Patterns in the Solar System

Which statement explains how a lunar eclipse happens?

• The sun casts a shadow on Earth.

• The moon casts a shadow on Earth.

• Earth casts a shadow on the moon.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

A student made a model of a lunar eclipse. Which change will he need to make to the model to change it into a model of a solar eclipse instead?

• Move the moon closer to Earth than to the sun. Move the moon between the sun and Earth.

• Move Earth between the moon and the sun.

• Move the moon between the sun and Earth.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

A student records the rising and setting times of the moon for a month. She notices that the moon rises and sets 50 minutes later each day. She studies these data to develop an explanation for the change in time. What explains this change in the moon’s rising and setting times?

• Earth revolves around the moon.

• Earth rotates, and the moon revolves around Earth.

• The moon revolves around the sun.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

How long does Earth take to complete one trip around the sun, and back to the starting position?

• 365 1/4 days

• 24 hours

• 29 1/2 days

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

What does Bode's rule describe?

• the pattern of where planets are located in our solar system

• how a planet's mass and diameter are related

• how a planet's diameter and temperature are related

• how many moons a planet's mass can hold

How long does it take for Earth to orbit the Sun?

• 24 hours

• 365.25 days

• 30 days

• 12 years

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

How can the observed phases of Venus provide evidence to support a specific model of the Solar System? Check three (3) that apply.

• The model that better predicts the phases is likely to be more correct.

• The phases of Venus follow a predictable pattern that results from the relative positions of the Sun, Venus, and Earth.

• Neither model accurately predicts the observed phases of Venus, so neither model is accurate.

• The models predict the phases of Venus differently beause the relative positionsof the three bodies are different in each model.

Answer explanation

A, B, D; The difference between the models is the relative positions of the sun, Earth, and Venus.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

As astronomer observes an object in space that has an irregular shape, that orbits the sun in a highly elliptical orbit, and that is made of ice and rock. Which object is the astronomer most likely observing?

• moon

• comet

• asteroid

• meteoroid

Answer explanation

A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing.

The dotted lines in the picture show orbital paths of objects.

Which object orbits E?

• Object A

• Object B

• Object C

• Object D

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Based on the model, why are Ceres and Pluto classified as dwarf planets rather than planets?

• Ceres and Pluto are both round

• Dwarf planets have irregularly shaped orbits and planets have elliptical orbits

• Neither Ceres nor Pluto has cleared its orbital path of other objects

Answer explanation

The plents in the model have cleared their orbit paths, but Ceres and Pluto have not so they cannot be true planets. Ceres is in the asterioid belt, Pluto is in the Kuiper Belt, but true planets do not exist in orbital paths containing other large space ojects. Both planets and dwarf planets are round, and both types of ojects have elliptical orbits.