Final answer:
An observer on the near side of the Moon would not witness Earth rise due to the Moon's tidal locking with Earth. The Sun would rise once every 29.5 Earth days, Earth never sets from a fixed location on the near side, and stars would be visible during the lunar night for about 14.75 Earth days. Option b is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
On the near side of the Moon, an observer would not witness an Earth rise because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth. This is why a person positioned at the crater Copernicus on the Moon's near side would always see the Earth in the sky, assuming their view is not obstructed by lunar terrain.
The answer to the student's question is: b) False, an observer on the near side of the Moon would not witness Earth rise. This is due to the synchronous rotation of the Moon, where it takes the same amount of time to rotate on its axis as it does to orbit Earth, resulting in the same hemispheres of the Moon and Earth always facing each other.
Regarding the frequency of the Sun rise on the Moon, it would occur once a lunar day, which is equivalent to about 29.5 Earth days. Regarding the Earth set, it would never happen since Earth is always in the same spot in the sky from any fixed location on the near side of the Moon.
Lastly, stars could be seen whenever the sky is dark enough, which would be during the lunar night, or when the Sun is below the horizon as seen from the lunar surface. This would be approximately half of the lunar day, or roughly 14.75 Earth days.