Physics 7 homework #1

        Due 4/7/09

  1. Mr. A proposes that the world came to be precisely on August 8 1983 at 3 PM, and that it was created with all the details we observe. For example, all the fossils were created and the elements in those fossils were created so as to give the impression that they are millions of years old.
    1. This is a perfectly valid scientific theory because it explains everything
    2. This is not a scientific theory because it is not falsifiable
    3. This is a good hypothesis that can be easily tested
    4. This is a valid scientific hypothesis even though it does not comply with Occam’s razor  
  2. Pythagoras' claim that we  do not hear the "music of the spheres" because
    1. The music is too quiet
    2. We are so used to it we do not notice
    3. Human ears cannot perceive it, only dogs and such
    4. It is blocked by the atmosphere
  3. In which of the following statements Ockham’s razor is not used?
    1. Buy our new vegetable oil Moozola made from herbs cows like! This produce is shown to have half the cholesterol of other oils [supported by a bona-fide reference to  an accurate study]
    2. Reelect candidate Joe Doe! During his tenure school-children grades went up 20% in all standardized assessments [grades did go up, though he completely ignored schools during his term]
    3. If you do not exercise you will die younger [supported by numerous accurate studies]
    4. Travel Aero-Maybe! We might not get there, but it’s cheap! [no comment]
  4. If Aristotle were to observe a helium balloon that is partly deflated and hovers at a height of 3 feet he would
    1. Be very puzzled as it does not fall towards earth
    2. Be very puzzled as it does not rise towards the heavens
    3. Conclude that it is partly fire and partly earth and the tendency of one to rise and the other to fall are balanced
    4. Would conclude that there must be another element that neither rises not falls.
  5. An astronaut grabs a rock form Earth, flies to the Moon and, once there, he lets go of the rock. According to Aristotle, what would happen after he lets go of it?
    1. It will start circling the Moon
    2. It will fall towards the moon’s surface
    3. It will fly off into space
    4. It will fall towards the Earth
  6. The difference between hypothesis and theory is that
    1. A hypothesis is necessarily absolutely true, but a theory is not
    2. A hypothesis is usually wrong.
    3. A theory is necessarily absolutely true, but a hypothesis is not
    4. A theory is a hypothesis that has been confirmed by experiments and observations
  7. Attempting to determine general rules form observations and experiments is
    1. Characteristic of the deductive approach
    2. Characteristic of the inductive approach
    3. Similar to the inductive approach provided the observations are done by scientists
    4.  A new method of inquire completely different form the inductive and deductive approaches
  8. According to Ockham’s razor which of the following situations should be considered fraudulent?
    1. The claim of an astronomer that knowing the laws of gravity allows him to hypothesize the manner in which all celestial  bodies move
    2. The claim of a psychologist that knowing how certain individuals react to situations of stress allows him to propose ways of inferring whether a person is stressed or not by observing his/her behavior.
    3. The claim of a Babylonian priest that his ability to predict eclipses gives him magical power over all of Nature
    4. The claim of a Babylonian priest that observations of previous eclipses allow him to predict the dates at which future eclipses will occur.
  9. One particular advance associated with the ideas of the early Greeks concerning Nature was that,
    1. That there are no gods
    2. There are predictable rules that explain to natural phenomena.
    3. That the gods are always unpredictable
    4. That religion must be reconciled with science
  10. Aristotle worry watching the Apollo spacecraft go to the Moon because
    1. He believed that there is nothing in space and so the spacecraft cannot be there.
    2. The spacecraft is moving upward instead of downwards
    3. It is not moving at infinite speed
    4. There is no air in space and he believed that noting can move where there is no air