©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
ASTRONOMY FINAL Exam Questions
With Correct Answers
When it comes to our place in the solar system today, which model do we accept?
a) heliocentric
b) Ptolemaic
c) geocentric
d) Aristotelean - answer✔a
According to the geocentric view, everything in the heavens had to go around the Earth, which
was the center of the universe. What objects did Galileo discover with his telescope that clearly
didn't go around the Earth?
a) ring around the Sun
b) moons around the planet Jupiter
c) Pluto
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
d) the Earth's Moon
e) stars in the Milky Way that just kept going in a straight line - answer✔b
According to Kepler's third law, there is a relationship between the time a planet takes to revolve
around the Sun and its
a) eccentricity
b) astrological sign
c) distance from the Sun
d) period of rotation
e) size - answer✔c
In what fundamental way did the work of Galileo differ from his predecessors who had thought
about the sky?
a) Galileo consulted many authorities before coming to scientific conclusions, instead of working
on his own
b) Galileo translated the works of the ancient Greek astronomers, and relied on their wonderful
abilities to think through difficult problems
c) Galileo used instruments and experiments to show him what nature was doing, instead of
relying on pure logic
d) Galileo relied on the revelations of the Bible to tell him what was happening in the sky
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
e) Galileo believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system, and everything revolved
around it - answer✔c
When a planet, in its orbit, is closer to the Sun, it:
a) spins faster on its axis
b) moves faster than average
c) feels less gravitational pull than average
d) moves slower than average
e) reflects less sunlight than average - answer✔b
In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did the system explain the
retrograde motion of planets like Mars?
a) the planets were not moving along the ecliptic but all over the celestial sphere
b) the planets moved in very elongated ellipses, and their speed in orbit changed radically over
the course of a year
c) the Sun moved among the planets, and pulled them out of their circular orbits
d) the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth
e) you can't fool me, Ptolemy's system did not include ANY explanation of retrograde motion -
answer✔d
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
Which of these examples of ancient astronomy practises NOT correct?
a) Ancient Egyptians used a 365-day calendar year
b) Ancient Chinese astronomers observed many transient events like comets and supernova
(death of stars)
c) The Mayans designed a calendar based on the planet Venus
d) The Polynesians used the stars for long-distance sea navigation, to colonize new islands
e) The Stonehenge rock structure was used for tracking motions of the Sun and Moon as far back
as 3800 BCE - answer✔e
When NASA and a group of astronomers sent up a spacecraft designed to find planets orbiting
other stars, they named it after Kepler. Why was this an appropriate name?
a) Kepler was the first person to suggest how to launch rockets into space
b) Kepler used his telescope to find the first planet orbiting another star
c) Kepler figured out the rules of planetary motion, which planets in our solar system and planets
elsewhere must obey
d) Kepler was the first person to express the law of universal gravity in mathematical terms
10/7/2024 11:03AM
ASTRONOMY FINAL Exam Questions
With Correct Answers
When it comes to our place in the solar system today, which model do we accept?
a) heliocentric
b) Ptolemaic
c) geocentric
d) Aristotelean - answer✔a
According to the geocentric view, everything in the heavens had to go around the Earth, which
was the center of the universe. What objects did Galileo discover with his telescope that clearly
didn't go around the Earth?
a) ring around the Sun
b) moons around the planet Jupiter
c) Pluto
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
d) the Earth's Moon
e) stars in the Milky Way that just kept going in a straight line - answer✔b
According to Kepler's third law, there is a relationship between the time a planet takes to revolve
around the Sun and its
a) eccentricity
b) astrological sign
c) distance from the Sun
d) period of rotation
e) size - answer✔c
In what fundamental way did the work of Galileo differ from his predecessors who had thought
about the sky?
a) Galileo consulted many authorities before coming to scientific conclusions, instead of working
on his own
b) Galileo translated the works of the ancient Greek astronomers, and relied on their wonderful
abilities to think through difficult problems
c) Galileo used instruments and experiments to show him what nature was doing, instead of
relying on pure logic
d) Galileo relied on the revelations of the Bible to tell him what was happening in the sky
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
e) Galileo believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system, and everything revolved
around it - answer✔c
When a planet, in its orbit, is closer to the Sun, it:
a) spins faster on its axis
b) moves faster than average
c) feels less gravitational pull than average
d) moves slower than average
e) reflects less sunlight than average - answer✔b
In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did the system explain the
retrograde motion of planets like Mars?
a) the planets were not moving along the ecliptic but all over the celestial sphere
b) the planets moved in very elongated ellipses, and their speed in orbit changed radically over
the course of a year
c) the Sun moved among the planets, and pulled them out of their circular orbits
d) the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth
e) you can't fool me, Ptolemy's system did not include ANY explanation of retrograde motion -
answer✔d
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/7/2024 11:03AM
Which of these examples of ancient astronomy practises NOT correct?
a) Ancient Egyptians used a 365-day calendar year
b) Ancient Chinese astronomers observed many transient events like comets and supernova
(death of stars)
c) The Mayans designed a calendar based on the planet Venus
d) The Polynesians used the stars for long-distance sea navigation, to colonize new islands
e) The Stonehenge rock structure was used for tracking motions of the Sun and Moon as far back
as 3800 BCE - answer✔e
When NASA and a group of astronomers sent up a spacecraft designed to find planets orbiting
other stars, they named it after Kepler. Why was this an appropriate name?
a) Kepler was the first person to suggest how to launch rockets into space
b) Kepler used his telescope to find the first planet orbiting another star
c) Kepler figured out the rules of planetary motion, which planets in our solar system and planets
elsewhere must obey
d) Kepler was the first person to express the law of universal gravity in mathematical terms
