Science Vocab

Question 1

Orbit

Answer 1

the circular or elliptical path of an object as it revolves around another object

Question 2

Solar System

Answer 2

a system of objects that revolve around a sta

Question 3

Galaxy

Answer 3

a group of solar systems, dust, and gas held together by gravity; our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy

Question 4

Universe

Answer 4

everything that exists in, on and around the Earth

Question 5

Satellite

Answer 5

a natural or artificial object that revolves around another object in space

Question 6

Impact Crater

Answer 6

a large, circular pit in the surface of a planet or other body in space usually formed when two bodies in space collide

Question 7

Rotation

Answer 7

the spinning of a celestial body, such as a planet, around an axis

Question 8

Revolution

Answer 8

the orbiting of an object around another object

Question 9

Season

Answer 9

a period of the year determined by the position of Earth as it revolves around the sun

Question 10

Equinox

Answer 10

the twice-a-year occurrence during which Earth’s axis is perpendicular (at a 90 angle) to a line joining the Sun and Earth’s center

Question 11

Solstice

Answer 11

the twice-a-year occurrence during which the Sun appears at the highest point in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

dark areas of the moon

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

an event whereby one astronomical body passes between two other astronomical bodies

Question 14

Umbra

Answer 14

the dark central part of a sunspot

Question 15

Penumbra

Answer 15

the shadow cast by the earth or moon over an area experiencing a partial eclipse

Question 16

astronomical unit (AU)

Answer 16

the mean distance from the center of the Earth to the center of the sun (about 149.6 million kilometers); used to measure distances in the solar system

Question 17

Ellipse

Answer 17

a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane which does not intersect the base.

Question 18

Terrestrial planet

Answer 18

any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction

Question 19

Gas giant

Answer 19

a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune

Question 20

Asteroid

Answer 20

a small object made of rock or metal that orbits the sun

Question 21

Comet

Answer 21

a body of ice and dust that travels in a long narrow orbit around the sun

Question 22

Meteor

Answer 22

a streak of light in the sky that forms when a piece of rock from space burns up in Earth’s atmosphere (related term: shooting star)

Question 23

Meteorite

Answer 23

a piece of rock or metal from space that strikes Earth’s surface

Question 24

Geocentric

Answer 24

having the Earth as the center

Question 25

Heliocentric

Answer 25

having the sun as the center

Question 26

Gravity

Answer 26

a force that exists between any two objects that have mass

Question 27

Tide

Answer 27

the regular fluctuation of sea water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth's oceans and other large bodies of water

Question 28

Waxing

Answer 28

the moon at any time after new moon and before full moon, so called because its illuminated area is increasing

Question 29

Waning

Answer 29

the moon at any time after full moon and before new moon (so called because its illuminated area is decreasing)

Question 30

Gibbous Moon

Answer 30

The definition of gibbous refers to a moon in between a half-moon but less than a full moon, or something that protrudes or creates an obvious bulge

Question 31

Crescent Moon

Answer 31

The Moon as it appears in its first or last quarter

Question 32

Full moon

Answer 32

the moon with its whole apparent disk illuminated

Question 33

New moon

Answer 33

The moon's phase when it is in conjunction with the sun so that its dark side is toward the earth

Question 34

Quarter Moon

Answer 34

Either of the intermediate stages between the new and full moons. In spite of the name, half of the Moon's visible portion is lit up during a quarter moon

Question 35

Perihelion

Answer 35

the point in the orbit of a solar system body when it is closest to the Sun

Question 36

Aphelion

Answer 36

the point in the orbit of a planet or other orbiting body where it is farthest from the Sun or the body around which it revolves