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144 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
T/F According to Lennox, faith is belief without evidence.
False
T/F According to Lennox, the doctrine of a creator God who is responsible for the existence and order of the universe has played an important role in the rise of modern science.
True
T/F Galileo Galilei was a Christian.
True
By Galileo's own account (in his letter to the Grand Duchess Christina), who was trying to influence church authorities to speak out against him?
Aristotelian academics
T/F According to Lennox, Galileo was never tortured, and most of his 'house arrest' was spent in luxurious private residences.
True
T/F In the famous 1860 Oxford debate over evolution, Bishop Wilberforce argued that Darwin's theory should be abandoned because it was incompatible with scripture.
False
T/F According to Lennox, several atheist scientists were persecuted by the church during the Scientific Revolution.
False
T/F In the assigned reading, one of Lennox's central illustrations involves a horrific zombie attack.
False...unfortunately
T/F Lennox argues that faith plays a foundational role in science.
True
Which of the following are vector quantities (as opposed to scalar quantities)?
-speed
-velocity
-acceleration
-mass
-force
-velocity
-acceleration
-force
The force of gravity on an object is called:
weight
T/F Due to the force of gravity, the moon is accelerating toward the earth as it orbits.
True
The paired forces in Newton's third law
act on different objects.
T/F The total momentum of a system doesn't change unless the system is acted upon by an external force.
True
Which law states that the velocity of an object will not change unless the object is acted upon by an unbalanced force?
Newton's First Law
What is the gravitational force (in newtons) on a 10 kilogram rock near the earth's surface?
98 N (9.8 m/2^2 X 10kg)
Which of the following is a conserved quantity (i.e. a quantity that does not change in an isolated system)?
-weight
-force
-momentum
-velocity
-momentum
Both mass and electric charge are:
Fundamental properties and associated with fundamental forces
T/F Coulomb's law and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation have very similar mathematical forms.
True
T/F No matter how you cut a magnet in half, each half will have its own north and south poles.
True
According to Maxwell's equations, what happens when a charged object moves through a magnetic field?
It experiences a force
T/F A change in the electric field can induce a change in the magnetic field, and vice versa.
True
The relationships between electric and magnetic fields are described by:
Maxwell's equations
Which of the following are fundamental properties?
-weight
-mass
-charge
-color
-mass
-charge
The sound of a car seems to change pitch as it drives past. This shift frequency is due to:
the Doppler effect
According to James Clerk Maxwell's theory, light consists of:
waves of alternating electric and magnetic fields
The laws of classical mechanics (Newton's laws and Maxwell's equations) are deterministic. In one or two sentences, explain what that means.
Given the state of the world at any given time, the laws fully determine the states of the world at all other times. In Laplace's words: "We may regard the present state of the univer as the effect of its past and the cause of its future."
The laws of classical mechanics are time-symmetric, in the sense that anything they permit to happen is also permitted to happen in reverse. Why is that puzzling? (A one or two sentence answer may suffice.)
Many ordinary phenomena never happen in reverse. (Examples: ice melts in warm water but never spontaneously freezes in warm water; air leaks out of a pressurized tire but never leaks back in; thinks break but never spontaneously re-assemble, and so on.)
What do visible light, x-rays, and radio waves have in common? They:
are all forms of electromagnetic radiation, are all transverse waves, all travel at the same speed.
Which of the following has the shortest wavelength, highest frequency, and highest energy?
-Microwave radiation
-Gamma radiation
-Ultraviolet light
-Visible light
-Gamma radiation
Why is the sky blue? Hint: The answer has to do with which wavelengths of light are scattered most easily.
Shorter wavelengths of light are scattered more than longer wavelengths as they pass through the atmosphere, so blue/violet light is scattered across the sky more than other colors.
Einstein rejected the claim that:
our intuitions about adding and subtracting velocities are correct.
T/F Neither classical mechanics nor Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity fully satisfy the Principle of Relativity, since both imply that the laws hold only for inertial (non-accelerated) reference frames.
True
