Earth Science Test Review March 2025

What is the average distance between Earth and the Sun, roughly 149.6 million kilometers, called?

• Astronomical Unit (AU)

• Light Year

• Parsec

• Kilometer

What is a dwarf planet?

• A celestial body that orbits the sun and has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, but has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects

• A type of star that is smaller and cooler than the sun

• A large asteroid found in the asteroid belt

• A moon that orbits a planet

What is eccentricity in terms of planetary orbits?

• Orbits the Sun, nearly round, hasn’t cleared its orbit like Pluto

• The measure of how an orbit deviates from being circular

• The speed at which a planet orbits the Sun

• The distance between a planet and the Sun

What is the shape of planetary orbits defined by two foci called?

• Ellipse

• Circle

• Parabola

• Hyperbola

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

What are large, hydrogen/helium-based planets like Jupiter called?

• Gas giants

• Terrestrial planets

• Ice giants

• Dwarf planets

What does Kepler’s law state about planetary orbits?

• 1st orbits are elliptical 2nd equal areas swept in equal times 3rd period^2 times distance^3

• Planets move in perfect circles around the sun

• The speed of a planet is constant throughout its orbit

• Planets orbit the sun in a straight line

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

What is a celestial path influenced by gravity called?

• An orbit

• A trajectory

• A parabola

• A spiral

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

What is the average Sun-planet distance called?

• Astronomical Unit

• Light Year

• Parsec

• Kilometer

What is the time for one orbit around the Sun called?

• A year

• A day

• A month

• A decade

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

What is the Sun and all bound celestial objects collectively called?

• The Solar System

• The Galaxy

• The Universe

• The Milky Way

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3