Final answer:
In the heliocentric model, epicycles were not utilized to explain retrograde motion; this is a False statement. The concept of epicycles was central to Ptolemy's geocentric model, whereas Copernicus' heliocentric model did away with the need for epicycles to describe planetary motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
To address the question of whether epicycles were invented to explain retrograde motion in the heliocentric model, the answer is False. Epicycles were not invented for the heliocentric model but were a critical feature of the geocentric or Ptolemaic model, as described by Ptolemy. In Ptolemy's geocentric model, each planet revolved in a small orbit called an epicycle, and the center of the epicycle revolved around Earth on a larger circle called a deferent. This system was able to replicate the observed retrograde motion of planets by having a planet move westward at a certain speed and time when it was in a specific position in its epicycle.
In contrast, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model, where he posited that Earth is one of several planets orbiting the Sun, thus eliminating the need for epicycles to explain retrograde motion. Copernicus was able to explain the complex retrograde motions of the planets without epicycles and developed a roughly correct scale for the solar system.