T/F According to Special Relativity, the distances between events and the times between events both depends on the observer's frame of reference.
True
T/F Whether two events have timelike, lightlight, or spacelike separation is an objective matter, independent of the observer's reference frame.
True
If it is possible to get from one event to another travelling slower than the speed of light, the two events:
have timelike separation
T/F According to Special Relativity, when two events occur within each other's light cones, there is no objective fact of the matter about which event occurred first.
False
According to Special Relativity, in order for one event to cause another, the two causally-related events must:
occur within each other's light cones
Suppose an alien spaceship were to zoom past the earth at a constant velocity close to the speed of light. What is not predicted by Special Relativity?
From the aliens' perspective, our clocks are running too fast.
T/F According to the General Theory of Relativity, the apparent "force" of gravity is due to the curvature of spacetime near massive objects.
True
Which of these following geodesics through spacetime, according to General Relativity? (circle all that apply.)
-electromagnetic waves
-planets orbiting the sun
-apples falling from trees
-rockets accelerating through space
-electromagnetic waves
-planets orbiting the sun
-apples falling from trees
Which of the following is not a prediction of General Relativity?
-Light from distant stars bends as it passes near a massive galaxy
-Light emitted near very massive objects is red-shifted (shifted to a lower frequency)
-An object's gravitational mass can vary while its inertial mass remains constant
-Time slows down near very massive objects
-An object's gravitational mass can vary while its inertial mass remains constant
T/F Einstein's Theories of Relativity support relativism, the view that there are no absolutes
False
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and Lorentz's aether theory are empirically equivalent. In one or two sentences, explain what that means.
Two theories are empirically equivalent if (and only if) they give exactly the same predictions about all possible observations. (In other words, there is no possible experiment or observation that could determine which of the two theories is correct.)
Issac Newton thought of space itself as a physical object - a sort of container in which physical processes take place. On his view, there is an objective fact of the matter about whether something is really moving or at rest. Newton's contemporary, Gottfried Leibniz, argued for an opposing view called relationalism, according to which there is no absolute space; objects only move in relation to each other. Briefly explain the "spinning bucket" argument that Newton gave in reply to Leibniz.
Newton thought that the notion of absolute space was required to explain the behavior of water in a spinning bucket. Leibniz's relationalist view implies that there is no fact of the matter about whether water in the bucket is really rotating. But that can't be right, Newton pointed out, because there is a physical difference: the surface of the water takes on a concave shape when it rotates, so there must be a fact of the matter about whether it is really rotating.
According to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), "science is limited to explaining the natural world by means of natural processes" and is "precluded from making statements about supernatural forces, because these are outside its provenance." This statement by the NSTA expresses the controversial view called:
methodological naturalism
Who was first to suggest that for each chemical element there is a corresponding type of atom?
John Dalton
Which subatomic particles were first to be discovered? (Hint: They were discovered in the late 1800's by J. J. Thomson, who was experimenting with cathode ray tubes.)
electrons
What conclusion did Ernest Rutherford draw from his experiment with gold foil?
Most of the mass of a gold atom is concentrated in a tiny positively-charged nucleus.
T/F The Rutherford model of the atom can't be correct, because as electrons orbit the nucleus they would give off energy and lose momentum, falling into the nucleus.
True
Which of the following is not true in Bohr's model of the atom?
-Electrons can behave as particles and as waves
-Each electron shell can hold an unlimited number of electrons
-Electrons absorb specific amounts (quanta) of energy when they jump to higher shells
-Electrons emit specific quanta of energy as electromagnetic radiation when they fall to lower shells
-Each electron shell can hold an unlimited number of electrons
The first row of the periodic table only as two elements (hydrogen and helium). This is because:
the rows of the periodic table correspond to electron shells, and the first shell only has room for two electrons.
(All three questions relate to each other)

