Orbits & Motion
The Moon & Tides
Gravity & Weight
Laws of Physics
Wildcard
100

Planets closer to the Sun orbit ________ than planets farther from the Sun

faster
100

During a first or third quarter Moon, Earth experiences this specific type of tide.

neap tide

100

Which would change if you traveled to the Moon: your mass or your weight?

your weight

100

Finish this statement of Newton's 1st Law: An object at rest __________

remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion unless acted on by an external force

100

The first picture of the day of this year was a picture of _____________

the SMC and LMC

200

When the radius of a spinning object decreases, its speed does this to conserve angular

What is increase?

200

When the Moon’s rotation rate matches its revolution around Earth, we see only this.

One side of the moon

200

The amount of matter in an object is called ______.

mass

200

This scientist formulated the universal law of gravitation.

Isaac Newton

200

Which meteor showers are happening now?

The Taurids

300

Newton revised Kepler's 3rd Law so that if you know how far away an object is orbiting and how much time it takes to orbit, then you can determine the _______ of the object being orbited.

mass

300

The Moon’s distance from Earth increases by a few centimeters each year due to this process.

tidal friction

300

This quantity changes depending on gravity and is what you actually “feel” as heaviness.

weight

300

Angular momentum stays the same when no external ____ acts on an object.

torque

300

Who convinced Newton to publish his work on gravity and orbits?

Halley
400

An example of a bound orbit

Ellipse, or circle

400

How many high tides and how many low tides are there in most places on Earth in a 24 hour period?

Two high tides and two low tides

400

Astronauts orbiting Earth feel “weightless” because they’re in continuous _____.

free fall

400

Which of Newton's Laws states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction?

Newton's Third Law

400

Today's moon phase

Waxing gibbous