What time is it? (Day/night)
How many hours does it take for the Earth to complete one full rotation on its axis?
24 hours
How many days does it take for the Earth to complete one full revolution (orbit) around the Sun?
365.25 days
What is the name of the attractive force that keeps planets and moons trapped in a continuous path known as an orbit?
Gravity
True or False: The Moon produces its own light like a star.
False; it only reflects the light of the Sun
What is the name of the event when the Moon moves directly between the Earth and the Sun?
A Solar Eclipse
In Canada, in which direction would you expect to see a sunrise?
East
What is the exact angle of the Earth’s tilt on its axis that causes us to experience seasons?
23.5 degrees
What is the general term for any object (natural or artificial) that orbits a larger object in space?
A satellite
What do we call the phases of the Moon when the lit portion we see from Earth is getting larger?
Waxing
What do you call the lightly shaded outer part of the shadow during a partial eclipse?
The penumbra
In what specific direction does the Earth rotate when viewed from above the North Pole?
Anticlockwise (or from west to east)
Name a country that will be experiencing summer right now.
(Must name a country that is in the Northern hemisphere and not be near the equator)
On average, how many "Earth diameters" away is the Moon from the Earth?
30 Earth diameters
During a new moon phase, the Moon appears dark because:
It lies between the Sun and the Earth so that we can only see its shadowed side
If the Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, why do we not experience a solar and lunar eclipse every single month?
Because the Moon’s orbit is at a slight angle compared to the Sun and Earth
Why does the sun set in Perth approximately two hours later than it does in Sydney or Melbourne?
Because Perth is further West, so it is still facing the Sun when the East coast has rotated away from the light
During which month does the Southern Hemisphere (Australia) receive the most intense sunlight because it is tilted most directly toward the Sun?
December
According to the "Gravity Trap" rules, what two factors cause the gravitational force between two objects to increase?
Increasing the mass of the objects or decreasing the distance between them
High tides occur at approximately what time interval from one another?
12 hours
What specific type of solar eclipse occurs when you see the sun's light as a bright ring around a shadow of the moon?
An Annular eclipse
Regardless of the season, how many hours of daylight does a location on the equator receive every day of the year?
12 hours
Indigenous communities often use "bio-cultural indicators" to define seasons. Name one of the six seasons recognized by the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung peoples.
Kooyang, Gwangal moronn, Chunnup, Larneuk, Petyan, or Ballambar
The apogee
How does the size of tides change when there is a new moon or full moon?
The high tides are higher OR the low tides are lower (because the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned)
How often do total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth?
360 to 410 years