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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What theorized that the spiral and elliptical nebulae were clouds of gas that were forming new stars?
(a) The Tychonic system.
(b) The "island universe."
(c) The "nebular hypothesis."
(d) Quantum mechanics.

2. When was William Herschel born?
(a) 1920.
(b) 1738.
(c) 1819.
(d) 1845.

3. The first step in the exploration of intergalactic space was taken by what mathematician?
(a) Aristotle.
(b) John Harrison.
(c) Johann Lambert.
(d) Jean Richer.

4. What is the second premise of "On the Origin of Species"?
(a) Survival is based on the process of natural selection.
(b) Living creatures create more off-spring than nature can support.
(c) Survival is based on nature versus nurture.
(d) There are variations within species.

5. What refers to one of the extremely small constituents of matter, as an atom or nucleus?
(a) Retrograde motion.
(b) Particle.
(c) Micrometer.
(d) Parallax.

6. One element of quantum physics was that one could either determine where a particle was or its what?
(a) Quantum mechanics.
(b) Trajectory in motion.
(c) Chronometry.
(d) Alchemy.

7. Kant first became interested in space travel after reading a review of what philosopher's book?
(a) Plato's.
(b) John Harrison's.
(c) Thomas Wright's.
(d) Aristotle's.

8. What is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation?
(a) Particle physics.
(b) Triangulation.
(c) Heliocentricism.
(d) Cartography.

9. According to the author, there may have been a short period during which the universe expanded more rapidly than before or after. This concept is referred to as what theory?
(a) The special theory of relativitiy.
(b) The general theory of relativity.
(c) The Tychonic system.
(d) The inflationary universe theory.

10. Which astronomer discovered that some nebulae had spiral structures?
(a) John Calvin.
(b) William Parsons.
(c) Tycho Brahe.
(d) James Keeler.

11. What established a linear time-line in history?
(a) Christianity.
(b) Asceticism.
(c) Islam.
(d) Humanism.

12. Who elevated spectroscopy to an exact science?
(a) Mikolai Kopernik.
(b) Joseph Fraunhofer.
(c) William Parsons.
(d) Nicole Oresme.

13. According to the author in Chapter 19, what has obliterated the barrier between man and animal by proving that we all originate from the same source?
(a) Quantum physics.
(b) Astrophysics.
(c) Darwinian evolution.
(d) Black holes.

14. In Chapter 15, the author writes that physicists learned that when an electron was elevated into a higher orbit, it moved from lower to higher orbit without what?
(a) Gaining momentum.
(b) Gaining or losing energy.
(c) Traversing the intervening space.
(d) Gaining or losing heat.

15. When was Charles Darwin born?
(a) 1902.
(b) 1798.
(c) 1853.
(d) 1809.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who estimated that the existence of over one hundred thousand such spiral nebulae was possible?

2. What is a member of a class of very luminous variable stars?

3. The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of what century?

4. Who wrote, "The greatest of all the accomplishments of twentieth-century science has been the discovery of human ignorance"?

5. Where was René Descartes born?

(see the answer keys)

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