wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Sun-Earth-Moon System Unit Summative Spring, '24

Total questions: 55

Worksheet time: 5hrs 35mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
What causes day and night on Earth?
a)
the tilt of Earth's axis
b)
Earth's revolution around the sun
c)
the moon
d)
Earth's rotation
2.

As the Earth rotates counterclockwise, in which direction do the Sun, Moon, and other planets and stars rise?

a)

north

b)

south

c)

east

d)

west

3.
Why does Earth have seasons?
a)

because sometimes the Earth is closer to the sun and farther away from the Sun

b)

because the temperature of the Sun changes

c)
because Earth's axis is tilted
d)
because of Earth's rotation and revolution
4.

When the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, what will they experience?

a)

More direct sun rays

b)

More indirect sun rays

c)

An equal amount of direct and indirect rays

d)

Winter at the opposite time as the northern hemisphere

5.
What has the greatest influence on tides?
a)

gravitational pull of the Sun

b)

gravitational pull of the Moon

c)
gravitational pull of the Earth
d)
gravitational pull of other planets
6.

Why does the same side of the Moon always face the Earth?

a)

the Moon doesn't rotate

b)

the Moon doesn't revolve

c)

the Earth's gravity keeps the Moon facing it

d)

the Moon's rotation and revolution takes the same amount of time

7.

What determines which phase of the Moon you see?

a)

your longitude on Earth

b)
how much of the sunlit side faces Earth
c)

how much of the Moon is lit by the Sun

d)

how much of the Moon is in the sky

8.

What if the Earth was not tilted on its axis?

a)
we would not have day and night
b)
we would have longer years
c)
we would not have seasons
d)
we would have two seasons
9.

During what Moon phases do spring tides occur?

a)
full and new
b)
first and third quarters
c)
full only
d)
all phases
10.
What moon phase would you see a full moon?
a)
1
b)
3
c)
5
d)
7
11.

What moon phase would you see at number 8?

a)
waning crescent
b)
full
c)
new
d)

waning gibbous

12.
Where would you see a crescent moon?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
13.
Where would you see a gibbous moon?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
14.

During an equinox, sunlight strikes the Earth most directly at the equator.

a)
True
b)
False
15.

Which number represents perihelion?

a)

1

b)

2

c)

3

d)

4

16.

What blocks most of the solar particles from the Sun on Earth?

a)
the Photosphere
b)

Earth's magnetic field

c)
the Earth's crust
d)
the corona
17.

When the northern hemisphere (where we live) is tilted toward the Sun, what season are we in?

a)

winter

b)

spring

c)

summer

d)

fall

18.
When do neap tides occur?
a)
New moon and Full moon
b)

First and last (third) quarter moons

c)
Waxing moons
d)
Waning moons
19.

What is the source of energy for all processes on Earth?

a)

gravity

b)

density

c)

the Earth

d)

the Moon

e)

the Sun

20.

The darkest part of the shadow in an eclipse is the __________.

a)

Earth

b)

Moon

c)

Penumbra

d)

Umbra

21.

The lighter part of the shadow in an eclipse is the __________.

a)

Earth

b)

Moon

c)

Penumbra

d)

Umbra

22.

Which type of eclipse occurs at a full moon when Earth is directly between the Moon and the Sun?

a)

Earth eclipse

b)

Lunar eclipse

c)

Jovian eclipse

d)

Solar eclipse

23.

The imaginary plane that connects Earth's orbit with the celestial sphere is the ______________________.

a)

celestial plane

b)

eclilpse

c)

plane of the ecliptic

d)

vernal equinox

24.

What word means relating to the stars?

a)

day

b)

sidereal

c)

solar

d)

rotation

25.

What is a sidereal year?

a)

The time required for Earth to complete exactly one orbit around the Sun, relative to the stars

b)

The time it takes Earth to rotate one time completely

c)

The time it takes the Sun to complete one orbit in our solar system

d)

The time it takes the Sun to orbit one time through the Milky Way

26.

The average period of revolution of the Moon around the Earth in reference to a fixed star, equal to 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes in units of mean solar time is a _________________.

a)

sidereal month

b)

sidereal year

c)

synodic month

d)

synodic year

27.

What is the main difference between the terms sidereal and synodic?

a)

Sidereal is the difference between a month and a year.

b)

Synodic is always relative to the stars.

c)

Sidereal is always relative to the Sun.

d)

Synodic is always relative to the Sun.

28.

READ CAREFULLY!

Which is the correct order of the lunar phases?

Start the new moon.

a)

New moon, waning crescent, first quarter, waning gibbous, full moon, waxing crescent, last quarter, waxing gibbous, new moon

b)

New moon, waxing crescent first quarter, waning crescent, full moon, last quarter, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous

c)

Full moon, waxing gibbous, first quarter, waxing crescent, new moon, waning crescent, waning gibbous

d)

New moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent

29.

When the Sun reaches its zenith, approximately what time is it?

a)

12:00 am-2:00 am

b)

11:00 am-12:00 am

c)

12:00 pm-2:00 pm

d)

5:00 pm-7:00 pm

30.

What is a zenith?

a)

altitude

b)

meridian

c)

lowest point

d)

highest point

31.

The two days of the year on which the Sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator are the ___________.

