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Worksheets37. The Earth, Sun and Moon
Total questions: 87
Worksheet time: 44mins
One of the earliest attempts at measuring the circumference of the earth was done by a Greek mathematician.
His name was
Eratosthenes
Ptolymy
Pythagoras
Archimedes
The photograph shows the Aurora Borealis which is occurs from 80 kilometres upwards in the atmosphere.
The stream of charged particles that stream out from the Sun to cause this is known as
a solar wind
a solar storm
a solar eclipse
a solar flare
A total solar eclipse occurs once every two years.
Which one of the following is a total solar eclipse?
Annular solar eclipse
Partial solar eclipse
Penumbral lunar eclipse
The Sun is the prime source of energy for us.
What TWO types of energy does the Earth get from the Sun?
Heat
Light
Electrical
Sound
Kinetic
Between two and five lunar eclipses happen every year.
A lunar eclipse occurs when
the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon.
the Sun passes between the Earth and the Moon.
the moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth
the Sun, Moon and Earth are in a straight line.
Which of the following statements best explains why it is warmer at the equator than at the North Pole?
The equator gets more direct sunlight than the North Pole.
The equator has a larger surface area than the North Pole.
The equator has more hours of daylight than the North Pole.
There is less rainfall at the equator.
In June the Sun shines directly on the (a) hemisphere.
The photo shows a solar eclipse occurring.
During a solar eclipse, where must you be in order that the Sun is completely blocked out during the eclipse?
In the umbra
In the equinox
It does not matter where you are
In the penumbra
In the month of December the Sun shines directly on the southern hemisphere which means that in Australia the season is
Summer
Winter
Autumn
Spring
When we are having our Summer in Ireland, what season are they experiencing in Australia?
(a)
What season does Australia have during the months September to November?
(a)
The longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere is the 21st of
(a)
Which one of the following diagrams represents the Moon as it orbits the Earth?
The photo shows a black and white image of a total lunar eclipse.
What colour does the Moon turn during a total lunar eclipse?
Red
Yellow
Blue
Black
White
The photo shows the surface of the Moon.
During the early life of our solar system, the Moon was impacted by (a) which created impact craters.
The photo shows the Moon travelling around the Earth.
In what way is the Moon different from the Earth?
The Moon has no atmosphere.
There are no mountains on the moon.
The Moon receives no light from the Sun.
The Moon has no gravity.
The photo shows a solar eclipse occurring.
During a solar eclipse, where must you be in order that the Sun is completely blocked out during the eclipse?
In the umbra
It does not matter where you are
In the penumbra
In the equinox
The photograph shows a solar eclipse that occurred in August 2017.
Which of these events is more frequently visible from Earth?
A lunar eclipse
A solar eclipse
The photo shows the Moon in its orbit around the Earth.
Approximately how long does it take the Moon to complete it’s orbit around the Earth?
One month
One week
One day
One year
Like the Earth, the Moon has a gravitational field.
Gravity on the surface of the Moon
is one sixth that on Earth.
is the same as that on Earth.
is six times greater than that on Earth.
is stronger than anywhere else in our solar system.
The Moon orbits around the Earth in around 28 days.
What size is the Moon relative to the Earth?
Smaller
Approximately the same size
Bigger
The moon undergoes different lunar phases.
When we see the moon when it is less than half lit, we call it
a crescent moon
a new moon
a gibbous moon
a full moon
Early astronomers thought that there were seas on the Moon.
These ‘seas’ are the remains of
dead volcanoes and impact craters.
comets that struck the surface of the Moon.
rain that fell on the moon millions of years ago
dinosaurs that once roamed the Moon's surface.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when
the Moon does not cover the Sun completely, and we see a ring of fire surrounding the Moon
part of the moon enters the umbra showing a clear shadow across the moon
the Moon enters the penumbra only
The photo shows the dark side (far side) of the Moon as seen by the Luna 3 orbiter.
Why is the far side (dark side) of the Moon never visible from Earth?
The Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth.
The Sun does not shine on the far side of the Moon.
The Moon does not rotate around on its axis.
The Moon is always facing away from the Earth.
There are eight known planets in our solar system.
Which one of the following is not one of the rocky inner four planets of our solar system?
Saturn
Earth
Venus
Mercury
There are eight known planets in our solar system.
Which one of the following is NOT one of the outer four gas giant planets of our solar system?
Mars
Neptune
Uranus
Saturn
Study the chart which shows the average temperatures on the planets in our solar system.
