Religion & the Natural Sciences is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 Religion Studies CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Geocentric theory holds that:
The Earth is stationary at the centre of the universe, with other bodies orbiting around it
The sun is at the centre of the solar system, with the Earth orbiting around it
The universe has no centre at all
The Earth orbits the moon
Answer: The Earth is stationary at the centre of the universe, with other bodies orbiting around it — Geocentric theory, historically dominant in much of the ancient and medieval Western world, held that the Earth is stationary at the centre of the universe, with the sun, moon, planets and stars orbiting around it.
Easy
2. Who proposed heliocentric theory in its modern form in the sixteenth century?
Nicolaus Copernicus
Charles Darwin
Ptolemy
Galileo Galilei
Answer: Nicolaus Copernicus — Heliocentric theory was proposed in its modern form by Nicolaus Copernicus in the sixteenth century, and was later supported by observational evidence and further developed by astronomers including Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler.
Medium
3. What is the scientific study of the origin, structure and evolution of the universe called?
Answer: Cosmology — Cosmology is the scientific study of the origin, structure and evolution of the universe, addressing questions such as how the universe began and developed.
