Earth-Sun-Moon System

Jackson enjoys looking up at the night sky and writing about the variety of objects he sees. On one special occasion, he wrote in his journal that he saw a streak of light going across part of the sky. Which answer best describes what Jackson saw?

• Meteorite: A cold mixture of dust and ice that develops a long tail as it nears the sun

• Meteor: A cold mixture of dust and ice that develops a long tail as it nears the sun

• Meteorite: A streak of light made when an object burns up as it enters Earth's atmosphere

• Meteor: A streak of light made when an object burns up as it enters Earth's atmosphere

Clara's grandfather is the captain of a cargo ship. He prefers to navigate his ship through the moderate neap tides. At these times, the line between Earth and the sun is at a right angle to the line between Earth and the moon. Which phase or phases of the moon describe this alignment?

• A. first and third quarter

• B. first quarter

• C. full moon

• D. full moon and new moon

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Emma is creating a model of the sun, Earth, and moon. She uses wire to keep the three objects in orbit around each other. Emma knows that Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every object in the universe attracts every other object. This attraction keeps Earth in orbit around the sun and the moon in orbit around Earth. Different alignments of the Earth, moon, and sun can cause phenomena to occur on Earth. These phenomena are caused by differences in gravitational pulls. What are these phenomena called?

• tides

• equinoxes

• eclipses

• full moons

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The alignments of the sun, moon, and Earth cause the different phases of the moon.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The moon takes on different shapes throughout the lunar month. Identify the shapes of the moon in the diagrams on the left. Then write the correct numbers in the boxes of the diagram on the right.

• New moon

• Waxing crescent

• Full moon

• Waxing gibbous

• Waxing crescent

• Full moon

• First quarter

• First quarter

• Waxing gibbous

• New moon

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Abby volunteers at the planetarium at the Museum of Natural History. She is putting together a presentation about the solar system in which she will describe the shape of the solar system. She uses the term ________________ when she discusses the plane in which the planets orbit.

Use the information below to answer questions 7 and 8. Adam and his family are planning a trip to Alaska in either June or December. During the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is typically warmer and the days are longer. During the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is typically cooler and the days are shorter. Adam’s family decides to travel in June based on this information. Why does Earth have seasons?

• because Earth rotates on its axis as it revolves around the sun

• because Earth's axis is tilted as it revolves around the sun

• because the moon blocks the sun during the winter months

• because the moon's gravitational pull is stronger during the summer months

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Explain why the sun does not completely set at higher latitudes during the summer.

• Because the Earth's tilt causes extended daylight hours.

• Because the sun moves closer to the Earth during summer.

• Because the moon reflects more sunlight during summer.

• Because the Earth's rotation speed increases during summer.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Ancient scientists proposed many theories based not only on scientific observations but also on religion and philosophy. These scientists, including Aristotle and Ptolemy, had developed an early model of the solar system. This model appeared to describe the motions they observed in the heavens. Which of the following objects is at the center of this model?

• sun

• star

• moon

• Earth

Stephen learned that there are two forces that keep the moon in orbit around Earth. How do these forces keep the moon from flying off into space?

• Gravity keeps the moon in motion, and inertia attracts the moon toward Earth.

• Gravity attracts the moon toward Earth, and inertia keeps the moon in motion.

• Gravity attracts the moon toward Earth, and the distance keeps it from going further away.

• Mass weighs the moon down so it stays close to Earth, and inertia keeps the moon in motion.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2