Earth and Motion
The spinning of the Earth on its 22.5 degree axis.
What is rotation?
An attractive force that pulls objects with mass towards each other.
What is gravity?
The lit part of the moon is increasing.
What is waxing?
List the planets in order from the Sun.
What is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune?
What is the H–R Diagram used for?
To classify stars based on temperature and brightness.
Earth moving around the sun. One cycle is one year.
What are two factors influence the strength of gravity?
Mass and distance.
The lit part of the moon is decreasing.
What is waning?
Name two differences between inner and outer planets.
Inner: small, rocky, closer to Sun;
Outer: large, gaseous, farther away.
Name the four types of galaxies.
Spiral, Barred Spiral, Elliptical, and Irregular. (Lenticular may be taken in lieu of another answer).
Why are seasons caused by Earth’s tilt and not distance from the Sun?
Earth’s tilt changes the angle, duration, and length of sunlight.
Why does the Moon stay in orbit around Earth?
Earth’s gravity pulls it while the Moon’s motion keeps it moving forward.
Does the moon produce its own light?
No, the Moon reflects the Sun's light.
What is weight?
The force of gravity acting on an object. Mass times gravity is weight.
Why is Pluto classified as a dwarf planet?
It has not cleared its orbit.
The scientific name for Earth's tilt.
What is obliquity?
Explain how gravity organizes the solar system.
Gravity keeps planets and moons in predictable orbits.
What is a solar eclipse?
When the Moon is in between the Earth and the Sun, and blocks the Sun's light.
Which changes when gravity changes: mass or weight? Explain.
Weight changes because gravity affects it.
Explain the difference between an asteroid, meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite.
Asteroid = in space, meteoroid= smaller space rock, meteor = burns in atmosphere, meteorite = hits ground.
The scientific word for the amount of solar energy something receives.
Earth is closer to the Sun in January than in July. However, the Northern Hemisphere has winter in January and summer in July. Explain why this happens using Earth’s tilt.
Seasons are caused by Earth’s tilt, not distance from the Sun. In January, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, so it receives less direct sunlight and has winter. In July, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, receiving more direct sunlight and having summer.
Which shadow is the darkest during an eclipse: umbra or penumbra?
Umbra.
Why are the inner planets small and rocky while the outer planets are large and gaseous?
The inner planets formed closer to the Sun where it was hotter, so gases could not condense and only rocky materials formed. Farther from the Sun, it was cooler, allowing gases to form large outer planets.
The Sun is currently a main sequence star. Describe the next three stages in the Sun’s life cycle and explain what happens to the Sun in each stage.
The Sun will become a red giant as it runs out of hydrogen and expands. Next, it will form a planetary nebula when its outer layers are shed. Finally, the core will remain as a white dwarf.