Earth, Moon, and Sun Study Guide
1. A streak of light seen as a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere is called a ______________________________.
2. What is a pattern or grouping of stars that people imagined to represent a figure called? ___________________
3. Why do the constellations seem to move as the seasons on Earth change? ______________________________
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4.
How long does Earth’s rotation take? ____________________________________________________________
5. What are day and night caused by? ______________________________________________________________
6. How long does one complete revolution around the sun take? ________________________________________
7. Why does Earth have seasons? __________________________________________________________________
8. In the Southern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs when the sun is _______________________________.
9. The times when day and night are of equal length are called _________________________________.
10. When does an equinox occur? __________________________________________________________________
11. What force attracts all objects to each other? ______________________________________________________
12. What two factors does the strength of the force of gravity depend on? __________________________________
13. The tendency of an object to continue moving in a straight line is called _________________________________.
14. If you are in a car that stops suddenly, your body keeps moving because it has ___________________________.
15. What two factors combine to keep Earth and the moon in their orbits? _________________________________
16. The moon can be seen from Earth because ______________________ reflects off the moon’s surface.
17. What are the different shapes of the moon seen from Earth called? ____________________________________
18. Why do you never see the far side of the moon from Earth? __________________________________________
19. What does the phase of the moon you see depend on? ______________________________________________
20. From the new moon phase to the full moon phase, do you see more or less of the lit side of the moon? _______
21. The lit half of the moon faces away from Earth during the ________________ phase of the moon.
22. The amount of the lit side of the moon you see is the same during what phases? __________________________
23. What must happen for a solar eclipse to occur? ____________________________________________________
24. A total solar eclipse is only visible from within the moon’s _________________________.
25. Why are you less likely to see a total solar eclipse than a total lunar eclipse? _____________________________
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26. What phase of the moon can a lunar eclipse occur during?____________________________________________
27. During a total lunar eclipse the moon is in the Earth’s __________________________.
28. What are tides caused by? ______________________________________________________________________
29. When are tides highest? _______________________________________________________________________
30. When do neap tides occur? ____________________________________________________________________
31. What are maria formed by? ____________________________________
32. What are large round pits on the moon called? _____________________________
33. How large is the moon compared to Earth? ________________________________________________________
34. Why does the temperature of the moon’s surface vary greatly from day to night? _________________________
35. Where might water be found on the moon? _______________________________________________________
36.
Which two phases are gibbous moons? ______________________________________________
37. What are the phases in A and D called? ______________________________________________
38. Approximately how much time passes between H and B? ________________________________
39. Number the phases of the moon in the order that they occur, beginning with the new moon as number 1.
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**There will also be an experiment question on the test so make sure you know how to identify the independent,
dependent, and controlled variables.