17 18 The Greeks abandoned their earliest cosmological theory planets moving in simple circles around Earth because A it did not agree with their observations of the planets.. 19 The ver
Trang 1MULTIPLE CHOICE Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) One of the four main themes or "story lines" that will keep appearing throughout this course is
A) Newton's laws
B) the methods of science
C) the idea that everything is made of atoms
D) the idea that everything is relative
E) nuclear war
1)
2) Which of the following is not one of the four general themes or "story lines" that underlie this
course?
A) energy B) how we know what we know in science C) practical "household" science that you can use around your home, your car, etc
D) the social context of physics E) comparisons and contrasts between Newtonian and contemporary physics
2)
3) One of the four main themes or "story lines" that will keep appearing throughout this course is
A) solving the problem of nuclear war
B) how to solve simple numerical physics problems C) understanding the structure and origin of our planet and of life on Earth
D) understanding how household appliances and other familiar technological gadgets work
E) contrasts and comparisons between Newtonian and contemporary physics
3)
4) Chapter 1 contains a quotation by author Norman Mailer from his book Of a Fire on the Moon.
Mailer's point is that A) science is leading us toward a greater understanding of the important truths in life
B) with the help of science and technology, we are solving most of the world's social problems C) science and technology give us power over nature but our culture we don't know how to use that power
D) physics professors are a bunch of crackpots
E) quantum theory shows that the universe is infinitely deep and subtle
4)
5) Chapter 1 contains a quotation by Albert Einstein Einstein's point is that
A) quantum theory shows that the universe is infinitely deep and subtle
B) science might either save us or destroy us
C) with the help of modern physics we can unravel the mysteries of the physical universe
D) the theory of relativity shows that the universe is infinitely deep and subtle
E) we must free ourselves from the illusion that we are separate from the rest of the universe
5)
6) "Physics" could best be described as the study of
A) the application of science to the needs of human beings
B) matter
C) atoms in motion
D) the general principles underlying natural phenomena
E) the absolute, or certain, truths about the natural world
6)
Trang 27) "Physics" could best be described as the study of
A) energy
B) the application of science to the needs of human beings
C) the general principles underlying natural phenomena
D) matter and atoms in motion
E) the laws, or absolute truths, of the natural world
7)
8) A primary reason for you to learn science, according to the textbook's opening section, is
A) because a broadly educated person can get a better job
B) to increase your intelligence
C) to increase your awareness
D) to pass on Western culture to the next generation
E) Actually there is no good reason all this scientific nonsense
8)
9) A primary reason for you to learn science, according to the textbook's opening section, is
A) to improve your ability to reason properly
B) physics is intrinsically interesting
C) the world needs your help in dealing with today's science-related social issues
D) it might help you earn a living
E) so that you can understand how the practical devices around you, such as kitchen appliances, work
9)
10) One of the primary justifications given, in the textbook's opening section, for this course is
A) the evolutionary trend over billions of years has been toward increased awareness
B) people with a broad education are happier
C) because more broadly educated people get better-paying jobs upon graduation
D) so that you can learn useful skills such as the ability to repair things around the house
E) to transmit our cultural heritage to your generation and to future generations
10)
11) According to author Norman Mailer from his book Of a Fire on the Moon, quoted in the textbook's
opening section, A) science is leading us toward a greater understanding of the important truths in life
B) quantum theory shows that the universe is infinitely deep and subtle
C) science is in the process of solving most of the world's social problems
D) our culture uses science to gain power over nature but doesn't know how that power should
be used
E) physics professors are crackpots
11)
12) According to author Norman Mailer from his book Of a Fire on the Moon, quoted in the opening
section, A) intelligent extraterrestrial life forms probably exist in many places, and may visit Earth in the near future
B) the creation of Earth was a beautiful and spiritually significant event for the human race
C) science is moving us rapidly along new paths, but we haven't stopped to consider where those paths might lead
D) powerful new science-based technologies are bringing about a better life on this planet
