What is the name for the set of all points along a plane whose distance from two foci add up to a constant?
Ellipse
100
How long does the earth take to complete one full rotation?
24 hours or 1 earth day
100
How long does it take earth to make one full revolution around the sun?
365 earth days or 1 calendar year
100
How long does it take the moon to make one full revolution around earth?
About 30 earth days or 1 calendar month
200
Who is credited for introducing the heliocentric model even though he wasn't the first person to come up with the idea?
Copernicus
200
2X POINTS!
What is the law of physics that states an object in motion wants to stay in motion and an object at rest wants to stay at rest?
Newton's first law of motion (Law of inertia)
200
What is the best way to describe how the earth rotates?
West to east
200
What is the name for earth's position in orbit when it is farthest from the sun?
Aphelion
200
2X POINTS!
What is the name for the pattern when the illuminated portion of the moon appears to shrink?
Waning
300
2X POINTS!
What was Kepler observing and studying when he came up with the first law of planetary motion?
Mar's orbit
300
If the length of the major axis is 100cm and the distance between the foci is 27cm, then what is the ellipse's eccentricity? (Include correct units)
0.27
300
What is the exact angle that the earth is tilted at?
23.5 (will accept 24, if rounding)
300
2X POINTS!
Why does the northern hemisphere experience winter at the perihelion?
At the perihelion, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun
300
Name this moon phase (Ms. Paw will draw the moon on the board)
Waxing crescent
400
List two things the geocentric and heliocentric models have in common
Perfectly circular orbits, stationary center of universe, celestial sphere
400
How does earth's inertia help it stay in orbit?
Earth's inertia resists the sun's gravitational pull preventing it from "falling into" the sun, and instead allows it to move along an elliptical orbit
400
2X POINTS!
What two daily events are happening at the boundaries between earth's illuminated and dark side?
Sunrise or sunset
400
Explain what happens to the area of sunlight when sunlight shines directly at something. What type of temperatures should you expect?
Sunlight shine within smaller area and creates warmer temperatures
400
Why is the third quarter moon called the third quarter moon?
It occurs 3/4 of the way through the moon's revolution. "Quarter" refers to the 3/4 time. It specifically occurs in the third week of the month hence "Third"
500
If it weren’t for Newton’s physics research what astronomical phenomenon might we be unable to explain today?
How planets (including earth) stay in orbit
500
What would happen to earth if the sun's mass was decreased to 1/10th of it's original mass?
The earth would fly away from its orbit
500
What would the length of an earth day be if the earth suddenly began to rotate 4x as fast?
6 hours
500
What would happen to earth's seasons if the earth's axis was tilted the other way?
Everyone would experience opposite seasons. For example, in the northern hemisphere we'd now have summer Dec-Feb.
500
Imagine the moon took 1 year to revolve around earth. If this is the case, how many months into the year would you see a full moon?