PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 1 1 The Ptolemaic model of the Solar system accounted for the daily rising and setting of the Sun by assuming that a. The Sun drops below the surface of the Earth when it sets and travels underground to get back to where it rises each day. b. The Earth moves around the Sun once a day. c. The Sun moves around the Earth once a day. d. The Earth rotates on its axis once a day. 2 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 sunset would be a. below the North Pole in the picture. b. above the North Pole in the picture. c. to the left of the North Pole in the picture. d. to the right of the North Pole in the picture. 3 The Ptolemaic System was replaced when a. Astronomers realized that Aristarchus had been right when he said it was unreasonable for the giant Sun to orbit the tiny Earth. b. Copernicus produced a system with the Sun at the center. c. it came into conflict with reproducible observations. 4 One reason that temperatures are lower in the winter than in the summer is that a. the sun is higher in the sky in the winter. b. the sun is farther from our hemisphere in the winter. c. the sun is closer to our hemisphere in the winter. d. the sun is lower in the sky in the winter. 5 One property of a model such as the shape of the Earth is the number of adjustable parameters it has the number of numbers that are needed to determine the model. If this number is very large, that is regarded as a. of no importance so long as the model works. b. a bad thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements. c. a good thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements. 6 It has been said that the facts of science are actually revisable facts. When do these revisable facts get revised? a. They are successfully challenged in court. b. They are on the losing side of a debate. c. They conflict with reproducible observations. d. More elegant revisable facts are discovered. e. A scientific professional society votes them out. 7 You see a waxing quarter Moon high in the southern night sky. What time is it? a. 6:00pm b. Midnight. c. 5:00am d. 10:00am. e. 10:00pm.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 2 8 The length of a sidereal month is 27 days. The time from one full Moon to the next is closest to a. 24.5 days b. 32 days. c. 27 days. d. 29.5 days. 9 Einstein s Theory of Relativity has passed every observational test for over 100 years. Among other things, it predicts that no material object can go faster than the speed of light. Fred Zveistein (twice as smart as Einstein) has a new theory that predicts that some material objects can go faster than light. Fred presents his new theory at a scientific meeting (in 2009). Which of the following would be the most likely reaction of the scientists at the meeting to this new development? a. 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. b. 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. 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. 10 Copernicus said that the retrograde motion of the planets was caused by the a. planets moving on epicycles. b. earth turning on its axis. c. planets turning on their axes. d. earth and the planets orbiting the Sun. e. planets speeding up and slowing down. 11 The daily rising and setting of the Sun happens a. only south of the arctic circle and north of the antarctic circle. b. only north of the arctic circle and south of the antarctic circle. c. every day, everywhere on Earth. d. only during the winter near the Earth s poles. 12 The stars, as seen from the Earth, appear to be attached to a. the Heliopause, an off-center surface surrounding the Sun. b. the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth. c. the top of the Earth s atmosphere. d. the North Celestial Pole. e. the Celestial Net, a mesh of wires surrounding the Earth. 13 We can use the pointer stars in the Big Dipper to locate a point in the sky near the a. Star Sirius. b. East Celestial Pole. c. North Celestial Pole. d. Celestial Equator. e. South Celestial Pole. 14 When Copernicus published his final version of the Copernican System in 1543, it was a. immediately accepted by most astronomers as a big improvement over the Ptolemaic System. b. rejected by most astronomers as not really any better than the Ptolemaic System. c. regarded by most astronomers as plausible but not proved.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 3 15 Fred reports that a special arrangement of wire coils can draw electrical power from the air. He really built the device and was very surprised when it really did produce electrical power. The most likely outcome of his report is that: a. Nobody bothers to check his observation and he becomes famous as the discoverer of a source of endless electrical power. b. Other people build the proposed device. They do not see any electrical power, and attack his report as a mistake or a fraud. c. Other people build the proposed device. It generates power just as he said and he becomes famous as the discoverer of a source of endless electrical power. d. Nobody bothers to check his observation and nobody believes him either. 16 According to Kepler s Laws of Planetary Motion, as planets orbit the sun, they a. move at constant speed. b. speed up when closest to the Sun. c. speed up when in retrograde motion. d. speed up when farthest from the Sun. 17 As seen from North America, the constellation Cassiopeia a. sets in the south. b. sets in the west. c. sets in the north. d. never sets. e. sets in the east. 18 At which of these times of day would you expect to find the Sun in the East? a. 1:00pm. b. 7:00pm. c. 1:00am. d. 7:00am 19 At 10pm, you see that the pointer stars of the Big dipper and the star Polaris are arranged in a vertical line. at what time would you see them arranged in a horizontal line? a. 11:59:40 p.m. that same day. b. 9:56:00 p.m. the next day. c. 1:59:00 a.m. the next day. d. It will never happen. e. 3:59:00 a.m. the next day. 20 A disadvantage of the flat Earth model is that it fails to provide a complete explanation of a. what causes the Sun to rise and set. b. the existence of oceans. c. what holds up the surface of the Earth. d. the retrograde motion of the planets. 