What Prevented Ole Rømer from Calculating an Accurate Value for the Speed

question 199

Multiple Choice

What prevented Ole Rømer from calculating an accurate value for the speed of light from his measurements of the delays in eclipse times of Jupiter's moons?

• A) The dimensions of the solar system, particularly the length of 1 AU, were known only very inaccurately.
• B) Telescopes were not good enough at that time to show Jupiter's moons clearly, and accurate timings were not therefore possible.
• C) The distance between Earth's orbit and Jupiter's orbit was unknown.
• D) The clocks available at that time were not sufficiently accurate.

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Definitions:

Kinetic Energy

The energy that a body possesses due to its motion, dependent on the mass of the body and the square of its velocity.

Allosteric Site

A site on an enzyme other than the active site, to which a specific substance binds, thereby changing the shape and activity of the enzyme. Compare with active site.

Receptor Site

specific regions on a cell's surface or within the cell where molecules such as hormones, drugs, or neurotransmitters can bind to elicit a response.

Coupling

In biology, the process of linking two molecules together, often used in reference to chemical reactions or genetic recombination.