Download Study Guide for Quiz on Astronomy: The Moon, Sun and Stars

Name __________________________ Class Period ________
Date _______________
Study Guide for Test on Astronomy: The Universe and Our Solar System
1.
What causes day and night on Earth?_____________________________________________
2. Earth’s rotation on its axis takes about_________. It’s revolution around the sun takes _______________.
3. What 2 forces combine to keep the planets in orbit? a) keeps planets from spiraling into space ______________
b) keeps planets revolving around the sun ______________
4. Is a light-year a unit of time? Explain. ______________Why?____________________________.
5. At what point in the evolution of a star is the star actually born?
6. What is Hubble’s law?
7. The most common chemical element in a star is? ___________________
8. If a star dies and explodes, it becomes a _____________________________________
9. An object in space that has a long orbit and is made of ice, dust and gases is called a(n)_________
10. Objects that originate between Mars and Jupiter and are made of metal or rock and can be very large are ________
11. All stars begin their lives as parts of__________________________________
12. What force pulls together the matter in stars?_________________________________
13. What property determines how long a star lives? ____________________________________
Short Answer:
14. What is a galaxy?____________________________________________________________
15. What is the Big Bang Theory? _______________________________________________________
16. What is the most common type of star in the Milky Way galaxy?
______________________________________________
17. How is distance measured in the universe? __________________________________________
18. In which galaxy do we live? __________________________________What kind of galaxy is it? ___________
At what location in our galaxy is our solar system?________________________
19. Which planet is considered Earth’s twin due to its size? _____________________________Besides its diameter,
what else does it have in common with Earth? _______________________________________
20. What is the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor and a meteorite?______________________________
21. The solar system consists of ____________________________________________________
22. What did Galileo observe about Venus that led him to his theory of the heliocentric system?
___________________________________________________________________________
23. Before Galileo’s refining of the telescope, what did early astronomers think was the center of the solar system?
________________________________________________________________
24. What was this system called? ____________________________________________________
25. Which are the terrestrial (inner) planets? __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
26. Which are the gas giants? ______________________________________________________
27. _______________________ are chunks of ice and dust with long elliptical orbits.
28. Describe the life of a main sequence star.
29. What is parallax?
30. How are gas giants similar to one another?
31. How are terrestrial planets similar to one another?
32. What is the difference between comets, meteors, and asteroids?
33. Why does Mercury have very little atmosphere?
34. Why can astronomers see the surface of Mars clearly but not the surface of Venus?
35. Why is Venus hotter than Mercury when Mercury is the 1st planet from the sun and Venus is the 2nd planet from the
sun?
Essay Question: Explain your place in our Universe? (5 pts)
Remember to include the eight planets in order from the inner to the outer from the sun and give at least one unique
characteristic about each planet?
Suggested vocabulary: primeval atom, life cycle of a star, the big bang, heliocentric, geocentric, galaxy, solar system,
nuclear fusion, inner planets, outer gas giants, medium sized star, etc…
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