Earth in the
Universe
Name:_________________
Highlands Middle School
Science 8: Mr. Babicz
Earth in the Universe Vocabulary
Using the word bank below, the text book, your notes, and your glossary found in the back of your text book,
match the words with their correct definitions.
Asteroid
Big Bang Theory
Celestial Object
Doppler Effect
Jovian Planet
Luminosity
Milky Way Galaxy
Moon
Nuclear Fusion
Revolution
Rotation
Solar System
Star
Terrestrial Planet
Universe
Galaxy
The process that produces energy in stars.
Large, gaseous planets, located far from the Sun.
A solid, rocky and/or metallic body that orbits the sun.
The one natural satellite of Earth.
States that the universe started as an explosion 10-17 BYA
and has been expanding ever since.
How bright a star would be in relation to the Sun if all stars
were the same distance from the observer.
The spiral shaped galaxy that Earth and our Solar System are
a part of.
Apparent wavelength shifting of electromagnetic energy
caused by the relative motion between the energy source and
the observer.
A planet’s movement (orbit) around the sun.
The spinning of an object on an imaginary axis.
All matter, time, energy, and space.
Any object in the universe outside of Earth’s atmosphere.
The Sun and all objects that orbit it.
A large ball of gas that produces energy and is held together
by gravity.
Planets that are close to the Sun, mostly solid, small
diameters, and higher densities.
Large groupings of millions or billions of stars and other
forms of mass held together by gravity.
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Universe
A celestial object is any object in our ________________ that is above Earth’s ______________.

Examples: _______________, _______________, _______________
The universe is ________________ and _______________. It is estimated
to be 10 – 20 __________ years old.

The current estimate is _______ billion years old.
Explain the Big Bang Theory:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
A galaxy is a group of _______________, dust, and _______________ held together by _______________.

Our Solar System is part of the ______________ __________ Galaxy.
o The ____________ __________ Galaxy is ____________ shaped.
Just about every star and galaxy is moving _______________ from each other!

This is proved by red shifting. Therefore the universe is ______________!!
OLDEST: ________________  _________________  ________________ :YOUNGEST
= Milky Way Galaxy
= Solar System
S = Sun
= Universe
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Geocentric and Heliocentric Models
Geocentric Model = __________ Centered
____________, ____________, and other objects __________ around Earth.
This model was able to explain the
_______________ motion of the stars, Sun, and
Moon.
The Geocentric Model could not explain
_______________ motion and _______________
_______________ motion.
Retrograde motion is an ____________ motion of ____________ (over weeks to months) when
they appear to change position with respect to the _______________ field of stars.
_______________ motion is caused by Earth and other planets _______________ around the
Sun in different ___________ at different ___________.
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Heliocentric Model = _________ Centered
Earth ____________ on an imaginary axis and _______________ around the
Sun.
The __________ revolves around Earth.
Explained all of the observations made by scientists including _______________
motion.
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Stars
What is a star?
A star is a large ball of __________ held together by _______________.
Stars produce large amounts of energy by the process of _______________ _______________.
- Extreme amounts of __________ and _____________ are needed.
- Our Sun converts ______________ into ________________ through the process of
_______________ ________________.
STARS ARE SELF-LUMINOUS – they light themselves. The moon and planets ____________
light from the __________ (star).
Low Mass
----------------------------
High Mass
Hertzsprung Russel Diagram
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Our Sun is an ____________________ sized star. Compared to other
stars it is not too___________________ and not too _________________. It’s
just perfect!
________________ is how bright a star is compared to the Sun if they were the
same ______________ away.
Stars are classified based on _________________ and ________________.
Temperature affects the ____________ of stars.
Red = __________
Blue = __________
Exercise #3 – Stars Questions
1. Which object forms by the contraction of a large sphere of gases causing the nuclear fusion of lighter
elements into heavier elements?
(1) comet
(3) star
(2) planet
(4) moon
2. Which process produces the energy that allows the stars of the universe to radiate visible light?
(1) convection
(3) insolation
(2) nuclear fusion
(4) radioactive decay
 Exercise #6 – Textbook Reading: Characteristics of Stars.
Directions:
1. Answer the following questions based on the “Characteristics of Stars” reading on pages 103-109 in
your text book and our previous notes.
1. How do astronomers measure distances to nearby stars?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How are stars classified? _____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Name five stars, in order from largest to smallest:
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
4. Give a brief description of each of the following:
a. Galaxy
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
b. Luminosity
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
c. Red-shifted
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. List 3 characteristics used to classify stars:
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
6. Which is hotter a red star or a blue star? __________________________________ Why?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. According to the chart on page 109, which star is brighter (Algol or the Sun)?
8. Why does our Sun appear to be brighter than any other star in the Milky Way Galaxy?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Hypothesize what would need to happen in order for the other stars to appear brighter than
our Sun?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Solar System
What is the Solar System? ____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
o This includes _______________, asteroids, moons, _______________, meteoroids.
o Approximately ______ billion years old.
Inner Planets (_____________)
Terrestrial = _____________
-smaller, __________, few _________ or rings, closer to the
_______.

Examples: __________, ___________, ___________, ___________
Jovian Planets (____________)
-gaseous, ______ dense, satellites or ________, farther from the
_____

Examples: ___________, ___________, ___________,
___________
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Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Comets

A comet is a ________________________ about the size of an Earth mountain.

