Deck 2: Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth

Question 1

Johannes Kepler obtained accurate data on the positions of the planets in the sky over time,which Galileo used to prove that planets revolved around the Sun.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Earth revolves around the Sun in the same direction Earth spins about its axis.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The seasons on Earth are caused by the change in distance between the Sun and Earth.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The altitude of the Sun as it crosses the meridian changes during the year.

Question 5

Even though they move at faster average speeds,the outer planets in the Solar System have longer periods than the inner planets because they are so far from the Sun that their orbits are enormous.

Question 6

The fact that we always see the same side of the Moon indicates that the Moon does not rotate about an axis.

Question 7

The equator is the only place on Earth where you can see the entire celestial sphere (day or night)over the course of 24 hours.

Question 8

A planet travels fastest when it is closest to the Sun.

Question 9

On the autumnal equinox,the lengths of both day and night are 12 hours.

Question 10

A person who lives at the equator will see the Sun directly overhead at noon every day of the year.

Question 11

A new Moon will always be in the eastern sky at sunrise.

Question 12

Constellations are arbitrary groupings of stars in the sky.

Question 13

As we move farther from the Sun,the circumferences of planetary orbits are larger and the speeds at which planets travel increase.

Question 14

When a solar eclipse occurs,the Sun lies between the Earth and Moon.

Question 15

The meridian is half of a great circle in the sky that passes through an observer's zenith and the Earth's poles.

Question 16

Planets with circular orbits travel at the same speed at all points in their orbits,whereas planets with elliptical orbits change their speeds at different points in their orbits.

Question 17

Planets orbit the Sun on circular orbits.

Question 18

When a lunar eclipse occurs,on average more people will witness it as a partial eclipse than as a total eclipse.

Question 19

The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere occurs on the summer solstice.

Question 20

If a star rises on the eastern horizon,it will set on the western horizon 6 hours later.

Question 21

Leap years occur because:

A) the Earth's orbital period around the Sun is decreasing
B) the Earth's orbital period is 365.24 days
C) the Gregorian calendar contains only 11 months
D) the Earth speeds up in its orbit when it comes closest to the Sun

Question 22

The ecliptic plane is defined by the motion of __________ in the sky.

A) the Moon
B) the Sun
C) Polaris
D) the stars

Question 23

Johannes Kepler found that a planet's period was inversely proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis.

Question 24

The apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere during a year is called the:

A) prime meridian
B) ecliptic plane
C) circumpolar plane
D) celestial equator

Question 25

No matter where you are on Earth,stars appear to rotate about a point called the:

A) zenith
B) celestial pole
C) meridian
D) equinox

Question 26

The shortest day of the year for a person living in the NORTHERN Hemisphere is the:

A) summer solstice
B) vernal equinox
C) winter solstice
D) autumnal equinox

Question 27

At what latitude is the north celestial pole at your horizon?

A) 0°
B) +30°
C) +60°
D) +90°
E) This can never happen.

Question 28

The meridian is defined as a great circle on the sky on which lie the:

A) celestial equator and vernal equinox
B) north and south celestial poles
C) zenith and the north and south celestial poles
D) zenith and east and west directions

Question 29

When the Northern Hemisphere experiences summer,the Southern Hemisphere experiences:

A) spring
B) summer
C) fall
D) winter

Question 30

Kepler's third law holds true mathematically only if the period is expressed in years and the semimajor axis is expressed in AU.

Question 31

If you go out at exactly 9 P.M.each evening over the course of one month,the position of a given star will move westward by tens of degrees.What causes this motion?

A) The Earth's rotation on its axis
B) The revolution of the Earth around the Sun
C) The revolution of the Moon around the Earth
D) The revolution of the Sun around the Earth

Question 32

At a latitude of +50°,how far above the horizon is the north celestial pole?

A) 0°
B) 40°
C) 50°
D) 90°

Question 33

The Earth's rotational axis precesses in space and completes one revolution every:

A) 200 years
B) 1,800 years
C) 26,000 years
D) 51,000 years

Question 34

The direction directly overhead of an observer defines his/her:

A) meridian
B) celestial pole
C) circumpolar plane
D) zenith

Question 35

If the star Polaris has an altitude of 35° then we know that:

A) our longitude is +55°
B) our latitude is +55°
C) our longitude is +35°
D) our latitude is +35°

Question 36

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States at a latitude of +40°.Use the figure below to determine which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest the meridian at midnight in March.

