When you have completed this chapter you should be able to: 1. Outline the scientific method.
2. Explain why the scientific method has been more successful than other approaches to understanding the universe.
3. Distinguish between a law and a theory.
4. Discuss the role of a model in formulating a scientific theory.
5. Give the reason why Polaris is the heavenly body that remains most nearly stationary in the sky.
6. Define constellation.
7. Tell how to distinguish planets from stars by observations of the night sky made several weeks or months apart.
8. Compare how the ptolemaic and copernican systems account for the observed motions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars across the sky.
9. Explain the significance of Kepler's laws.
10. State why the copernican system is considered correct.
11. Define day and year.
12. Define fundamental force.
13. Explain why the earth is round but not a perfect sphere.
14. Explain the origin of tides.
15. Explain in terms of the scientific method why the discovery of Neptune was so important in confirming the law of gravity.