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. Ptolemy's solar system model
b. provided a good fit to the available observations
c. made no reference to observations - was just a theoretical construct
d. was not quantitative - it just gave a general description of the planetary motions
e. had obvious flaws that worried ancient astronomers
2. Ptolemy and previous astronomers assumed that the earth was surrounded by celestial spheres that
a. rotated from east to west every day
c. rotated around the earth in a year
d. changed shape as the planets moved on them
3. Ptolemy's work was preserved by
a. burying it in dry desert sands
d. Copernicus
e. because it was carved into stone
4. Medieval scientists
b. only recovered the Greek scientific writings
d. made progress that set the stage for the Renaissance
e. there were no real Medieval scientists
5. Aristotle became the foundation for much of Medieval science because
a. He was the only Greek scientist whose writings survived
b. He was the only Greek scientist who got anything right
c. His views were endorsed by the Romans
d. He collected a lot of Greek science into a convenient summary
e. His writings anticipated the teachings of the Church
6. Progress in astronomy was particularly difficult during Medieval times because
a. a long period of cloudy weather made observations difficult
b. Aristotle's theories were particularly advanced on astronomy, making improvements difficult
c. Aristotle's views were adopted and codified as part of the Catholic religion
d. Ptolemy's writings had been lost
e. the calendar was out of synchronization with the seasons
7. The central underlying assumption(s) in Ptolemy's model were
a. planets move along only circular paths
b. planets move always at the same speed