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Year 8 - Our Place in Space 2

Total questions: 35

Worksheet time: 18mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which two statements describe the South Pole when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun?

a)

It is summer there

b)

It is winter there

c)

It has 18 hours of daylight

2.

Which two statements describe the North Pole when the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun?

a)

It has 24 hours of darkness

b)

It is summer there

c)

It has 24 hours of daylight

3.

Advances in technology have changed our understanding of the Moon.

a)

True

b)

False

4.

Why does the Moon have phases?

a)

The Earth's shadow falls on the Moon differently at different times of the month

b)

The Moon reflects different amounts of sunlight as it orbits the Earth

c)

We see different amounts of the sunlit side of the Moon as it orbits the Earth

d)

The Moon's orbit is not a perfect circle

5.

In which phase of the lunar cycle are the Moon, Earth and Sun in a straight line?

a)

Full moon

b)

First quarter

c)

Third quarter

d)

Original moon

6.

During a new moon phase, the Moon appears dark because:

a)

It loses its ability to reflect light

b)

It lies on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun so that it falls in our planet's shadow

c)

It lies between the Sun and the Earth so we can only see its shadowed side

7.

In this diagram, which phase of the Moon would we see?

a)

New moon

b)

Full moon

c)

First quarter

d)

Third quarter

8.

In this diagram, which phase of the Moon would we see?

a)

Waning gibbous moon

b)

Waxing gibbous moon

c)

Waning crescent moon

d)

Waxing crescent moon

9.

What is a lunar eclipse?

a)

When the moon is blocked from view

b)

When the sun is blocked from view

c)

When the stars align

10.

What is a solar eclipse?

a)

When the moon is blocked from view because of the sun

b)

When the sun is blocked from view because of the moon

c)

When the stars align

d)

When the sun shifts closer towards earth

11.

A lunar eclipse can only happen on a (a)   moon

12.

The umbra is the inner part of the earths shadow where all of the sun's light has been blocked

a)

True

b)

False

13.

The penumbra is the outer part of the earths shadow where some of the suns light has been blocked

a)

True

b)

False

14.

What phase of the moon is shown in the diagram?

a)

New moon

b)

Waxing cresent

c)

Waning cresent

d)

Waxing gibbous

15.

What phase of the moon is shown in the diagram?

a)

Gibbous moon

b)

Crescent moon

c)

Quarter moon

d)

Third quarter moon

16.

What phase of the moon is shown in the diagram?

a)

Quarter moon

b)

Gibbous moon

c)

Crescent moon

d)

New moon

17.

What phase of the moon is shown in the diagram?

a)

Crescent moon

b)

Gibbous moon

c)

Full moon

d)

Quarter moon

18.

It takes Jupiter 9 hours and 56 minutes to rotate on its axis. The length of one day on Jupiter is:

a)

9 hours and 56 minutes

b)

19 hours and 52 minutes

c)

24 hours

d)

9 Earth days

19.

The large group of rocks travelling around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter are known as:

a)

A meteor shower

b)

The Asteroid Belt

c)

The Milky Way

d)

Meteorites

20.

What is one difference between our Solar System and the Milky Way?

a)

Earth is in the Solar System but not in the Milky Way

b)

The Milky Way has over 100 billion stars, the Solar System has only one star

c)

The Solar System has no stars in it

21.

What keeps the planets in their orbits around the Sun?

a)

Magnetism

b)

Friction

c)

Sunlight

d)

Gravity

22.

The shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun is best described as:

a)

An ellipse

b)

Artificial

c)

A straight line

d)

A perfect circle

23.

What is a satellite?

a)

A star

b)

A piece of rock or ice moving through space in a straight line

c)

An object that orbits around another object

d)

A spacecraft sent to land on a planet or moon

24.

Which planet takes the longest to travel around the Sun?

a)

Neptune

b)

Mercury

c)

Saturn

d)

Earth

25.

Our understanding of the Solar System has been improved by advances in technology.

a)

True

b)

False

26.

The following claims have been made by scientists at different points in history. Which ones are correct?

a)

Planets travel in perfect circles

b)

The Earth rotates on its axis

c)

The Earth is at the centre of the Solar System and does not move

27.

A model that places the Sun at the centre of the Solar System is called:

a)

Heliocentric

b)

Geocentric

28.

Ancient Greeks believed in a geocentric model of the Solar System. In this model, which object was at the centre of the Solar System?

a)

Mars

b)

Earth

c)

The moon

d)

The sun

29.

Johannes Kepler believed in a heliocentric model of the Solar System. He also stated that the shape of each orbit is an ellipse. Which one of these four models represents Kepler's model of the Solar System?

a)

A

b)

B

c)

C

d)

D

30.

How long does one rotation of the Earth take?

a)

12 hours

b)

24 hours

c)

Between 28 and 31 days

d)

365 days

31.

It takes Neptune 16 hours and 6 minutes to rotate once on its axis. A day on Neptune is ________________ a day on Earth.

a)

Shorter than

b)

The same as

c)

Longer than

32.

Why can't the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun explain the seasons?

a)

The two hemispheres experience different seasons at the same times

b)

The shape of Earth's orbit changes from one year to the next

c)

The Earth's orbit is perfectly circular so the heating effect of the Sun is the same throughout the year

d)

The Earth does not orbit the Sun

33.

The tilt of the Earth's axis is the main reason we have seasons because it means that:

a)

The amount of sunlight a location receives varies through the day

b)

The southern hemisphere is always tilted away from the Sun

c)

The amount of sunlight a location receives varies through the year

d)

Some locations never receive any sunlight

34.

A gibbous moon occurs when we can see ____________ of the bright side of the Moon.

a)

More than half

b)

Less than half

c)

All

d)

None

35.

Waning means:

a)

Getting smaller

b)

Getting larger

c)

Orbiting

d)

Rotating