21 By measuring the angle between the Sun and the Moon when the Moon was in its first or third quarter, the ancient Greeks were able to calculate a. the distance from the Earth to the Moon. b. the distance from the Earth to the Sun. c. the size of the Moon.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 4 22 An early measurement of noon Sun angles at the summer solstice at Alexandria and Syene needed one additional piece of information in order to determine the size of the Earth. a. The solar time difference between Alexandria and Syene. b. The distance between Alexandria and Syene. c. The difference in height above sea-level between Alexandria and Syene. d. The longitudes of Alexandria and Syene. 23 Suppose that someone who works at the U.S. Naval Observatory says that he saw the Moon rise at 6:45pm on April 25, 2008. This statement is most likely a. an unsupported opinion. b. the result of a calculation. c. a proven mathematical theorem. d. an actual observation of the natural world. 24 Just before sunrise, you might find a. A waning crescent Moon setting in the west. b. A waxing crescent Moon setting in the north. c. A waning crescent Moon setting in the east. d. A waning crescent Moon rising in the west. e. A waning crescent Moon rising in the east. 25 The thing that is useful about a scientific model of a physical system is that it a. reveals the true nature of the real system. b. can be tested without observing the real system. c. predicts the results of observations on real systems. d. provides the opportunity to make an artistic statement. 26 Sven, a well-known Loch Ness Monster fanatic, often reports seeing the monster but is usually ignored. One evening, while watching the monster swim around in the light of the setting sun, Sven notices that the tide is out and there is a quarter Moon in the sky. He tells this story to a newspaper reporter who humors him and shows up to look for the monster the next time there is a low tide at sunset with a quarter moon. Sure enough, the monster appears. A local university then sends a biologist with a truckload of cameras at the next sunset-low-tide-quarter-moon and the monster again shows up on cue. Sven s observations of the monster are now accepted by the scientific community because a. Sven told a good story with lots of details. b. Sven s observations were reproduced by others. c. Scientists really like monster stories. d. Sven saw the monster many times. 27 Kepler found that the orbit of Mars is best described as a. a circle with the Sun off-center, combined with epicycles. b. a complicated fourth-order polynomial curve. c. an ellipse. d. a circle with the Sun at the center.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 5 28 A star that is named Epsilon Eridani is most likely a. the brightest star in the constellation Eridanus. b. a fairly dim star in the constellation Eridanus. c. the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus. d. a fairly dim star in the constellation Cepheus. 29 The time it takes for the Celestial sphere to rotate once relative to the Earth is called a. a polar day. b. an astronomical day. c. a Celestial day. d. a sidereal day. e. a solar day. 30 Kepler s First Law of Planetary Motion is that the orbit of each planet is a. a circle with the Sun at the center. b. an ellipse with the Sun at the center. c. a circle with the Sun offset from the center. d. an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. 31 A constellation is a collection of stars that a. are all near each other in space. b. form a pattern in our sky. c. all move through space with the same velocity. d. are all of the same type. 32 The ecliptic is a. an image of the Earth s equator. b. the set of points with zero right ascension. c. halfway between the North and South Celestial Poles. d. the path of the Moon on the Celestial Sphere. e. the path of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere. 33 The changing phases of the Moon are caused by a. the rotation of the earth on its axis. b. the tilt of the Earth s axis. c. the changing distance to the Moon. d. the motion of the earth around the Sun. e. the motion of the Moon around the Earth. 34 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 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure. b. less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure. c. greater than 90 degrees. d. exactly 90 degrees.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 6 35 In the time of Galileo, telescopes were a. forbidden by the church. b. known as novelty items but not used for much. c. unknown until Galileo invented them. d. in common use for looking at the heavens. 36 Which of Kepler s Laws compares the speeds of different planets? a. The Period-Radius Relation. b. The Law of Inertia. c. The Law of Averages. d. Orbits are Ellipses. e. The Equal Area Law. 37 The ancient Greeks argued that the Earth cannot be moving because such a motion would cause apparent shifts in the positions of stars. This argument was wrong because 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 at the same distance from the Earth. c. the stars are so far away that the shifts due to the Earth s motion are extremely small. d. no such shifts are actually possible. 