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back using the explanations to see why you were correct or incorrect.
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Earth in the Solar System
1. The ________ and ________ Hemispheres of the Earth experience opposite
seasons.
A. Southern, Eastern
B. Western, Northern
C. Northern, Southern
D. Eastern, Western
2. What type of eclipse occurs if the Earth, Moon, and Sun are in the below order?
A. planetary eclipse
B. lunar eclipse
C. solar eclipse
D. martian eclipse
3. The Sun's gravitational attraction, along with a planet's _______, keeps the
planet moving in a(n) _______ orbit and determines the orbital speed.
A. temperature; linear
B. magnetic field; circular
C. tectonic activity; irregular
D. inertia; elliptical
4. What occurs during a solar eclipse?
A. The Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun.
B. The Moon is exactly as far from the Earth as is the Sun.
C. The Earth is directly between the Moon and the Sun.
D. The Sun is directly between the Moon and the Earth.
5. According to the Law of Universal Gravitation, two objects are attracted to each
other. The greater the total mass of the two objects, the stronger the attraction,
or gravitational force. The greater the distance between the objects, the weaker
the gravitational force.
The orbital speed of a planet is a direct result of the gravitational force between
that planet and the Sun. The greater the force, the faster the speed.
The planet Mercury has a mass that is about 5% of Earth's mass and is the
closest planet to the Sun. Jupiter has a mass more than 300 times greater than
Earth's mass and is the fifth planet from the Sun.
Which of the following explains why Mercury's orbital speed is faster than
Jupiter's?
A. Mercury is faster because it has more mass than Jupiter and is closer to the Sun than
Jupiter is.
B. Jupiter is slowed down by its greater mass, while Mercury's lesser mass makes it
faster.
C. Because it is farther from the Sun than Mercury is, Jupiter is colder and therefore has
a slower orbital speed.
D. Although Mercury has less mass than Jupiter, Mercury is faster because it is closer to
the Sun than Jupiter is.
6. The Earth has four main seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. From the list
below, select the cause(s) for the changes in seasons on Earth.
I. The Earth rotates.
II. The Earth revolves around the Sun.
III. The Earth's axis is tilted.
A. II only
B. III only
C. I only
D. II and III only
7. The diagram below shows positions of the Moon as it orbits the Earth. Half of the
Moon's surface is lit by sunlight no matter what the Moon's position. But the
amount of the lit surface visible from Earth varies with the Moon's position.
Examine the diagram below, and answer the question that follows.
Which phase of the Moon is represented by position 8?
A. waxing gibbous
B. new Moon
C. full Moon
D. waning crescent
8. The diagram below shows positions of the Moon as it orbits the Earth. Half of the
Moon's surface is lit by sunlight no matter what the Moon's position. But the
amount of the lit surface visible from Earth varies with the Moon's position.
Examine the diagram below, and answer the question that follows.
Which of the following pictures shows what the Moon would look like from Earth
at position 1?
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
9. The diagram below shows positions of the Moon as it orbits the Earth. Half of the
Moon's surface is lit by sunlight no matter what the Moon's position. But the
amount of the lit surface visible from Earth varies with the Moon's position.
Examine the diagram below, and answer the question that follows.
Which of the following pictures shows what the Moon would look like from Earth
at position 5?
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
10. During a total lunar eclipse, when the Moon is completely dark, what is the order
of the Sun, Moon, and Earth?
A. Sun, Moon, Earth
B. Moon, Sun, Earth
C. Earth, Moon, Sun
D. Sun, Earth, Moon
11. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the _______ the gravitational force between
them and the _______ the planet's orbital speed.
A. stronger; faster
B. weaker; slower
C. weaker; faster
D. stronger; slower
12. The diagram below shows positions of the Moon as it orbits the Earth. Half of the
Moon's surface is lit by sunlight no matter what the Moon's position. But the
amount of the lit surface visible from Earth varies with the Moon's position.
Examine the diagram below, and answer the question that follows.
Which phase of the Moon is represented by position 7?
