8th Grade Science Test 10

Question 1

Mars’s two moons

Answer 1

Deimos and Phobos

Question 2

the largest moon in the solar system

Answer 2

Ganymede

Question 3

A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a two-dimensional graph that compares stars by two things

Answer 3

temperature and brightness

Question 4

the summer Triangle is formed of three stars

Answer 4

Deneb
Vega
Altair

Question 5

During what phase of the moon is the entire sunlit side visible

Answer 5

full moon

Question 6

the orbits of the planets are symmetrical ovals called

Answer 6

ellipses

Question 7

Frozen chunks of ice and dust that orbit the sun

Answer 7

comets

Question 8

the explosion of a star

Answer 8

supernova

Question 9

the convection cells that cover the sun’s visible surface

Answer 9

granules

Question 10

the flamelike columns of gas that continually erupt from the lowest layer of the sun’s atmosphere

Answer 10

spicules

Question 11

the visible portion of the sun

Answer 11

photosphere

Question 12

galaxy shape of the Milky Way

Answer 12

barred spiral

Question 13

unit of measurement is approximately equal to the distance between the sun and the earth

Answer 13

astronomical unit

Question 14

Be able to identify the following constellations:

Answer 14

Cassiopeia
Taurus
Ursa Major
Orion
Cygnus

Question 15

describes Venus’s backward rotation on its axis

Answer 15

retrograde

Question 16

name for the period of time that the moon takes to orbit the earth

Answer 16

lunar month

Question 17

imaginary sphere with Earth at the center and the heavenly bodies on its inner surface

Answer 17

celestial sphere

Question 18

imaginary “band” in the sky in which the sun, moon, and planets travel

Answer 18

zodiac

Question 19

the two planets between which the asteroid belt is located

Answer 19

Mars

Jupiter

Question 20

an object that orbits another object

Answer 20

satellite

Question 21

describes a star that is always above the horizon to an observer at a particular location

Answer 21

circumpolar

Question 22

group of small, icy objects that orbit the sun outside the orbit of the outermost planet

Answer 22

Kuiper belt

Question 23

the observed brightness that a star would have to an observer located 10 parsecs away

Answer 23

absolute magnitude

Question 24

the cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the center of a comet

Answer 24

coma

Question 25

who developed the law of universal gravitation

Answer 25

Isaac Newton

Question 26

a rapidly rotating star that emits directional beams of radio waves

Answer 26

pulsar

Question 27

Latin word used to refer to the lunar "seas"

Answer 27

mare

Question 28

scientific law that states the relationship between a planet's period and average distance from the sun

Answer 28

third law of planetary motion

Question 29

the apparent change in the position of an object caused by an actual change in the position of the observer

Answer 29

parallax

Question 30

the largest galaxy in the Local Group

Answer 30

Andromeda galaxy

Question 31

category of stars that includes the sun

Answer 31

main sequence

Question 32

which planet do the Trojan asteroids share an orbit with

Answer 32

Jupiter

Question 33

an object so massive and dense that not even light can escape its gravity

Answer 33

black hole

Question 34

the largest planet in our solar system

Answer 34

Jupiter

Question 35

known for its ring system

Answer 35

Saturn

Question 36

the outermost planet in our solar system

Answer 36

Neptune

Question 37

the fastest-moving planet

Answer 37

Mercury

Question 38

sometimes called the "morning star" and "evening star"

Answer 38

Venus

Question 39

gas giant that seems to lie on its side

Answer 39

Uranus

Question 40

notable feature is Olympus Mons

Answer 40

Mars

Question 41

a planet's closest approach to the sun

Answer 41

perihelion

Question 42

the idea that the earth is at the center of the universe and that the sun, planets, and stars all revolve around the earth is the

Answer 42

geocentric view

Question 43

a small rock from space that is burning up as it passes through Earth's atmosphere

Answer 43

meteor

Question 44

a large cloud of gas an dust in space

Answer 44

nebula

Question 45

the phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth

Answer 45

solar eclipse

Question 46

the study of God's creation beyond the atmosphere

Answer 46

astronomy

Question 47

a small group of stars that is used to form a picture or represent an object

Answer 47

asterism

Question 48

Vega

Answer 48

Lyra

Question 49

Sirius

Answer 49

Canis Major

Question 50

Spica

Answer 50

Virgo

Question 51

Aldebaran

Answer 51

Tauruss

Question 52

Castor

Answer 52

Gemini

Question 53

Polaris

Answer 53

Ursa Minor

Question 54

Betelgeuse

Answer 54

Orion

Question 55

Regulus

Answer 55

Leo

Question 56

Compare and contrast binary stars, open clusters, and globular clusters.

Answer 56

A binary star is a system in which two stars are bound together by gravity; these two stars circle each other in the same way that the moon revolves around the earth. Open clusters are loose, asymmetrical clumps containing tens to hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of stars. Globular clusters are tightly clumped spherical groups of thousands or millions of stars that travel outside the boundaries of the Milky Way in unusual orbits around the galaxy's center.