Fluorine is the seventh element in the second row of the periodic table (atomic number 9). When a fluorine atom is not chemically combined with anything, how many electrons does it have, and how many of those are valence electrons?

Lithium has atomic number 3. Will lithium gain an electron or lose an electron when it reacts with fluorine?

Oxygen has atomic number 8. When lithium burns (i.e. combines with oxygen), how many lithium atoms combine with each oxygen atom?
Total number of electrons: 9
Number of Valence electrons: 7

It will lose an electron.

2
Which fundamental force is responsible for for chemical reactions?
electromagnetism
Which type of chemical bond is formed when atoms give away or accept electrons on "permanent loan"?
ionic bonds
Which type of chemical bond is formed when electrons are shared by any atoms and are free to flow?
metallic bonds
Which type of chemical bond is formed when electrons are shared by clusters of neighboring atoms called molecules?
covalent bonds
T/F Plasmas are good conductors of electricity.
True
At the subatomic scale, matter and energy come in discrete (non-continuous) amounts called:
quanta
T/F Electrons and other subatomic particles can behave like waves, creating interference patterns in certain kinds of experiments (eg. double-slit experiments).
True
T/F It is possible to measure the state of a subatomic particle without thereby changing the particle's state.
False
T/F According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the more precisely you measure the position of a particle, the less precisely you can measure its velocity at that time, and vice versa.
True
T/F When a particle doesn't have a definite position, velocity, or other measurable property, it is said to be in a superposition of all the possible states.
True
T/F According to the original formulation of quantum mechanics (the Copenhagen interpretation), the state of a system at any given time may not correspond to definite values of observable properties like position or velocity; but whenever an observable property is measured, the system suddenly has a definite value for the measured variable.
True
Which aspect of quantum mechanics seems to violate relativity, as pointed out by Einstein and his colleagues Podolsky and Rosen? (This is the so-called EPR paradox.)
entanglement
Who proved that no hidden-variable theory can give the same predictions as quantum mechanics, unless it violates either locality or determinism?
John Bell
Which quantum theory holds that particles are guided by "pilot waves" that can travel faster than light?
Bohm's theory
Which three interpretations of quantum mechanics hold that a system in a superposition can "collapse" into a definite measurable state, violating the Schrodinger Equation in a chancy, non-deterministic way? (Circle 3)
-Bohm's theory
-The Copenhagen interpretation
-The von Neumann/Wigner interpretation
-The Ghitardi-Rimini-Weber (GRW) interpretation
-Everett's "many worlds" interpretation
-The Copenhagen interpretation
-The von Neumann/Wigner interpretation
-The Ghitardi-Rimini-Weber (GRW) interpretation
Which view holds that successful scientific theories provide true (or at least approximately accurate) representations of the unobservable entities and processes that are causally responsible for what we observe?
realism
T/F Two atoms of the same element can have different numbers of protons.
False
T/F If two atoms have different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons, they are different isotopes of the same element.
True
When atomic nuclei join together to form a larger atom, this is called nuclear:
fusion
T/F Some electrical power plants are powered by heat from the nuclear fission of uranium and other radioactive elements.
True
T/F Carbon-12 and carbon-14 (two isotopes of carbon) behave differently in chemical reactions.
False
The half-life of carbon-14 is the amount of time it takes for:
approximately half of a large collection of carbon-14 atoms to decay
According to the Standard Model (the currently accepted theory of particle physics), all matter in the universe is comprised of which two types of fundamental particles?
quarks and leptons
T/F For each type of matter particle, there is a corresponding type of antiparticle (particle of antimatter) with the same mass but opposite electromagnetic properties.
True
What happens when an electron and a positron collide?
The annihilate each other, converting their mass into light
According to the Standard Model, forces are mediated by an exchange of:
gauge particles
According to the Standard Model, light is comprised of massless particles called:
photons
Which of the following is not one of the four fundamental forces?
-centrifugal force
-electromagnetism
-gravity
-strong force
-weak force
-centrifugal force
Which two fundamental forces have very short ranges, and hence aren't noticeable at the macroscopic scale?
-centrifugal force
-electromagnetism
-gravity
-strong force
-weak force
-strong force
-weak force
Which force holds together the nucleus of the atom?
-centrifugal force
-electromagnetism
-gravity
-strong force
-weak force
-strong force
Which force is involved in chemical reactions?
-centrifugal force
-electromagnetism
-gravity
-strong force
-weak force
-electromagnetism
What methods do astronomers use to calculate the distance to a star? (Circle all that apply)
-They use geometry to triangulate the distance to nearby starts from parallax (the apparent shift in a star's position relative to more distant stars).
-They use radar to bounce radio waves off of distant stars, and time how long it takes for the radio waves to return.
-They compare the apparent brightness of a standard candle (e.g. a Cepheid variable) with its known actual brightness to estimate how far it is.
-They use geometry to triangulate the distance to nearby starts from parallax (the apparent shift in a star's position relative to more distant stars).
-They compare the apparent brightness of a standard candle (e.g. a Cepheid variable) with its known actual brightness to estimate how far it is.
