***FINAL EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS: (click on the following words)***

• History, Technology

• Our Solar System

• Stars

• Galaxies

STARS and GALAXIES (combined) UNIT

EXPLORING SPACE UNIT

test review questions available at the bottom of this page

Review Questions

1.       Name 4 reasons why ancient civilizations studied the stars

2.       Explain how scientific ideas change over time.  Use the example of the model of the universe, noting the contributions of the following Greek scientists.

a.       Thales

b.      Anaximander

c.       Plato and Pythagoras

d.      Eudoxus and Aristotle

3.       Explain the Ptolemaic model. 

a.       Who developed it?

b.      What is an epicycle?

c.       What is a deferent?

d.      What natural observation was it attempting to explain?

4.       Explain the Copernican Revolution. 

a.       What was it?

b.      Who started it?

c.       What idea was being suggested?

d.      Why was this idea such a big deal?

5.       Explain Kepler’s contributions to our understanding of the universe. 

a.       Whose data did he use for his calculations? 

b.      Which planet did he focus on, why was this a good choice?

c.       Describe his 3 laws. 

d.      What is meant by a planet’s “Period of Revolution”?

e.       What is an ellipse? What are foci?

f.        If I drew an ellipse with an eccentricity of 0.72, what shape would it look like? 

g.       In nature, where is the Sun located within a planet’s orbit?

h.       The Earth’s orbit has an eccentricity of 0.02.  If I drew an ellipse with an eccentricity of 0.07, how could I adjust my tacks to make an ellipse that more closely represents Earth’s?

6.       Explain Galileo’s contribution to our understanding of the universe. 

a.       What discoveries allowed him to prove that the heliocentric model was correct? 

b.      What instrument did he use to make his observations?

c.       What did he think would happen if you dropped 2 balls of different mass?

7.   Explain Parallax

        a. What is it?

        b. How is it used to determine distances to distant stars?

        c. What is the baseline? and why is a longer baseline beneficial?

        d. Why were Brahe and Galileo unable to perceive a stellar parallax? 

8.       Explain Newton’s contribution to our understanding of how the universe works.

a.       State his 3 laws of motion. 

b.      State his law of gravity. 

c.       Complete the following calculations…

i)                   A car is pushed with a force of 462N, and begins to accelerate at a rate of 3.2m/ s².  What is the mass of the car?

ii)             A mass of 90.0kg and a mass of 311kg are positioned such that their centres of mass are 23.5m apart.  Calculate the force of gravity between them.

iii)                 An 88kg astronaut is standing on the moon (g=1.64 m/ s²).  Calculate the weight (F_g) of the astronaut.

9.     Explain how Einstein's idea of gravity differs from Newton's

10.  Telescopes.

a.       What is the difference between refracting and reflecting? 

b.      Name the main parts of a reflecting telescope.  Name the main parts of a refracting telescope.

c.       What are the advantages of a reflecting telescope?

d.      As telescopes developed, they became increasingly larger? Why?

e.       What is the difference between optical and radio telescopes?

f.        What is the big advantage of Space telescopes over land based telescopes?

9.       The Hubble Space Telescope

a.       What did Hubble discover? Why would they name the Hubble space telescope after him?

b.    What was the first problem with the Hubble?

c.     Why have there been servicing missions to the Hubble?

d.     Where is the Hubble?

e.     What has the Hubble discovered?

10.   The Space Race

a.       Why did the Soviet Union and the United States start the Space Race?

b.      What were the 3 goals of the space race? Who won each round?

c.       What was the name of the US program that finally put a person on the moon?

d.      What long term effects did the space race have on our society?

e.     What was the name of the first satellite? First man in space? First woman?

f.     Who were the 3 men involved in the moon landing? When did the landing occur?

11.   Canada in Space

a.       Name the first Canadian astronaut.

b.      Name the first Canadian woman in space.

c.       Why were the Canadians invited into Space with NASA?

d.      Name 3 technologies that Canada has created to explore space.

        12. Space Technologies: Rockets

                a.  What COM and COP? and what role do they play in determining rocket stability?

                b.  Why will the Ares1 be stable even though it has no fins?

Classwork and Homework

SOLAR SYSTEM UNIT