two kilogram object accelerates
a. less because it has more inertia.
b. less because gravity pulls on it less strongly and it has more inertia.
c. more because gravity pulls on it more strongly.
d. more because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has less inertia.
e. the same because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has more inertia. |
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Definition
| e. the same because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has more inertia. |
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Term
Tycho Brahe's work at Uraniborg was
a. funded from Tychoís personal fortune..
b. a small operation for its time.
c. funded by a large fraction of the national budget of Denmark. |
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Definition
| c. funded by a large fraction of the national budget of Denmark. |
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Term
Aristotle said that the spherical shape of the Earth was
a. the natural result of gravity pulling everything toward a center.
b. due to air pressure pushing everything inward.
c. something that could not be explained or understood.
d. unstable since small deviations from it would grow larger. |
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Definition
| a. the natural result of gravity pulling everything toward a center. |
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Term
In the ancient Greek theory of gravity, everything was attracted to the center of the universe. In Newton's
theory of gravity, everything was attracted
a. to every other ob ject in the universe.
b. only to massive heavenly ob jects such as the Sun, Moon, planets, and the Earth.
c. only to the Sun.
d. only to the center of the Earth. |
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Definition
| a. to every other ob ject in the universe |
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Term
The star Sirius can be located by using the pointer stars in
a. Orion.
b. The Big Dipper.
c. Leo.
d. Casseopeia.
e. The Little Dipper. |
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Definition
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Term
The ancient Greeks were able to estimate the distance from the Earth to the Sun by using
a. solar eclipses.
b. the quarter phases of the Moon.
c. lunar eclipses.
d. the observed sizes of the Sun and Moon in the sky. |
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Definition
| b. the guarter phases of the moon |
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Term
Aristarchus measured the angle between the Sun and the Moon when exactly half of the Moon was illuminated.
He found this angle to be
a. less than 90 degress by an amount too small for him to measure.
b. greater than 90 degrees.
c. exactly 90 degrees.
d. less than 90 degress by an amount that was easy for him to measure. |
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Definition
| a. less than 90 degress by an amount too small for him to measure. |
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Term
Most Kuiper Belt objects can best be described as
a. flying lakes or possibly flying oceans.
b. small stars or possibly large moons.
c. flying rocks or possibly flying mountains.
d. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs. |
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Definition
| d. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs. |
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Term
As seen from North America, the constellation Ursa Major
a. sets in the west.
b. sets in the north.
c. sets in the east.
d. never sets.
e. sets in the south. |
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Definition
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Term
The ancient Greeks insisted that a worthwhile model of a situation had to
a. make a good story.
b. be consistent with their religious traditions.
c. predict what really happens. |
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Definition
| c. predict what really happens |
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Term
The time from one Full Moon to the next is 29.5 days. The length of a sidereal month is
a. 29.7 days.
b. 27 days.
c. 29.5 days.
d. 29.3 days.
e. 32 days. |
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Definition
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Term
Einstein's Theory of Relativity has passed every observational test for over 100 years. Among other things, it predicts that no material ob ject can go faster than the speed of light. Fred Zveistein (twice as smart as Einstein)
has a new theory that predicts that some material ob jects can go faster than light. Fred presents his new theory
at a scientific meeting. Which of the following would be the most likely reaction of the scientists at the meeting
to this new development?
a. There is great disinterest because there is no need to replace a theory that has passed every observational
test. Nobody at all comes to Fred's talk.
b. There is great interest because the new theory proves that Relativity is wrong, so lots of scientists come
to Fred's talk to congratulate him.
c. There is great hostility because the new theory challenges the established theory, so lots of scientists come
to Fred's talk to debate the issue. |
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Definition
There is great disinterest because there is no need to replace a theory that has passed every observational
test. Nobody at all comes to Fred's talk. |
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Term
According to Aristotle, a thrown spear keeps moving after it has left the spear thrower's hand because
a. the force of the air disturbed by the spear keeps it in motion.
b. the force of friction with the air is not enough to stop the spear.
c. the force of inertia keeps the spear going.
d. the force of the hand keeps acting on the spear. |
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Definition
| a. the force of the air disturbed by the spear keeps it in motion |
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Term
Although most records from that time were lost in the burning of the Great Library at Alexandria, most historians say that the first actual measurement of the Earth's circumference was made in the 3rd century BCE by
a. Selucus of Seleucia.