38 You would expect to see a waxing crescent Moon a. Rising in the East just before the Sun. b. Rising in the West just before the Sun. c. Setting in the East right after the Sun. d. In the North at around midnight. e. Setting in the West right after the Sun. 39 Ancient astronomers were puzzled by the planets because they a. rotate on their axes. b. execute retrograde loops. c. look like stars. d. rise and set. e. show peculiar colors. 40 You see a waxing Gibbous Moon directly south. What time might it be? a. about 3am. b. midnight. c. sunrise. d. sunset. e. about 10pm. 41 Most of the ancient Greek astronomers believed that the Earth was fixed at the center of the universe. There was one, however, who thought that the Sun was fixed and a rotating Earth moved around the Sun. That was a. Eristarchus of Syene. b. Plato. c. Aristotle d. Aristarchus of Samos. e. Ptolemy.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 7 42 The observation that there are constellations that can be seen from Egypt but not from Greece convinced the ancient Greeks that a. the Earth is round. b. stars hang close to the Earth. c. the Earth is flat. 43 You read in an Astronomy book that the temperature at the center of the Sun is 30,000,000 degrees Kelvin. How do you suppose this number was determined? a. By picking a number more or less at random since nobody could ever check it. b. By using a model of the Sun that correctly accounts for everything that has been measured so far. c. By using a model of the Sun that is elegant but not tested against actual measurements. d. By sending a well-shielded space probe into the center of the Sun. e. By using a special telescope that can see inside the Sun. 44 Which of the following statements is falsifiable? a. Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist. b. There is intelligent life on other stars. c. There is cheese on the Moon. d. The Moon is made entirely of cheese. e. There is beauty in a sunset. 45 Aristarchus measured the angle between the Sun and the Moon when exactly half of the Moon was illuminated. If the Sun were actually just two or three times as far away as the Moon, he would have found that angle to be a. less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure. b. less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure. c. exactly 90 degrees. d. greater than 90 degrees. 46 In a solar day, the sun comes back to the same place in the sky but, in relation to the distant stars, the Earth actually rotates a. More than one revolution. b. Less than one revolution. c. Exactly one revolution. d. More or less than one revolution, depending on the season. 47 The newspaper says that the Moon was full last night. That statement is most likely a. based on some authoritative reference such as the U.S. Naval Observatory. b. an unsupported opinion of the newspaper editor. c. a proven mathematical theorem. d. an actual observation of the natural world. 48 There are 365.242199 solar days in a year. From this fact, you can conclude that, relative to the distant stars, earth rotates closest to a. 365.242199 times in a year. b. 364.242199 times in a year. c. a number of times in a year that cannot be determined from the information given. d. 366.242199 times in a year.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 8 49 You are looking down on the Earth from a spacecraft hovering far above. After watching for a while, you notice that, from your perspective, it is rotating counterclockwise. The part of the Earth that is directly below you must be the Earth s a. North Pole. b. Equator. c. South Pole. 50 In addition to measuring the positions of all the planets all the time, Tycho Brahe measured them to an accuracy of a. 1/10 degree of arc. b. five degrees of arc. c. one degree of arc. d. 1/3600 degree of arc. e. 1/60 degree of arc.
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 9 Answer Key: Spring 2017 HX1-02 1 Choice c. (The Sun moves around the Earth once a day.) 2 Choice c. (to the left of the North Pole in the picture.) 3 Choice c. (it came into conflict with reproducible observations.) 4 Choice d. (the sun is lower in the sky in the winter.) 5 Choice b. (a bad thing since it lets the model fit many possible measurements.) 6 Choice c. (They conflict with reproducible observations.) 7 Choice a. (6:00pm) 8 Choice d. (29.5 days.) 9 Choice b. (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.) 10 Choice d. (earth and the planets orbiting the Sun.) 11 Choice a. (only south of the arctic circle and north of the antarctic circle.) 12 Choice b. (the Celestial Sphere, a sphere that surrounds the Earth.) 13 Choice c. (North Celestial Pole.) 14 Choice b. (rejected by most astronomers as not really any better than the Ptolemaic System.) 15 Choice c. (Other people build the proposed device. It generates power just as he said and he becomes famous as the discoverer of a source of endless electrical power.) 16 Choice b. (speed up when closest to the Sun.) 17 Choice d. (never sets.) 18 Choice d. (7:00am) 19 Choice e. (3:59:00 a.m. the next day.) 20 Choice c. (what holds up the surface of the Earth.) 21 Choice b. (the distance from the Earth to the Sun.) 22 Choice b. (The distance between Alexandria and Syene.) 23 Choice d. (an actual observation of the natural world.) 24 Choice e. (A waning crescent Moon rising in the east.) 25 Choice c. (predicts the results of observations on real systems.) 26 Choice b. (Sven s observations were reproduced by others.) 27 Choice c. (an ellipse.) 28 Choice b. (a fairly dim star in the constellation Eridanus.) 29 Choice d. (a sidereal day.) 30 Choice d. (an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.) 31 Choice b. (form a pattern in our sky.) 32 Choice e. (the path of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere.) 33 Choice e. (the motion of the Moon around the Earth.) 34 Choice b. (less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure.)
