Topic 3- The Earth Moon Sun System

Question 1

What causes tides

Answer 1

The gravitational attraction of the moon and sun pulls on earth the water on earths surface is pulled and the water causes tides

Question 2

What causes high and low tides

Answer 2

The moon pulls water on earths surface nearest it and there is a force equal to this on the other side of the earth pulling the water out

Question 3

What causes spring tides

Answer 3

When the sun moon and earth are in a line there are more dramatic differences in tides high tides are higher and low tides are lower

Question 4

What causes neap tides

Answer 4

When the moon is at a right angle to earth then tides are less dramatic high tides are lower and low tides are higher

Question 5

How long is a cycle of precession

Answer 5

26000 years

Question 6

What causes precession

Answer 6

As the earth is not a perfect sphere and the sun and moon have a gravitational influence on earth and this combined with the earths bulge causes a wobble in earths tilt

Question 7

What has precession caused

Answer 7

The celestial pole star to move and change and the sun to rise at a different time

Question 8

How many times further away is the sun from us that’s the moon

Answer 8

400 times

Question 9

How many times smaller is the moon that the sun

Answer 9

400 times

Question 10

What is the mean diameter of sun

Answer 10

1400000 km

Question 11

What is the average distance of the moon from earth

Answer 11

385000

Question 12

What is the average distance of sun from earth

Answer 12

150 million

Question 13

‘What type of stars had a special place in ancient Egyptian culture

Answer 13

Circumpolar stars

Question 14

What did circumpolar stars mean to ancient Egyptians

Answer 14

As the stars were always in the sky it symbolised a place of heaven and the afterlife

Question 15

Why were small shafts in the pyramids align with circumpolar stars

Answer 15

So the pharaoh buried inside spirit could go to the after life

Question 16

On the pyramid Where did the shafts point to

Answer 16

The rotation path of Orion and the old NCP Thuban

Question 17

What is new grange

Answer 17

Located in Ireland and is the site of an ancient burial ground built 5000 years ago

Question 18

When does light enter the passage at new grange

Answer 18

4 minutes after sunrise on the winter solstice

Question 19

When would the light of entered the passage at new grange when it was built

Answer 19

At exactly sunrise on the winter solstice

Question 20

What was Stonehenge used to mark

Answer 20

It is highly likely to have been used to mark the sunrise of the summer solstice

Question 21

What is an eclipse

Answer 21

When the shadow of a celestial body such as the earth or moon obscures the light of another object in space

Question 22

What are the 2 main types of eclipse

Answer 22

A solar eclipse

A lunar eclipse

Question 23

When do eclipses occur

Answer 23

When the sun moon and earth are lined up with one another

Question 24

What is the term used for 3 or more celestial objects are aligned

Answer 24

Syzygy

Question 25

What time of phase does the moon need to be in for an eclipse to happen

Answer 25

Full and new

Question 26

How many times does the moons orbit intersect the ecliptic during one orbit

Answer 26

Twice an orbit

Question 27

How far away is the moon eclipses from the ecliptic

Answer 27

5%

Question 28

What is the term used when the moons orbit intersects with the ecliptic

Answer 28

Nodes

Question 29

Where do the nodes go from

Answer 29

One goes from north - south and is called the descending node One goes from south to north and is called the ascending node

Question 30

How long does a solar eclipse last

Answer 30

Up to 7 minutes and 30 seconds

Question 31

How long does a lunar eclipse last

Answer 31

Up to 1 hour and 45 minutes

Question 32

What is a partial eclipse

Answer 32

The partial solar eclipse can be seen when moon moves into the disc of the sun but does not block it entirely

Question 33

How many points of contact are there in a partial eclipse

Answer 33

2

Question 34

What is an annular eclipse

Answer 34

The appearance of a ‘ ring of fire’ when the moon is further away from earth so the smaller moon does not cover suns disc entirely

Question 35

Where is the focus of the umbra during an annular eclipse

Answer 35

Above the earths surface

Question 36

When does a lunar eclipse take place

Answer 36

When moon enters earths shadow

Question 37

Why is a lunar eclipse longer than a solar eclipse

Answer 37

Because the earth is bigger than the moon meaning the moon has to travel further to get out of earths shadow

Question 38

What phase does the moon need to be for a lunar eclipse

Answer 38

Full moon

Question 39

Who was Eratosthenes

Answer 39

A Greek mathematician and was a librarian of Alexandria in Egypt

Question 40

What did Eratosthenes work out

Answer 40

The circumference of earth

Question 41

What did Eratosthenes learn about near the town of syene

Answer 41

He leant that just to the south the sun appears at the zenith on the summer solstice

Question 42

By observing and measuring shadows on the same day in Alexandra he calculated what

Answer 42

That the sun was over 7.12 degrees from the zenith

Question 43

How much is 7.12 degrees of circle in a fraction

Answer 43

1/50 th

Question 44

What was the disrptance of the two cities

Answer 44

5000 stadia

Question 45

What calculation did Eratosthenes make

Answer 45

Multiplied the distance by the angle

Question 46

What other thing did Eratosthenes work out

Answer 46

The diameter of the earth

Question 47

Who was Aristarchus

Answer 47

Greek astronomer who first proposed that the earth orbited the sun

Question 48

What allowed Aristarchus to determine that the earth was twice the size of moon

Answer 48

A lunar eclipse allowed him to study the shadow of earth over moon

Question 49

He measured the width of both sun and moon and determined how many degrees of arc in width

Answer 49

2 degrees

Question 50

How did Aristarchus try to understand the distances involved of the sun and moon from earth

Answer 50

He attempted to triangulate the moon sun and earth

Question 51

What phase of the moon did Aristarchus use to measure the angle between moon and sun

Answer 51

Quarter phase

Question 52

What was the angle that Aristarchus found from measuring the angle from the moon to sun during a quarter phase

Answer 52

87 degrees

Question 53

How many times time further away, that Aristarchus calculated, was the sun than the moon

Answer 53

Between 18 and 20 times

Question 54

How many degrees of arc are the moon and sun

Answer 54

1/2 degree

Question 55

What is the actual angle sun of the sun and moon at a quarter phase

Answer 55

89.5 degrees

Question 56

What was Aristarchus accurate in

Answer 56

In understanding that there was the same ratio between distance and size

Question 57

What two monument help Eratosthenes calculate circumference of earth

Answer 57

Column at Alexandra | Well at syrene