b. Eratosthenes of Syene.
c. Claudius Ptolemaeus.
d. Aristarchus of Samos
e. Aristotle. |
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Definition
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Term
A horse is pulling a cart along a road. Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair?
a. The force of the horse on the cart and the force of the road on the horse.
b. The force of horse on the road and the force of the road on the horse.
c. The force of the cart on the horse and the force of the road on the horse.
d. The force of the cart on the horse and the force of the horse on the road.
e. The force of the horse on the cart and the force of the horse on the road. |
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Definition
| b. The force of horse on the road and the force of the road on the horse. |
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Term
A solar sail is a large sheet of light-reflecting plastic spread on an extremely low-mass framework and attached to a spacecraft. Sunlight exerts a force on the sail and moves the spacecraft. Suppose the spacecraft has a
total mass of 100kg (including the sail) and sunlight exerts a total force of 2N on the sail. What will be the
acceleration of the spacecraft?
a. 100m/s2 :
b. 2m/s2 :
c. 0.02m/s2 :
d. 0.2m/s2 :
e. 50m/s2 : |
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Definition
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Term
The first telescope was (possibly) built by
a. Galileo.
b. Someone in the Netherlands.
c. Newton.
d. Tycho Brahe. |
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Definition
| b. someone in the netherlands |
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Term
When a bullet is fired from a gun, the bullet keeps moving after it leaves the gun barrel because
a. no force stops it.
b. the force of the gun powder keeps acting on it.
c. the displaced air pushes it from behind.
d. the force of its inertia pushes it.
e. it is rounded at the front and flat at the back. |
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Definition
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Term
Which of these planets is the farthest from the Sun?
a. Jupiter
b. Uranus
c. Neptune
d. Mars
e. Saturn |
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Definition
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Term
Astronomy is known for claiming to have measured many things that cannot possibly be probed directly. These
measurements are made by combining actual measurements with
a. well-tested models.
b. arrogant claims.
c. wild guesses.
d. fictitious measurements. |
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Definition
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Term
which of the following statements is the most likely to be a reproducible observation:
a. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the United States.
b. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day.
c. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same 24-hour day.
d. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the continental United States. |
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Definition
| d. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the continental United States. |
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Term
The Sun usually rises in the
a. North.
b. West.
c. East.
d. Ocean.
e. South. |
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Definition
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Term
Which of these was the Solar System model that assumed the Earth is fixed and the Sun, Moon, and planets all
move on epicycles that, in turn move on circular orbits around the Earth?
a. Ptolemaic model.
b. Copernican model.
c. Tychonic model.
d. Keplerian model. |
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Definition
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Term
A constellation is a collection of stars that
a. are all near each other in space.
b. all move through space with the same velocity.
c. are all of the same type.
d. form a pattern in our sky. |
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Definition
| d. form a pattern in our sky |
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Term
31 The International Space Station (ISS) is in a roughly circular orbit near the surface of the Earth, moving at around 5 miles per second. Suppose that it is desired to raise it to a new circular orbit, farther from the surface by having the space shuttle give it one or more short boosts. Which of the following schemes will work?
a. Decrease its speed to 4.9 miles per second and then give it a speed boost when its distance from the Earth
stops decreasing.
b. Push it directly upward, away from the Earth.
c. Increase its speed to 8 miles per second to put it on a rising path.
d. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second to put it on a rising path.
e. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second and then give it another speed boost when its distance from the
Earth stops increasing. |
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Definition
| e. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second and then give it another speed boost when its distance from the earth stops increasing. |
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Term
If you are looking down over the north pole of the Earth, you will see the Earth rotate
a. clockwise.
b. downward.
c. counterclockwise.
d. upward. |
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Definition
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Term
Ancient astronomers were puzzled by the planets because they
a. rotate on their axes.
b. rise and set.
c. execute retrograde loops.
d. show peculiar colors.
e. look like stars. |
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Definition
| c. execute retrograde loops. |
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Term
In addition to being accurate, Tycho Brahe's observations focused on measuring the positions of the planets
a. when they were in retrograde motion.
b. during the solstices.
c. near the horizon.
d. during conjunctions.
e. all the time. |
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Definition
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Term
You see a waxing Gibbous Moon directly south. What time might it be?
