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Astronomy test study guide
1. Explain why the moon shines at night and changes its appearance over time.
2. Each blank circle below represents a phase of the moon. Label each phase and shade each circle starting with New Moon phase.
3. What causes the high and low tides on sea shores every day?
4. Sketch below what happens during a solar eclipse. Explain in details what happens.
5. Sketch below what happens during a lunar eclipse. Explain in details what happens.
6. Explain how Earth gets its Day, Month, and Year.
PLANETS
7. Name the order of the planets from first to last.
8. Which is the hottest planet?
9. Name 2 planets that have no moons.
10. Which planet is the largest?
11. Pluto is no longer a plant. What type of planet is it now considered?
12. Which 4 planets have rings?
13. How many moons does Uranus have?
14. What is the big red spot on Jupiter?
15. What is the most common gas in Earth’s atmosphere?
16. Why is Mars known as the Red Planet?
17. How long is Mercury’s year?
18. Which planets are knows as “rocky planets?”
19. Which planets are known as “gaseous planets?”
20. What type of gas is in both Uranus and Neptune’s atmosphere that makes them blue in color?
COMETS, ASTEROIDS, METEORS
21. Why are comets knows as “Dirty Snowballs?”
22. Describe the Coma of a comet.
23. What is the tail of a comet made out of?
24. Label each part the comet below.
25. Where are the two places in our solar system where you can find comets?
26. Explain what an Asteroid is and where you can find them in our solar system.
27. Define the following:
- Meteoroid-
- Meteor-
- Meteorite-
28. Put the following objects in order from smallest to largest: Galaxy, Starts, Planets, Star Clusters, Galaxy Clusters, Asteroids.
29. Define constellations. How did ancient Romans and Greeks use constellations?
30. What is a light-year? How many kilometers does light travel in a light- year?
31. Label the layers of the Sun’s atmosphere in the diagram below.
32. What are Sunspots and how long to they last?
33. What are Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s)? How can we see them here on Earth?
STARS AND GALAXIES
34. What is Electromagnetic Radiation?
35. What is a Spectrograph and what information about stars can astronomers discover by using a Spectrograph?
36. Define a Parallax.
37. What is the difference between Apparent Magnitude and Absolute Magnitude?
38. 90% of stars fall under the category in which surface temperature increases as brightness increases.
39. Define the following terms:
- Nebula-
- Supernova-
- Neutron Star-
- White Dwarf-
- Black Hole-
40. What are the 3 types of Galaxies?
41. If our star, the Sun, were to die out or run out of energy, what would be left? Would the Sun be likely to explode into a Supernova?