(Earth-Sun-Moon System - ESS1-1)
What causes day and night?
What is...
Earth’s rotation West to East causes 50% of the Earth to get sunlight and 50% of Earth to get dark.
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How many phases of the moon are there? What causes the phases of the moon?
What is...there are 8 phases of the moon. The phases of the moon are caused by the moon orbiting the Earth.
What is GRAVITY?
GRAVITY is a force that attracts two objects together.
Our Solar System was formed about...
A. 5 million years ago.
B. 4 thousand years ago.
C. 4 1/2 billion years ago.
What is...
C. 4 1/2 billion years ago.
State at least 3 facts about the planets in our Solar System.
Answers vary...Some example facts are...
They orbit the Sun
They orbit due to Gravity
There are 8 main planets
Some are made of gases and others rock
Gaseous planets all have rings that are made of rocks and dust
You can see some planets just by looking up at the sky
What is Earth's orbit and why is it important?
What is...
Earth's orbit is the eliptical path that the Earth takes once every 365 1/4 days (or year) around the Sun.
How large is the Moon compared to Earth?
What is...
The Moon is 1/4 or a quarter the size of Earth.
What are two variables that impact GRAVITY? Explain how they impact Gravity.
What is...
The two variables that impact GRAVITY are the DISTANCE between the objects and the MASS of the objects. The closer the distance, the greater the gravitational force. The larger the mass of the object the greater the gravitational attraction.
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What is TRUE about the SUN?
A. The Sun was formed about 4 1/2 billion years ago.
B. The Sun is a star.
C. The Sun is so big that almost 1 1/2 million Earths could fit inside it.
D. All of the above.
What is...
D. All of the above.
Explain why we have LEAP year?
What is...We have LEAP year because every 4 years we need to make up the 1/4 day from the yearly orbital path Earth takes around the Sun. Leap years are needed to keep our calendar in sync with the solar year or the Earth’s solar orbit.
Explain what causes the seasons.
Earth's seasons are a result of the tilt of the Earth's axis away or toward the sun as it moves on its orbital path around the Sun.
What is it that causes the moon to orbit Earth?
As you go farther away from Earth the gravitational pull becomes..
A. Stronger
B. Weaker
C. Is not impacted
Why do planets orbit the Sun?
Planets orbit the Sun due to gravity. Gravity is the force that attracts objects to each other. The Sun has the most mass, so it has the most gravitational pull. Therefore the planets orbit the Sun.
Explain WHY the temperatures are soo extremely hot OR extremely cold on the Moon.
What is the temperatures are soo extremely hot or cold on the moon because THE MOON HAS NO ATMOSPHERE.
When it is Winter in the Northern Hemisphere it is _______________in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because...
What is...When it is Winter in the Northern Hemisphere it is SUMMER in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because the Earth is tilted away from the Sun in the North and toward the Sun in the South.
What happens to cause a LUNAR ECLIPSE?
What is...
A LUNAR ECLIPSE occurs when the moon passes into the EARTH's shadow.
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The Moon's ____________ pull is what causes the tides on Earth.
What is GRAVITATIONAL?
How far away is Earth from the Sun?
The Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun.
When you look up into the sky in the morning the sun appears to move from __________to ___________.
A. NORTH TO SOUTH.
B. WEST TO EAST.
C. EAST TO WEST.
This is logical due to the fact that Earth is spinning in its axis.
What is C. EAST to WEST?
This is actually because the Earth is spinning from WEST to EAST on its axis.
Throughout history Earth’s cycles have helped people to mark time. The day comes from the _______ cycle. The month comes from the _______ cycle. The year comes from __________________________________.
What is The day comes from the DAILY cycle. The month comes from the LUNAR cycle. The year comes from Earth's journey around the Sun.
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What happens to cause a SOLAR ECLIPSE?
What is...
A SOLAR ECLIPSE is caused by the Earth passing into the MOON's shadow.
Imagine that the Moon and Sun are the same distance from Earth. Which one would Earth be gravitationally attracted to? Explain Why.
What is...If the Sun and Moon were the same distance from Earth, the Earth would be gravitationally attracted to the Sun, because it has more mass. Objects with more mass have more gravitational pull.
According to your article "Our Solar System," Scientists have calculated about how many Earth-size planets that could support life could be in our galaxy alone. How many planets do they estimate?
What is..
Scientists calculate there could be 40 billion planets that could support life in our galaxy.
Explain why TRAPPIST-1 was such an exciting discovery for science.
What is...TRAPPIST-1 was an exciting discovery because it is a dwarf star that has seven Earth-sized planets orbiting it. This is important because the conditions might be right to support life.
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