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 10 35 Choice b. (known as novelty items but not used for much.) 36 Choice a. (The Period-Radius Relation.) 37 Choice c. (the stars are so far away that the shifts due to the Earth s motion are extremely small.) 38 Choice e. (Setting in the West right after the Sun.) 39 Choice b. (execute retrograde loops.) 40 Choice e. (about 10pm.) 41 Choice d. (Aristarchus of Samos.) 42 Choice a. (the Earth is round.) 43 Choice b. (By using a model of the Sun that correctly accounts for everything that has been measured so far.) 44 Choice d. (The Moon is made entirely of cheese.) 45 Choice a. (less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure.) 46 Choice a. (More than one revolution.) 47 Choice a. (based on some authoritative reference such as the U.S. Naval Observatory.) 48 Choice d. (366.242199 times in a year.) 49 Choice a. (North Pole.) 50 Choice e. (1/60 degree of arc.)
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 11 Where to find these questions in the notes 1 Module 004.202-g01 The Sky: Wandering Planets Ptolemaic model 2 Module 007.403 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading 3 Module 006.304 Science Scientific Statements The Search for Error 4 Module 003.604 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. The Seasons 5 Module 002.104 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Elegance. 6 Module 006.402-g01 Science Scientific Statements The Scientific Fact Problem 7 Module 007.505-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon 8 Module 007.510-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon 9 Module 006.301 Science Scientific Statements The Search for Error 10 *Module 004.501 The Sky: Wandering Planets Copernican System (36%) 11 Module 001.303 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Arctic circle 12 Module 003.102 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map 13 Module 003.205 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Pointer Stars 14 Module 004.603 The Sky: Wandering Planets Why Copernicus Lost 15 Module 001.204-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty. 16 Module 005.601 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler s 2nd and 3rd Laws 17 Module 003.303 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions 18 Module 001.101-g02 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Where? 19 Module 003.304-g01 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions 20 Module 002.204 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Self-consistency 21 Module 007.302 Science Model Building the Sun 22 Module 002.404 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Circumference 23 *Module 001.103-g02 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Observation 24 *Module 007.504-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon (38%) 25 Module 007.101-g01 Science Model Building Scientific Models 26 Module 001.201-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty. Reproducible 27 Module 005.401 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler s War with Mars 28 Module 003.209-g01 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Names 29 Module 003.104 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map 30 Module 005.501 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler s First Law 31 Module 003.201 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Constellations 32 Module 003.501 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. The Path of the Sun 33 Module 007.501 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon 34 Module 007.303 Science Model Building the Sun 35 Module 007.603-g01 Science Model Building Phases of Venus 36 ***Module 005.603-g01 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler s 2nd and 3rd Laws (22%)
PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 12 37 Module 004.304 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Aristarchus 38 Module 007.503 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon (47%) 39 Module 004.101 The Sky: Wandering Planets Retrograde motion 40 Module 007.507 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon 41 *Module 004.301 The Sky: Wandering Planets Aristarchus (40%) 42 Module 001.504 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Flat Earth Model 43 Module 002.502 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Radius 44 EModule 006.101 Science Scientific Statements How to test a statement 45 *Module 007.304 Science Model Building the Sun (36%) 46 Module 003.401 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Apparent Motion of the Sun 47 Module 001.104-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Observation. 48 ***Module 003.401-g01 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Apparent Motion of the Sun (25%) 49 Module 007.402 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading 50 Module 005.204 The Sky: Power of Observation Tycho s observations