Quiz on Galileo

In which Italian city did Galileo spend most of his teaching career?

• Padua ✓ (Correct answer)
• Naples
• Milan
• Turin

Source: Galileo later called his 18 years teaching at Padua the happiest of his life.

What kind of instrument did Galileo famously improve and point at the sky?

• Microscope
• Telescope ✓ (Correct answer)
• Barometer
• Sundial

Source: He didn't invent it, but his refined version revealed mountains on the Moon.

Which planet's four largest moons did Galileo discover?

• Mars
• Venus
• Jupiter ✓ (Correct answer)
• Saturn

Source: Those four moons are still called the Galilean moons today.

Which model of the universe did Galileo defend?

• Earth-centered
• Moon-centered
• Star-centered
• Sun-centered ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Backing Copernicus over the Earth-centered view put him on a collision course with Rome.

Which institution put Galileo on trial in 1633?

• The royal court
• The university
• The Inquisition ✓ (Correct answer)
• The city council

Source: He was found 'vehemently suspect of heresy' and forced to recant.

What was the verdict's punishment for Galileo after his trial?

• Public execution
• House arrest ✓ (Correct answer)
• Exile abroad
• Years in prison

Source: He spent his final years confined to his villa near Florence.

What feature did Galileo observe on the surface of the Moon?

• Flowing rivers
• Green forests
• Craters and mountains ✓ (Correct answer)
• Active volcanoes

Source: A rough, cratered Moon shattered the idea of perfect heavenly spheres.

Which phases did Galileo observe on the planet Venus?

• Color shifts
• Crescent to full ✓ (Correct answer)
• Ring changes
• Surface storms

Source: Venus showing phases like the Moon proved it orbits the Sun, not Earth.

In which country did Galileo live and work his entire life?

• Spain
• Germany
• France
• Italy ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Though Italy wasn't yet a unified nation, he moved between its city-states.

What did Galileo reportedly drop to study how objects fall?

• Glass bottles
• Weighted balls ✓ (Correct answer)
• Iron chains
• Wooden planks

Source: The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa demonstration is likely a later legend.

Which scientific field is Galileo most credited with founding through experiment?

• Modern chemistry
• Modern biology
• Modern geology
• Modern physics ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Einstein called him the father of modern science for trusting experiment over authority.

What did Galileo conclude about how fast objects of different weights fall?

• Heavier falls faster
• At the same rate ✓ (Correct answer)
• Lighter falls faster
• Depends on shape

Source: Ignoring air resistance, a feather and a hammer hit the ground together.

Galileo timed a swinging lamp using what as his clock?

• A sand timer
• A water drip
• His own pulse ✓ (Correct answer)
• A church bell

Source: He noticed a pendulum's swing takes the same time regardless of its width.

Which book got Galileo summoned before the Inquisition in 1633?

• Dialogue on Two World Systems ✓ (Correct answer)
• Starry Messenger
• The Assayer
• On Motion

Source: His character 'Simplicio' voicing the Pope's views did not help his case.

Which natural force did Galileo wrongly believe caused ocean tides?

• Earth's motion ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Moon's pull
• Underwater winds
• Sea temperature

Source: He dismissed the Moon's role, a rare major error for him.

What did Galileo discover the Milky Way is actually made of?

• Countless stars ✓ (Correct answer)
• Glowing gas
• Reflected sunlight
• Distant comets

Source: His telescope dissolved the milky band into a swarm of individual stars.

Which famous astronomer was Galileo's correspondent and supporter of Copernicus?

• Johannes Kepler ✓ (Correct answer)
• Tycho Brahe
• Isaac Newton
• Edmond Halley

Source: The two championed the Sun-centered view from different corners of Europe.

Which odd-looking feature of Saturn confused Galileo's early telescope?

• Its rings ✓ (Correct answer)
• Its red spot
• Its moons
• Its tilt

Source: His blurry view made the rings look like two 'ears' or handles beside the planet.

Which patrons did Galileo honor by naming Jupiter's moons after them?

• The Medici family ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Borgia family
• The Sforza family
• The Este family

Source: He called them the 'Medicean stars' to win a powerful court appointment.

Whose laws of motion later built directly on Galileo's work on falling bodies?

• Isaac Newton ✓ (Correct answer)
• Robert Hooke
• Christiaan Huygens
• Blaise Pascal

Source: Newton was born the same year Galileo died, inheriting his foundation of physics.