Part I: Multiple Choice Questions. There are 31 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each. Choose the best answer and record it on the scan sheet. 1. What is an epicycle supposed to explain? A. The four seasons B. Retrograde motion of the planets C. Precession of the Earth's rotation axis D. Phases of the Moon E. Solar eclipses 2. Eratosthenes measured the size of the Earth by A. measuring the size of its shadow at a solar eclipse B. measuring the length of shadows at different locations on Earth a known distance apart C. measuring how long it took the Moon to complete an orbit around the Earth D. measuring the Earth's force of gravity on the Moon E. sailing a ship around it 3. Astronauts at a permanent lunar base would notice that the Earth A. never rises, never sets. B. rises on the west horizon and sets on the east horizon. C. is above the horizon for 2 weeks and below for 2 weeks. D. rises on the east horizon and sets on the west horizon. 4. The ocean tides raised by the Sun and the Moon on the Earth reinforce each other when A. the phase of the Moon is first or third quarter. B. the Earth is closest to the Sun. C. the phase of the Moon is new or full. D. the Moon is closest to the Earth. 5. The point directly over your head is called A. the zenith. B. the celestial pole C. the meridian. D. the North Star. 6. Galileo is credited with the discovery that A. uniform motion is just as natural as no motion. B. force equals mass times acceleration. C. the Moon rotates. D. acceleration does not depend on the weight or composition of an object. 7. Galileo used a telescope to discover which of the following? A. That the Milky Way consists of numerous faint stars B. All of the other answers are correct. C. The phases of Venus D. The moons of Jupiter 8. Which of the following statements about retrograde motion is INCORRECT? A. retrograde motion is the occasional westward drift of a planet against the background stars. B. in the geocentric model of the Universe, epicycles were invented to explain retrograde motion. C. retrograde motion occurs when a planet occasionally rises in the west and sets in the east. D. in the heliocentric model of the Universe, retrograde motion occurs when one planet overtakes another in its orbit around the Sun. 9. Which of the following observations constitute a critical test for the motion of the Earth around the Sun? A. Parallax of stars B. Unequal durations of our four seasons C. Phases changes of the planet Venus D. The shape of the shadow of the Earth in lunar eclipses E. Phases changes of the Moon 10. The celestial equator is A. always directly overhead at the Earth's equator. B. the path of the moon compared to the stars. C. always along the horizon for people on the Earth's equator. D. the path of the sun compared to the stars. E. the average path of planets on a star chart. 11. Which of the following is a scientific theory NOT expected to do? A. Be testable. B. Be agreed upon by a majority of the scientific community. C. Make reliable predictions. D. Explain a wide range of phenomena. 12. The giant pendulum demonstration done in class was to illustrate A. the conservation of energy B. that the instructor better duck before the pendulum returns! C. the conservation of mass D. the conservation of angular momentum 13. The phases of the Moon are caused by A. our different viewing angle of the illuminated half of the Moon. B. the highly elliptical orbit of the Moon. C. the rotation of the Earth. D. the Earth's shadow cast on the Moon as the Earth moves in between the Sun and the Moon. 14. The tablecloth pull demonstration done in class was to illustrate A. how escape velocity depends on the mass of an object. B. Newton's second law, F=ma. C. the concept of inertia (Newton's first law). D. Newton's third law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. 15. Tycho Brahe is important in the history of astronomy because he A. provided the precise observational data used by Kepler to discover the true shapes of planetary orbits. B. was a strong supporter of the Copernican hypothesis that all the planets orbit around Sun, not Earth. C. discovered the laws that govern the behavior of planets orbiting Sun. D. testified at the trial of Galileo, arguing that planets obey elliptical paths rather than circular paths. 16. Planets are spherical while asteroids are irregularly shaped because A. gravity dominates over material strength in asteroids. B. asteroids can not be irregular in shape. C. gravity dominates over material strength in planets. D. material strength dominates over gravity in planets. 17. The seasons of the Earth result from A. the Earth being farther from the Sun in winter because of its elliptical orbit B. the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis C. the varying speed of the Earth in its orbit D. the precession of the Earth's rotation axis 18. Stars that are visible in the sky on any clear night of the year, at any time of the night, are called A. bright. B. seasonal. C. circumpolar. D. celestial. 19. Kepler's first law states that A. the square of the period of a planet's orbit equals the cube of its semi-major axis. B. objects of different masses fall at the same rate. C. planets sweep out equal areas in equal times. D. the shapes of planetary orbits are ellipses with the sun at one focus. 20. Gravity is A. always a repulsive force. B. just plain repulsive. C. sometimes a repulsive force and sometimes an attractive force. D. always an attractive force. 21. The synchronous rotation of the Moon is a direct result of A. an extraordinary coincidence. B. tidal forces exerted on it by the Earth. C. Kepler's second law. D. Kepler's third law. 22. According to the heliocentric model, the reasons the planets always appear to be near the ecliptic is that A. the ecliptic is only 23.5 degrees from the celestial equator. B. the planets revolve around the sun in nearly the same plane. C. the planets come much nearer to us than does the sun. D. Compared to the stars, the planets are near the sun. 23. For a person living on the equator, A. the Sun neither rise or sets. B. the North star is straight up. C. the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. D. there are no constellations which remain above the horizon at all times. 24. A solar eclipse can occur A. when the Moon's phase is new. B. when Venus is at inferior conjunction. C. when Venus is in its crescent phase. D. when the Moon's phase is full. 25. Which planet can never be seen on the meridian at midnight? A. Saturn B. Mars C. Venus D. Jupiter 26. The path the Sun seems to follow through our sky over the course of a year is called the A. ellipse. B. eccentric. C. aberration. D. ecliptic. 27. The escape velocity is A. the speed required to completely escape the gravitational pull of an object. B. the speed at which a satellite will orbit in a circle. C. the terminal velocity acquired in the rocket trike experiment. D. the speed of a comet on a hyperbolic trajectory. 28. The spinning chair demonstration, wherein the rate of spin changes as masses are retracted or extended, illustrates A. the conservation of mass B. that dizziness is part of science C. the conservation of energy D. the conservation of angular momentum 29. Lunar eclipses are observed to last about 2-3 hours, while solar eclipses are observed to last about 2-3 minutes. The reason is A. Earth's shadow is larger than the Moon, but the Moon's shadow is smaller than the Earth. B. Moon moves much slower at new phase than at full phase. C. Moon moves much faster at new phase than at full phase. D. Sun is very much larger than the Moon. 30. The phase of the moon today is A. waxing gibbous. B. waning crescent. C. waxing crescent. D. waning gibbous. 31. Copernicus' model of the heavens destroyed many of the concepts of the heavens held by the ancient Greeks. However, one feature that his model retained was that A. the Sun controls all motions of the planets. B. epicycles were used to explain retrograde motion. C. all celestial orbits are circles. D. the Earth is at the center of the Universe. 1. B. 2. B. 3. A. 4. C. 5. A. 6. D. 7. B. 8. C. 9. A. 10. A. 11. B. 12. A. 13. A. 14. C. 15. A. 16. C. 17. B. 18. C. 19. D. 20. D. 21. B. 22. B. 23. D. 24. A. 25. C. 26. D. 27. A. 28. D. 29. A. 30. A. 31. C.