A large interstellar cloud of dust and gas is called a(n):
nebula
T/F Large starts run out of nuclear fuel more quickly than small stars.
True
What is left after the outer layers of a typical red giant dissipate?
white dwarf
According to the presently accepted theory, most of the heavy elements (elements other than hydrogen and helium) that comprise our planet were formed by:
shock waves in a supernova
If a neutron star is large enough, it forms a:
black hole
The farther away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from the earth (as detected by redshift due to the Doppler effect). This correlation is called:
Hubble's law
Which of the following is not generally regarded as evidence for the Big Bang?
-the expansion of the universe
-the abundance of helium and hydrogen
-the scarcity of antimatter
-the cosmic microwave background radiation
-the scarcity of antimatter
Which of the following contribute least to the total mass of the universe?
-ordinary matter
-dark matter
-dark energy
-ordinary matter
If the total mass of the universe is great enough, the universe may end with a "Big Crunch." This possibility is called:
a closed universe
Which of the following principles is sometimes thought to explain why the universe is fine-tuned for life? (Hint: Both of the readings argued that this principle - by itself - does not provide an explanation at all. In order for the principle to be applied legitimately, one has to assume that there are very many universes, making it likely that at least some of them are finely tuned for life. The principle then implies that we shouldn't be suprised to find ourselves in one of the life-permitting universes, even though such universes are rare.)
The Anthropic Principle
T/F According to the reading, Copernicus's heliocentric model was initially rejected by some Christians, because several scripture passages seemed to suggest that the sun moves and the earth does not.
True
T/F According to Lennox, if we believe that scripture has primary authority, then we cannot use science to decide between different possible interpretations of scripture.
False
Who wrote a book entitled "On the Literal Meaning of Genesis," in which it was argues that "it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing" for non-believers to hear a Christian "talking nonsense" about scientific topics, especially when "they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions"?
Saint Augustine of Hippo
T/F "Ancient-earth" interpretations of Genesis were first proposed by theologians in the 20th century who wanted to reconcile the Biblical creation story with the Big Band and evolutionary biology.
False
T/F All of the early church fathers (including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria) assumed the "days" of the Genesis creation account were ordinary 24-hour days.
False
T/F On Lennox's own view, the initial creation event ("the beginning") took place before the "first day" of the Genesis account.
True
T/F Lennox suggests that the six "days" of creation might have been ordinary 24-hour days that were separated by long periods of time.
True
According to the reading, the term 'evolution' is sometimes associated with the claim that the mechanisms or processes responsible for producing biological complexity are non-intelligent, purposeless, and completely naturalistic. This thesis referred to in the reading as:
the blind watchmaker thesis
According to the reading, which view holds that the earth is billions of years old, and that God acted supernaturally at various times throughout those billions of years to create new "kinds" of living creatures?
progressive creationism
According to the reading, which of the following views usually includes a commitment to methodological naturalism?
theistic evolutionism
T/F Advocate of "theistic science" claim that when Christians engage in scientific research, they should consult all they know or have reason to believe is relevant - including their theological beliefs.
True
ID theorist William Dembski argues that forensic scientists and other scientific investigators are rationally obligated to conclude that an event (e.g. someone's death) was brought about intentionally (not by accident) if the event was contingent, had a small probability of happening, and also had a special characteristic called:
independent specifiability
The natural elimination of hereditary traits that do not promote survival and reproduction, and the preservation of traits that do, is called:
natural selection
T/F The hypothesis that the simplest life forms had arisen spontaneously from nonliving matter (and that all other life forms had developed from them) was first suggest b Charles Darwin.
False
Charles Darwin suggested that biological evolution is driven by:
natural selection
The hypothesis that all living organisms on Earth have a common ancestor is called:
universal common descent
Mendel studied patterns of inheritance in pea plants and discovered some remarkable regularities. When he fertilized the flowers of true breeding tall pea plants (plants that always produced tall offspring) with pollen from true breeding short pea plants (plants that always produced short offspring), all of the hybrid offspring were tall. However, when he bred those hybrid plans together, 3/4 of their offspring were tall and 1/4 were short. Mendel hypothesized the traits (physical characteristics) are passed from parents to offspring by genes (units of inheritance), which may be dominant or recessive. How did Mendel's theory of dominant and recessive genes explain the patterns he observed with the pea plants?
Each of the offspring receives two genes that determine its height, one gene from each parent. In the first generation of hybrid plants, each of the offspring received one tall gene (from the true breeding tall parent) and one short gene (from the true breeding short parent). All of those first-generation hybrid plants were tall, because the tall gene is dominant.