E) the establishment of a technology base on the moon is a crucial step in the exploration of the solar system
12)
Trang 313) Our primary reason for studying the theories of Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler in this course is A) so that we can understand the structure of our solar system
B) as a foundation for our later study of Newtonian physics
C) to learn some history of physics and astronomy
D) to see how these early theories of atomic physics compare with more recent studies
E) to learn about the methods and the validity of science
13)
14) If you observe the night sky in the direction of the North Star, you will observe that
A) the other stars near the north star move along clockwise circles around the north star during the night
B) the north star moves eastward across the sky during the night
C) the other stars near the north star move in straight lines from east to west during the night
D) the north star moves westward across the sky during the night
E) the other stars near the north star move along counterclockwise circles around the north star during the night
14)
15) In Ptolemy's theory,
A) the planets move in circles around the sun
B) the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun
C) the planets move in circles around Earth
D) the planets move in circles-within-circles ["loop-the -loops"] around Earth
E) the planets move in circles-within-circles around the sun
15)
16) The ancient Greeks, including Ptolemy, thought that the stars were
A) scattered throughout infinite space
B) scattered everywhere between the moon and the inside surface of a large sphere that enclosed the universe
C) scattered everywhere between Earth and the moon
D) fixed to the inside surface of a large sphere that enclosed the universe
E) alive
16)
17) The very earliest Greek cosmological theory, several centuries before Ptolemy, stated that
A) the entire universe is in reality just the inside of a giant cosmic frog
B) the planets revolve in loop-the-loops [circles within circles] around Earth
C) the planets revolve in loop-the-loops around the sun
D) the planets go in simple circles around the sun
E) the planets go in simple circles around Earth
17)
18) The Greeks abandoned their earliest cosmological theory (planets moving in simple circles around Earth) because
A) it did not agree with their observations of the planets
B) they came to believe that the sun should be at the center of things
C) they came to believe that Earth should be at the center of things
D) it seemed messy and unsatisfying
E) Actually, they never did abandon or revise their earliest theory it was not altered until the time of Copernicus
18)
Trang 419) The very earliest Greek theory of the structure of the universe pictured Earth at the center with the planets revolving around it at an unchanging rate in simple circles The Greeks later revised this theory because
A) they came to believe that the sun should be at the center of things
B) certain observations led them to the conclusion that Earth has a spherical shape
C) they observed that the planetary motions are irregular and include such things as retrograde motion
D) they didn't believe the theory was sufficiently beautiful to represent the eternal gods
E) Actually, the Greeks never did abandon this theory the theory was not altered until the time
of Copernicus
19)
20) The greatest astronomer of antiquity [that is, of the time before the Middle Ages] was
A) Ptolemy
B) Brahe
C) Aristotle
D) Plato
E) Copernicus
20)
21) The ancient Greeks noted that the planets
A) were a reddish color
B) wandered around among the stars
C) moved in ellipses around the sun
D) kept step with the stars
E) Nonsense the Greeks didn't know anything about the planets
21)
22) One ancient Greek scientist, Aristarchus, had a theory about the layout of the universe that was
quite different from the other Greek theories According to Aristarchus's theory, A) the Earth is held up by Hercules, who stands on a turtle, who stands on an elephant, who stands on Zeus, who is beginning to think that the whole thing isn't worth the effort
B) Earth is at the center and other objects move around Earth in simple circles
C) Earth is at the center, and the planets move around Earth in orbits that could be described as
"circles-within-circles" or "loop-the-loops."
D) the sun is at the center and other objects, including Earth, move around the sun in simple circles
E) there is no fixed center anywhere in the universe
22)
23) How did ancient Greeks such as Aristotle know that Earth is round?
A) By noting that ships drop below the horizon as they go out to sea
B) By triangulation (measuring the distance between 2 points, and measuring 2 angles, to determine the distance to a 3rd point)
C) From the ancient manuscripts of authors such as Homer
D) Careful measurements of the distance, along Earth's surface, between two widely separated points showed it to be longer than the straight-line distance
E) Actually, the ancient Greeks thought that Earth is flat
23)
Trang 524) How did ancient Greeks such as Aristotle know that Earth is round?
