a. Consider the order in which the various objects were arranged by distance from the Earth.
-Why was the Moon placed closer to the Earth than the Sun, what would be a direct observational consequence if this were not the case?
The Moon was placed closer to Earth than the Sun because of Solar Eclipses
-Why do you think Mars was placed closer to Earth than Jupiter?
Mars was placed closer than Jupiter because it appeared to move faster across the sky
-Why would the stars be the most distant "sphere"?
The stars appeared to be an unmoving background for the planets to move across
b. Why was it necessary for Ptolemy to turn the orbits into epicycles, rather than single circles?
Epicycles help to explain retrograde motion
c. Can Ptolemy's model account for solar and lunar eclipses? explain.
Ptolemy's model says that Solar and Lunar eclipses should occur once a month, his model does not take into account that the Moon's orbit is not in the exact same plane as Earth's orbit.
d. Briefly discuss the contributions from at least one other Greek Philosopher/Scientist who came before Ptolemy and also contributed some important knowledge on the solar system and the Earth.
Eratosthenes - Estimated Earth's Circumference
Plato - cosmological idea that the universe is made of concentric spheres on which Ptolemy's system is based
Hipparchus - measured Moon's orbital period, measured distance and sizes of the Sun and Moon, made calculations of occurances of eclipses
...and many more