Earth's Gravitational Forces
Gravity pulls objects ____________.
down/toward the center of its core
True or false: if it is 3 p.m. in your town, then that means it is 3 p.m. everywhere.
False
A group of stars that make a shape or picture when seen is a called a _______.
constellation
We would not experience the change in season - there would likely be one constant season we experienced
If you were swinging on a swing and gravity suddenly stopped working, what would happen?
You would fly off into space/you would not come back down like normal
What is an axis?
An imaginary line that goes through earth's north pole, center, and south pole.
True or false: if you look at the night sky, you will see the same stars throughout the entire night.
False - as the earth rotates, different stars become visible in the night sky
It takes the moon ______ days to complete one cycle
29.5 days
True or false: objects of different masses fall at the exact same speed.
True
As earth rotates, the side of earth that faces the sun experiences _______ while the side of earth that faces away from the sun experiences ______.
day; night
high in the sky (noon); rising or setting
In Australia, summer occurs during the months of ___________
December-February
Why does the moon stay in orbit and not get pulled down to the center of the earth?
It's orbiting at the right velocity - not too slow to where it gets pulled down, but not too fast to where it shoots off into space.
1 revolution around the sun takes ________ days.
365 days, which is equivalent to 1 year
We learned the Mayans built a special pyramid in Mexico that cast a shadow on the steps. It gave the appearance that a serpent was coming down the steps during the spring and fall equinoxes.
Why were the Mayans able to predict the exact dates of spring and fall equinox?
Because certain patterns in nature repeat themselves.
Earth is tilted at about ______ degrees on its axis.
23.5
True or false: earth has a stronger gravitational pull than the sun.
False - our sun has a much greater mass, so it has greater gravitational force than the objects that revolve around it. As a result, the gravity of the sun holds earth and other objects in their orbit.
When the ______ hemisphere tilts away from the sun, we experience winter. When the ______ hemisphere tilts toward the sun, we experience summer.
Hint: these blanks are the same word
northern
crescent
(Phases of the moon)
The term _______ means to decrease in size or visibility; grow smaller.
The term _______ means to increase in size or visibility; grow bigger.
waning; waxing