Precession, Nutation, and Newton's Law of Inertia

• Sa

• SBa

• SBc

• Sb

What does the earth's tilt cause?

• The seasons

• day and night

• tsunamis

• eclipses

How are Uranus, Saturn, Mars, and Earth similar?

• They are all planets.

• They are all the same size.

• They all have several moons.

• They all have years that are the same length.

What does the sun provide that is needed by life on Earth?

• Heat and light

• Oxygen and water

• Water and light

• Water and heat

What phases of the moon make it look as thought the moon is changing as we look at it. What is actually changing when we look at the different phases of the moon?

• The amount of the lit part of the moon that we can see from Earth.

• The amount of moonlight reflected off the sun.

• The amount of sunlight reflected off of the sun.

• Nothing is changing except our own vision.

What causes the change between day and night?

• The other planets block the sun during the night.

• The sun disappears at night and is visible during the day.

• Earth is rotating on its axis.

• At night, the sun goes behind the moon.

Some constellations are more prominent in the night sky of North Carolina in the winter, while other constellations are more prominent in the night sky in summer. Which BEST explains why this occurs?

• Because of Earth's rotation on its axis

• Because of stars revolving around Earth

• Because of Earth revolving around the sun

• because of the change in the barycenter of Earth

If the fission theory of moon formation is true, what is also true about the motion of Earth in its formative stages?

• Early Earth rotated on its axis much more slowly than it does today.

• Early Earth rotated on its axis much more quickly than it does today.

• Early Earth revolved around the Sun much more slowly than it does today.

• Early Earth revolved around the Sun much more quickly that it does today.

Kepler's third law states that, for a planet orbiting the Sun, the square of the period of the planet's orbit is proportional to the cube of the planet's average distance from the Sun. This is written as the formula T/R = 1. For example, Saturn's period is 29.5 Earth years, and its average distance is 9.5 astronomical units. So, like all orbiting bodies, its Jupiter's year is equal to 11.8 Earth years. What is Jupiter's average distance to the Sun in astronomical units?

• 1

• 5.2

• 9.5

• 11.8

• The time intervals from A to B, C to D, and E to F are all equal.

• The time interval from A to B is twice the interval from E to F.

• The time intervals from A to B, C to D and E to F combine to be equal to one half of a full orbit.

• The time intervals from C to D and from E to F combine to be equal to the time interval from A to B.