JEOPARDY: Sun, Moon, and Stars
The Sun & Shadows
100 Q: In what direction does the Sun rise each day?
A: East
200 Q: What time of year would your shadow be the longest?
A: winter
300 Q: What is a shadow, and what do you need to create one?
A: A shadow is the dark area behind an object. To create a shadow you need a light source and an object to block the light.
400 Q: What affects the change in size and direction of a shadow over the course of a day?
A: the position of the Sun in the sky
500 Q: How does the Sun’s path across the sky change in one year?
A: The Sun gets higher in the sky in the summer than it does in the winter.
The Moon
100 Q: True or false? The Moon rotates AND revolves.
A: true
200 Q: An object that travels around another object in space is called what?
A: a satellite
300 Q: How many weeks between new Moons? Clue: this is the length of the lunar cycle.
A: about a month (28 days)
400 Q: What causes the Moon to been seen?
A: The sunlight is reflecting off of the surface of the Moon, creating the illusion that it makes its own light.
500 Q: Explain how you know the Moon is waxing or waning.
A: If the lit part of the Moon is getting bigger each night and is lit up on the right, it is waxing. If the lit part of the Moon is getting smaller each night and is lit up on the left, it is waning.
Stars
100 Q: What is the closest star to Earth?
A: the Sun
200 Q: Why do stars appear to move across the night sky?
A: Stars do not move, but because Earth is rotating it looks like they move across the night sky from east to west.
300 Q: What is a constellation?
A: a group of stars that form a pattern and are often named after animals, objects, or people.
400 Q: Why don’t we see constellations during the day?
A: Because the Sun is so bright it drowns out the light from the other stars in the sky.
500 Q: Why are some constellations visible only at certain times of the year?
A: As the Earth orbits the Sun, the dark side of Earth faces different directions at different times of the year.
Rotation and Revolution
100 Q: What is Earth’s natural satellite?
A: The Moon
200 Q: What causes day and night on Earth?
A: Earth’s rotation. The side of the Earth facing the Sun is experiencing day, and the side facing away from the Sun is experiencing night.
300 Q: What is the difference between rotation and revolution?
A: Rotation is when a planet spins and revolution is when it goes around the Sun.
400 Q: The imaginary line around which a planet rotates.
A: axis
500 Q: How does Earth’s revolution affect the seasons?
A: The Earth is tilted on its axis, and as it orbits the Sun it causes different parts of the Earth to get different amounts of direct sunlight throughout the year. When we are tilted toward the Sun we have summer. When we’re tilted away from the Sun we have winter. During the in between times we have spring and fall.
Miscellaneous
100 Q: A big ball of glowing gas that gives off heat and light is called what?
A: a star
200 Q: What is the name of a tool used to find cardinal directions?
A: a compass
300 Q: The Milky Way is an example of what?
A: a galaxy, full of stars and planets.
400 Q: Name 2 things Galileo observed through a telescope.
A: Jupiter’s moons, craters and mountains on the Moon, he saw that moons and planets are spheres.
500 Q: What is the name of the North Star?
A: Polaris
Final Jeopardy: Explain why the Moon changes in appearance each night. Include diagrams/pictures to help your explanation.
Team 1
Final Jeopardy: Explain why the Moon changes in appearance each night. Include diagrams/pictures to help your explanation.
Team 2
Final Jeopardy: Explain why the Moon changes in appearance each night. Include diagrams/pictures to help your explanation.