Deck 1: The Scientific Method

Question 1

In which one or more of the following is the earth assumed to be the center of the universe?

A) the Ptolemaic system.
B) the Copernican system.
C) Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
D) Newton's law of gravity.

Answer 1

the Ptolemaic system.

Question 2

Relative to the stars, the moon seems to move

A) northward.
B) southward.
C) eastward.
D) westward.

Answer 2

eastward.

Question 3

The length of the year is

A) slightly less than 365 days.
B) exactly 365 days.
C) slightly more than 365 days.
D) Any of the above choices, depending on the year.

Answer 3

slightly more than 365 days.

Question 4

A day is the time needed for

A) the sun to drift completely around the sky.
B) the moon to drift completely around the sky.
C) the earth to turn completely on its axis.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 5

The object in the sky that lies very nearly on an extension of the earth's axis is

A) the sun.
B) the moon.
C) Mercury.
D) Polaris.

Question 6

The time at which a given star rises above the horizon each night is

A) earlier than the night before.
B) the same as the night before.
C) later than the night before.
D) Any of the choices, depending on which star is involved.

Question 7

The period of the earth's orbit around the sun is

A) one day.
B) one week.
C) one month.
D) one year.

Question 8

A regularity in observed data or a relationship between different quantities is usually called a

A) hypothesis.
B) law.
C) theory.
D) model.

Question 9

The time needed for a planet to orbit the sun

A) is the same for all planets.
B) depends on the size of the planet.
C) depends on the mass of the planet.
D) depends on the average distance of the planet from the sun.

Question 10

The speed of a planet in its orbit

A) is always the same.
B) is least when it is closest to the sun.
C) is highest when it is closest to the sun.
D) Any of the above choices, depending on the planet.

Question 11

The discovery that the planetary orbits are ellipses rather than circles was made by

A) Ptolemy.
B) Copernicus.
C) Kepler.
D) Newton.

Question 12

Living things

A) were created as they are today several thousand years ago.
B) were created as they are today several billion years ago.
C) were created several thousand years ago and have evolved since then.
D) have evolved throughout the earth's history.

Question 13

The stars in a constellation

A) are about the same age.
B) are about the same distance from the earth.
C) form a pattern in the sky as seen from the earth.
D) are members of the solar system.

Question 14

A week is the time needed for

A) the sun to drift completely around the sky.
B) the moon to drift completely around the sky.
C) the earth to turn completely on its axis.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 15

When first proposed, a scientific idea is usually called a

A) hypothesis.
B) law.
C) theory.
D) model.

Question 16

What distinguishes the scientific method from other ways of looking at the natural world is

A) the eternal truth of its laws and theories.
B) its replacement of existing laws and theories at regular intervals.
C) its reliance on the opinions of expert scientists to decide which laws and theories to believe.
D) its reliance on experiment and observation.

Question 17

Kepler modified

A) the Ptolemaic system.
B) the Copernican system.
C) Newton's law of gravity.
D) the theory of the tides.

Question 18

A year is the time needed for

A) the sun to migrate completely around the sky.
B) the moon to migrate completely around the sky.
C) the earth to turn completely on its axis.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 19

Scientific theories

A) must be constantly reviewed to see whether they are in accord with new experimental observations.
B) represent guesses that have not yet been compared with observational data.
C) are summaries of particular experiments.
D) are laws of nature not subject to revision.

Question 20

A planet that cannot be seen with the unaided eye is

A) Neptune.
B) Jupiter.
C) Mars.
D) Mercury.

Question 21

In most parts of the world high tides occur approximately

A) twice a day.
B) once a day.
C) once a week.
D) once every two weeks.

Question 22

A meter is not equal to

A) 100 cm.
B) 10³ mm.
C) 0.01 km.
D) 10^-3 km.

Question 23

If the earth had no moon,

A) there would be no tides.
B) there would be one high and one low tide per day.
C) the average tidal range would be smaller.
D) the average tidal range would be greater.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is true?

A) High tides are caused by the sun, low tides by the moon.
B) Low tides are caused by the sun, high tides by the moon.
C) The moon is chiefly responsible for the tides, with the sun's influence modifying the tidal range.
D) The sun is chiefly responsible for the tides, with the moon's influence modifying the tidal range.

Question 25

Astrology

A) provides a scientific basis for planning our lives.
B) correctly predicts the future.
C) is based on the scientific method.
D) is nonsense.

Question 26

The shortest of the following is

A) 10⁴ in.
B) 10⁴ m.
C) 10³ ft.
D) 0.1 mi.

Question 27

A nautical mile nm) is 6076 ft long, and a knot kn) is a unit of speed equal to 1 nm per hour. How many feet per second does a 10-kn boat moive through the water?

A) 0.059 ft/s
B) 0.17 ft/s
C) 1.7 ft/s
D) 17 ft/s

Question 28

When the sun, the earth, and the moon are all in line,

A) high tides and low tides are both higher than usual.
B) high tides and low tides are both lower than usual.
C) high tides are higher than usual and low tides are lower than usual.
D) high tides are lower than usual and low tides are higher than usual.

Question 29

Stars and planets are round because

A) a sphere is the most natural shape.
B) they rotate.
C) gravity forces them into this shape.
D) friction in space grinds them into this shape.

Question 30

A centimeter is

A) 0.001 m.
B) 0.01 m.
C) 0.1 m.
D) 10 m.

Question 31

The longest of the following is

A) 1 mm.
B) 0.00001 km.
C) 0.01 in.
D) 0.001 ft.

Question 32

The size of a picture is given as 84 cm by 255 cm. Since 84)255) = 2.142 exactly, the area of the picture is correctly expressed as

A) 2.142 m².
B) 2.14 m².
C) 2.1 m².
D) 2 m².

Question 33

In the distant past, the length of the day was

A) shorter than 24h.
B) 24h as at present.
C) longer than 24h.
D) impossible to determine.

Question 34

The prefix giga stands for

A) 1,000,000.
B) 1,000,000,000.
C) 1/1,000,000.
D) 1/1,000,000,000.

Question 35

If the earth were to revolve on its axis slower than it does today, its shape

A) would be closer to a perfect sphere.
B) would be farther from a perfect sphere.
C) and size would be unchanged.
D) would not change but it would expand in size.

Question 36

A person is 5 ft 8.0 in. tall. This is equivalent to

A) 173 cm.
B) 177 cm.
C) 207 cm.
D) 223 cm.

Question 37

The number of cubic centimeters in a cubic foot is about

A) 1.7 × 10³.
B) 1.7 × 10⁴.
C) 2.8 × 10⁴.
D) 1.7 × 10⁵.

Question 38

The scientist who showed that gravity accounts for Kepler's laws of planetary motion was

A) Newton.
B) Brahe.
C) Einstein.
D) Galileo.

Question 39

The British unit of length closest to the meter is the

A) inch.
B) foot.
C) yard.
D) mile.

Question 40

Gravity is not

A) a fundamental force.
B) responsible for holding the moon in orbit around the earth.
C) responsible for holding atoms and molecules together.
D) active throughout the universe.