.7The same force that keeps the Moon orbiting the Earth also keeps the Earth orbiting
the Sun. What is this force?
A. electric force
B. gravitational force
C. magnetic force
D. nuclear force
8. Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is a belt of small, rocky objects.
What are the objects that orbit the Sun in this belt?
F. asteroids
G. comets
H. meteors
I. stars
9. Upon which property of an object does weight most directly depend?
A. mass
B. shape
C. size
D. volume
10. What characteristic of a planet determines the length of one year on that planet?
F. how fast it spins on its axis
G. how much it is tilted on its axis
H. how far away it is from the Sun
I. how fast it revolves around the Sun
11. The gas giants, such as Saturn, are surrounded by rings. What are these rings made of?
A. small pieces of ice and rock
B. all of the moons of the planet
C. beams of light bent around the planet
D. colored gases flowing around the planet
12. What property directly affects the amount of gravity an object has?
A. density
B. mass
C. speed
D. volume
13. The diagram above shows the relative positions of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun
on a particular night. Florida’s position on Earth is also indicated. How will these
circumstances affect the tide that Florida experiences under these circumstances?
A. Florida will experience an extremely low tide.
B. Florida will experience a moderately low tide.
C. Florida will experience a moderately high tide.
D. Florida will experience an extremely high tide.
14. The data shown in the data table gives the average distance between the five
outermost planets and the Sun in both millions of kilometers (km) and astronomical
units (AU). Based on this data, what would you expect the distance to be between
one of Jupiter’s moons and the Sun?
A. less than 1.00 AU
B. between 1.00 and 5.00 AU
C. around 5.20 AU
D. more than 39.5 AU
15. Other than the Sun, the next closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri. It only takes
4.2 years for light from this star to reach us here on Earth. Why then, have we not
been able to send anybody to this star?
F. We do not have enough money to finance a mission.
G. No technology exists to send a spacecraft that far into space.
H. The space program has not existed for a long enough period of time.
I. There isn’t enough information about Proxima Centauri to make travel there
safe.
16. Which object exerts the most gravitational force?
F. Earth
G. Jupiter
H. the Moon
I. the Sun
17. How are mass and weight related to each other?
A. Mass is the effect of gravity on weight.
B. Weight is the effect of gravity on mass.
C. Mass and weight both depend on gravity.
D. Mass and weight are both independent of gravity.
18. How would Earth’s orbit change if its orbital speed slowed down?
A. It would move closer to the Sun.
B. It would move closer to the Moon.
C. It would move farther from the Sun.
D. It would move farther from the Moon.
19. Which planet takes the longest amount of time to orbit the Sun?
A. Mercury
B. Venus
C. Earth
D. Mars
20. At which point on Earth is a high tide occurring?
F. 1
G. 2
H. 3
I. 4
21. The same force that keeps the Moon orbiting the Earth also keeps the Earth orbiting
the Sun. What is this force?
A. electric force
B. gravitational force
C. magnetic force
D. nuclear force
22. A small satellite orbits Pluto. Eight satellites orbit Neptune, the closest planet to Pluto. Pluto is much smaller than Neptune. Why isn’t Pluto a satellite of Neptune?
A. The Sun’s gravity is the primary influence on Pluto.
B. Neptune is not large enough to capture Pluto as a satellite.
C. Neptune’s gravitational pull is neutralized by its eight satellites.
23. Pluto’s satellite’s gravitational pull keeps Pluto away from other planets.
Using a string, a ball, and a hollow tube for a handle, LaTanya makes the model shown below. Holding the handle’s center, she swings the ball in a circle to show how a planet orbits a star. She knows that the orbit of a planet depends upon the gravitational pull of the star.
Which model component illustrates the effect of gravity?
F. the ball
G. the string
H. the handle
I. the rotation direction
24. Carol and Deborah are looking at stars on a dark night and notice that two stars next to each other are equally bright, but one is red and one is orange. Which of the following best explains why the stars are different colors?
A. The stars are in different galaxies.
B. The stars are different distances away.
C. The stars are at different stages in their life cycles. _
D. The stars have different numbers of planets orbiting them.
25. Although the planets in our solar system have unique features, they also have similarities. Which of the following characteristics is most similar among the planets in our solar system?
F. mass
G. shape of orbit _
H. number of satellite
