Ancient Astronomy Quiz

Why may have ancient cultures studied astronomy?

• For timekeeping purposes

• For timing agriculture (planting and harvesting)

• For astrology or religion

• For historical record keeping

• All of the above

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Which of the following is the best description of Stonehenge?

• It was a sophisticated, scientific astronomical observatory that was capable of predicting the position of Mars.

• It was a basic solar calendar that matched up to every day of the year.

• It was a basic solar calendar that aligned with the sun on summer solstice and winter solstice (probably for religious purposes).

• It was a basic clock that measured the hours of the day using the Sun and shadows.

What was the biggest problem/phenomenon in the sky that astronomers tried to explain using different models?

• parallax

• changes in brightness of stars

• how the sun rises

• retrograde motion of planets

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What did Eratosthenes do that was a significant advancement in the study of astronomy?

• He found that the solar system was heliocentric.

• He measured the distance to the Moon.

• He measured the distance to the Sun.

• He measured the size of the Earth.

The Ptolemaic model of the solar system was

• Geocentric

• Heliocentric

• Neither

Which of the following ancient instruments could be used to directly measure the time of day?

• Stonehenge

• An astrolabe

• A compass

• A sundial

Of the following historical models of the solar system, circle all that were geocentric.

• Aristotle’s

• Ptolemy’s

• Copernicus’s

• Eudoxus’s

• Kepler’s

How did the Ptolemaic model of the solar system try to explain the retrograde motion of Mars?

• In this model, the planets traveled on two rings at the same time (the deferent and the epicycle).

• In this model, the planets orbited the Sun.

• In this model, Earth’s back and forth motion caused the retrograde motion we see.

• In this model, Mars would orbit in the opposite direction around the Sun.

According to Aristotle and the Ptolemaic system,

• the moons is the center of the universe, and the Earth revolves around it.

• the Earth revolves around the moon, and the moon revolves around the sun

• the Sun, Earth, and Moon all revolve around Saturn, the sun god

• the earth is fixed at the center of the universe and the sun and planets revolve around it in circular orbits

How did later astronomers determine the exact date of the historical eclipse?

• By analyzing the calculations made by Thales of Miletus

• By combining data of ancient events with contextual knowledge

• Herodotus, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great all recorded the same date

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