A) Travelers reported that, in northern lands, the noontime sun is lower in the sky
B) The shadow cast by Earth on the moon during an eclipse is the shape that would be expected
if both Earth and the moon were spherical
C) By noting that ships drop below the horizon as they go out to sea
D) All of the above
E) Actually, the ancient Greeks thought that Earth is flat
24)
25) Venus is usually either the "evening star" or the "morning star" because
A) it is usually on the opposite side of the sun, relative to Earth
B) its orbit around the sun is inside Earth's orbit
C) its orbit around the sun is outside Earth's orbit
D) it is usually on the same side of the sun, relative to Earth
E) Actually, the evening or morning star is usually Mars, not Venus
25)
26) Copernicus proposed his theory because
A) Ptolemy's theory was known to be wrong
B) it fit the data taken by Tycho Brahe
C) it was obvious to most educated people by that time that Earth orbits the sun
D) it was more in line with Church thinking than was the pre-Christian Greek theory
E) he thought that Ptolemy's theory was too messy and that his was more "fitting."
26)
27) The most significant difference between the astronomical theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus is
A) Ptolemy uses circular planetary orbits while Copernicus uses elliptical orbits
B) Ptolemy's theory does away with many of the complexities of the Copernican theory
C) Ptolemy's is not based on scientific evidence, while Copernicus's is
D) Ptolemy's theory is sun-centered, whereas Copernicus's is Earth-centered
E) Ptolemy's theory is Earth-centered, whereas Copernicus's is sun-centered
27)
28) Which of the following developed the theory that the planets circle the sun rather than circling
Earth?
A) Galileo B) Brahe C) Copernicus D) Ptolemy E) Kepler
28)
29) Which statement best describes the status of the Copernican and Ptolemaic theories of the solar
system shortly after Copernicus invented his theory [about 1550, and before Tycho]?
A) Although Copernicus couldn't disprove Ptolemy's theory, the Copernican theory agreed much better with the experimental facts than did the Ptolemaic theory
B) Ptolemy's theory fit the experimental facts better than the Copernican theory
C) Both theories agreed with the experimental facts
D) Both theories were known to be wrong
E) Copernicus had proved that Ptolemy's theory was incorrect
29)
Trang 630) Which of the following statements best describes the status of the Copernican and Ptolemaic
theories of the solar system shortly after Tycho Brahe's observations?
A) These observations turned out to have little or no bearing on either theory
B) These observations showed Ptolemy's theory to be the correct one
C) These observations showed both theories to be correct
D) These observations showed both theories to be incorrect
E) These observations showed Copernicus's theory to be the correct one
30)
31) In Ptolemy's theory, retrograde planetary motion is explained as
A) due to the natural wandering of the celestial sphere of background stars
B) the backward part of the planet's loop-the-loop orbits around Earth
C) a result of Earth's motion: as Earth passes another planet, that planet appears to move backward as seen against the background stars
D) due to the back-and-forth or "oscillatory" motion that planets make as they move along their circular orbits around Earth
E) Actually he didn't have an explanation for this
31)
32) In Copernicus's theory, retrograde planetary motion is explained as
A) a result of Earth's motion: as Earth passes another planet, that planet appears to move backward as seen against the background stars
B) due to the natural wandering of the celestial sphere of background stars
C) due to the back-and-forth or "oscillatory" motion that planets make as they move along their circular orbits around Earth
D) the backward part of the planet's loop-the-loop orbits around Earth
E) Actually he didn't have an explanation for this
32)
33) Copernicus proposed his theory because
A) he sought a more comprehensive theory that would explain not only the solar system but the rest of the known universe as well
B) Ptolemy's theory was too complicated, messy, and unsatisfying
C) Ptolemy's theory was based on discredited religious myths
D) the predictions of Ptolemy's theory disagreed with the observed data
E) Ptolemy's theory disagreed with Catholic Church teaching
33)
34) How did Galileo know that the planets go around the sun rather than around Earth?
A) From telescopic observations of the phases of Venus as it moves around the sun
B) From measurements of the tides raised by the moon as compared with the tides raised by the sun
C) By noting that Venus always lies near the sun, as seen from Earth, from which he concluded that Venus must be orbiting the sun
D) From telescopic measurements of the positions of the stars as Earth moved around the sun during the course of one year
E) From the writings of Aristarchus, the ancient Greek astronomer
34)
35) Which of these is the correct definition for an ellipse?
