Ptolemy's geocentric model used epicycles to explain

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Reframing the question helps clarify what Ptolemy was modeling: a geocentric cosmos where Earth remains at the center and the celestial bodies move in complex patterns to match observed motion.
Option 1: 'the motion of the Earth around the Sun' — This would be a heliocentric idea. In a geocentric framework, the Earth does not orbit the Sun, so this option misstates the core problem Ptolemy faced and is therefore incorrect.
Option 2: 'retrograde motion' — This is the phenomenon that epicycles were devised to explain. Planets appear to move backward briefly against the stellar background due to their motion on small circles (epicycles) while they also travel along larger deferents, producing the observed retrograde looping patterns. This aligns with Ptolemy's purpose for introducing epicycles.
Option 3: 'the mass of the planets' — Mass was not a central concern in Ptolemy’s epicycle model. The model aimed to reproduce apparent positions and motions, not to quantify planetary masses, so this option is not the reason epicycles were used.
Option 4: 'why planets rotated around their axes' — Planetary rotation on their own axes is a separate attribute and was not the explanatory aim of epicycles in the geocentric system. Epicycles explain apparent orbital motion, not intrinsic rotation.
Option 5: 'the phases of the Moon' — While lunar phases are a celestial observable, the epicycle concept in Ptolemy’s system was specifically introduced to account for retrograde motion, not to describe Moon phases, making this option incorrect.
In summary, the epicycle construction was a geometric device to reproduce observed retrograde motion within a geocentric model, rather than addressing heliocentric issues, planetary mass, axial rotation, or lunar phases.

ASTRON 2140 AU2025 (23428) Quiz 1 - 2025 Sep 19

Ptolemy's geocentric model used epicycles to explain

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

The primary purpose of describing planetary orbits in terms of epicycles and deferents was to account for the

Retrograde motion of a planet when viewed from Earth is caused by

Planets are retrograde when _____.

How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?

How different is the motion of planets against the motion of stars?

In a consumer society, many adults channel creativity into buying things

Economic stress and unpredictable times have resulted in a booming industry for self-help products

People born without creativity never can develop it

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单