physical science chap. 16 online assessment
Arrange the steps in their proper sequence to explain our model of the Moon's formation, with the first starting step at the top of the list
1. a large 2. the moon form 3. the moon's surface 4. the moon's crust
Rank the following items from least massive to most massive, with the least massive at the top
1. apollo 2. moon 3. earth 4. sun
The Moon is about ______ the mass of Earth
1/81
Earth turns once in 24 hours, so 24 time zones were created, each 1 hour different from its neighbor. Therefore, on average, the time zones are ° (of longitude) wide. (Enter a number.)
15
standard time zone
15 wide zones defined to have the same throughout the zone, defined as the mean solar time at the middle of each zone
The tilt, or the inclination of Earth's axis, is ______ from perpendicular to Earth's orbit. (That is, the answer would be zero if Earth's axis ran straight up from the ecliptic.)
23.5
Tropic of capricorn
23.5 S
Using radioactive dating, the age of the highland rocks on the Moon is ______ years. The maria rocks are about ______ years old.
4 billion 3.1 billion
Select which statement accurately describes tides.
At many locations on Earth, there are two high tides and two low tides each day.
The first quarter moon is visible from Earth when the Moon is at position ______
B
Select all of the following features that you might find on the Moon.
Craters Ice in shadowed deep craters Lava plains
A full moon is visible from Earth when the Moon is at position ______
D
new moon
Dark (unlit) side of the Moon facing Earth
The best explanation for why Earth has a second tidal bulge opposite the Moon is that ______
Earth's motion causes Earth to move "away" from the bulge of water on the opposite side
The tidal bulges are offset slightly and not located directly under and opposite the Moon because ______
Earth's rapid rotation carries the tidal bulge ahead of the spot below the Moon
annular eclipse
Eclipse in which the Moon is too far away to completely block the Sun, leaving a ring of Sun visible
partial eclipse
Eclipse observed from the penumbra rather than the umbra
maria
Flat plains, less cratered, appear dark
first quater
Half moon observed a week before the full moon
last quater
Half-moon observed a week before the new moon
pole
One of two reference points to establish a "top" or "bottom"
Select all the statements that describe precession of Earth's axis.
Polaris will not always be the North Star. The effect is similar to a wobbling top. The cycle takes about 26,000 years.
Summer solstice
The South Pole experiences 24 hours of darkness.
summer solstice
The days when Earth's axis is most tilted toward the Sun
spring equinox
The first time there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night after the winter solstice
Use the diagram to help select all the true statements about the phases.
The full moon is visible all night long. The last quarter moon is illuminated on the left side as seen from Earth. Half the Moon is always lit by the Sun.
sidereal year
Time between two successive alignments of the Sun and a star
tropical year
Time between two successive equinoxes
The statements describe lunar or solar eclipses. Select all that describe lunar eclipses
Typically last for several hours Visible to everyone on the night side of Earth
The statements describe lunar or solar eclipses. Select all that describe lunar eclipses.
Typically last for several hours Visible to everyone on the night side of Earth
What is the best method to find the age of lunar rocks?
Use radioactive dating on samples returned to Earth.
full moon
Visible all night long as the dark side of Earth faces the lit Moon
lunar eclipse
When Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun
solar eclipse
When the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun
equator
a line halfway between the poles
Noon, or more precisely, apparent solar noon, is when ______. (Select all that apply
a shadow cast by the Sun is shortest on that day the Sun crosses the meridian on the sky the Sun reaches its highest altitude on its path across the sky the Sun is directly above the southern horizon
The best place to find frozen water ice on the Moon is ______
along permanently shadowed crater walls
Most of the craters on the Moon formed ______.
during a period of bombardment between 3.9 and 4.2 billion years ago
The Moon has a lower overall density than Earth, and its rocks display differences in composition and density compared to Earth rocks. It orbits Earth in the same direction as Earth rotates and revolves. This suggests the Moon ______
formed after an object the size of Mars hit Earth, splattering low-density mantle and crust material into orbit
The red circle indicates Earth's position in
june
tropic of cancer
june 21
lunar highlands
light colored mountainous regions of the moon
The shadow cast by a sundial is shortest at apparent noon
local
Compared to a sidereal day, a solar day is
longer
Without time zones, every ______ could have its own local time
longitude
An eclipse that lasts for several hours and is visible to everyone on the same side of Earth must be a eclipse. An eclipse for which most viewers see a partial eclipse, and a few see a total eclipse for a few minutes, must be a eclipse
lunar solar
The red circle on the image is an example of each of the following except ______
lunar highlands
the bright areas when you look at the moon
lunar highlands
martes
mar
The rocks with the highest density are found at the Moon's ______
maria
At the point in Earth's orbit indicated by the red circle, Earth is moving at its ______ speed around the Sun.
max
miercoles
mercury
monday
moon
Much of Earth's surface experiences two tides each day because the Moon pulls Earth's water and the Earth ______
moves away from water on the far side
new york city
never
The time that the Sun crosses the meridian on the sky (the line running from north to south) is
noon
meridians
north-south-running arcs that intersect at both poles and are perpendicular to the parallels
If placed on a nonspinning planet, a Foucault pendulum would ______
not appear to rotate
lunar eclipse
occurs when the moon is full and the sun, moon, and earth are lined up so the shadow of earth falls on the moon
rotation
one 360 turn
A peculiarity of the Moon's structure is that ______
one side of the crust is about twice as thick as the other
Spring tides (or "king tides") are mostly likely to occur when the Moon is at ______
perigee
The closest the Moon ever gets to Earth during its monthly elliptical orbit is called ______
perigee
...of the Moon are due to seeing varying portions of the one-half sunlit portion of the Moon.
