Download PHYS103 Hour Exam No. 1 Page: 1 1 Which of the following

PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
Page: 1
1 Most of the ancient Greek astronomers believed that the Earth was …xed at the center of the universe. There
was one, however, who thought that the Sun was …xed and a rotating Earth moved around the Sun. That was
a. Eristarchus of Syene.
b. Plato.
c. Ptolemy.
d. Aristarchus of Samos.
e. Aristotle
2 You would expect to see a waxing crescent Moon
a. Setting in the East right after the Sun.
b. In the North at around midnight.
c. Setting in the West right after the Sun.
d. Rising in the East just before the Sun.
e. Rising in the West just before the Sun.
3 The star Sirius can be located by using the pointer stars in
a. Leo.
b. The Big Dipper.
c. Orion.
d. The Little Dipper.
e. Cassiopeia.
4 Galileo is generally acknowledged to be the …rst to
a. design a telescope.
b. observe the heavens with a telescope.
c. build a telescope.
d. observe distant objects with a telescope.
5 The ancient Greeks concluded that the Sun is farther from the Earth than the Moon because
a. the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.
b. the Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth during a lunar eclipse.
c. the Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth during a solar eclipse.
d. the Sun’s angular size is smaller than the angular size of the Moon.
e. the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon during a solar eclipse.
6 Compared to a sidereal month, the time from one full Moon to the next is
a. shorter by four minutes.
b. longer by four minutes.
c. shorter by 2.5 days.
d. longer by 2.5 days.
e. exactly the same.
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
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7 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 scienti…c community because
a. Sven told a good story with lots of details.
b. Sven’s observations were reproduced by others.
c. Sven saw the monster many times.
d. Scientists really like monster stories.
8 As the two foci of an ellipse are brought together, the shape of the ellipse becomes
a. more like a sphere around the foci.
b. more like a circle around the foci.
c. more like a line between the foci.
d. more like a triangle drawn around the foci.
9 Just before sunrise, you might …nd
a. A waning crescent Moon setting in the east.
b. A waning crescent Moon rising in the west.
c. A waxing crescent Moon setting in the north.
d. A waning crescent Moon setting in the west.
e. A waning crescent Moon rising in the east.
10 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 24-hour day.
b. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the continental United States.
c. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day.
d. I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the United States.
11 The stars that form the Big Dipper (in England it is called the Plough) are
a. mostly at nearly the same distance from the Earth, but with exceptions.
b. all at nearly the same distance from the Earth.
c. all at very di¤erent distances from the Earth.
12 At which of these times of day would you expect to …nd the Sun in the West?
a. Noon.
b. 6:00pm.
c. Never.
d. 6:00am
e. Midnight.
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
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13 One observation that Aristotle used to justify a spherical model of the Earth was that
a. the Earth casts a jagged shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.
b. the Earth casts a curved shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.
c. total eclipses of the Moon can be seen everywhere on Earth.
d. total eclipses of the Sun can be seen everywhere on Earth.
e. total eclipses of the Sun can be seen only along narrowly de…ned paths on the Earth’s surface.
14 The idea that a worthwhile model of a situation must predict what is actually observed seems to have started
a. only in modern times, since the Renaissance in Europe.
b. with the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians.
c. with the ancient Greek philosophers.
15 Eratosthenes of Cyrene is generally credited with using the angle of the noon Sun at Alexandria and Syene to
determine the
a. distance from the Earth to the Sun.
b. size of the Earth.
c. length of a solar year.
d. time of the summer solstice.
e. size of the Sun.
16 You see the Moon almost directly in the south at 10pm. What phase is it?
a. New.
b. Waxing crescent.
c. Waxing gibbous.
d. Waxing quarter.
e. Full.
17 Retrograde Motion refers to the
a. eastward motion of the Sun relative to the stars.
b. westward motion of the planets relative to the stars.
c. westward motion of the Moon relative to the horizon.
d. westward motion of the planets relative to the horizon.
e. eastward motion of the planets relative to the stars.
18 One reason that temperatures are higher in the summer than in the winter is that
a. the sun is higher in the sky in the summer.
b. the sun is farther from our hemisphere in the summer.
c. the sun is lower in the sky in the summer.
d. the sun is closer to our hemisphere in the summer.