a. midnight.
b. about 10pm.
c. about 3am.
d. sunrise.
e. sunset. |
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Definition
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Term
Galileo's approach to understanding moving ob jects was to
a. rely on pure logic and debate to arrive at the truth.
b. observe everyday ob jects such as spears and horses.
c. make up imaginary situations that he could understand.
d. build things that he could measure. |
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Definition
| d. build things that he could measure |
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Term
The Law of Inertia says that if an object is not acted on by any outside force, its acceleration
a. will always be zero.
b. will always be a constant.
c. can have any value at all.
d. will be zero if the ob ject is at rest and not zero if the ob ject is moving. |
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Definition
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Term
The density of water is 1000kg/m3 while the density of rock is 3000kg/m3 . Which of the following values is a
plausible value for the density of a jovian planet?
a. 5000kg/m3
b. 700kg/m3
c. 10,000kg/m3
d. 3000kg/m3 |
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Definition
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Term
Suppose that you drop two objects from the same height at the same time. Both objects are heavy enough to be unaffected by air resistance. If one object is twice as heavy as the other, Galileo predicted that
a. both objects would hit the ground at the same time.
b. the heavier object would hit the ground long before the lighter one.
c. the lighter object would hit the ground long before the heavier one. |
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Definition
| a. both objects would hit the ground at the same time. |
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Term
A sidereal day is
a. a few minutes shorter than a solar day.
b. just the same as a solar day.
c. several hours shorter than a solar day.
d. several hours longer than a solar day.
e. a few minutes longer than a solar day. |
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Definition
| a. a few minutes shorter than a solar day |
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Term
As the two foci of an ellipse are moved apart, the shape of the ellipse becomes
a. more like a triangle drawn around the foci.
b. more like a sphere around the foci.
c. more like a circle around the foci.
d. more like a line between the foci. |
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Definition
| d. more like a line between the foci. |
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Term
Copernicus said that the retrograde motion of the planets was caused by the
a. earth turning on its axis.
b. earth and the planets orbiting the Sun.
c. planets speeding up and slowing down.
d. planets turning on their axes.
e. planets moving on epicycles. |
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Definition
| b. earth and the planets orbiting the sun |
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Term
From his observations of the phases of Venus, Galileo concluded that
a. Venus has moons.
b. Venus is rotating.
c. Tycho Brahe's Model is wrong.
d. The Copernican Model is wrong.
e. The Ptolemaic Model is wrong. |
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Definition
| e. the Ptolemaic Model is wrong |
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Term
One property of a model such as the shape of the Earth is the number of adjustable parameters it has if the number of numbers that are needed to determine the model. If this number is very large, that is regarded as
a. a bad thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements.
b. a good thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements.
c. of no importance so long as the model works. |
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Definition
| a. a bad thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements |
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Term
The brightest star in the constellation Centaurus might be named
a. Delta Centauri.
b. Alpha Cepheus.
c. Alpha Centauri.
d. Delta Cepheus |
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Definition
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Term
The purpose of a scientific model is
a. to be attractive and elegant.
b. to predict the results of observations on real systems.
c. to be fun to play with. |
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Definition
| b. to predict the results of observations on real systems. |
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Term
In the picture that we used in class, with the Sun above the top of the picture and the Earth shown with its North Pole facing you, the part of the Earth that is experiencing sunrise would be
a. below the North Pole in the picture.
b. to the right of the North Pole in the picture.
c. above the North Pole in the picture.
d. to the left of the North Pole in the picture. |
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Definition
| b. to the right of the North Pole in this picture. |
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Term
A planet with a large system of moons would have to be a
a. terrestrial planet.
b. Kuiper Belt ob ject.
c. Jovian Planet. |
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Definition
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Term
Which of the following statements is a speculation?
a. There is intelligent life on other stars.
b. Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist.
c. The Moon is made entirely of cheese.
d. There is beauty in a sunset. |
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Definition
| a. there is intelligent life on other stars |
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Term
The time it takes for the Celestial sphere to rotate once relative to the Earth is called
a. a sidereal day.
b. an astronomical day.
c. a Celestial day.
d. a polar day.
e. a solar day. |
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Definition
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Term
Most asteroids can best be described as
a. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs.
b. flying lakes or possibly flying oceans.
c. small stars or possibly large moons.