phases
The red circle on the diagram indicates the Moon is all of the following EXCEPT ______
receiving less sunlight from the Sun than at full moon
sunday
sun
The light from Moon phases comes from ______
sunlight reflected by the Moon
Ancient civilizations understood Earth was spherical, but it was not widely accepted that Earth rotated until a few hundred years ago because ______.
the Foucault pendulum experiment wasn't performed until the mid-1800s philosophically, Earth was taken to be the center of the universe it doesn't feel like Earth is moving
The Moon is believed to have a proportionally small core. This observation helps explain ______
the Moon's low density (3.34 g/cm3) compared to Earth's (5.5 g/cm3)
noon
the event of time when the Sun moves across the celestial meridian
winter solstice
the north pole experiences 24 hours of darkness
A sundial measures apparent solar time. This can be a little ahead or behind the time on a standard clock because ______. (Select all that apply.)
the path of the Sun on the sky varies with latitude and time of year Earth travels faster when it is closer to the Sun
tides
the periodic rise and fall of the level of the sea from the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun
ecliptic
the plane of the earth's orbit
apogee
the point at which the moon's elliptical orbit takes the moon farthest from earth
orbit
the region of space around the nucleus of an atom where an electron is likely to be found
precession
the slow wobble of the axis of Earth similar to the wobble of a spinning top
tropical year
the time interval between two consecutive spring equinoxes; used as standard for the common calendar year
sidereal year
the time interval required for Earth to move around its orbit so that the sun is again in the same position against the stars
Normally, there is a leap year every four years because ______
the tropical year is about a quarter of a day longer than an even number of days
All eight planets orbit the Sun in the same direction in the same plane. This is because
their motion retains characteristics of the disk of material they formed from
The seven-day week traces its origin back at least as far as Babylonian times. The week was divided into seven days because ______
there were five planets and two other objects that moved regularly through the sky
perigee
when the moon's elliptical orbit brings the moon closest to earth
eclipse
when the shadow of a celestial body falls on the surface of another celestial body
In the Northern Hemisphere, shadows cast by the noontime sun are longest at the
winter
We have leap years because
Earth does not orbit the Sun in a whole number of days
Select all that are reasons the Greeks believed the Earth to be round.
Earth is perfect, and so is a sphere. The shape of Earth's shadow on the Moon is spherical. The position of the North Star above the horizon changes as you move north or south. Ships slowly disappear as they sail toward the horizon.
The observation of a Foucault pendulum reveals that ______
Earth will turn under the pendulum, making it seem to change direction
Autumnal equinox
Earth's axis is neither tilted toward nor away from the Sun
The best observational evidence that Earth has a rounded shape is
Earth's shadow is circular during a lunar eclipse
prime meridian
East-west reference point
The terms describe maria or highland regions on the Moon. Select all the terms that describe highlands.
Lighter in color Mountainous Lower density rocks
meridian
Line running on the sphere from pole to pole
The figure shows the celestial sphere. For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the point indicated by the red circle is the ______
autumnal
The tropical year is the basis of the calendar and is related to Earth's tilt and orbit. A tropical year is the time ______
between successive spring equinoxes
Revolution
one orbit
The wobble of the planet's axis illustrated in the diagram is called ______.
precession
Dust on the Moon's surface is called
regolith
Earth's axis is defined by its ______
rotation around it
Lines of latitude ______
run parallel to the equator have different circumferences (in km) describe how far something is from the equator
saturday
saturn
equator
september 21
maria
smooth, dark areas on the moon
An apparent... day is the time between two successive crossings of the celestial meridian by the Sun. A... day is the time between two successive crossings by a specific star.
solar sidereal
Equator
0
In about... thousand years, the star directly over Earth's North Pole will be the star named Vega.
14
tropic of cancer
23.5 N
antarctic circle
66.5 S
arctic circle
66.5N
parallel
Circle that is parallel to the equator
winter solstice
Happens around December 22
vernal equinox
Happens around March 21
synodic month
Interval of time between two successive new moon phases
What did the Apollo astronauts discover about the Moon's surface?
It is covered by about 3 meters of fine gray dust.
lunar highlands
Mountainous regions, heavily cratered
Arrange these key parallels from north (top) to south (bottom)
North Pole Tropica of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn Antarctic Circle
Autmnal Equinox
One of the two days when Earth's axis is neither tilted toward nor away from the Sun
Select all of the following that characterize the rocks found in the lunar maria
Solidified lava Denser than rock in the highlands Basalt
Which one of the following statements characterizes lines of latitude?
They are circles of various circumferences parallel to the equator.
Which of the following characterizes lines of longitude (meridians)?
They are half-circles of the same length that run from pole to pole.
sidereal month
Time between two successive alignments between the Moon and a star
The best experimental evidence that Earth spins is ______.
a Foucault pendulum
foucault pendulum
a heavy mass swinging from a long wire
Lines of longitude (meridians) ______
cross the equator all have the same length (in km) meet at the poles are separated by different distances (in km) at different latitudes
tropic of capricorn
december 21
The first day of spring occurs on the
equinox
The point at which the path of the Sun through the sky crosses the celestial equator is the ______.
equinox
True or false: The Moon is a desolate place with no water.
false
longitude
the angular distance of a point east or west from the prime meridian on a parallel
If a new ninth planet were discovered in our solar system that orbited the Sun in an opposite direction than the other eight planets, astronomers would most likely assume that ______.
this planet originated in another star system and was gravitationally captured
Since the local time depends on longitude, one solution in timekeeping that simplified long-distance communication and business was the creation of ______
time zones
At which position in the diagram is Earth closest to being precisely 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) from the Sun?
top
the sun
what earth revolves around
axis
what earth rotates around
