History & Origins of the Universe
True or False: The Big Bang Theory states that the universe formed 13.7 billion years ago when a tiny, infinitely dense, hot point containing all matter exploded
True
True or False: All the planets of the Solar System have satellites except Venus and Mars
False
True or False: We always see the same side of the Moon from Earth
True
True or False: The gravitational pull of both the Moon and Sun affects tides
True (although more due due to Moon)
True or False: Daylight savings occurs on different days in the U.S. and Spain
True
Spain --> Sun, Mar 30, 2025 – Sun, Oct 26, 2025
U.S. --> Sun, Mar 9, 2025 – Sun, Nov 2, 2025
What is the geocentric model AND who was responsible for this theory?
What is the Asteroid belt and where is it located?
Area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that has a lot of asteroids (small rocky bodies orbiting the Sun)
What are the four most abundant elements that make up Earth? (in order from biggest to smallest mass)
Iron (32%), oxygen (30%), silicon (15%), and magnesium (14%)
What is an Umbra?
Umbra is the shadow caused by a solar eclipse, it is cast by the Moon onto the Earth but does not darken the planet's entire surface
When was dark energy discovered?
a) 1902
b) 1988
c) 1998 (the year Julia was born, she is old)
d) 2000
c) Julia is old
How much of the universe is made up of ordinary matter?
5%
Name the planets in order from closest to the Sun to farthest
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Come to the board and draw a waning moon
Select the true statement below regarding Eclipses:
a) Can be partial or total
b) One celestial body conceals another celestial body
c) "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler is a famous English love song
d) All of the above are true
What does NASA stand for?
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Define dark matter
non-observable matter that affects gravitational forces, makes up 27% of the universe
Which of the following is NOT a dwarf planet?
a) Makemake
b) Ceres
c) Pallas
d) Haumea
e) they are all dwarf planets
c) Pallas
it is an asteroid!
Explain the two main effects of Earth's rotation
1) succession of day & night -->Sun illuminates different parts of the Earth as the planet rotates, because the axis is tilted the duration of days and nights vary based on distance to poles and changes over the course of the year
2) apparent movement of the Sun and other celestial bodies that we see from Earth --> it looks like these objects are traveling across the sky from East to West when in reality our planet is turning in the opposite direction
Explain the difference between a solar eclipse and lunar eclipse
Solar eclipse --> Moon comes between the Earth and Sun, the Moon projects a shadow onto the Earth, the shadow moves as Earth turns
Lunar eclipse --> Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, prevents the Moon from reflecting sunlight...from Earth we see a shadow (the Earth's shadow) cover the moon which takes on a reddish color...visible from any part of the Earth that is facing the Moon at the time of the eclipse
How long is a day on Mars?
24 hours, 30 min, 35 seconds
Explain the most commonly accepted hypothesis about what will happen to the future of the universe
The universe will never end because it is expanding faster and faster. However the galaxies will get farther apart and there will come a point that the distances between them will be so big that they will have moved beyond observable space
Complete the following on the Sun:
a) mass is 300,000 OR 30,000 times greater than Earth
b) diameter is 1.7 million km OR 1.4 million km
c) surface temperature of 4,500 C OR 6,000 C
d) beginning of its life OR middle of its life
e) takes 25 OR 27.3 days to complete one rotation on itself
f) takes 100 OR 200 million years to orbit the center of the Milky Way
a) 300,000x
b) 1.4 million km
c) 6,000 C
d) middle
e) 25 days
f) 200 million years
Explain the two main effects of Earth's orbit
1) the succession of the seasons --> b/c of tilted axis and orbit around Sun, the amount of solar radiation striking each of the two hemispheres varies throughout the year...amount of radiation depends on latitude, most variation at the poles and least at the equator
2) length of day -->over the course of the year there are two solstices, where the difference between day and night is at its maximum and equinoxes where they have the same length
When is the next solar eclipse? (hint: it will happen before you finish the school year)
March 29, 2025
What kind of precipitation occurs on Venus? (hint: it's an acid)
sulfuric acid