19 Which of the following phases of the Moon would be seen high in the south at sunset?
a. full.
b. waxing crescent.
c. waning crescent.
d. waxing quarter.
e. waning quarter.
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
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20 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 too small for him to measure.
b. less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure.
c. greater than 90 degrees.
d. exactly 90 degrees.
21 The Celestial Sphere is
a. the Sun.
b. a map of the stars.
c. an orbiting basketball.
d. the surface of the Earth.
22 One reason that the Copernican System failed to …t Tycho’s observations was that
a. it placed the Earth at the center of the universe.
b. it used circular orbits instead of ellipses.
c. it placed the Sun at the center of the system.
d. it used elliptical orbits instead of circles.
23 Which of the following astronomers is regarded as an early example of government-supported Big Science.
a. Eratosthenes of Cyrene.
b. Tycho Brahe.
c. Aristarchus of Samos.
d. Copernicus.
24 A sidereal day is the time it takes for
a. the Sun to come back to the same position in the sky.
b. the Moon to come back to the same positions in the sky.
c. the stars to come back to the same positions in the sky.
25 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. no such shifts are actually possible.
b. the stars are so far away that the shifts due to the Earth’s motion are extremely small.
c. all of the stars are at the same distance from the Earth.
d. each star is moving in a circle exactly in step with the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
26 Aristotle said that the spherical shape of the Earth was
a. something that could not be explained or understood.
b. the natural result of gravity pulling everything toward a center.
c. due to air pressure pushing everything inward.
d. unstable since small deviations from it would grow larger.
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Hour Exam No. 1
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27 Which of the following time periods is closest to the time from a New Moon to the next Waning Quarter Moon?
a. 22.5 days.
b. 18 hours.
c. 7.5 days.
d. 91.3 days.
e. 273.9 days
28 Which of the following statements is falsi…able?
a. All of the …sh in Lake Nyak are beautiful.
b. All of the …sh in Lake Nyak are green.
c. There are …sh in Lake Nyak.
29 As seen from North America, the constellation Cassiopeia
a. never sets.
b. sets in the west.
c. sets in the south.
d. sets in the north.
e. sets in the east.
30 The time that it takes for the Earth to rotate once relative to the distant stars is called a
a. stellar standard day.
b. solar day.
c. sidereal day.
d. zodiacal day.
e. galilean day.
31 As seen from North America, the constellation Orion
a. never sets.
b. sets in the east and southeast.
c. sets in the west and southwest.
d. sets in the northeast.
e. sets in the northwest.
32 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 to the right of the North pole in the picture is experiencing
a. sunset.
b. sunrise.
c. midnight.
d. noon.
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Hour Exam No. 1
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33 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 scienti…c 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 hostility because the new theory challenges the established theory, so lots of scientists come
to Fred’s talk to debate the issue.
c. 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.
34 A reporter at the newspaper says that she saw a full moon last night. That statement is most likely
a. an unsupported opinion of the newspaper editor.
b. based on some authoritative reference such as the U.S. Naval Observatory.
c. an actual observation of the natural world.
d. a proven mathematical theorem.
35 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. exactly 90 degrees.
b. less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure.
c. less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure.
d. greater than 90 degrees.
36 Galileo’s observation that Venus goes through a full cycle of phases just like the Moon was signi…cant mainly
because that is
a. what the Copernican Theory predicted.
b. what the Ptolemaic Theory predicted.
c. not what the Copernican Theory predicted.
d. not what the Ptolemaic Theory predicted.
37 The purpose of a scienti…c model is
a. to be attractive and elegant.
b. to be fun to play with.
c. to predict the results of observations on real systems.
38 The Earth is farther from the Sun than Mercury. Which of the following statements is true?
a. The Earth takes more time to go around the Sun but moves faster than Mercury because it has farther to
go.
b. The Earth takes less time to go around the Sun and moves slower than Mercury.
c. The Earth takes less time to go around the Sun and moves a lot faster than Mercury.
d. The Earth takes more time to go around the Sun and also moves slower than Mercury.
