Review Questions

Last updated almost 4 years ago
21 questions
1

State Kepler’s three laws in your own words.

1

Why did Kepler need Tycho Brahe’s data to formulate his laws?

1

Which has more mass: an armful of feathers or an armful of lead? Which has more volume: a kilogram of feathers or a kilogram of lead? Which has higher density: a kilogram of feathers or a kilogram of lead?

1

Explain how Kepler was able to find a relationship (his third law) between the orbital periods and distances of the planets that did not depend on the masses of the planets or the Sun.

1

Write out Newton’s three laws of motion in terms of what happens with the momentum of objects.

1

Which major planet has the largest . . .

semimajor axis?

1

Which major planet has the largest . . .

average orbital speed around the Sun?

1

Which major planet has the largest . . .

orbital period around the Sun?

1

Which major planet has the largest . . .

eccentricity?

1

Why do we say that Neptune was the first planet to be discovered through the use of mathematics?

1

Why was Brahe reluctant to provide Kepler with all his data at one time?

1

According to Kepler’s second law, where in a planet’s orbit would it be moving fastest? Where would it be moving slowest?

1

The gas pedal, the brakes, and the steering wheel all have the ability to accelerate a car—how?

1

Explain how a rocket can propel itself using Newton’s third law.

1

A certain material has a mass of 565 g while occupying 50 cm3 of space. What is this material? (Hint: Use Table 3.1.)

1

To calculate the momentum of an object, which properties of an object do you need to know?

1

To calculate the angular momentum of an object, which properties of an object do you need to know?

1

What was the great insight Newton had regarding Earth’s gravity that allowed him to develop the universal law of gravitation?

1

Which of these properties of an object best quantifies its inertia: velocity, acceleration, volume, mass, or temperature?

1

Pluto’s orbit is more eccentric than any of the major planets. What does that mean?

1

Why is Tycho Brahe often called “the greatest naked-eye astronomer” of all time?

Please take the time to check out the source for this material from Openstax if you plan to use this in your lesson plan!: https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-review-questions