Write the Meanings of These Words

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Homework 1 Vocabulary

Write the meanings of these words.

Astronomer
Astronomy
Atmosphere
Calendar
Eclipse
Fusion
Lunar
Navigation
Orbit
Penumbra
Phase
Polar
Revolve
Season
Solar
Telescope
Umbra
Zodiac

Homework 2 Planets

1. List the planets of our Solar System, in order from the Sun.

…………………… …………………… ………………………

2. Match the planet with its identifying feature.

……… Mercury A no longer a planet, technically

……… Venus B has a visible red spot

……… Earth C hottest planet

……… Mars D has a large ring system.

……… Jupiter E only planet known to support life

……… Saturn F closest planet to the Sun

……… Uranus G discovered in 1871 by Herschel

……… Neptune H only planet with two Moons

……… Pluto I smallest gas giant

3. Identify the four planets known as gas giants.

………………..…..…………… ………………………………

4. Name the four terrestrial or rocky planets.

………………..…..…………… ………………………………

5. State the name of the largest planet in the Solar System.

…………………………………………………………………………

6. Name the planets on which you could jump the highest.

………………………………………………………………………

…

Explain your answer.

…………………………………………………………………………

Homework 3 Meteors

1. Write descriptions of a meteor, a meteoroid and a meteorite. Your

descriptions should allow the reader to compare the three bodies.

Meteor
Meteoroid
Meteorite

2. Halley’s Comet is a very well known comet.

(a) Write a description of a comet.

…………………………………………………………………………

(b) State the period of revolution for Halley’s Comet.

…………………………………………………………………………

will be seen again. ………………………………………………

(d) State how old you will be when Halley’s Comet can next be seen from

Earth. ………………………………………………………

3. I am the largest body in the Solar System. I produce light and heat.

Without me there would be no life on Earth.

Name me......

4. A reminder: How are you progressing with your assessment task?

Remember: your job is to

o record the appearance of the moon on at least 15 occasions, and

o offer an explanation as to why the moon’s appearance changes

Homework 4 Moon

1. The Earth has one natural satellite called ………………………

2. The Moon is ………………… kilometres away from the Earth and is

………………. km in diameter.

3. Answer the following questions by circling T (True) or F (False).

(a) The Moon has craters caused by meteor strikes. T F

(b) There are no mountains on the Moon. T F

(d) There is no free water on the Moon. T F

(e) We can see the Moon because it

produces its own light. T F

4. Observations of the Moon over 28 days show an apparent change in its

shape. State the name we give to these different shapes the Moon seems

to have. .…………………………………………………

5. (a) State the amount of the Moon’s surface that is always bright (sunlit).

……………………

(b) Explain the fact that we do not see all of this lit surface every night.

…………………………………………….....…………………......

(i) a full moon

(ii) (ii) a new moon

(iii) a quarter moon (iv) a gibbous moon

(v) a crescent moon

Homework 5 Moon

1. Define, in terms of the phases of the Moon, the following terms:

(a) Waxing ………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………

(b) Waning ………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………

2. State the length of time it takes for the Moon to make one complete orbit

around the Earth. ………………………………………………

3. Name the side of the Moon that always faces away from the Sun.

………………………………………………………………………….

4. Draw a diagram to show the positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon

during a:

(a) LUNAR ECLIPSE

(b) SOLAR ECLIPSE

5. Name the series of American space missions that explored the Moon.

…………………………………………………………………………

(a) Name the first man to walk on the Moon.

…………………………………………………………………………

(b) Give the date of this historic event. ………………………………

Homework 6 Space

1. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is …………………………..

kilometres.

2. Write T (TRUE) or F (FALSE) next to the following statements:

o The Earth is the smallest planet in the Solar System. ……….

o The Earth is the closest planet to the Sun. ……….

o Rotation is the term for the movement of the Earth about its axis.

……….

o The axis of tilt causes day and night. ……….

o The Earth rotates from west to east. ……….

3. Rotation of the Earth is responsible for day and night / the occurrence of

seasons (cross out the incorrect alternative). The average day length is

……… hours.

4. Explain why the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.

………………………………………......

5. The Earth is tilted on its axis at an angle of ……… …………

6. Draw a diagram (in pencil) to show the movement of the Earth that we

believe causes us to experience the different seasons. On your diagram,

mark in the direction of revolution around the Sun, and the position in

which Australia experiences winter.

7. Match the term with the correct definition.

Write the letter of the definition next to the word.

………. revolution (a) movement about an axis

………. equinox (b) days of equal daylight and night hours

………. solstice (c) movement of an object about another object

……… rotation (d) changing weather conditions over a year

……… seasons (e) longest or shortest day in the year

Homework 7 Seasons

1. Give the dates (day / month) for the:

summer ……………… of ………………………

winter ……………… of ………………………

spring ……………… of ………………………

autumn……………… of ………………………

2. The time it takes for a planet to orbit the Sun once is called its …………

Earth takes ……………………………………... days to orbit the Sun.

3. Leap years are included on our calendars every four (4) years. Explain the

need to include leap years.

………………………………………......

4. The protective layer of gas around the Earth is called the

………………………………………......

5. Between the Earth and the Sun is ……………… ……………. It is a

vacuum. This means that …………………………………………

………………………………………......

6. A group of stars in the night sky that form a pattern or picture is called a

……………………………………………………………………………

7. Give two examples of constellations seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

…………………………………………………………………………….

8. The Earth appears to move through twelve constellations as it orbits

around the Sun in the path called the ecliptic. These constellations form

the ______. Name two of these constellations.

