Greek Questions

Use these questions to test your understanding. If you get them wrong, you will be linked back to the relevant part of the notes.

Be sure you study them thoroughly (don't just get a quick fix for your mistake) so your overall understanding is improved.

1. Scientists

a. work only to apply old theories to new observations

b. test theories against new observations

c. derive new theories without reference to observations

d. can solve any problem

e. do not accept observations that disagree with theory

2. The most persuasive reason ancient astronomers thought the earth was fixed in space and did not orbit the sun was

a. the earth is different from bodies in space, which are just bright points of light

b. space is unchanging while the earth changes all the time

c. their gods placed the earth at the center of the solar system

d. observations of eclipses of the moon showed that the earth stood still

e. the directions toward the stars did not change over the year (there was no parallax)

3. The most important contribution of the Greeks to science was

     a. to determine the underlying nature of matter

     b. to introduce and develop a scientific pattern of thought

     c. to measure the distance to the stars

     d. to invent scientific terminology

     e. to develop sophisticated machines for experiments

4. Aristarchus' ideas about the solar system

     a. were accepted by the other Greek scientists

     b. were rejected because they were wrong

     c. were rejected because he was judged not to be qualified

     d. were rejected because they contradicted other observations and theories

     e. both c. and d.

5. The Maya

      a. made accurate observations they used mostly for astrology-like activities

      b. were comparable in astronomical science to the Greeks

      c. were far behind the Babylonians in astronomy

      d. had little interest in astronomy

      e. left no evidence one way or the other regarding their interest in astronomy

6. People like the Celts and Maya built huge monuments to illustrate astronomy (like Stonehenge or the snake shadow on Chichen Itza)

     a. to awe the populace with their skill and power

     b. to educate the people in astronomical theory

     c. to improve the accuracy of their observations

     d. so their astronomer/priests could live luxuriously in the monuments when they were not being used for astronomy

     e. to provide the people with something to do while the government paid them welfare

7. The retrograde motions of the planets

      a. were not noticed by ancient astronomers

      b. were completely explained by ancient astronomers

      c. posed a scientific puzzle that engaged astronomers for many centuries

      d. were not real, but just predicted by some ancient religions

      e. only started in recent times

8. Creation myths

    a. are examples of scientific thought

    b. evolved into advanced science

    c. were the result of the work of scientists, made more interesting for the masses

    d. do not lend themselves to scientific probing

    e. have generally been proven eventually by scientists