Which one of the following statements is correct?
Venus is hotter than Mercury.
The average temperature increases with increasing distance from the Sun.
Water may exist as a liquid on Venus.
Liquid water can exist on Jupiter.
The smallest planet in our solar system is shown.
What is it called?
Mercury
Mars
Venus
Earth
Study the data of the planets in our solar system.
The further a planet is from the Sun, the shorter its day will be.
false
true
Not enough data to prove or disprove this statement.
The photograph shows Pluto which was once regarded as being a planet.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union downgraded Pluto from being a planet to
a dwarf planet
a satellite
a meteor
an asteroid
Name the hottest planet in our solar system in which a day on it is longer than a year.
(a)
The photograph shows the largest planet in our solar system.
What is it called?
(a)
The planet Mars is named after the Roman god of war.
What is the most abundant gas on mars?
Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Methane
Study the table and name the planet whose length of day is closest to that of Earth.
(a)
The photo is one taken of the first moon landing.
In what year did man first land on the surface of the Moon?
1969
1971
1967
1965
The photo shows the first landing on the moon?
During what series of space missions did Armstrong and Aldrin land on the Moon?
Apollo
Skylab
Gemini
Mercury
The first unmanned spacecraft to land on Mars was in 1976.
It was called
Viking 1
Viking 3
Apollo 13
Apollo 11
The photo from the NASA website shows a total solar eclipse.
The Moon orbits the Earth, and the Earth obits the Sun.
These bodies are held in orbit about each other by a special force. What is this force called?
Gravitational force
Electrical force
Nuclear force
Magnetic force
The photo shows the rocket launch of the GRACE-FO in 2018.
There are four main stages in the journey of a rocket from Earth to the Moon and back.
Which part of this journey would require the most fuel?
Ascending into Earth's orbit
Descending on to the surface of the Moon
Escaping from Earth's orbit
The journey to the Moon
The photo shows the surface of Mars.
One of the problems facing future colonising of Mars is its atmosphere.
It consists mainly of
carbon dioxide
hydrogen
helium
methane
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon on the first landing in 1969. Another astronaut flew with them to the Moon but never set foot on it.
Who was he?
Michael Collins
Pete Conrad
Yuri Gagarin
Chris Hadfield
It is expected that Mars will be colonised in the next 50 years.
The photo shows a ‘selfie’ taken by the Curiosity Mars Rover in 2019.
Humans will be able to breath without wearing space suits on the Martian surface.
false
true
Only at the poles of the planet
The photo shows a SpaceX satellite in geostationary orbit.
Which of the following statements is not true for a satellite that is in a geostationary orbit?
The satellite will pass over and orbit the Earth in one day.
The satellite will always be in the same position when viewed from Earth.
The satellite will be perfect for telephone and television communications because it will always be in the same place.
It can be used for monitoring the weather.
The Drake equation (above) calculates
the chances of life being found elsewhere in our galaxy.
the chances of life on Mars.
the probability of being invaded by aliens.
the probability that the Earth has a twin.
Space probes are used to explore distant bodies.
NASA has sent Voyager 1 the furthest of all probes launched.
What is the furthest that this space probe has travelled?
The outer edge of our solar system
Mars
The Sun
The Moon
Escape velocity is the minimum velocity a rocket must have in order to escape the gravitational field of the earth.
The escape velocity from Earth is about
40,000 km/h
120 km/hr
300,000,000 m/s
330 m/s
A rocket moves forward when (a) is expelled from the rear of the rocket.
The first artificial satellite was launched by the Russians in 1957.
This was called
Sputnik
Soyuz
Elektro
Mir
Telescopes placed upon satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, produce better images of planets than Earth-based telescopes.
Why this is?
They can observe the planets without the distortion and blurring caused by the Earth's atmosphere.
Because of zero gravity, larger telescopes can be used.
They do not have to contend with atmospheric turbulence.
The telescopes are closer to the planets being looked at.
The photo shows the international space station.
At approximately what height does the International Space Station (ISS) orbit the earth?
330 km
33 km
3.3 km
3,300 km
Mir is one of the objects shown in the Centre of the photo.
The ISS and Mir are examples of
space stations
rocket launchers
space shuttles
communications satellites
The Apollo missions to the Moon were sent up to space using a giant launcher over 100 m tall.
This was a multi-stage rocket.
There are usually (a) stages in a multi-stage rocket.
