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
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
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
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
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
9. Our modern calendar
a. Is inherited from the Egyptians
b. Was adjusted by Pope Gregory when Julius Caesar's version got out of synchronization
c. Is still not well tuned to the mismatch of the day to the year and will need adjustment soon
d. Was brought down unchanged from the Babylonian astronomers
e. Is based entirely on recent observations and concepts.
10. ________________ had an immense influence on the calendar
a. Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome
b. Alexander the Great, conquerer of the ancient world
d. Hipparchus, great Greek astronomer
e. Aristarchus, Greek astronomer who proposed a correct model of the solar system
11. North of the equator, the stars rise in the east and set in the west and revolve in a counter-clockwise
direction around the north celestial pole. South of the equator, they
a. rise in the east, set in the west, and revolve counter-clockwise around the south celestial pole
b. rise in the east, set in the west, and revolve clockwise around the south celestial pole
c. rise in the west, set in the east, and revolve clockwise around the south celestial pole
d. rise in the west, set in the east, and revolve counter-clockwise around the south celestial pole
12. To see the greatest possible number of stars over the course of a year, you should live at the
a. north pole b. equator c. south pole d. it does not really matter
13. Ancient civilizations that had a strong interest in astronomy
a. were more advanced than any others
b. were ruled in enlightened ways
c. tended to develop sophisticated number systems and mathematics as part of their astronomy
d. lived in desert areas where the sky was clear
e. also developed excellent science in other areas
14. Most early cultures had some interest in astronomy because
a. they used it to synchronize their farming with the seasons
b. they found it an interesting application of the scientific method
c. it provided a common topic they could discuss with other cultures
d. it was a way to probe their origins
15. The Greeks
a. Only developed very simple machines
b. Designed and built a sophisticated machine to track the planetary motions
c. Bought their machines from the Egyptians
d. Developed no machines at all because they had plenty of slaves
e. Only built machines of wood because they could not make delicate parts of metals
16. The ________ had interest in astronomy as a science rather than just as a way to do practical things like plant crops and predict the future
c. Anasazi and other cultures in what is now Arizona
17. Stonehenge was
b. An astronomical observatory
18. The ancient Egyptians
a. Were primarily interested in astronomy as a science
b. Had virtually no interest in astronomy
c. Used their knowledge of astronomy for ceremonial purposes and to synchronize their calendar
d. Built major observatories for exclusive use of their astronomers
e. Learned their astronomy from the Romans
19. Ancient navigators used astronomy
a. To find their location east-west
b. To find their location north-south
c. To find their location both east-west and north-south
d. Just as something awesome to look at on long voyages
e. They could not find any particular use for it
20. The best ancient astronomers were able to
a. Only get very approximate values for the apparent periods of planetary motions
b. Use their clocks to get accurate timings for astronomical events
c. Got accurate apparent periods for planetary motions by making records of them over a long time (centuries)
d. Could not get accurate measures of the planetary motions because they did not have good number systems
e. Could not observe the planetary motions well because they did not have telescopes
21. The Greeks did not adopt the picture that the sun was at the center of the Solar System because
b. It contradicted their religion
c. It had been proposed by the Egyptians, with whom they felt a very strong rivalry
d. It violated their ideas of physics
e. They believed that Hercules held up the world
22. The motions of the planets were important in the development of quantitative science because
a. They appeared the same all over the earth
b. Many ancient religions worshiped the planets and their motions were part of the religious doctrine
c. Chinese astronomers came over the Silk Road to teach Europeans about the theory of the motions
d. The planets required a lot of crystal spheres to account for their motions
e. The planetary motions posed a complex mathematical puzzle that stimulated scientific thinking