A) Scorpius
B) Gemini
C) Aquarius
D) Leo

Question 37

On which day of the year does the Sun reach its northernmost point in the sky?

A) Vernal equinox
B) Summer solstice
C) Autumnal equinox
D) Winter solstice

Question 38

At what latitude is the north celestial pole located at your zenith?

A) 0°
B) +30°
C) +60°
D) +90°
E) This occurs at every latitude.

Question 39

If the Earth's axis were tilted by 5° relative to the direction perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun,which would be TRUE?

A) The seasons would remain the same.
B) Summers would be warmer.
C) Winters would last longer.
D) Winters would be warmer.

Question 40

How far away on average is the Earth from the Sun?

A) 8.3 million kilometers
B) 45 million kilometers
C) 93 million kilometers
D) 150 million kilometers

Question 41

In regard to the phase of the Moon,the term waxing means:

A) less than half-illuminated
B) more than half-illuminated
C) becoming smaller
D) increasing in brightness

Question 42

Solar and lunar eclipses are rare because:

A) the Moon's orbital plane is tipped by 5.2° relative to the plane defined by the Earth's equator
B) the Moon's orbital plane is tipped by 5.2° relative to the Earth's orbital plane
C) the Moon's orbital plane is tipped by 23.5° relative to the plane defined by the Earth's equator
D) the Moon's orbital plane is tipped by 23.5° relative to the Earth's orbital plane

Question 43

If tonight the Moon is in the waxing gibbous phase,in three days the Moon will most likely be in the:

A) new phase
B) full phase
C) third quarter phase
D) first quarter phase

Question 44

Which of the following is FALSE?

A) Everyone on Earth observes the same phase of the Moon on a given night.
B) The phases of the Moon cycle with a period of approximately one month.
C) In some phases,the Moon can be observed during the day.
D) The observed phase of the Moon changes over the course of one night.

Question 45

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when:

A) the Sun appears to go behind the Moon
B) the Moon passes through part of the Earth's shadow
C) the Moon shadows part of the Sun
D) the Earth passes through part of the Moon's shadow

Question 46

During which lunar phase do solar eclipses occur?

A) New
B) First quarter
C) Full
D) Third quarter

Question 47

We experience seasons because:

A) the Earth's equator is tilted relative to the plane of the solar system
B) the Earth is closer to the Sun in summer and farther from the Sun in the winter
C) the length of the day is longer in the summer and shorter in the winter
D) the Earth moves with a slower speed in its orbit during summer and faster during winter

Question 48

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States at a latitude of +40°.Use the figure below to determine which constellation of the zodiac would be nearest the meridian at 6 P.M.in September.

A) Scorpius
B) Gemini
C) Aquarius
D) Leo

Question 49

At what time does the waxing gibbous phase rise?

A) 3 P.M.
B) 9 A.M.
C) 3 A.M.
D) 9 P.M.

Question 50

If you went out tonight and looked at the sky at midnight,at what time would you have to observe 6 months from now in order to find the stars in exactly the same position in the sky? Assume that you could see the stars at any time,day or night.

A) 6 A.M.
B) Noon
C) 6 P.M.
D) Midnight

Question 51

If there is a full Moon out tonight,approximately how long from now will it be in the third quarter phase?

A) Three to four days
B) One week
C) Two weeks
D) One month

Question 52

Approximately how often do lunar eclipses occur?

A) Twice every year
B) Once per month
C) Twice every 11 months
D) Once every 11 years

Question 53

If a person on Earth currently views the Moon in a waxing crescent phase,in what phase would the Earth appear to a person on the Moon?

A) Waxing crescent
B) Waxing gibbous
C) Waning gibbous
D) Waning crescent

Question 54

At what time does a third quarter Moon rise? (Hint: A third quarter Moon occurs approximately 3 weeks after a new Moon.)

A) 12 midnight
B) 12 noon
C) 6 A.M.
D) 6 P.M.

Question 55

What time does a third quarter Moon rise?

A) 12 midnight
B) 12 noon
C) 6 A.M.
D) 6 P.M.

Question 56

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States at a latitude of +40°.Use the figure below to determine which month it is if the zodiac constellation Taurus is on your meridian at midnight.

