Science Jeopardy!

Sun-Earth-Moon Jeopardy Shadows Seasons The Moon & Sun Eclipses Gravity and Tides 100 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 200 300 300 300 300 300 400 400 400 400 400 500 500 500 500 500

What is the point where the sun is highest in the sky? Shadows 100 Define “Solar Noon”. What is the point where the sun is highest in the sky?

Shadows 200 Define “ecliptic”. How is the ecliptic different in the winter versus summer? What is the sun’s path through the sky? The sun is higher in the sky in summer than winter.

Explain how shadows change throughout the day. What is the shadows are longest at sunrise/sunset and shortest at solar noon?

Shadows 400 Describe the shadows that are created in summer versus winter. What is responsible for these differences? What are summer shadows are much shorter than winter shadows? The sun is much higher in the sky in summer, so the shadows are shorter.

What is the umbra? What is the penumbra? Shadows 500 What is the umbra? What is the penumbra? The umbra is the darkest part of an object’s shadow (the center) and the penumbra is the lightest.

What is the difference between rotation and revolution? Seasons 100 What is the difference between rotation and revolution? What is rotation is to spin on a central axis and revolution is to orbit around another object?

Seasons 200 Describe what causes the length of one day and the length of one year on Earth. What is the length of one day is the time it take the Earth to rotate on its axis once (24 hours) and the length of one year is the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun once (365 days)?

Seasons 300 What is an equinox? What is equinox means “equal night”? This is the time that everywhere on the Earth receives equal daylight because the Earth is not tilted towards or away from the Sun.

Explain why it is colder in the winter. Seasons 400 Explain why it is colder in the winter. What is the hemisphere that is experiencing winter is tilted away from the Sun? The hemisphere is receiving less direct sunlight and the light has to travel through more atmosphere to reach the surface. The days are also shorter so less sunlight is absorbed and more is given off. This causes the weather to be colder.

Seasons 500 Draw a picture that explains the causes of the seasons on Earth. Be detailed and show what is happening in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

What is a sunspot? What causes them to form? The Moon and Sun 100 What is a sunspot? What causes them to form? What is a sunspot is a darker, cooler spot on the Sun? It is formed when convection in the Sun slows and the hotter material of the Sun doesn’t rise to the surface (so the surface is cooler).

The Moon and Sun 200 Explain the difference between waxing and waning. What is waxing is getting bigger and waning is shrinking?

The Moon and Sun 300 How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth? How long does it take the moon phases to repeat? Why are these numbers different? What is it takes the Moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth and 29.5 days for the moon phases to repeat? These numbers are different because the Moon has to catch up to the Earth as it is revolving around the Sun.

Explain why we see different moon phases. The Moon and Sun 400 Explain why we see different moon phases. What is half of the Moon is always lit, but we can only see a portion of the lit part depending on where the Moon is in its orbit around the Earth?

Explain nuclear fusion. The Moon and Sun 500 Explain nuclear fusion. What is hydrogen atoms move very fast in the Sun due to the intense heat, the atoms crash into each other, and fuse into helium and release energy?

Explain why we don’t have an eclipse every month. Eclipses 100 Explain why we don’t have an eclipse every month. What is the Moon orbits the Earth at a 5 degree tilt, so normally the Moon is too high or low to cause an eclipse?

Eclipses 200 Draw a labeled picture of a total solar eclipse (include the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Describe how an annular eclipse occurs. Eclipses 300 Describe how an annular eclipse occurs. What is the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth, but is a little further away from the Sun in its orbit, so a ring of light is seen around the Moon?

What type of eclipse is this? Explain. Eclipses 400 What type of eclipse is this? Explain. What is a total lunar eclipse? The entire Moon is covered by a shadow (it is orange).

Eclipses 500 Identify Me - 500 Draw a picture showing lunar eclipse. Include the umbra and penumbra. Show where the Moon would be for a total and partial lunar eclipse.

What is the Moon’s gravitational pull on Earth causes tides. Gravity and Tides 100 What causes tides? What is the Moon’s gravitational pull on Earth causes tides.

Gravity and Tides 200 How many high tides are there each day and when do high tides occur. What is twice a day, shortly after Moonrise and Moonset.

What is very high tides that occur during Full and New moons. Gravity and Tides 300 Explain what a Spring tide is. During which lunar phases do Spring tides occur? What is very high tides that occur during Full and New moons.

Explain the relationship between mass, distance and gravity. Gravity and Tides 400 Explain the relationship between mass, distance and gravity. What is the greater the mass of an object, the greater its gravitational pull and the closer two objects are the less their gravitational pull is on one another.

Explain the Law of Inertia. How does it affect the motion of planets? Gravity and Tides 500 Explain the Law of Inertia. How does it affect the motion of planets? What is an object in motion will stay in motion unless disturbed by an unbalanced force. Without gravity planets would travel in a straight line right out of our solar system rather than orbit the Sun (the unbalanced force).