……………………………… and …………………………………

9. Describe a star……………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………

10. The closest star to the Earth is the ……………………

11. Write a description of a nebula.

……………………………………………………………………………

12. Throughout the Universe there are areas in which billions of stars are

grouped. These are called …………………………………………………

13. Our Solar System is in the galaxy we call the ……………………………..

Homework 8 Our neighbour

(a) Mars has seasons. What conclusion can you draw from that fact?

______

(b) Explain this fact: one day on Venus is longer than one year.

______

temperatures. A planet with an atmosphere has a more “even”

temperature.______

2. Either complete each sentence or fill in each blank space with one word.

We are passengers on Earth as it ______around the Sun. Because of this we

can observe different

______. The Sun and most

of the planets lie in the same ______. The circular part of the sky beyond them

but “level” with them is called the ______.

3. (a) Why would a Space Shuttle take a relatively short time to orbit Earth?

______

(b) What is the purpose of polar orbits for some satellites? What are they good for?

______

Homework 9 Solar System

1. / What is a solar system?
2. / Name all the planets of the solar system in the correct sequence.
3. / What are satellites? Explain the two types of satellites.
4 / Why is it always cold at the Earth’s poles?
5 / What does the tilt at the Earth’s axis create?
6 / Name, draw and describe all the four seasons in Australia.
7 / Describe with diagrams the phases of the moon.
8 / How are tides caused?
9 / Describe and compare the gravities of moon and earth.
10 / Describe and draw a Anemometer.
11 / Describe and draw a Barometer.
12 / Describe and draw a wind vane.
13 / Write everything which is required for life on planet Mars or Venus.

Homework 10 Planet Data

Features of the planets

Read the following paragraphs, and record the data in the table below.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, being 60 million kilometres from it. It orbits the Sun every 88 Earth days, the shortest ‘year’ of any planet. Mercury spins slowly - just once every 59 Earth days. The side of the planet facing the Sun reaches 400ºC while the side in the shadow has a temperature of -200ºC. Mercury has little or no atmosphere, and no moons.

Venus is about 110 million kilometres from the Sun. Venus approaches closer to Earth than any other planet. The surface of Venus is covered in thick clouds, with a temperature of about 480ºC. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is about 90 times greater than that of Earth. Venus does not have any moons. A year on Venus, the time it takes for the planet to orbit the Sun once, is 225 Earth days. But it takes Venus 243 Earth days to rotate once, which is a day. Venus is the only planet where a day is longer than a year! Venus is also unique in that it spins backwards.

Earth orbits at about 150 million kilometres from the Sun. Its temperature ranges from -20ºC to 60ºC. It has an atmosphere consisting mostly of nitrogen and oxygen, with some carbon dioxide, water vapour and other gases. The Earth is the closest planet to the Sun with a moon. The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth.

Mars is 228 million kilometres from the Sun. It has a thin atmosphere, mostly carbon dioxide, and its temperature ranges from -70ºC to 30ºC. Mars has two moons. One day on Mars is 30 minutes longer than on Earth, but a year is about 22 months long. Mars is sometimes called the red planet because it looks red when seen from Earth.

Jupiter is 770 million kilometres from the Sun. Being so far from the Sun, it receives very little heat from it. Its surface temperature is about -150ºC. Jupiter is by far the largest planet, and has an atmosphere of helium and hydrogen, with some ammonia and methane. Jupiter has 16 moons and a ring system. It takes nearly 12 years to orbit the Sun once, but only 10 hours to spin once on its axis.

Saturn is about 1400 million kilometres from the Sun, and its surface temperature is about -180ºC. The atmosphere is similar to that of Jupiter. Saturn has 18 moons, and has a system of rings around the planet. It spins once every 10.5 hours. Its year is much longer: 29 Earth years.

Uranus is about 2900 million kilometres from the Sun. It has 15 moons and some small rings. Its atmosphere is similar to that of Neptune. Uranus is slightly warmer than Neptune at -210ºC, and it takes 84 years to orbit the Sun. It spins once every 23 hours, so its days are nearly the same as on Earth. But because the Sun is so far away from Uranus, it would not give much heat and light.

Neptune is about 4500 million kilometres from the Sun. It is 17 times heavier than the Earth, takes 164 years to orbit the Sun, and takes 16 hours to rotate once. Its surface

temperature is -220ºC, and its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, helium and methane. Neptune also has eight moons.

Pluto is very small and very dark. It is 5900 million kilometres away from the Sun, and takes 248 years to orbit the Sun. It takes 6.5 Earth days to rotate once. Its atmosphere is mostly methane, and its cold surface has a temperature of -230ºC. Pluto has one moon, named Charon, which is quite large in comparison to the planet. Pluto’s orbit is above and below the other planets, not level with them.

Planet / Distance from sun (million km) / Temp Max/Min / Atmosphere made of / Length of day (hours) / Length of year / Number of moons / Other
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

Homework 11 Revision

Answer these multiple choice questions. Select the best alternative.

1 The study of astronomy is:

a predicting the future

b dealing with the Earth

c studying extinct animals

d studying stars, planets and space

2 Venus is sometimes called the “evening star”. This is misleading because:

a Venus is not a star, it is a planet

b Venus does not appear in the evening

c Venus twinkles like stars do

d Venus can only be seen with a telescope

3 Which old civilisations observed the stars and predicted their movements?

a Chinese

b Arabs

c Ancient Greeks

d all of the above

4. The correct date order for these famous astronomers, from earliest to latest, is:

a Einstein, Galileo, Copernicus, Newton

b Galileo, Copernicus, Einstein, Newton

c Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein

d Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Einstein

5 Night and day is best explained by:

a the Moon blocking out the light from the Sun

b the Sun rotating on its axis

c the rotation of the Earth on its axis

d the tilting of the Earth as it spins

6 The seasons are caused by:

a the extremely large size of the solar system

b the distance from the Earth to the Sun

c the tilt of the Earth as it goes around the Sun