Science Questions

Which of the following best describes why we have seasons on Earth?A. Earth's elliptical orbit means we are closer to the Sun and therefore receive more intense sunlight at some times of year than at others.B. The varying speed of Earth in its orbit around the Sun gives us summer when we are moving fastest and winter when we are moving slowest.C. The tilt of Earth's axis causes the northern hemisphere to be closer to the Sun than the southern hemisphere in summer, and visa versa in winter.D.The tilt of Earth's axis causes different portions of the Earth to receive more or less direct sunlight at different times of year.

The acceleration of gravity on Earth is approximately 10 m/s2 (more precisely, 9.8 m/s2). If you drop a rock from a tall building, about how fast will it be falling after 3 seconds?A. 20 m/sB. 10 m/s2C. 30 m/s2D. 30 m/sE. 10 m/s

Momentum is defined as _________.A. mass times velocityB. mass times speedC. mass times accelerationD. force times velocity

Ptolemy was important in the history of astronomy because he _________.A. developed the first scientific model of the universeB. was the first to create a model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the centerC. was the first to believe that all orbits are perfect circlesD. developed a model of the solar system that made sufficiently accurate predictions of planetary positions to remain in use for many centuries

If you are located in the Northern Hemisphere, which of the following correctly describes a relationship between the sky and your location?A. The longitude of the north celestial pole is circumpolar, and therefore crosses your zenith at the meridian.B. The altitude of the north celestial pole equals your longitude.C. The altitude of the celestial equator equals your latitude.D. The altitude of the north celestial pole equals your latitude.

In science, a broad idea that has been repeatedly verified so as to give scientists great confidence that it represents reality is called _________.A. a hypothesisB. a theoryC. a paradigmD. a Ptolemaic model

What is the saros cycle?A. The roughly 18-year cycle over which the pattern of eclipses repeatsB. The 26,000-year cycle of the Earth's precessionC. The annual cycle of the seasonsD. The roughly one-month cycle of lunar phases in the sky

What do we mean by a geocentric model of the universe?A. A model designed to explain what we see in the sky while having the Earth orbit the Sun.B. It is the name given to sphere-shaped models that show all the constellations as they appear in our sky on the celestial sphere.C. A model designed to explain what we see in the sky while having the Earth located in the center of the universe.D. A model of the Milky Way Galaxy that has our solar system located at its center.

If we have a new moon today, when we will have the next full moon?A. In about 6 monthsB. In about a monthC. In about 2 weeksD. In about 1 week

We cannot see a new moon in our sky because _________.A. a new moon is quite near the Sun in the skyB. no sunlight is illuminating the MoonC. it is obscured by Earth's shadowD. it is above the horizon during the daytime

The ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science because _________.A. they were the first people to realize that Earth is a planet orbiting the SunB. they were the only ancient culture that kept written records of their astronomical observationsC. the books of every other culture were lost in the destruction of the library of AlexandriaD. they were the first people known to try to explain nature with models based on reason and mathematics, without resort to the supernatural

The names of the seven days of the week are based on _________.A. the names of the seven planets closest to the SunB. the seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellationsC. the names of prophets in the BibleD. the seven most prominent constellations in the summer sky

Lunar eclipses can occur only during a _________.A. third quarter moonB. first quarter moonC. full moonD. new moon

What practical value did astronomy offer to ancient civilizations?A. It allowed them to predict eclipses with great accuracy.B. It helped them find uses for ancient structures like Stonehenge.C. It helped them keep track of time and seasons, and it was used by some cultures for navigation.D. It helped them understand our cosmic origins.

Scientific thinking is _________.A. a difficult process that only a handful of people can do wellB. based on everyday ideas of observation and trial-and-error experimentsC. completely different from any other type of thinkingD. an ancient mode of thinking first invented in Egypt

Stars that are visible in the local sky on any clear night of the year, at any time of the night, are called _________.A. seasonalB. celestialC. brightD. circumpolar

We describe a location on Earth's surface by stating its _________.A. latitude and longitudeB. latitude and directionC. meridian and longitudeD. altitude and direction (or azimuth)

What is stellar parallax?A. It is the change in the set of constellations that we see at different times of year in the evening sky.B. It is the slight back-and-forth shifting of star positions that occurs as we view the stars from different positions in Earth's orbit of the Sun.C. It describes the fact that stars are actually moving relative to one another, even though to our eyes the stars appear fixed in the constellations.D. It is the daily rise and set of the stars.

During the time that a planet is in its period of apparent retrograde motion: _________A. Over many days or weeks, the planet moves westward relative to the stars, rather than the usual eastward relative to the starsB. The planet is getting closer to the Sun in its orbit.C. The planet moves backwards (clockwise as viewed from above Earth's north pole) in its orbit of the Sun.D. The planet appears to rise in the west and set in the east, rather than the usual rising in the east and setting in the west.

What do astronomers mean by a constellation? A. A constellation is any random grouping of stars in the sky.B. A constellation is a region in the sky as seen from Earth.C. A constellation is a group of stars related through an ancient story.D. A constellation is a group of stars that are all located in about the same place in space.