A) All points on the ellipse are an equal distance apart
B) Each point on the ellipse lies on a smooth oval curve around one fixed point
C) Each point on the ellipse is the same distance from one fixed point
D) Each pair of points on the ellipse is the same distance from one fixed point
E) The sum of the distances of a point on the ellipse from two fixed points is the same, for each point on the ellipse
35)
Trang 736) As Kepler's first attempt to invent a theory that agreed with Tycho's data, he tried to "fit" the data
for Mars to an orbit that was A) an ellipse with the sun at one focus
B) an ellipse with Earth at one focus
C) a circle with Earth at the center
D) a circle with the sun at the center
E) a loop-the-loop, i.e., a circle within a circle
36)
37) Who originated the idea that planets go in ellipses around the sun?
A) Ptolemy B) Brahe C) Galileo D) Kepler E) Copernicus
37)
38) Which of the following scientists made highly accurate measurements that first disproved the
theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus?
A) Nonsense nobody has disproved Copernicus's theory
B) Nonsense you cannot disprove a general scientific theory
C) Kepler D) Brahe E) Galileo
38)
39) Tycho Brahe
A) made measurements that supported both Ptolemy's theory and Copernicus's theory
B) invented the telescope
C) made measurements that contradicted Ptolemy's theory and supported Copernicus's theory D) made measurements that contradicted both Ptolemy's theory and Copernicus's theory
E) was the first to propose the theory that the planets move in ellipses around the sun
39)
40) Kepler's idea that planets move in ellipses around the sun is best classified as
A) a hallucination
B) a useful theory
C) a fact
D) an incorrect fallacy
E) an experimental observation
40)
41) Kepler was finally able to absolutely prove the truth of his theory of the motion of the planets by
using A) his own highly accurate observations of the planets
B) data gathered by the ancient Greeks
C) the data of Tycho Brahe
D) All of the above
E) Nonsense it is impossible to prove that a theory is true
41)
42) Tycho Brahe's extremely accurate measurements of the planetary positions showed that
A) Copernicus's theory was wrong and Ptolemy's was correct
B) both Ptolemy's theory and Copernicus's theory were correct
C) both Ptolemy's theory and Copernicus's theory were wrong
D) Kepler's theory was wrong
E) Ptolemy's theory was wrong and Copernicus's theory was correct
42)
Trang 843) What aspect of Kepler's theory would have horrified all astronomers before Kepler?
A) The fact that Earth was no longer at the center
B) The fact that the Earth has a spherical shape in Kepler's theory
C) Kepler's simple circular orbits
D) The absence of any epicycles [or "circles-within-circles"]
E) Kepler's elliptical orbits
43)
44) How did Brahe measure highly accurate planetary positions?
A) With larger and more elegant sighting instruments
B) With a new type of telescope that used mirrors instead of lenses
C) By careful measurements of the brightness of the planets, as seen from Earth
D) With the recently-invented telescope
E) By his invention of the technique know as triangulation (measuring the distance between 2 points, and measuring 2 angles, to determine the distance to a 3rd point)
44)
45) Suppose a "psychic" tells you that "At midnight tonight, everything will double in size." This
statement is A) the greatest idea since sliced bread
B) a nonscientific statement because no experiment can check it to determine whether it is true
or false
C) a scientific prediction that is probably false because the experimental evidence will probably disprove it [based on past experience]
D) a nonscientific statement because it is based completely on guess-work
E) a scientific prediction that is certainly false
45)
46) Regarding the validity of Ptolemy's and Copernicus' theories:
A) they were both good theories, but Copernicus' point of view ultimately turned out to be more useful
B) Ptolemy was proven wrong and Copernicus was proven right
C) they were both good theories, but Ptolemy's point of view ultimately turned out to be more useful
D) they were both wrong and useless theories
E) the experimental facts known in Copernicus' time tended to support Copernicus' theory over Ptolemy's
46)
47) The most characteristic feature of science is
A) its precise quantitative observations
B) its precise mathematical relations
C) Both of the above
D) the fact that scientific laws are absolutely true, i.e., that they have no exceptions
E) the mutually-supporting relationship between theory and observation
47)
48) Did Tycho's data prove that Kepler' theory was true?