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Hour Exam No. 1
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39 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.
40 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. …ctitious measurements.
b. arrogant claims.
c. wild guesses.
d. well-tested models.
41 Suppose that the U.S. Naval Observatory published a table saying that the Moon rose at 6:45pm on April 25,
2008. That statement is most likely
a. a proven mathematical theorem.
b. an actual observation of the natural world.
c. the result of a calculation.
d. an unsupported opinion.
42 At 8pm, 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. 1:59:00 a.m. the next day.
b. 9:59:40 p.m. that same day.
c. It will never happen.
d. 7:56:00 p.m. the next day.
e. 10:59:30 p.m. that same day.
43 In comparison to the Copernican Theory, the Ptolemaic Theory made predictions that were of
a. much higher accuracy.
b. about the same accuracy.
c. much less accuracy.
44 The Ptolemaic System was replaced when
a. Copernicus produced a system with the Sun at the center.
b. Astronomers realized that Aristarchus had been right when he said it was unreasonable for the giant Sun
to orbit the tiny Earth.
c. it came into con‡ict with reproducible observations.
45 The path of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere is called
a. The Celestial Equator.
b. The Solar Trajectory.
c. The Equinox.
d. The Ecliptic.
e. The Great Circle.
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Hour Exam No. 1
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46 A star that is named Delta Cepheus is most likely
a. the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus
b. a fairly dim star in the constellation Centaurus.
c. the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus.
d. a fairly dim star in the constellation Cepheus.
47 If you are looking down over the south pole of the Earth, you will see the Earth rotate
a. clockwise.
b. downward.
c. counterclockwise.
d. upward.
48 Copernicus said that the daily motions in the heavens were caused by the
a. planets turning on their axes.
b. planets moving on epicycles.
c. planets speeding up and slowing down.
d. earth turning on its axis.
e. earth and the planets orbiting the Sun.
49 Which of these was the Solar System model that assumed the Earth is …xed and the Sun, Moon, and planets all
move on epicycles that, in turn move on circular orbits around the Earth?
a. Keplerian model.
b. Ptolemaic model.
c. Copernican model.
d. Tychonic model.
50 It has been said that the “facts” of science are actually “revisable facts.” When do these “revisable facts” get
revised?
a. More elegant “revisable facts” are discovered.
b. They are successfully challenged in court.
c. They are on the losing side of a debate.
d. A scienti…c professional society votes them out.
e. They con‡ict with reproducible observations.
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
Answer Key:
Page: 9
Spring 2017 HX1C
1 Choice d.
(Aristarchus of Samos.)
2 Choice c.
(Setting in the West right after the Sun.)
3 Choice c.
(Orion.)
4 Choice b.
(observe the heavens with a telescope.)
5 Choice c.
(the Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth during a solar eclipse.)
6 Choice d.
(longer by 2.5 days.)
7 Choice b.
(Sven’s observations were reproduced by others.)
8 Choice b.
(more like a circle around the foci.)
9 Choice e.
(A waning crescent Moon rising in the east.)
10 Choice b.
(I saw the Sun rise and set during the same clear 24-hour day in the continental United States.)
11 Choice a.
(mostly at nearly the same distance from the Earth, but with exceptions.)
12 Choice b.
(6:00pm.)
13 Choice b.
(the Earth casts a curved shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.)
14 Choice c.
(with the ancient Greek philosophers.)
15 Choice b.
(size of the Earth.)
16 Choice c.
(Waxing gibbous.)
17 Choice b.
(westward motion of the planets relative to the stars.)
18 Choice a.
(the sun is higher in the sky in the summer.)
19 Choice d.
(waxing quarter.)
20 Choice b.
(less than 90 degrees by an amount that was easy for him to measure.)
21 Choice b.
(a map of the stars.)
22 Choice b.
(it used circular orbits instead of ellipses.)
23 Choice b.
(Tycho Brahe.)
24 Choice c.
(the stars to come back to the same positions in the sky.)
25 Choice b.
(the stars are so far away that the shifts due to the Earth’s motion are extremely small.)
26 Choice b.
(the natural result of gravity pulling everything toward a center.)
27 Choice a.
(22.5 days.)
