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MTEL General Curriculum Practice Exam

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The work of Nicolaus Copernicus in astronomy led to a fundamental shift in thinking about the place of humans in the universe. The philosophical importance of Copernicus's work was based on his discovery that:
  1. The planets revolved around the sun, challenging the widely accepted idea that the earth was at the center of the cosmos.
  2. The solar system was extremely old, challenging religious beliefs of his day concerning the age of the earth.
  3. The orbit of the planets was elliptical, countering the idea that the planetary orbits were perfectly circular.
  4. The stars were similar to the sun, challenging the belief in the uniqueness of the solar system.
Explanation
Correct Response: A. Nicolaus Copernicus first proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system, in which the planets revolved around the sun, in the mid-1500s.   Until that time it was widely believed that the earth was the center of the cosmos.   Copernicus's writings did not focus on the age of the universe (B), the shape of planetary orbits (C), or the similarities between the sun and other stars (D).
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