1. Four goals or benefits for you from taking this course were presented right at the start of the course. State two of the four here. Mentioning subpoints under the four goals in lieu of the main goals may earn you only partial credit. Some Extra Credit opportunity here.
For the answers: We started out the course with the Introductory Note Set. "right at the start of the course" means you will find these goals/benefits at the very start of Unit I of the Introductory Course Note Set. There are 4 main ones, with a number of subpoints to flesh them out.
2. What is the "fine balance" it (science) requires?
For the anwer: Do you see he is talking about the Scientific Attitude? Who's "he?" Carl Sagan, of course. This is Question 8 in the Question Sheet for the Sagan article, "Why We Need to Understand Science." You will find discussion of the Scientific Attitude in Unit V, Section F. Hmm. Follows the central discussion in Section E of the "Heart of Science." Understand it, too; be smarter than the current U.S. President.
3. What is the estimated % of scientifically illiterate Americans? _____%
For the answer: Introductory Course Notes, Unit III, Section B. Also, "Why We Need..." article.
4. Philosophically, what was the fundamentally and distinctively different approach to understanding how the world
worked that the Greeks contributed?
For the answer: Classroom notes and textbook, Ch. 4, "The Astronomy of the Greece"
5. Which one of the following was not a contribution of Hipparchus?
a. accurately determined the length of the year and his error
b. discovered precession
c. established the magnitude system
d. discovered the planet Uranus with an early telescope
e. actually all of the above were done by Hipparchus
For the answer: Textbook, Ch. 4, "The Astronomy of the Greece"
6. When did the Greek philosopher-scientists flourish? (I want the range of time covered from Thales of Miletus
to Hypatia of Alexandria.)
a. 600 B.C.E. ( B.C.) to 400 C.E. ( A.D.)
b. 4000 B.C.E. to 2500 B.C.E.
c. 400 C.E. to 1400 C.E.
d. 1500 C.E. to 1700 C.E.
e. 2000 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E.
For the answer: Classroom notes
7. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary _______________."
a. credulity
b. chutzpah
c. imagination
d. evidence
e. skill
For the answer: Introductory course notes, Unit IV, Section F, "The Scientific Attitude"
8. The ecliptic is (define).
For the answer: Classroom notes and textbook, Ch. 2, "The Annual Motion of the Sun" But don't forget the key word missing in the textbook's definition--"annual." And what is the diurnal apparent path of the sun?
9. What was the Islamic world's chief contribution during medieval times?
For the answer: classroom notes, between the Greeks and the Scientific Revolution
10. In one of the Windows on Science the author discusses the role of skepticism in science. Select the statement
below which best describes this role.
a. Skepticism helps scientists to hold no beliefs in anything.
b. Skepticism actually plays no major role in the process by which we learn through science.
c. Skepticism is an excuse used by scientists to not believe in God(dess).
d. Skepticism is what drives scientists to find what is worthy of belief.
e. Skepticism is used to help scientists to avoid studying flaky claims.
For the answer: the textbook, Window on Science 19.2, "Courteous Skeptics" Advice: Make sure you are just as familiar with the Windows assigned in that "N" assignment.
11. Tycho Brahe's principal contribution to astronomy was
a. his observation of the comet of 1577
b. his observation in 1572 of a supernova
c. his "compromise" model for the origin of the moon
d. his accurate observations of the positions of the planets
e. his choice of Galileo as an assistant
For the answer: Classroom notes, "Scientific Revolution," between Copernicus and Kepler, and textbook, Ch. 4, "Tycho Brahe's Legacy"
12. State correctly Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion, the "Harmonic Law." (If you choose to describe
this with an equation or relation, ensure that you define the symbols.)
For the answer: classroom notes, between Brahe and Galileo, and textbook, Ch. 4, "Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion"
13. One of the lessons of Galileo's clash with the Catholic Church, a lesson that bears directly on today's Christian
fundamentalist resistence to several well established scientific findings, such as the evolution of life on Earth,
the age of the Earth and universe, and the origins of things.
a. The Bible is not a science text; nature itself is the source of knowledge regarding how nature works.
b. Scientists can be shown wrong with a few select verses from the Bible.
c. The Inquisition, with its trials, torturing, and killing was, putting them in their proper historical perspective, a proper response to intellectual challenges from Galileo Galilei and his ilk.
d. Scientists can be shown wrong with a few select verses from the Koran.
For the answer: Classroom notes, "Galileo lessons and advances" and the textbook, Ch. 4, at end of long section, "Galileo the Defender"
14. The surface gravity of earth induces an acceleration of 32 ft/s/s. If your mass is 5 slugs, what is your weight?
(Note: your answer will be in lbs.)
For the answer: Classroom notes on Newton and his Law of Gravity, following his Three Laws of Motion, the lab exercise, "Surface Gravity Calculations and Your Weight on other Solar System Worlds" and the textbook, Ch. 5, "Galileo and Motion," and "Mutual Gravitation"
15. The Foucault Pendulum is the experiment which conclusively proved what motion of earth?
For the answer: Classroom notes, following Newton, "Proofs of Earth's Motions"