Question 1

Which of the following planets,when viewed from the Earth,can be seen at crescent phase?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury
B)  Mars
C)  Saturn
D)  PlutoE) B) and C)
F) B) and D)

Question 2

What object is located at one focus of the orbit of the planet Mars?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Sun
B)  The Earth
C)  Mars
D)  JupiterE) A) and D)
F) All of the above A

Question 3

If the size of the Earth's orbit were doubled,its period of revolution about the Sun would

Accepted Answer

A)  Increase about 3 times
B)  Stay the same
C)  Decrease about 3 times
D)  Increase about 8 timesE) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 4

Bodes's law "predicts" that there is a planet with an orbit having a semimajor axis of 77 AU.What would be the orbital period of the "predicted" planet?

Accepted Answer

A)  77 years
B)  676 years
C)  115 years
D)  5930 yearsE) None of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 5

Kepler's law of equal areas in equal times predicts that

Accepted Answer

A)  Planets move fastest at perihelion
B)  Comets are often in unbound orbits
C)  The sun must be at the center of the solar system
D)  Planets all must lie in the same orbital plane
E)  Planets are in noncircular orbitsF) A) and D)
G) A) and C)

Question 6

Suppose a planet has an elliptical orbit.The speed of the planet is 20 km/s when it is at its average distance from the Sun.Which of the following is most likely to be the planet's speed when it is farthest from the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A)  15 km/s
B)  20 km/s
C)  25 km/s
D)  30 km/sE) A) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 7

An asteroid has an orbital period of 5 years.Approximately what is its average distance from the sun?

Accepted Answer

A)  2 AU
B)  3 AU
C)  4 AU
D)  5 AUE) A) and B)
F) None of the above

Question 8

Why was Tycho unwilling to accept that the stars are too far away for him to be able to detect their parallaxes?

Accepted Answer

A)  He thought he could measure the angular diameters of stars
B)  He assumed the Earth was stationary
C)  He knew Saturn was at the same distance as the stars
D)  Trick question,he could,in fact,measure stellar parallaxesE) None of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 9

According to Kepler's laws,a planet moves fastest in its orbit when it is

Accepted Answer

A)  Nearest the Earth in the Earth's orbital plane
B)  Nearest the Sun
C)  Midway between the foci of its orbit
D)  Farthest from the eclipticE) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 10

Which of the following best describes Tycho's model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  Sun orbits Earth,planets orbit Sun
B)  Earth orbits Sun,planets orbit Earth
C)  Sun and planets orbit Earth
D)  Planets and Earth orbit SunE) C) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 11

In which model(s) of the solar system does Venus show a full range of phases from new to full?

Accepted Answer

A)  Both the geocentric and heliocentric
B)  Neither the geocentric nor heliocentric
C)  Geocentric
D)  HeliocentricE) A) and D)
F) None of the above D

Question 12

When does retrograde motion of Venus occur in the heliocentric model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  When Venus passes the Earth
B)  When the Earth and Venus are on opposite sides of the Sun
C)  When the Earth is nearest the Sun
D)  When the Sun and Venus are opposite each other in the skyE) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 13

Why did Tycho Brahe reject Copernicus's model of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  He could not detect stellar parallax
B)  He could not detect retrograde motion for Mars
C)  The ellipse had not been discovered yet
D)  Tycho found mistakes in Copernicus's calculationsE) C) and D)
F) A) and C)

Question 14

The Sun is located at one focus of the orbit of a planet.What is located at the other focus?

Accepted Answer

A)  Nothing
B)  The Earth
C)  The planet itself
D)  One of the other planetsE) None of the above
F) A) and C) A

Question 15

Callisto is 1.76 times as far from Jupiter as is Ganymede.The orbital period of Callisto is 16.7 days.What is the orbital period of Ganymede?

Accepted Answer

A)  About 3 days
B)  About 7 days
C)  About 10 days
D)  About 13 daysE) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 16

Which of the following did Galileo use to support the heliocentric hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)  Prograde motion of the planets
B)  Phases of the Moon
C)  Phases of Venus
D)  Existence of sunspotsE) A) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 17

What was significant about Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four brightest satellites?

Accepted Answer

A)  It showed that theories that a planet can only have one satellite are wrong
B)  It showed that there are some objects that do not orbit the earth
C)  It showed that some satellites have atmospheres
D)  It showed that Jupiter is the most massive planetE) A) and C)
F) C) and D)

Question 18

A hypothetical planet orbits the Sun a distance of 4 AU.What is its orbital period?

Accepted Answer

A)  4 years
B)  8 years
C)  16 years
D)  64 yearsE) A) and D)
F) A) and C)

Question 19

A shift in the direction of an object caused by a change in the position of an observer is called

Accepted Answer

A)  Parallax
B)  Precession
C)  The Coriolis effect
D)  Epicycle motionE) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 20

In the heliocentric model of the solar system,retrograde motion occurs when

Accepted Answer

A)  Two planets are farthest apart
B)  Two planets are on opposite sides of the Sun
C)  Two planets pass each other in their orbits
D)  One of the planets is nearest the Sun in its orbitE) None of the above
F) B) and C)

Exam 4: Renaissance Astronomy

Which of the following planets,when viewed from the Earth,can be seen at crescent phase?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What object is located at one focus of the orbit of the planet Mars?

Correct AnswerverifiedA

If the size of the Earth's orbit were doubled,its period of revolution about the Sun would

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Bodes's law "predicts" that there is a planet with an orbit having a semimajor axis of 77 AU.What would be the orbital period of the "predicted" planet?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Kepler's law of equal areas in equal times predicts that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Suppose a planet has an elliptical orbit.The speed of the planet is 20 km/s when it is at its average distance from the Sun.Which of the following is most likely to be the planet's speed when it is farthest from the Sun?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

An asteroid has an orbital period of 5 years.Approximately what is its average distance from the sun?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why was Tycho unwilling to accept that the stars are too far away for him to be able to detect their parallaxes?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

According to Kepler's laws,a planet moves fastest in its orbit when it is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following best describes Tycho's model of the solar system?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In which model(s) of the solar system does Venus show a full range of phases from new to full?

Correct AnswerverifiedD

When does retrograde motion of Venus occur in the heliocentric model of the solar system?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why did Tycho Brahe reject Copernicus's model of the solar system?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Sun is located at one focus of the orbit of a planet.What is located at the other focus?

Correct AnswerverifiedA

Callisto is 1.76 times as far from Jupiter as is Ganymede.The orbital period of Callisto is 16.7 days.What is the orbital period of Ganymede?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following did Galileo use to support the heliocentric hypothesis?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What was significant about Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four brightest satellites?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A hypothetical planet orbits the Sun a distance of 4 AU.What is its orbital period?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A shift in the direction of an object caused by a change in the position of an observer is called

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In the heliocentric model of the solar system,retrograde motion occurs when

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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