Astronomy Quiz: Moons and Eclipses

Tides and Eclipses

• Spring tides occur at new and full moons, and have the highest high tides and lowest low tides.
• Neap tides occur at first- and third-quarter moons, and have the lowest high tides and highest low tides.
• Solar eclipses can only be seen from within the shadow of the Moon.
• Lunar eclipses can only occur during a full moon.
• Solar eclipses occur only during a new moon because the Moon, Earth, and Sun must be aligned.

The Solar System

• The outer layer of the solar system is the Oort cloud.
• Ices formed far from the Sun, where temperatures were extremely cold.
• Rocks formed closer to the Sun, where temperatures were hotter.
• Metals formed even closer to the Sun, where temperatures were extremely hot.
• Planets further from the Sun formed as ices.
• The Sun is the source of almost all energy on Earth.

Earth's Rotation and Revolution

• Earth rotates from west to east.
• Objects in the sky appear to move in the opposite direction, from east to west.
• The difference between a planet's rotation and its revolution is that rotation is the spinning of a planet on its axis, while revolution is the orbit of a planet around the Sun.

Climate and Weather

• Continental polar air masses are very cold and dry, and form over the interiors of Canada and Alaska.
• Continental tropical air masses are warm and dry, and form over the southwest United States and Mexico.
• Maritime polar air masses are mild and humid, and form over the North Pacific Ocean.
• Maritime polar air masses are cold and humid, and form over the North Atlantic Ocean.
• Deforestation can cause changes in climate.
• The city with the smallest change in average temperature between January and July is San Francisco.
• The factor that strongly influences the climate of San Francisco is the ocean west of the city.

Review Questions

• Organisms on Earth receive energy from the Sun and also from Earth itself.
• The longest a total solar eclipse can last is about 7 minutes.
• The atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen and 78 percent nitrogen.
• Water vapor makes up less than 1 percent of the total atmosphere.
• The heating of a satellite's interior may provide enough thermal energy to allow for liquid water on the moons.
• Astronauts rely on their spacecraft and spacesuits to shield them from dangerous solar radiation and solar particles.
• Oxygen is supplied for long trips by passing an electric current through water.
• The International Space Station (ISS) is a large, artificial satellite that orbits Earth and has been continuously occupied since the first crew arrived in 2000.