8th Grade Science Test 11

Question 1

In which climate zone does every location have at least one day a year when the sun is directly overhead?

Answer 1

Tropics

Question 2

Which method of measuring time uses time zones?

Answer 2

standard solar time

Question 3

What type of time is based on the stars?

Answer 3

sidereal time

Question 4

The point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer

Answer 4

zenith

Question 5

the first artificial satellite of Earth

Answer 5

Sputnik 1

Question 6

the first satellite launched by the United States

Answer 6

Explorer 1

Question 7

circle on the celestial sphere that runs directly overhead and through the celestial poles

Answer 7

meridian

Question 8

the pan the sun follows in a year

Answer 8

ecliptic

Question 9

a device that splits light into a spectrum for analysis

Answer 9

spectroscope

Question 10

What system of timekeeping divides the day into hours A.M. and P.M.?

Answer 10

12-hour time

Question 11

The equation of time is the relationship between solar time and

Answer 11

apparent solar time

Question 12

What term refers to an unmanned spacecraft launched specifically to explore the unknown?

Answer 12

space probe

Question 13

What are the two points on the path of the sun at which the sun is farthest from the celestial equator?

Answer 13

solstices

Question 14

In what type of orbit does a satellite stay above the same point on the Earth’s surface?

Answer 14

geostationary (orbit)

Question 15

Which calendar system is now used in most nations?

Answer 15

Gregorian calendar

Question 16

What term refers to the earth’s slow “wobble” on its axis that causes the pole star to change?

Answer 16

precession (of the equinoxes)

Question 17

What visible-light telescope was launched into space in 1990?

Answer 17

Hubble Space Telescope

Question 18

What unit of time is based on the period Earth takes to orbit the sun one?

Answer 18

solar year

Question 19

used to study the heavens

Answer 19

astronomical

Question 20

perform a variety of functions, such as making maps, forecasting crop production, spotting forest fires, and surveying cities

Answer 20

Earth observation

Question 21

relay telephone conversations an radio and television broadcasts

Answer 21

communications

Question 22

include the satellites of the Global Positioning System

Answer 22

navigational

Question 23

a telescope that uses a mirror as the objective

Answer 23

reflecting telescope

Question 24

the abbreviation that stands for after death

Answer 24

anno Domini

Question 25

the technique in which computer-controlled mirrors constantly flex and bend to correct for atmospheric distortion

Answer 25

adaptive optics

Question 26

When white light shines through a gas and then passes through a prism, the broad spectrum of color will show narrow, dark lines called

Answer 26

absorption lines

Question 27

the mean solar time at Earth's prime meridian

Answer 27

UTC (or coordinated universal time)

Question 28

a circumpolar star that crosses the meridian between the visible celestial pole and the horizon is making an ___ transit

Answer 28

lower

Question 29

In which type of orbit does a satellite cross the equator at the same local mean solar time on every orbit?

Answer 29

sun-synchronous orbit

Question 30

Which type of orbit would a spacecraft use to increase its altitude?

Answer 30

Hohmann transfer orbit

Question 31

From which calendar do the English month names come?

Answer 31

Julian

Question 32

What was the first space station designed so that it could be expanded?

Answer 32

Mir

Question 33

What astronomical event marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere?

Answer 33

December solstice

Question 34

What United States' space program landed a man on the moon?

Answer 34

Apollo

Question 35

At an altitude of 500 miles above the earth, a satellite with a speed of 16,700 mph will have a circular orbit. Which of the following describes the orbit of a satellite at an altitude of 500 miles and a speed of 17,100 mph?

Answer 35

The satellite will have an elliptical orbit with the lowest point at 500 miles and the highest point above 500 miles.

Question 36

What rocket design did the United States use to launch manned moon missions?

Answer 36

Saturn V

Question 37

What term refers to the highest point of the orbit of an earth-orbiting satellite?

Answer 37

apogee

Question 38

What part of a telescope collects the light?

Answer 38

objective

Question 39

The term that refers to the speed of a spacecraft must be traveling at to leave Earth's gravity without using its rockets anymore

Answer 39

escape velocity

Question 40

The unite of time, larger than a day, that is not based on the motion of a heavenly body

Answer 40

week

Question 41

the first type of spacecraft designed to be reused

Answer 41

space shuttle

Question 42

a rocket that can be stored for years with the fuel loaded

Answer 42

solid-fuel rocket

Question 43

scientists can use multiple radio telescopes to produce images more detailed than possible with a single radio telescope by using the technique called

Answer 43

interferometry

Question 44

the two points at which the path of the sun crosses the celestial equator

Answer 44

equinoxes

Question 45

the two basic kinds of optical telescopes

Answer 45

refracting telescope | reflecting telescope

Question 46

first American in space

Answer 46

Alan Shepard

Question 47

first woman in space

Answer 47

Valentine Tereshkova

Question 48

Father of Modern Rocketry

Answer 48

Robert Goddard

Question 49

first man in space

Answer 49

Yuri Gagarin

Question 50

first American to orbit the earth

Answer 50

John Glenn

Question 51

German-born engineer who became the United States' top rocket designer

Answer 51

Wernher von BraunJohn Gl

Question 52

first man to set foot on the moon

Answer 52

Neil Armstrong

Question 53

explain why the Julian and Gregorian calendars have leap years and contrast how these calendars determine which years are leap years.

Answer 53

Leap years are needed because there is not a whole number of days in a solar year. In the Julian calendar, every fourth is a leap year. The Gregorian calendar's major difference from the Julian calendar is the elimination of leap years for all century years except those evenly divisible by 400.