Download Chapter 1 Question Set

Physical Science B12
T,Th 5:20 – 6:45
Chapter 1 Questions
2. What is the basic distinction between the scientific method and other ways of looking at the
natural world?
Answer (p 5, paragraph 4)
‘What has made science such a powerful tool for investigating nature is the constant testing
and re-testing of its findings…”
3. What is the difference between a hypothesis & a law? Between a law & a theory?
Answer (p 4)
A hypothesis is a proposal or suggestion about how or why something happened (often put
forth as a theory: “My theory is that the dog ran away because the children pulled her tail.”).
A law is a rule or state of nature that exists everywhere.
A theory explains why a law or state of nature is the way it is. ( From p 4 “Theory” box: “In
science, though, a theory refers to a fully developed logical structure based on general
principles that ties together a variety of observations and experimental findings and permits
as-yet-unknown phenomena and connections to be predicted.”
4. Scientific models do not correspond exactly to reality. Why are they nevertheless so
useful?
Answer (p 5)
A model provides a simplified version of reality through which general principles can be
discovered and established without getting lost in all the real-world irregularities that exist.
8. The sun, moon, and planets all follow approximately the same path from east to west
across the sky; none of them is ever seen in the far northern or far southern sky. What does
this suggest about the arrangement of these members of the solar system in space?
Answer
It suggests that the earth, moon and planets all lie in more or less the same plane as they
revolve around the sun. That is, the solar system appears like a flat saucer.
9. What is the basic difference between the Ptolemaic and Copernican models? Why is the
Ptolemaic model considered incorrect?
Answer
The Ptolemaic model of the solar system places the earth at the center of the solar system
with the sun, moon, and planets revolving around it. The Copernican model places the sun at
the center of the solar system with the planets revolving around it and their respective moons
revolving around the planets. The Ptolemaic model is wrong because it does not match up
with observed data. As our technology got better, we were able to observe phenomena we
could not see b efore and this data contradicted the Ptolemaic model.
12. What do you think is the reason scientists use an ellipse rather than a circle as the model
for a planetary orbit?
The ellipse is a better model of planetary orbit than a circle is.
13. What, if anything would happen to the shape of the earth if it were to rotate on its axis
faster than it does today?
It would flatten out even more than it already does.