A) July
B) November
C) January
D) May

Question 57

Assume you are observing the night sky from a typical city in the United States at a latitude of +40°.Use the figure below to determine which constellation of the zodiac would be rising at 10 P.M.in May.

A) Pisces
B) Virgo
C) Gemini
D) Sagittarius

Question 58

The shortest day of the year for a person living in the SOUTHERN Hemisphere is the:

A) summer solstice (June 1)
B) vernal equinox (March 21)
C) winter solstice (Dec.22)
D) autumnal equinox (Sept.23)

Question 59

The Moon undergoes synchronous rotation,and as a consequence the:

A) rotational period of the Moon equals the orbital period of the Moon around the Earth
B) rotational period of the Moon equals the rotational period of the Earth
C) rotational period of the Moon equals the orbital period of the Earth around the Sun
D) Moon does not rotate as it orbits the Earth

Question 60

For a person who lives at a latitude of +40°,when is the Sun directly overhead at noon?

A) Only on the summer solstice
B) Only on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes
C) Never
D) Always

Question 61

The eccentricity of the majority of the planetary orbits in our Solar System is approximately:

A) 0
B) 1
C) 0.5
D) 0.2

Question 62

The average distance between a planet and the Sun is given by the __________ of its elliptical orbit.

A) radius
B) minor axis
C) eccentricity
D) semimajor axis

Question 63

What makes the equinoxes and solstices special?

Question 64

The center of the Milky Way lies approximately 30° south of the celestial equator.From what latitudes on the Earth is it impossible to view the center of our galaxy?

Question 65

A circle has an eccentricity of __________ and a line has an eccentricity of __________.

A) 1; 0
B) 1; 1
C) 0; infinity
D) 0; 1

Question 66

How is the observed height of Polaris above the horizon related to an observer's latitude? (Hint: Consider three cases of observers located at the equator,the North Pole,and latitude = +45 ^$\circ$ .)

Question 67

Suppose an asteroid had an orbit with a semimajor axis of 4 AU.How long would it take for it to orbit once around the Sun?

A) 2 years
B) 4 years
C) 8 years
D) 16 years

Question 68

The figure below is a time exposure of the sky,showing the motion of the stars through the night.What is the name for the stars that never rise or set below the horizon?

Question 69

The time it takes a planet to complete one full orbital revolution is commonly known as its:

A) period
B) frequency
C) orbital domain
D) velocity

Question 70

Which of the following is TRUE about a comet that is on an elliptical orbit around the Sun?

A) The comet's speed is greatest when it is farthest from the Sun.
B) The comet's speed is greatest when it is nearest the Sun.
C) This comet's speed is zero.
D) The comet's speed is constant because its mass and the Sun's mass stay approximately the same.

Question 71

Kepler's third law is a relationship between an orbiting object's:

A) gravitational force and mass
B) acceleration and mass
C) velocity and period
D) period and semimajor axis

Question 72

For the following figure,label the north and south celestial poles,the celestial equator,and the ecliptic.

Question 73

When the Earth catches up to a slower moving outer planet and passes it in its orbit like a faster runner overtakes a slower runner in an outside lane,the planet:

A) exhibits retrograde motion
B) slows down because it feels the Earth's gravitational pull
C) decreases in brightness as it passes through the Earth's shadow
D) moves into a more elliptical orbit

Question 74

Kepler's third law can be expressed mathematically as:

A) P = A
B) P² = A²
C) P² = A³
D) P³ = A²

Question 75

On what place(s)on Earth can you stand and have the great circle of the celestial equator be at the same height relative to your horizon for all 360° of its circumference?

Question 76

If the Sun is located at one focus of Earth's elliptical orbit,what is at the other focus?

A) Earth
B) The Moon
C) Nothing
D) This is a trick question.An ellipse has only one focus.

Question 77

What would be the effect on the seasons if the tilt of the Earth's axis were 10° rather than 23.5°?

Question 78

If you travel 20 miles from home to school in 30 minutes,what is your average velocity?

A) 20 mph
B) 40 mph
C) 0.7 mph
D) 5 mph

Question 79

If Jupiter has an orbital period of 12 years,what is its average distance from the Sun?

A) 2 AU
B) 25 AU
C) 10 AU
D) 5 AU

Question 80

Earth experiences seasons due to the tilt of its axis.What are the two consequences of this tilt that contribute to the seasons?