Comets are chunks of ice and dust whose ____________________are usually very long, narrow
________________. The sun produces ___________________________that push the gas from a comet
___________________, forming the comet’s tail. The tail always points ______________________ from
the sun.
Draw an example of a comet’s elliptical orbit:
Asteroids

Tens of thousands of ________________________ called asteroids are located in a belt between
_____________________________________. This belt is called the Asteroid Belt and might be the
_________________________ from the formation of the _________________________________ planets.
A few asteroids have orbits that can cross Earth’s orbit. There is evidence that a large asteroid
approximately 6 miles in diameter struck the Earth in the Yucatan region of Mexico about 65 million years
ago, resulting in mass ____________________________.
Meteors
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
______________________________ from space can be caught by Earth’s gravity. As the objects fall, they
are heated by _______________________ with Earth’s atmosphere and _________________________.
The burning objects produce streaks of light visible at night as meteors, or “______________”. Most
meteors come from _____________________or ____________________________ as they break apart.
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Motions of the Planets
Planets _______________ on an axis.

1 rotation = 1 _________
Proof of Earth’s Rotation:
1.____________________________________________
2.____________________________________________
3.____________________________________________
4.____________________________________________
Earth’s axis is tilted ________ degrees.
Earth rotates _____ per day.
This causes the __________ and __________ of the Sun, Moon, and Stars.
A planets _____________ is its movement around the ________ in a path called an
orbit.
1 revolution = 1 __________
Proof of Earth’s Revolution:
1.__________________________________________
2.__________________________________________
The shape of each objects orbit around the sun is
called an _______________.
Earth revolves around the Sun _____ per year.
(Approx. _____ per day)
Planets revolve ____________ when they are closest to the __________. This is called
the _______________.
-Earth is closest on ____________. *Sun appears ____________.
Planets revolve ____________ when they are farther from the __________.
-Earth is farthest on ____________. *Sun appears ____________.
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The orbit of a planet is a _____________ between ______________ and
gravitational pull.
 How would Earth’s orbit look if
inertia was eliminated and gravity
was the only force? Draw and
label your answer below:
 How would Earth’s orbit look if
gravity was eliminated and inertia
was the only force? Draw and
label your answer below:
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Exercise #7 – Solar System Data
Directions:
1. On a piece of loose-leaf paper; answer the following questions using the Solar System Data Chart on
Page 15 in the ESRT.
1. List the 8 planets of the Solar System.
2. What is the Earth’s mean distance from the Sun?
3. Which planet has a mean distance from the Sun of 1,427km?
4. Which planet takes the shortest amount of time to revolve around the Sun? How long
does it take?
5. Explain the relationship between distance from the Sun and period of revolution.
6. How many days does Earth take to revolve around the Sun?
7. Which planet has the greatest mass in our Solar System? How does it compare to the
Sun?
8. Which planet has a density of 5.5 g/cm3?
9. Which planet is least dense?
10. Which planets would float on water? Why?
11. Which planet has an eccentricity of 0.047?
12. Which planet rotates in the shortest amount of time? How long?
13. What is the diameter of Earth? Which planet has a diameter very similar to the
diameter of Earth?
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Exercise #8 – Motion of Planets and Solar System Questions
1. Which motion causes the constellation Orion to be visible at midnight from New York State in winter
but not in summer?
(1) rotation of Earth
(3) revolution of Earth
(2) rotation of Orion
(4) revolution of Orion
2. Earth’s rate of rotation is approximately
(1) 1° per day
(3) 180° per day
(2) 15° per day
(4) 360° per day
3. The bar graph below shows one planetary characteristic, identified as X, plotted for the planets of
our solar system.
Which characteristic of the planets in our solar system is represented by X?
(1) mass
(3) eccentricity of orbit
(2) density
(4) period of rotation
4. Which statement best describes the age of our solar system and the universe?
(1) The universe is at least twice as old as our solar system.
(2) Our solar system is at least twice as old as the universe.
(3) Our solar system and the universe are estimated to be 5 billion years old.
(4) Our solar system and the universe are estimated to be 10 billion years old.
5. The spinning of Earth on its axis causes the apparent rising and setting of the
(1) Sun, only
(3) Moon and some stars, only
(2) Sun and the Moon, only
(4) Sun, the Moon, and some stars
6. A Foucault pendulum is used to prove that
(1) the Sun rotates on its axis
(2) the Sun revolves around Earth
(3) Earth rotates on its axis
(4) Earth revolves around the Sun
7. Compared to the terrestrial planets, the Jovian planets are
(1) smaller and have lower densities
(2) smaller and have greater densities
(3) larger and have lower densities
(4) larger and have greater densities
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Quiz Master
Objective:

Compose a quiz and grade your peer’s completed assessment.
Your Mission:

You are the teacher. It is your job to compose a 12-question quiz with 4 questions from each of Costa’s levels, and
an answer key. Use the charts below as a guide. Every question is worth one point.

8 questions must be multiple choice

2 questions must be open ended responses

2 questions must be based on a chart, graph or illustration.

Write your name on the top of the quiz as the author.

When everyone has completed a quiz, I will hand them out and you will complete your peer’s quiz. WRITE YOUR
NAME ON THE TOP OF THE QUIZ AS THE “QUIZ TAKER”.

Upon completion of the quiz, you will give the assessment back to the author. He/she will grade the quiz and
submit it to me.
Guidelines:

This is an individual task

You may use resources such as your text book, and your notes for references
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