Lesson test: The mechanical philosophy

1.[2p]
If the essence of matter is extension, what follows about empty space?

There can be no vacuum, since a region with extension is a region containing matter

Correct

Empty space exists but contains no motion

The answer is: There can be no vacuum, since a region with extension is a region containing matter

Matter can be divided only down to indivisible atoms

The answer is: There can be no vacuum, since a region with extension is a region containing matter

Space is a substance separate from matter

The answer is: There can be no vacuum, since a region with extension is a region containing matter

2.[2p]
Light strikes water at 45 degrees from the normal, with n = 1.333. What is the angle of refraction, in degrees?

CorrectNot quite: 32.0

4.[3p]
Descartes traced rays through a spherical drop and found the deviation stationary at 137.9 degrees. At what angle from the antisolar direction does the primary rainbow appear?

CorrectNot quite: 42.1

5.[3p]
What could Descartes's theory of the rainbow not account for?

The colours, which need white light to be a mixture separated by refraction rather than modified by it

Correct

The angular radius of the bow

The answer is: The colours, which need white light to be a mixture separated by refraction rather than modified by it

Why the bow is circular

The answer is: The colours, which need white light to be a mixture separated by refraction rather than modified by it

Why the bow appears opposite the sun

The answer is: The colours, which need white light to be a mixture separated by refraction rather than modified by it

6.[3p]
Which facts does the vortex theory explain that no theory before it had?

Select all that apply

Why all the planets travel round the sun in the same direction

Correct

Why the planetary orbits lie in nearly the same plane

Correct

Why gravity acts towards a centre with nothing reaching across the gap

Correct

Why the square of a planet's period goes as the cube of its distance

The answer is: Why all the planets travel round the sun in the same direction, Why the planetary orbits lie in nearly the same plane, Why gravity acts towards a centre with nothing reaching across the gap

8.[2p]
Descartes's seven rules of impact were correct, and Huygens merely restated them in modern notation.

True

The answer is: False

False

Correct

9.[3p]
What does the mechanical philosophy forbid, and why does that matter for what follows?

Any action at a distance, which is exactly what universal gravitation requires

Correct

Any use of mathematics in physics

The answer is: Any action at a distance, which is exactly what universal gravitation requires

Any experiment involving artificial apparatus

The answer is: Any action at a distance, which is exactly what universal gravitation requires

Any claim that the heavens and the earth are made of the same stuff

The answer is: Any action at a distance, which is exactly what universal gravitation requires

Sign in

The mechanical philosophy

1.[2p]
If the essence of matter is extension, what follows about empty space?

2.[2p]
Light strikes water at 45 degrees from the normal, with n = 1.333. What is the angle of refraction, in degrees?

3.[2p]
At what angle, in degrees, is light inside water totally reflected at the surface?

4.[3p]
Descartes traced rays through a spherical drop and found the deviation stationary at 137.9 degrees. At what angle from the antisolar direction does the primary rainbow appear?

5.[3p]
What could Descartes's theory of the rainbow not account for?

6.[3p]
Which facts does the vortex theory explain that no theory before it had?

7.[3p]
How long, in metres, must a pendulum be to have a period of two seconds, taking g as 9.81?

8.[2p]
Descartes's seven rules of impact were correct, and Huygens merely restated them in modern notation.

9.[3p]
What does the mechanical philosophy forbid, and why does that matter for what follows?

1.[2p] If the essence of matter is extension, what follows about empty space?

2.[2p] Light strikes water at 45 degrees from the normal, with n = 1.333. What is the angle of refraction, in degrees?

3.[2p] At what angle, in degrees, is light inside water totally reflected at the surface?

4.[3p] Descartes traced rays through a spherical drop and found the deviation stationary at 137.9 degrees. At what angle from the antisolar direction does the primary rainbow appear?

5.[3p] What could Descartes's theory of the rainbow not account for?

6.[3p] Which facts does the vortex theory explain that no theory before it had?

7.[3p] How long, in metres, must a pendulum be to have a period of two seconds, taking g as 9.81?

8.[2p] Descartes's seven rules of impact were correct, and Huygens merely restated them in modern notation.

9.[3p] What does the mechanical philosophy forbid, and why does that matter for what follows?

1.[2p]
If the essence of matter is extension, what follows about empty space?

2.[2p]
Light strikes water at 45 degrees from the normal, with n = 1.333. What is the angle of refraction, in degrees?

3.[2p]
At what angle, in degrees, is light inside water totally reflected at the surface?

4.[3p]
Descartes traced rays through a spherical drop and found the deviation stationary at 137.9 degrees. At what angle from the antisolar direction does the primary rainbow appear?

5.[3p]
What could Descartes's theory of the rainbow not account for?

6.[3p]
Which facts does the vortex theory explain that no theory before it had?

7.[3p]
How long, in metres, must a pendulum be to have a period of two seconds, taking g as 9.81?

8.[2p]
Descartes's seven rules of impact were correct, and Huygens merely restated them in modern notation.

9.[3p]
What does the mechanical philosophy forbid, and why does that matter for what follows?