Water Cycle
What is the name given to rain, hail, sleet and snow?
Precipitation
What is the time frame used to decide if something is renewable or not?
Human lifetime or 80 years
True or false: we only see one side of the moon from Earth?
True
State the order of celestial bodies in a lunar eclipse.
Sun, Earth, moon
What is the angle of the Earth’s tilt on its axis?
23.5 degrees
What is the difference between condensation and evaporation?
Evaporation is the process where the particles in a liquid gain energy and spread out to form a gas. Condensation is the reverse where a gas loses energy and the particles come together to form a liquid.
Provide 3 examples of natural resources that are not used for energy.
Wood for building, rocks for building, gemstones for jewellery, food, water, plant fibres for clothing
What is the special name given to the orbit of the moon around the Earth and what does it mean?
Geosynchronous orbit. It means that the moon rotates on its axis at the same speed it orbits the Earth, so we only ever see one side of the moon.
State the difference between an umbra and a penumbra.
An umbra is the region of full shadow in an eclipse and the penumbra is partial shadow.
What season is it in America when we are having autumn?
Spring
State three factors that increase evaporation in the water cycle.
Air movement, large surface area, high temperature.
Provide 3 examples of renewable energy sources.
Geothermal, wind, solar, tidal
Explain why we have two high tides and two low tides every day.
Tides are caused by the pull of the moon’s gravity on Earth. The water in the oceans is free to move and creates a tidal bulge on the side where the moon is. There is another tidal bulge on the other side of the Earth as the Earth is pulled away from the water. Low tides are at right angles to the position to the moon. We have two high tides each day (and two low tides) as the Earth spins once on its axis and the place where we are passes under the tides.
Give 3 points about solar eclipses.
Sun, moon, Earth
moon blocks sunlight from the Earth
the moon’s shadow falls on the Earth
new moon
day
twice a year
What is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and occurs in December. The daylight hours are the longest and the night is the shortest for the year.
Explain why humidity decreases evaporation.
Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. Because the air can only hold so much water, when the humidity is high no more water particles can evaporate into the air.
State the origins of coal, oil and natural gas.
Coal is from plants, oil is from animals and gas is from both plants and animals.
Explain the difference between spring and neap tides.
Spring tides occur during the full and new moons where the sun, Earth and moon are in a line. The combined gravity of both the moon and sun act on the Earth to create the greatest variation between the low and high tides. The high tides are higher and the low tides are lower than normal. Neap tides occur during the quarter moon phases where the gravities of the sun and moon are acting at right angles to each other. There is the least variation between high and low tides.
Give 3 points about lunar eclipses.
Sun, Earth, moon
full moon
night
Earth blocks the sunlight from reaching moon
Earth’s shadow falls on the moonTwice a year
State the apparent position of the sun for the two solstices and two equinoxes.
Summer solstice - Tropic of Capricorn
Winter solstice - Tropic of Cancer
equinoxes - Equator
Explain how water can be stored under ground.
Water can move down through surface layers of soil and layers of pervious rock until it hits a layer of impervious rock and travels no further. The water is actually stored in the pervious rock which is acting a bit like a giant sponge.
Explain the origin of the energy in fossil fuels.
The origin of the energy in fossil fuels is the sun. In ancient times, plants converted the sun’s energy into food in a process called photosynthesis. This energy was stored in the plants or passed along to consumers. These ancient life forms were buried and became fossil fuels.
Draw and label a diagram to show the phases of the moon.
All 8 phases are needed for full points.
Explain why eclipses don’t occur every month.
Eclipses occur when the sun, moon and Earth are perfectly aligned. Because the moon’s orbit is tilted at 5 degrees, this only happens about twice a year.
Explain why the northern and Southern Hemispheres have different seasons.
The Earth is tilted at 5 degrees on its axis. At one point in the Earth’s orbit around the sun the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, receives less direct sunlight and experiences winter. At the same time, because of the tilt, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, receives more direct sunlight and experiences summer.