Look at the picture! This causes days with the longest and shortest number of daylight hours in our calendar.

a)

equinox

b)

nadir

c)

solstice

d)

zenith

32.

The point in a moon's orbit where it is nearest to the Earth is ____________.

a)

apogee

b)

Moon

c)

perigee

d)

perihelion

33.

Any apparent motion in the sky that repeats on a daily basis, such as the rising and setting of stars is _____________________.

a)

diurnal motion

b)

equinox

c)

aphelion

d)

solstice

34.

A __________________ occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth and casts a shadow over part of Earth.

a)

equinox

b)

full moon

c)

solar eclipse

d)

lunar eclipse

35.

To get the best view of a solar eclipse event, where do you need to be?

a)

line of totality

b)

meridian

c)

penumbra

d)

umbra

36.

What does the root word gee refer to?

a)

Earth

b)

Moon

c)

Sun

d)

Terrestrial

37.

What does the root word geo refer to?

a)

Earth

b)

Moon

c)

Sun

d)

Terrestrial

38.

What does the root word helio refer to?

a)

Earth

b)

Moon

c)

Sun

d)

Terrestrial

39.

Which type of movement is shown here?

a)

ellipse

b)

revolution

c)

rotation

d)

round

40.

Which location shows the Earth at aphelion?

a)

1

b)

2

c)

3

d)

4

41.

If the Earth had no Moon, what changes would be immediately noticeable? Choose ALL the correct answers!

a)

Without Earth's tilted axis from the collision that created the Moon, we would not have seasons on Earth.

b)

Without the Moon's gravity to stabilize Earth's tilt, our axis would shift.

c)

Nights would be absolutely black with darkness.

d)

Tides would be lower overall because the Moon's gravity would not pull on the oceans.

42.

How are eclipses named?

a)

Eclipses are named for what is casting the shadow.

b)

Eclipses are named for whatever is covered in shadow, whatever is blocked.

c)

Eclipses are named for astronomers who discovered them.

d)

Eclipses are named after constellations in which they occur.

43.

The reason that most solar winds do not disrupt electricity on the Earth is due to the Earth’s ______.

a)

poles

b)

magnetic field

c)

stratosphere

d)

auroras

44.

Which layer of the Sun can be seen here?

We can only photograph it on Earth during a total solar eclipse.

a)
chromosphere
b)
corona
c)
photosphere
d)
core
45.
Which pair of objects has the greatest force of gravity between them? 
a)
The top pair because they are farther apart.
b)
The bottom pair because they are closer together.
c)
The top pair because they are moving fast.
d)
The bottom pair because they are moving slow.
46.

Why do we have tides here on Earth?

a)

We have tides because of how the Moon's gravity pulls on different parts of the Earth.

b)
We have tides because the Earth's oceans move.
c)
We have tides only because of the sun's gravity pulling on Earth.
d)
We have tides because of how the Earth revolves around the sun.
47.

The Sun has more mass than Earth. Why doesn't the Moon orbit the Sun instead of Earth?

a)

The moon is closer to Earth than the Sun so its gravitational pull is more.

b)

It does orbit the Sun because of Earth's orbit around the Sun.

c)

The Earth has a greater mass than the Sun.

d)

Earth's magnetic field is so strong it pulls the Moon close.

48.
Which set of objects has the greatest force of gravity between them?
a)
The bottom pair because the spheres have a greater mass.
b)
The bottom pair because the spheres are closer together.
c)
The top pair because the spheres are further apart. 
d)
The top pair because the spheres have a smaller mass.
49.

In which area of the sun does gas rise as it heats up, then fall back down as it cools?

a)

the core

b)

the radiative zone

c)

the convective zone

d)

the corona

50.
The particles of the corona extends into space for millions of kilometers and spreads into streams of electrically charged particles called:
a)
coronal discharge
b)
solar flares
c)
coronal ejection
d)
solar winds
51.
What elements make up most of the sun’s mass?
a)
carbon and oxygen
b)
carbon and hydrogen
c)
helium and nitrogen
d)
hydrogen and helium
52.
What is a light year?
a)
the speed that light travels in a year
b)
the speed that light travels from the sun to earth
c)
the distance light travels in a year
53.

Over 99% of the solar system's total mass is in the Sun.

Critical Thinking Question: How did this contribute to the development of our solar system?

Mark more than one correct answer!

a)

The Sun's gravity caused

b)

As the object with the greatest mass, all of the planets orbit the Sun.

c)
73.8%
d)
Over 99%
54.

When drawing a "flat Earth" model to show Earth's tilted axis, which tools and steps must you use to be sure that your model is accurate?

You must mark THREE correct answers.

a)

Use a protractor to mark the degrees.

b)

Use a compass to draw a perfect circle.

c)

Mark the the circle at 0 degrees at the top and 23.5 degrees at the bottom.

d)

Draw a line connecting 0 & 23.5 degrees

e)

Draw a straight line through the circle's center, connecting your marks for 23.5 degrees.

55.

Why does Earth have a magnetic field?

a)

Earth is surrounded by magnetic chunks from asteroids.

b)

Earth's crust is ALL metallic ores. As tectonic plates move, they have a magnetic effect.

c)

It is a solid, metallic inner core, surrounded by a liquid, metallic outer core that moves.

d)

Earth pulls in the Sun's energy and uses it to make magnets in space.