Download 1. The length of a day or night period changes with the seasons

Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Effects of the Sun and Moon on Earth
1. The length of a day or night period changes with the seasons most places on Earth. Which day is the one on
which the day and night periods are the same length for every place on Earth?
a) perihelion (January 3)
b) aphelion (July 4)
c) solstice (December 21–22 or June 21–22)
d) equinox (September 22–23 or March 20–21)
2. What is one reason why the angle at which the Sun's rays strike Earth's surface affects temperature and
climate where they strike?
a) Less sunlight reaches Earth's surface when it strikes at an angle than when it strikes directly because
the sunlight has to travel farther to reach the surface, and some light is lost.
b) More energy from sunlight reaches Earth's surface when the rays strike at an angle than when they
strike directly because the rays move more quickly through Earth's atmosphere at an angle, and they have
less time to be reflected or absorbed.
c) More sunlight reaches Earth's surface when it strikes at an angle than when it strikes directly because
less sunlight is deflected or absorbed by objects and the atmosphere.
d) Less energy from sunlight reaches Earth's surface when the rays strike at an angle than when they
strike directly because the sunlight has to travel through a greater thickness of atmosphere, and some light
is deflected or absorbed as it passes through.
3. When the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first used a telescope to study the night sky, he discovered one
thing that helped dispel both the idea that Earth was the only center of motion in the universe and the idea
that if Earth were to revolve around the Sun, Earth's Moon would be left behind. Which discovery could
this have been?
a) the discovery that Venus has phases like those of the Moon
b) the discovery that the Moon's surface was not a smooth glass sphere but had features like those of
Earth
c) the discovery that the Sun had sunspots that traveled around it, showing a rotational pattern
d) the discovery of the four major moons of Jupiter
4. What occurs when the Moon moves directly between the Sun and Earth?
a) solar eclipse
b) full moon
c) new moon
d) lunar eclipse
PAGE 1
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Effects of the Sun and Moon on Earth
5. The Sun's tide generating potential is about how many times the Moon's?
a) ¼
b) 4
c) 2
d) ½
6. The tidal cycle creates two bulges on opposite sides of Earth one on the side of the planet nearest the
Moon, and another on the opposite side. What force creates a bulge on the side of Earth opposite the Moon?
a) the Moon's gravity
b) the Moon's orbit around Earth
c) Earth's orbit around the Sun
d) Earth's gravity
7. How is Earth's circumference different from that of a perfect sphere?
a) The circumference is greater through the poles than it is around the equator.
b) The circumference stretches out on the side facing the Moon.
c) The circumference stretches out on the side facing the Sun.
d) The circumference is greater around the equator than it is through the poles.
8. What shape is Earth's orbit around the Sun?
a) hyperbola
b) circle
c) parabola
d) ellipse
9. The Moon completes a full rotation once every _____.
a) 24 hours
b) 56 days
c) 27.3 days
d) 28 days
PAGE 2
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Effects of the Sun and Moon on Earth
10. During a solar eclipse, what is the darkest part of the Moon's shadow called?
a) mascon
b) precession
c) penumbra
d) umbra
PAGE 3
ANSWER KEY
1.. d
2.. c
3.. d
4.. a
5.. d
6.. a
ANSWER KEY Page 1
7.. d
8.. d
9.. c
10.. d