National Institute of Physics
College of Science
UP Diliman
Physics 10: 1st Long Exam Study Guide
Expect that at most 60% of the exam score will be from objective type questions (e.g. true or false, multiple choice,
matching type, identification, etc.). At least 40% of the exam is of essay type. The exam will cover the following
topics.
Topic 1 Science and Physics
How is the definition of Man (human being)
discussed in class? How is this related to the
emergence of the sciences? What is science?
What is the role of the human intellect in
discovering realities that are beyond his senses?
What is scientific research in relation to the truth.
Do we create truth or we discover truth?
How is physics, as a science, related to other
sciences as a systematic body of knowledge? How
is our sciences related to Platos idea of explaining
the shadows? Describe the role of scientific
research in the life of Man and the human society.
Why would publishing a scientific discovery/idea to
peer reviewed journals important?
Describe the five diagnostic features suggested by
E.O. Wilson in his book Consilience: the Unity of
Knowledge that distinguish science from
pseudoscience?
State the seven accepted (Earth-shaking) facts/
statements according to the contemporary Physics.
Topic 2 Ancient Greeks view of the universe.
Why humans did believe that the earth is the center
of the Universe? Which ancient Greek concepts of
science/reality more or less remained valid to this
day? What are the main features of the ancient
Greeks two-domain view of the Universe? How
are these two domains different from another?
Describe Ptolemys model of the Universe. What
philosophy inspired these ancient Greeks to hold
on such descriptions? Which specific features of
the model support such philosophical biases?
Relate Ptolemys devices to these philosophical
biases.
What was the role of the development of
technology in the the eventual decline of Ptolemaic
model of the Universe? Which early Greek
philosophies are still valid even to the sciences of
today?
Topic 3.1 Alternatives to the Ptolemaic Universe
Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the
Copernican model against those of the Ptolemaic
model. Compare and contrast the Copernican and
Ptolemaic explanations of the planets retrograde
motion (may need to diagram/sketch). Describe
why there were at least two versions of the
Copernican model.
Why was the Copernican model of the universe
hardly acceptable initially? What are the
philosophical/ theological objections to the model?
Explain the legitimacy of the objections to the
model using the status of sciences then. Which
assumptions were proven wrong within the
Copernican model?
How different is Tycho Brahes proposed model
from the Copernican model? What are the basis for
the acceptability of the Tychonic model?
Topic 3.2 Moving the Earth
Cite new astronomical observations that led to the
weakening support for the Ptolemaic model.
Discuss the role of Brahes work in supporting the
Copernican revolution.
What is the significant role of Kepler to the science
we know today? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of Keplers model of the universe?
Which philosophical ideas were somehow retained
by Keplers laws of planetary motion?
What is the significance of the works of Galileo in
the weakening of support for the Ptolemaic model
of the universe? Enumerate the celestial
observations of Galileo that disproves the early
Greek beliefs.
Sketch the different models of the Universe
(Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe) )highlighting the
similarities and differences between them at least
with respect to planets (e.g. Mars), the moon Luna,
and the sun Sol.
How are the works of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe,
Kepler, Galileo and Newton connected in explaining
the heavens. Why do you think the previous
realizations are necessary for the discovery of the
next? Were there errors? What ideas were
consistently held to be true?
Topic 4 From qualitative to quantitative science
Describe how Galileo theoretically explained the
rate of fall of two objects with unequal masses.
Describe his experiments to prove the same. How
did Galileo arrive at his statement of the Law of
Inertia experimentally? What are the factors that
Galileo knew affecting inertia experiments. How is
Galileos inertia different from Newtons?
Mention names of persons who contributed to
further crystalize the ideas in mechanics.
State Isaac Newtons Three Laws of Motion using
your own words. How are each of the laws of
motion possibly interpreted as discussed in class?
Are there other laws or principles that may be more
fundamental?
Topic 5&6 Newtons universe: Mechanics and Gravity
Galileo observed that objects fall at a constant
acceleration regardless of their mass. Newtons
theory of gravitation is consistent with this
observation. How does Newtons theory on motion
account for this observation?
In Newtons theory of universal gravitation, he
argued that the moon Luna must be falling towards
the earth. Why has it not collided with earth yet?
How did he come to realize that Luna must be
constantly being pulled towards the Earth?
How is Keplers laws of planetary motion significant
to Newtons physics? With his laws of Mechanics
and Gravitation, how did Newton finally settled
the two-domain view of the Universe?