In the second generation fo hybrid plants, however, any combination of tall and short genes is possible. There are four possibilities: tall genes from both parents, tall gene from father and short gene from mother, short gene from father and tall gene from mother, or short genes from both parents. Since the tall gene is dominant, only the fourth possibility (short genes from both parents) yields a short plant; hence 3/4 of the second-generation hybrids were tall and only 1/4 were short.
T/F In a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the Dover Area School District, the ACLU argued that Intelligent Design Theory is just as scientific as the theory of evolution, and therefore should be taught in public schools.
False
T/F Monton argues that there is almost universal agreement among scientists that methodological naturalism is necessary for genuine science.
False
Monton argues that although many proponents of Intelligent Design Theory (IDT) are theists, IDT itself is not inherently theistic.
True
The view that "science is the only way to truth and it can, at least in principle, explain everything" is called:
scientism
What was the central point of Lennox's "Aunt Matilda's cake" illustration?
Science cannot answer certain kinds of 'why' questions.
Lennox challenges what claim with the "Ford motor car" illustration?
The existence of God is an unnecessary hypothesis, since science can explain how the universe works without mentioning God.
The (unknown) process by which the first living organism came from nonliving matter is called:
abiogenesis
What famous experiment in 1952 showed that amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) could be formed from non-directed processes?
The Miller-Urey experiment
The doctrine that God created the universe and life is called:
Creationism
T/F Intelligent Design Theories hold the best explanation for certain features of the universe as a whole and/or the best explanation for certain features of living things is that those features were designed.
True
To account for gaps in the fossil record, evolutionary paleontologists Eldredge and Gould proposed a hypothesis according to which significant evolutionary change occurs only rarely and is very rapid when it occurs. They call it:
punctuated equilibrium
Within a living cell, there are many specialized parts (e.g. the nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes), each with specific functions. These functional subunits are called:
organelles
Most scientists reject the idea that the first living organism was formed by an improbable chance collision of molecules. The commonly held view is that the first living organism originated by some unknown (but not too improbable) natural process. However, Roger White argues that we have no good reason to reject the "improbable chance collision" hypothesis unless we:
consider the possibility that the first living organism was designed
(Do not have enough space the whole question)

