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After the discovery of Uranus, astronomers calculated its orbit and predicted it

ID: 2241299 • Letter: A

Question

After the discovery of Uranus, astronomers calculated its orbit and predicted its position in the sky using Kepler's laws of planetary motion, which had been known since the early 17th century. However, they soon discovered a small discrepancy between the predicted and actual positions of Uranus. As a scientist, what should you do when presented with such a conflict between prediction and observation?

Select all that apply:

think about what else might cause the observed discrepancy or

consider that Uranus may not be a planet

verify that your observations are correct consider whether Kepler's laws need to be modified to account for the new observations

think about what else might cause the observed discrepancy or

consider that Uranus may not be a planet

Explanation / Answer

Select all:

consider whether Kepler's laws need to be modified to account for the new observations

Select all:

consider whether Kepler's laws need to be modified to account for the new observations

verify that your observations are correct consider that Uranus may not be a planet think about what else might cause the observed discrepancy