A. third quarter
B. waning crescent
C. new Moon
D. full Moon
13. Gravity keeps
A. the Moon in orbit around Earth.
B. moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter.
C. the planet Uranus in orbit around the Sun.
D. all of these
14. Planets in our solar system revolve around the Sun because
A. the Sun is the most massive object in our solar system.
B. the Sun is the brightest object in our solar system.
C. the Sun is the slowest object in our solar system.
D. the Sun is the hottest object in our solar system.
15. The planet Mars has two moons, Deimos and Phobos. Phobos is about 9,000 km
from Mars and is about six times more massive than Deimos. Deimos is about
23,000 km from Mars. Upon which moon does Mars exert a stronger gravitational
force?
A. not enough information
B. Deimos and Phobos equally
C. Phobos
D. Deimos
16. What type of eclipse would occur if the Earth, Moon, and Sun were in the below
order?
A. planetary eclipse
B. lunar eclipse
C. solar eclipse
D. martian eclipse
17. Which of the following is the phase that results when the Moon is on the same
side of the Earth as the Sun?
A. Crescent Moon
B. New Moon
C. Full Moon
D. Quarter Moon
18.
Which of the provided diagrams represents the spacing of the Earth, Moon, and
Sun during a lunar eclipse?
A. Y
B. Z
C. W
D. X
19. One planet and one asteroid are orbiting the same star. These two celestial
objects are about the same distance from the star, but the gravitational force
acting on one is much greater than the other. Which of these would explain this?
A. One object has a faster rotation than the other.
B. One object has greater mass than the other.
C. One object has a greater speed than the other.
D. One object has a smaller diameter than the other.
20. Which of the following can be seen as a result of the Earth's tilt?
I. The seasons change throughout the year.
II. The tides change throughout the day.
III. Daytime is longer than nighttime during the summer than during the
winter.
A. I, II, and III
B. I and III only
C. I only
D. II and III only
21. The farther a planet is from the Sun, the _______ the gravitational force
between them and the _______ the planet's orbital speed.
A. stronger; faster
B. weaker; slower
C. weaker; faster
D. stronger; slower
First Quarter Moon
22.
One of the phases of the moon is named above. Which phase comes next?
A. Full Moon
B. Waxing Gibbous Moon
C. Waxing Crescent Moon
D. First Quarter Moon
23. What keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun?
A. radiation
B. heat
C. gravity
D. magnetism
24. A satellite that is near the Earth is pulled into orbit by its gravity.
The satellite is affected by Earth's gravity because of ___________.
A. Earth's mass and distance from the satellite
B. the lack of gravity by any other planet
C. the distance from the Sun
D. the large attraction to the Sun
25. Which diagram correctly represents the relationship between the Earth and Sun
that causes the changes in seasons on Earth?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
Answers
1. C
2. C
3. D
4. A
5. D
6. D
7. D
8. B
9. A
10. D
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
11. A
12. A
13. D
14. A
15. C
16. B
17. B
18. D
19. B
20. B
21. B
22. B
23. C
24. A
25. C
Explanations
1. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the Earth experience opposite seasons.
As you can see in the diagram above, the Northern Hemisphere is exposed to more
direct rays from the Sun than the Southern Hemisphere. This would correspond to
"northern summer." When the Earth is on the opposite side of the Sun, the Southern
Hemisphere will be exposed to more direct rays from the Sun than the Northern
Hemisphere. This would correspond to "southern summer."
2. If the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs.
An eclipse of the Sun, or solar eclipse, occurs when the Moon's shadow blocks the view
of the Sun from the people on Earth.
3. What keeps a planet moving in orbit is a combination of the gravitational attraction
between the planet and the Sun and the planet's inertia (its continual forward motion).
Without the Sun's gravity, the planet's inertia would send it traveling in a straight line
off into space. Without the planet's inertia, the Sun's gravity would pull the planet in to
collide with the Sun. These two factors combine to form an elliptical planetary orbit
and to determine the planet's orbital speed.
4. During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun.
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth passes directly between the Moon and the Sun,
blocking all light from the Moon.
5. Mercury orbits the Sun much faster than Jupiter does because the gravitational force
between Mercury and the Sun is stronger than the gravitational force between Jupiter
and the Sun. If the two planets were the same distance from the Sun, Jupiter's greater
mass would make its attraction to the Sun stronger than Mercury's. But, because
Mercury is so much closer to the Sun than Jupiter is, Mercury's attraction to the Sun is
stronger than Jupiter's.
