Reasons for the Seasons
Moon Phases
Eclipses
Gravity & Inertia
Miscellaneous
100
The longest day and shortest day of the year.
What is solstice.
100
When the moon is shrinking towards a new moon.
What is waning.
100
The very darkest part of the moon's shadow.
What is umbra.
100
A force that pulls objects towards each other.
What is gravity.
100
A pattern or group of stars that people imagined to represent a figure, animal, or object.
What is a constellation
200
The Earth's north pole is always tilted towards...
What is polaris (the North Star).
200
About how long does it take for the moon to go through one full cycle of phases (new moon to new moon)?
About 28 days.
200
Occurs when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun, blocking sunlight from Earth.
What is a solar eclipse.
200
The tendency of an object to resist a change in motion.
What is inertia.
200
This causes day and night as different sides of Earth face toward and away from the sun.
What is rotation.
300
It is currently winter in Wyoming, which means it is ________ in the southern hemisphere.
What is summer.
300
The amount of the moon that is always lit up (illuminated) by the sun.
What is half.
300
The only moon phase where a lunar eclipse can occur.
What is full moon.
300
The amount of matter in an object.
What is mass.
300
Why don't we see lunar and solar eclipses every month?
Moon's orbit wobbles by 5 degrees so the Moon's shadow and Earth's shadow usually miss each other.
400
How long does it take Earth to complete one revolution? One rotation?
One revolution around the sun is 365 days and one rotation is 24 hours (1 day).
400
The moon phase that is seen when the moon is nearest to the sun.
What is the New Moon.
400
The only moon phase where a solar eclipse can occur.
What is a new moon.
400
Two factors that affect the force of gravity.
What is mass and distance
400
What is a path of totality?
The path the moon's umbra will follow during a solar eclipse (aka where you will see a full solar eclipse).
500
Explain why we experience seasons on Earth.
Earth's seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun. As a result the Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive different amounts of direct and indirect sunlight throughout the year.
500
Why do we see different moon phases from Earth?
As the moon revolves around Earth we see different angles of the half lit up portion resulting in moon phases.
500
Explain why solar eclipses are more rare than lunar eclipses.
The moon is smaller than Earth and casts a smaller shadow making solar eclipses more rare.
500
The Earth revolves around the sun because...
The sun has more mass and more gravity than Earth.
500
We always see the same side of the moon from Earth because...
What is synchronized rotation and revolution of the moon around Earth.
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