d. flying rocks or possibly flying mountains. |
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Definition
| d. flying rocks or possibly flying mountains |
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Term
What total force will cause an ob ject with a mass of 1kg to gain 10 meters per second every second?
a. 5 Newtons.
b. 9.8 Newtons.
c. 2.5 Newtons.
d. 1 Newton.
e. 10 Newtons. |
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Definition
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Term
An astronomical unit is defined to be
a. the average distance from the Earth to the Moon.
b. the average distance from our Sun to the nearest star.
c. the average distance from our Sun to the closest planet, Mercury.
d. the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. |
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Definition
| d. the average distance from the earth to the sun. |
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Term
One reason that the Copernican System failed to fit Tycho's observations was that
a. it placed the Earth at the center of the universe.
b. it used elliptical orbits instead of circles.
c. it placed the Sun at the center of the system.
d. it used circular orbits instead of ellipses. |
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Definition
| d. it used circular orbits instead of ellipses |
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Term
One objection to a solar system model that has the Earth moving around the Sun is that we would then see nearby stars seem to shift back and forth relative to more distant stars. The correct answer to that objection is that
a. each star is moving in a circle exactly in step with the Earth's motion around the Sun.
b. all of the stars are attached to the same Celestial Sphere, so none are more distant than others.
c. gravity bends starlight in just the right way to undo the shift.
d. even the closest stars are so far away that the shift is very small. |
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Definition
| d. even the closest stars are so far away that the shift is very small. |
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Term
In comparison to the established, earth-centered theory, the Copernican Theory of planetary motion made predictions that were of
a. about the same accuracy.
b. much less accuracy.
c. much higher accuracy. |
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Definition
| a. about the same accuracy. |
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Term
Kepler's Laws
a. are explained by the action of magnetic fields on each planet.
b. have never been explained.
c. are explained by a force that repels each planet from the Sun.
d. are explained by a force in the direction of each planet's motion.
e. are explained by a force that attracts each planet to the Sun. |
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Definition
| e. are explained by a force that attracts each planet to the sun. |
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Term
Joseph Weber designed a series of devices to detect ripples in spacetime, called gravitational waves. After several years of effort, Joe announced that he had detected gravitational waves. He built several versions of his devices and they all detected the waves. When other people tried to build similar devices, none of them detected anything at all. Joe's evidence was ignored by the scientific community because
a. Joe was an Electrical Engineer and did not belong to the physicist club.
b. Scientists would not believe there was a possible source for gravitational waves strong enough to register
on Joe's detectors.
c. Joe's observations were not reproduced.
d. Joe's observations were sloppily done and not convincing. |
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Definition
| c. Joe's observations were not reproduced |
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Term
The Celestial Sphere is
a. the Sun.
b. a map of the stars.
c. an orbiting basketball.
d. the surface of the Earth. |
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Definition
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Term
When Newton calculated the magnitude of the acceleration of Earth's Moon, and compared it to the acceleration of falling objects on the surface of the Earth, he found that
a. The Moon's acceleration was smaller.
b. the accelerations were the same.
c. The Moon's acceleration was larger. |
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Definition
| a. The moon's acceleration was smaller. |
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Term
Comets usually follow orbits which are
a. elliptical with aphelia far outside the orbit of Mars.
b. nearly circular and close to the Sun.
c. elliptical with aphelia in the inner Solar System.
d. nearly circular and farther from the Sun than Mars. |
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Definition
| a. elliptical with aphelia far outside the orbit of mars |
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Term
Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Mars takes less time to go around the Sun than the Earth and moves much faster.
b. Mars takes longer to go around the Sun than Earth and moves more slowly than the Earth does.
c. Mars takes less time to go around the Sun than the Earth does but moves slower because the Earth keeps
making rest stops.
d. Mars takes longer to go around the Sun than the Earth because it has farther to go, but actually moves at
the same speed as the Earth.
e. Mars takes longer to go around the Sun than the Earth because it has farther to go, but actually moves
faster than the Earth. |
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Definition
| b. Mars takes longer to go around the sun than earth and moves more slowly than the earth does. |
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Term
The Summer Solstice is the time when
a. the sun crosses the Celestial Equator.
b. the noon sun is lowest in the sky.
c. the noon sun is highest in the sky. |
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Definition
| c. the noon sun is highest in the sky |
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