Category 1: Earth’s Seasons –
100: What causes the seasons on Earth?
Answer: The tilt of Earth’s axis.
100: What is the degree of Earth's axial tilt?
Answer: 23.5 degrees.
100: What force keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun?
Answer: Gravity.
100: Which planet has the strongest gravity in our solar system?
Answer: Jupiter.
100: Which force keeps Earth in orbit around the Sun, allowing seasons to occur?
Answer: Gravity.
200: How many seasons does Earth have?
Answer: Four.
200: True or False: Earth is closer to the Sun during summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Answer: False.
200: Who discovered that gravity affects all objects with mass?
Answer: Isaac Newton.
200: What would happen to Earth if the Sun’s gravity suddenly disappeared?
Answer: Earth would fly off into space in a straight line.
200: Does Earth’s gravity affect the Sun?
Answer: Yes, but the Sun's gravity is much stronger.
300: What season does the Northern Hemisphere experience in December?
Answer: Winter.
300: What is the name for the two days when day and night are of equal length?
Answer: Equinox.
300: What two factors affect the force of gravity between two objects?
Answer: Mass and distance.
300: What is the force that causes tides on Earth?
Answer: The Moon’s gravitational pull.
300: What role does gravity play in keeping Earth tilted as it orbits the Sun?
Answer: Gravity stabilizes Earth’s rotation and orbit.
400: During which season are days the longest in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: Summer.
400: How long does it take Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun?
Answer: One year or 365.25 days.
400: What direction does gravity pull objects?
Answer: Toward the center of the Earth (or the center of mass).
400: Why is your weight less on the Moon than on Earth?
Answer: The Moon has less mass and therefore weaker gravity.
400: If Earth’s gravity suddenly became stronger, how might that affect the seasons?
Answer: It could change Earth’s orbit, possibly altering season lengths or severity.
500: What is the name of the day when Earth’s axis is tilted most toward or away from the Sun?
Answer: Solstice.
500: What is the shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun?
Answer: Elliptical.
500: Why do astronauts in orbit appear weightless?
Answer: They are in free fall around Earth, creating microgravity.
500: What keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth?
Answer: Earth’s gravity.
500: What connection is there between gravity and Earth's axial tilt, which causes seasons?
Answer: The gravitational pull from the Moon and Sun helps stabilize Earth’s tilt over time.