Mercury's orbital speed is faster than Jupiter's because Mercury is closer to the Sun
than Jupiter is.
6. The Earth's axis is not perpendicular to its plane of orbit around the Sun. Rather, it is
tilted 23.5° from perpendicular, as shown below.
At any given time, there is a region on Earth that "points toward" the Sun more than
other regions. As a result, this region will experience higher temperatures.
Due to the Earth's tilt, as the Earth revolves around the Sun, the region that
"points toward" the Sun constantly changes. This constant change results in the
changes in seasons throughout the year.
7. Position 8 represents the waning crescent phase. During this phase, less than half of
the Moon's lit surface is visible from Earth, and the lit portion appears on the left side of
the Moon.
8. Position 1 represents the new Moon phase. During this phase, none of the Moon's lit
surface is visible from Earth. The Moon's unlit side can be seen during this phase,
although it is very faint.
9. Position 5 represents the full Moon phase. During this phase, all of the Moon's lit
surface is visible from Earth.
10. The correct order is: Sun, Earth, Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth blocks all
of the Sun's light that would usually reflect off the Moon.
11. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the stronger the gravitational force between them
and the faster the planet's orbital speed. Planets that are closer to the Sun are more
attracted to the Sun and have faster orbital speeds than planets that are farther from
the Sun. Also, a given planet's speed will vary along its orbit as its distance from the
Sun varies.
12. Position 7 represents the third quarter phase. During this phase, half of the Moon's lit
surface is visible from Earth, and the lit portion appears on the left side of the Moon.
13. Planets stay in orbit around the Sun and moons stays in orbit around their planets due
to the attractive force of gravity.
14. All matter exerts a gravitational force. The more mass an object has, the stronger its
gravitational pull. All the bodies in our solar system revolve around the Sun because the
Sun is the most massive object in our solar system.
15. The greater the distance between two objects and the less massive the objects, the
weaker the gravitational force between them. Since Phobos is both closer to Mars and
more massive than Deimos is, Mars has a stronger gravitational effect on Phobos than
on Deimos.
16. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth blocks all of the Sun's light that would usually
reflect off the Moon.
17. The phase that results when the Moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun is
New Moon. During New Moon, the entire lighted surface of the Moon is facing away
from the Earth. Therefore, the Moon is invisible from the Earth.
18. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth passes directly between the Moon and the Sun,
blocking all light from the Moon. This is represented in the diagram by X.
19. The gravitational force between two objects depends on the masses of the objects and
the distance between them. The planet and the asteroid are both about the same
distance from the star, so this does not explain the difference in the gravitational forces.
The difference in the gravitational forces must be due to one of them having a greater
mass.
20. The tilt of the Earth's axis, combined with the Earth's orbit around the Sun, results in
the changes in seasons throughout the year.
It also causes daytime (the number of hours of daylight) to be longer than nighttime
during the summer than during the winter.
21. The farther a planet is from the Sun, the weaker the gravitational force between them
and the slower the planet's orbital speed. Planets that are farther from the Sun are less
attracted to the Sun and have slower orbital speeds than planets that are closer to the
Sun. Also, a given planet's speed will vary along its orbit as its distance from the Sun
varies.
22. The phase of the Moon that follows First Quarter Moon is Waxing Gibbous Moon.
23. A planet stays in orbit around the Sun due to the attractive force of gravity between
these bodies.
24. The satellite is affected by Earth's gravity because of Earth's mass and distance from
the satellite.
An object moves toward the Earth because of its mass and how close the Earth is to the
object. Gravity on the Earth attracts the object and moves it nearer.
25. The Earth's axis is not perpendicular to its plane of orbit around the sun. Rather, it is
tilted 23.5° from perpendicular, as shown below.
At any given time, there is a region on Earth that "points toward" the Sun more than
other regions. As a result, this region will experience higher temperatures. Due to the
Earth's tilt, as the Earth revolves around the Sun, the region that "points toward" the
Sun constantly changes. This constant change results in the changes in seasons
throughout the year.
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