28 Choice b.
(All of the …sh in Lake Nyak are green.)
29 Choice a.
(never sets.)
30 Choice c.
(sidereal day.)
31 Choice c.
(sets in the west and southwest.)
32 Choice b.
(sunrise.)
33 Choice c.
(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.)
34 Choice c.
(an actual observation of the natural world.)
35 Choice c.
(less than 90 degrees by an amount too small for him to measure.)
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
36 Choice d.
(not what the Ptolemaic Theory predicted.)
37 Choice c.
(to predict the results of observations on real systems.)
38 Choice d.
(The Earth takes more time to go around the Sun and also moves slower than Mercury.)
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39 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.)
40 Choice d.
(well-tested models.)
41 Choice c.
(the result of a calculation.)
42 Choice a.
(1:59:00 a.m. the next day.)
43 Choice b.
(about the same accuracy.)
44 Choice c.
(it came into con‡ict with reproducible observations.)
45 Choice d.
(The Ecliptic.)
46 Choice d.
(a fairly dim star in the constellation Cepheus.)
47 Choice a.
(clockwise.)
48 Choice d.
(earth turning on its axis.)
49 Choice b.
(Ptolemaic model.)
50 Choice e.
(They con‡ict with reproducible observations.)
PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
Where to find these questions in the notes
1 *Module 004.301 The Sky: Wandering Planets Aristarchus (40%)
2 Module 007.503 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon (47%)
3 Module 003.208 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Pointer Stars
4 Module 007.603 Science Model Building Phases of Venus
5 Module 007.202-g01 Science Model Building Earth-Moon System
6 Module 007.509 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon
7 Module 001.201-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty. Reproducible
8 Module 005.503 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s First Law
9 *Module 007.504-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon (38%)
10 Module 001.301 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Detail.
11 Module 003.204 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Patterns
12 Module 001.102-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Where?
13 Module 002.304 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Evidence
14 Module 001.502 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Save the appearances.
15 Module 002.401 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Circumference
16 Module 007.508 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon
17 Module 004.102 The Sky: Wandering Planets Retrograde motion (44%)
18 Module 003.603 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. The Seasons
19 Module 007.506-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon
20 *Module 007.304 Science Model Building the Sun (36%)
21 Module 003.101 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map
22 Module 005.402 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s War with Mars
23 Module 005.102 The Sky: Power of Observation Big Science
24 Module 003.103 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. Map (42%)
25 Module 004.304 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Aristarchus
26 Module 002.201 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Self-consistency
27 Module 007.501-g01 Science Model Building Phases of the Moon
28 EModule 006.104 Science Scienti…c Statements How to test a statement(84%)
29 Module 003.303 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions
30 Module 003.402-g01 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Apparent Motion of the Sun
31 **Module 003.302 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions (33%)
32 Module 007.404-g01 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading
33 Module 006.301 Science Scienti…c Statements The Search for Error
34 Module 001.104-g02 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Observation.
35 Module 007.303 Science Model Building the Sun
36 *Module 007.602-g01 Science Model Building Phases of Venus (35%)
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PHYS103
Hour Exam No. 1
37 Module 007.101 Science Model Building Scienti…c Models
38 Module 005.604-g01 The Sky: Power of Observation Kepler’s 2nd and 3rd Laws
39 Module 001.204-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Honesty.
40 Module 002.501 The Sky: Spherical Earth. Radius
41 *Module 001.103-g01 The Sky: As Certain as the Sunrise. Observation (36%)
42 Module 003.304 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Motions
43 Module 004.602 The Sky: Wandering Planets Why Copernicus Lost
44 Module 006.304 Science Scienti…c Statements The Search for Error
45 Module 003.502 The Sky: Celestial Sphere. The Path of the Sun
46 Module 003.209 The Sky: Celestial Sphere Star Names
47 Module 007.401-g01 Science Model Building Time and Compass Heading
48 **Module 004.503 The Sky: Wandering Planets Copernican System (33%)
49 Module 004.202 The Sky: Wandering Planets Ptolemaic model
50 Module 006.402-g01 Science Scienti…c Statements The Scienti…c Fact Problem
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