Lesson test: What Copernicus actually did

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What Copernicus actually did

1.[3p]
Mars returns to opposition every 779.94 days and the earth's period is 365.256 days. What is the sidereal period of Mars, in days?

CorrectNot quite: 687

2.[2p]
The interval between successive alignments of a planet with the sun, seen from the earth, is called its what period? One word.

CorrectNot quite: synodic

3.[3p]
Venus reaches a maximum elongation of 46 degrees. What is its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance?

CorrectNot quite: 0.719

4.[3p]
Mars takes 106 days to travel from opposition to quadrature. Its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance, is what?

CorrectNot quite: 1.52

5.[2p]
Copernicus's system was both simpler in the number of circles and more accurate in its predictions than Ptolemy's.

True

The answer is: False

False

Correct

6.[3p]
In Ptolemy's models, the epicycle of every superior planet has a period of exactly one year. What does the heliocentric arrangement make of that?

It is the earth's own orbit reflected in the sky, so the coincidence is a single fact rather than three

Correct

It is a rounding error in the observations

The answer is: It is the earth's own orbit reflected in the sky, so the coincidence is a single fact rather than three

It is evidence that the planets are driven by the sun's heat

The answer is: It is the earth's own orbit reflected in the sky, so the coincidence is a single fact rather than three

It remains an unexplained coincidence in both systems

The answer is: It is the earth's own orbit reflected in the sky, so the coincidence is a single fact rather than three

7.[2p]
What did Osiander's unsigned preface tell readers of De revolutionibus?

That the hypotheses need not be true, only good enough to compute with

Correct

That the author had been forced to publish against his will

The answer is: That the hypotheses need not be true, only good enough to compute with

That the earth's motion had been proved by observation

The answer is: That the hypotheses need not be true, only good enough to compute with

That the book had the approval of the pope

The answer is: That the hypotheses need not be true, only good enough to compute with

8.[3p]
Which of these does the heliocentric arrangement determine that Ptolemy's cannot?

Select all that apply

The order of the planets outwards from the centre

Correct

The distance of each planet, in units of the earth's distance

Correct

Why retrogression always coincides with the planet's greatest brightness

Correct

The absolute distance to the sun in miles

The answer is: The order of the planets outwards from the centre, The distance of each planet, in units of the earth's distance, Why retrogression always coincides with the planet's greatest brightness

9.[3p]
Match each observation to the heliocentric account of it.

Mars turns back for about ten weeks
Venus never appears far from the sun
Mercury's elongation ranges from 18 to 28 degrees
The Prutenic Tables were still days out in 1563

its orbit lies inside the earth's own
its orbit departs most from a circle centred on the sun
the new arrangement improved the explanation, not the accuracy
the earth overtakes it on an inner and faster track

Show the answer

Mars turns back for about ten weeks: the earth overtakes it on an inner and faster track Venus never appears far from the sun: its orbit lies inside the earth's own Mercury's elongation ranges from 18 to 28 degrees: its orbit departs most from a circle centred on the sun The Prutenic Tables were still days out in 1563: the new arrangement improved the explanation, not the accuracy

1.[3p] Mars returns to opposition every 779.94 days and the earth's period is 365.256 days. What is the sidereal period of Mars, in days?

2.[2p] The interval between successive alignments of a planet with the sun, seen from the earth, is called its what period? One word.

3.[3p] Venus reaches a maximum elongation of 46 degrees. What is its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance?

4.[3p] Mars takes 106 days to travel from opposition to quadrature. Its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance, is what?

5.[2p] Copernicus's system was both simpler in the number of circles and more accurate in its predictions than Ptolemy's.

6.[3p] In Ptolemy's models, the epicycle of every superior planet has a period of exactly one year. What does the heliocentric arrangement make of that?

7.[2p] What did Osiander's unsigned preface tell readers of De revolutionibus?

8.[3p] Which of these does the heliocentric arrangement determine that Ptolemy's cannot?

9.[3p] Match each observation to the heliocentric account of it.

1.[3p]
Mars returns to opposition every 779.94 days and the earth's period is 365.256 days. What is the sidereal period of Mars, in days?

2.[2p]
The interval between successive alignments of a planet with the sun, seen from the earth, is called its what period? One word.

3.[3p]
Venus reaches a maximum elongation of 46 degrees. What is its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance?

4.[3p]
Mars takes 106 days to travel from opposition to quadrature. Its distance from the sun, in units of the earth's distance, is what?

5.[2p]
Copernicus's system was both simpler in the number of circles and more accurate in its predictions than Ptolemy's.

6.[3p]
In Ptolemy's models, the epicycle of every superior planet has a period of exactly one year. What does the heliocentric arrangement make of that?

7.[2p]
What did Osiander's unsigned preface tell readers of De revolutionibus?

8.[3p]
Which of these does the heliocentric arrangement determine that Ptolemy's cannot?

9.[3p]
Match each observation to the heliocentric account of it.