Part 1
In class, we discussed four kinds of evidence for neo-Darwinism:
1. There are documented cases of descent with modification in the natural world
2. All biological organisms pass their characteristics on to their offspring via the genetic code in DNA, which can mutate.
3. The DNA of an organism is usually very similar to that of its (supposed) ancestors
4. The fossil record provides evidence that living things today are the products of descent with modification from earlier living things

We also discussed objections that might be raised in response to each of these types of evidence. Briefly explain one such objection.
1. Observed cases of descent with modification involve microevolutionary changes, not macroevolutionary changes.
1. There are serious problems with extrapolating from microevolution to macroevolution.
2. Although modern genetic theory has discovered a plausible mechanism by which transitions between species could occur, having a plausible mechanism is not the same as supporting neo-Darwinism over the alternatives (which need not deny the existence of mechanism).
2. Mutations are rarely beneficial, and the probability of significant "innovations" forming by way of random mutations is extremely low (even over long timescales).
(Do not have enough space the whole question)

Part 2
In class, we discussed four kinds of evidence for neo-Darwinism:
3. The DNA of an organism is usually very similar to that of its (supposed) ancestors
4. The fossil record provides evidence that living things today are the products of descent with modification from earlier living things

We also discussed objections that might be raised in response to each of these types of evidence. Briefly explain one such objection.
3. The fact that living organisms have similar genetic codes does not really seem to favor neo-Darwinism over any of the main alternatives. (There is no difficulty in supposing that God used the same design plan over and over again when creating, for instance.)
3. There are significant "gaps" in the fossil record, especially in the supposed transitions between significantly different life forms.
4. The fossil record seems to suggest that most new kinds of organisms appear abruptly, but there is no known natural process or mechanism by which such rapid change could occur.
4. There has been little progress toward solving the problem of abiogenesis (i.s., the problem of explaining how the first living organism could have been produced by merely natural processes).
How much work is done when raising a 1 kilogram rock 1 meter (Assume the rock is near the earth's surface.)
9.8 joules
Which has the greatest kinetic energy?
-a 1 kilogram rock with a velocity of 5 m/s
-a 5 kilogram rock with a velocity of 1 m/s
-they have the same kinetic energy
a 1 kilogram rock with a velocity of 5 m/s

KE=.5 x mass x speed^2
As an apple falls from a tree, its gravitational potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. When the apple lands on the ground, what happens to that energy?
It is converted into heat
T/F The temperature of an object is the total amount of heat (thermal energy) it has.
False
Which of the following has the most heat?
-a cup of hot coffee
-a gallon of boiling water
-a frozen lake
a frozen lake
T/F Kinetic energy can be converted into chemical potential energy.
True
The first law of thermodynamics states that:
the total energy in a closed system does not change
Which of the following is not a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics?
-Heat does not flow spontaneously from a body of lower temperature to a body of higher temperature
-No engine can convert heat energy to work without using two reservoirs of different temperatures
-Ice doesn't spontaneously freeze out of lukewarm water
-Gas doesn't spontaneously contract to one side of a box
-The entropy of a closed (isolated) system often decreases
-The entropy of a closed (isolated) system often decreases
The entropy of a system is a measure of:
how many possible microstates are compatible with its thermodynamic condition
Which of the following laws is not time-symmetric?
-Newton's First Law
-Newton's Second Law
-The First Law of Thermodynamics
-The Second Law of Thermodynamics
-The Second Law of Thermodynamics
T/F In his essay "The Demise of the Demarcation Problem," Laudan argues that scientists and philosophers have underestimated the importance of the distinction between scientific and unscientific claims about the world.
False
Who was the first to propose demarcation criteria for distinguishing science from nonscience?
Aristotle
Which philosopher of science claimed that scientists use deductive and inductive logic to derive theories from empirical data in a purely objective way?
Francis Bacon
Which view holds that scientific theories can be objectively falsified but not confirmed?
Falsificationism
No matter how much empirical data we collect, there will always be infinitely many possible theories consistent with that data. This is called the:
underdetermination problem
Is a refrigerator a closed (isolated) system? Why or why not?
"Yes" and "No" answers may both be marked correct, as long as they are appropriately explained. When a refrigerator isn't running (and the door is closed), it is an isolated system because it is well-insulated and therefore doesn't exchange matter or energy with its environment. (At least, not much.) When it is running or when the door is open, however, it is not a closed system because it is exchanging a significant amount of energy with its environment (via the electrical power cord.)
Explain the main objection to the claim that theories can be objectively falsified by the hypothetico-deductive method.
Testable predictions cannot be deduced from a scientific theory by itself. In order to derive a prediction from a scientific theory, you also need information about initial conditions, and about how your measuring apparatus and sensory organs work. So, if the prediction turns out to be incorrect, this doesn't necessarily show that the theory is false. The problem may instead lie with the information about initial conditions, or with the auxiliary hypotheses about how the measuring apparatus works, etc.