A) No, because Tycho's data disagreed with Kepler's theory
B) No, because observations can never completely prove the truth of scientific theory
C) No, because some of Tycho's observations were incorrect
D) Yes, because Kepler's theory agreed with all of Tycho's data
E) Yes, because Tycho's data ruled out the competing theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus
48)
Trang 949) A scientific theory [or scientific principle] could best be described as
A) a tentative guess about the way the natural world operates
B) any mental picture, or idea, about the way that the natural world operates
C) an idea that has been proven by observations of the natural world
D) an observed fact or collection of facts about the natural world
E) an idea that explains a large collection of observations of the natural world
49)
50) Of the many different features of the scientific method, one feature is the most important Without
it, we should not call a field a "science." This feature is A) the use of quantitative measurements
B) the use of only those theories that are known, for certain, to be true
C) the use of mathematics
D) that the results should lead to some useful technological application [for example, a useful medical treatment]
E) the interaction between theory and observation
50)
51) Regarding Ptolemy's and Copernicus's theories of astronomy, today we find that
A) both theories are useless because they disagree with the highly accurate measurements available today
B) both theories are false because we know that Kepler's theory is correct and precisely accurate C) Copernicus's theory is still useful, but more accurate theories are available today
D) Copernicus's theory is correct
E) Ptolemy's theory is correct
51)
52) Which statement illustrates the fact that two different theories can both agree with the same set of observations?
A) Nonsense it is impossible for two different theories to both be correct
B) the theories of Copernicus and Kepler, after Tycho made his observations C) the Earth-centered circular orbit theory of the early Greeks, and the later theory of Ptolemy D) the theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus, before Tycho made his observations
E) the theories of Galileo and Kepler
52)
53) If a man says to you that he is absolutely certain of some idea, you can conclude that
A) he is wrong
B) if his idea really is absolutely true then it must be based on scientific reasoning
C) he is right
D) he is a fanatic
E) he is not being scientific
53)
54) Is it possible to prove, for certain, that a scientific theory is true?
A) Yes, by means of a single confirmed experiment that verifies the theory
B) Yes, by carrying out a sufficient number of experimental observations
C) Yes, by deducing it logically from other scientific theories that are known to be true
D) No, because it is always possible that a future experiment will disagree with the theory
E) No, because of the experimental error, or uncertainty, that is always present in any experimental result
54)
Trang 1055) Is it possible to prove, for certain, that a scientific theory is false?
A) Yes, by means of a single confirmed experiment that contradicts the theory
B) Yes, by performing a large number of experiments and finding that the outcomes that dispute the theory outnumber the outcomes that support the theory
C) Yes, by taking a vote among all of the scientists who are experts concerning that theory
D) No, because it is always possible that future experiments will agree with the theory
E) No, because science can never be certain of anything
55)
56) The glow in the night sky known as the Milky Way is light coming from
A) a large cloud of glowing gas far out in space
B) a band of glowing gases in Earth's upper atmosphere
C) another galaxy, adjacent to our own galaxy
D) stars in our own galaxy
E) the reflection of sunlight off of a giant dust cloud that is illuminated by the sun
56)
57) How is the sun situated in the universe?
A) Earth is at the center of the universe, and the sun orbits around the earth
B) The sun is just one of a large number of stars, and is located on the fringes of the Milky Way galaxy, which itself is just one galaxy among many galaxies
C) The sun is an isolated star that is far outside of all the galaxies in the universe, and is thus not part of any galaxy
D) The sun is just one of many stars, and is located near the center of the rest of the stars in the universe
E) The sun is at the center of the universe
57)
58) Which of the following represents a continuation of the basic general idea of the "Copernican
revolution"?
A) The idea that the human species is not very different biologically from the other species
B) The idea that our sun is just one star among billions of similar stars
C) The idea that the universe was not made just for us
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
58)
59) Which of the following represents a continuation of the general idea of the "Copernican
revolution"?
A) the idea that the universe was made for humans B) the important role of science in the industrialized nations today C) the conservation laws such as conservation of energy
D) the idea that the universe originated in a "big bang" explosion E) the idea that the human species is not very different biologically from the other species
59)
60) Planets do not move in precise ellipses, as had been thought by Kepler, because of
A) influences due to the other planets
B) dust grains and other material that disturbs the orbits
C) Both of the above
D) Nonsense the planets actually do move in precise ellipses
60)