Distances
Gravity
EM
Seasons
Moon
100
The distance that light travels through space in one year. Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km/s or 9.5 trillion km/year.
What is a LY?
100
The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth
What is gravity?
100
The electromagnetic spectrum is all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
100
Seasons are experienced on Earth due to changes in the intensity of sunlight (angle sunlight strikes that part of Earth due to its spherical shape) and the number of daylight hours, which result from the Earth’s rotation on a tilted axis as it revolves around the Sun.
What causes the Earth to experience seasons?
100
As the Moon rotates around the Earth (once every 29.5 days), the portion of the Moon that reflects sunlight back to Earth changes. Thus, the Moon goes through a lunar cycle about once every calendar month
Why do we observe moon phases on Earth?
200
This is the average distance between the Sun and the Earth, which is 150,000,000 kilometers.
What is an AU?
200
The closer celestial bodies are to one another, the greater their gravitational attraction.
How the distance between celestial bodies impacts their gravitational attraction.
200
radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet light, x-rays, and gamma rays
What are the types of electromagnetic waves? (in order of decreasing wavelength):.
200
Since the Earth rotates on an axis that is tilted 23.5 degrees as it revolves around the Sun, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres cannot both be tilted towards the Sun at the same time.
Why are the seasons opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?
200
Tides on Earth are primarily affected by the Moon’s gravity.
What causes the Earth to experience high and low tides daily?
300
Space is too vast to use traditional units of measure, such as kilometers.
Why do we use LY and AU?
300
The greater the mass of the celestial bodies, the greater their gravitational attraction.
How does the mass of two celestial bodies impacts their gravitational attraction.
300
The Sun emits all of electromagnetic waves found the electromagnetic spectrum.
What type of electromagnetic waves are emitted from the Sun?
300
Generally, speaking in summer, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun. In the winter, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun.
With respect to the Northern Hemisphere, what is the relative position of the Earth and Sun in summer, autumn, winter, and spring?
300
Spring tides are extreme high tides. Neap tides are extreme low tides.Spring and neap tides are experienced due to the added positive (spring tide) or negative (neap tide) influence of the Sun’s gravity when the Sun, Earth, and moon are aligned (spring tide) or at a ninety degree angle (neap tide). Spring tides require a full or new moon, and thus occur bi-monthly. Neap tides require a first or third quarter moon, and thus occur bi-monthly.
What causes the Earth to experience spring and neap tides on a bi-monthly basis? How do moon phases influence this?
400
This unit would be used to measure distances between objects in the universe, such as between galaxies, from the Earth to a star, etc.
When would we use LY to measure?
400
The gravitational attraction between the planets and the Sun is greater the closer they are to each other, causing the planet to speed up in its revolution around the Sun.
Explain why planets’ revolve around the Sun and why their speed of revolution increases as they near the Sun.
400
If it were not for the Earth’s atmosphere, all types of electromagnetic waves would reach the Earth’s surface. However, the Earth’s atmosphere prevents some types of electromagnetic waves from reaching the Earth’s surface. For example, carbon dioxide and water vapor absorb much of the infrared radiation and microwaves. The ozone layer absorbs a lot of the ultraviolet light. Oxygen and nitrogen gas in the atmosphere absorb all x-rays and gamma rays.
What type of electromagnetic waves reach the Earth?
400
Areas tilted towards the Sun with the sunlight striking at a more direct angle experience longer days. The equator, which receives sunlight at a more direct angle, has about 12 hours of night and day
How the angle the sunlight reaches the Earth impacts the number of hours of sunlight?
400
As the Moon is directly between the Sun and Earth, and the shadow of the Moon falls on part of the Earth.
What conditions are necessary for a solar eclipse to occur?
500
Time, speed, carrying food and water.
Why are manned space travel limited?
500
The formation of the solar system is thought to have begun 4.6 billion years ago when a cloud of gas and dust collapsed under its own gravity due to the explosion of a nearby star.
What role did gravity play in the formation of our solar system?
500
The higher frequency forms of electromagnetic waves have enough energy to damage living tissue and other materials. Fortunately, most high frequency electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by our atmosphere, never reaching the surface of the Earth. For example, overexposure to ultraviolet light, x-rays, and gamma rays can cause mutation to cellular DNA (increasing the risk of cancer) or massive cell death (leading to the death of the entire organism).
What are some of the dangers associated with electromagnetic waves?
500
Areas tilted towards the Sun with the sunlight striking at a more direct angle experience warmer temperatures than areas tilted away from the Sun with sunlight striking at a less direct angle. and does not experience much fluctuation in temperature.
How the angle the sunlight reaches the Earth impacts average temperatures?
500
Solar eclipses are associated with a new moon, and lunar eclipses are associated with a full moon
How are moon phases associated with solar and lunar eclipses?
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