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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Isaac Newton was intrigued by whose theories on inertia and the solar system?
(a) Plato's.
(b) Descartes'.
(c) Claudius Ptolemy's.
(d) Aristotle's.

2. In trigonometry and geometry, what is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly?
(a) Triangulation.
(b) Astronomy.
(c) Chronometry.
(d) Alchemy.

3. In what country is Stonehenge located?
(a) England.
(b) India.
(c) France.
(d) Germany.

4. As far back as Ptolemy, geography was employed as an aid in the study of what, according to the author in Chapter 3: "The Discovery of the Earth"?
(a) Astronomy.
(b) Cosmology.
(c) Triangulation.
(d) Heliocentricism.

5. Who wrote a paper entitled, "The Sand Reckoner"?
(a) Claudius Ptolemy.
(b) Pontius Pilate.
(c) Archimedes.
(d) Aristarchus.

6. The reawakening of interest in the cosmos was sparked by the age of exploration, beginning with whose travels to China in the thirteenth century?
(a) Marco Polo's.
(b) Plato's.
(c) Claudius Ptolemy's.
(d) Eudoxus'.

7. What foremost astronomer of the sixteenth century proved Aristotle wrong in 1577?
(a) Tycho Brahe.
(b) John Calvin.
(c) Plato.
(d) Archimedes.

8. The Great Pyramid of Giza was aligned to what, according to the author in Chapter 1: "The Dome of Heaven"?
(a) The moon.
(b) A star.
(c) Uranus.
(d) Venus.

9. Newton invented a new telescope that employed a mirror rather than what for the collection of light?
(a) A metal rod.
(b) A sphere.
(c) A radio.
(d) A lens.

10. Copernicus and Kepler measured the distances of the solar system which were expressed in what?
(a) Particles.
(b) Bosons.
(c) Astronomical units.
(d) Leptons.

11. When did Galileo Galilei die?
(a) 1666.
(b) 1697.
(c) 1642.
(d) 1710.

12. Most of Copernicus's work was unpublished until his death because he feared what?
(a) Retribution from his wife.
(b) Retribution from the Church.
(c) Retribution from his family.
(d) Retribution from the scientific community.

13. What is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines?
(a) Micrometer.
(b) Chronometry.
(c) Parallax.
(d) Cartography.

14. What was the epicenter of the burgeoning interest in seaward adventures, according to the author in Chapter 3: "The Discovery of the Earth"?
(a) Sumeria.
(b) Rome.
(c) Greece.
(d) Sagres.

15. When did Christopher Columbus depart on his journey to the New World?
(a) 1515.
(b) 1496.
(c) 1492.
(d) 1624.

Short Answer Questions

1. With advancements in clocks and the development of better maps, astronomers attempted to triangulate what planets?

2. American Indians lost in the woods could find their way with the help of whom, according to the author in Chapter 3: "The Discovery of the Earth"?

3. Galileo was appointed as a professor of mathematics at what institution?

4. As a physicist, Galileo attempted to bring physics into the discovery of what?

5. In what year did Bartholomeu Diaz round the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip if Africa?

(see the answer keys)

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