Space

Question 1

What is a vacuum?

Answer 1

A space with no particles of matter in it.

Question 2

Name the 8 planets in our solar system in order from the Sun.

Answer 2

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Question 3

What force is responsible for holding every planet in orbit around the sun?

Answer 3

Gravity

Question 4

What is a light year?

Answer 4

The distance light travels in a year (over 9 million, million kilometres).

Question 5

What are the four rocky planets?

Answer 5

Mercury, venus, earth, mars

Question 6

What are the four gaseous planets

Answer 6

Jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune

Question 7

What is our nearest star?

Answer 7

The Sun is our nearest star and it lies at the centre of our solar system.

Question 8

What is the Sun made of?

Answer 8

The Sun is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium and it releases energy because of nuclear fusion.

Question 9

What is an orbit?

Answer 9

The path taken by a satellite, planet or star moving around a larger body. Earth completes one orbit of the Sun every year

Question 10

How long does it take for the Earth to orbit the sun? What do we call this period of time?

Answer 10

365 days. A year.

Question 11

Our star is just one of around 100 billion stars in our galaxy. What is our galaxy called?

Answer 11

The Milky Way

Question 12

What do stars form from?

Answer 12

Stars form from massive clouds of dust and gas, known as nebulae.

Question 13

What causes day and night on earth?

Answer 13

Earth rotates on its axis . Each rotation of Earth on its axis takes 24 hours - one day.

The side of Earth facing towards the Sun is lit by the Sun. People living on this side of the Earth experience day.
The opposite side of Earth at this point is facing away from the Sun and people living on this side experience night.

Question 14

What causes the seasons on earth?

Answer 14

Because of the tilt in Earth’s axis, different parts of the planet are tilted closer or further from the Sun.

It is the distance from the Sun caused by the Earth’s tilt that causes the seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Question 15

How long is a lunar cycle (the time from one full moon to the next full moon)

Answer 15

The time for the Moon to go through a complete cycle is approximately 29.5 days.

Question 16

What are the missing phases of the moon shown here?

Answer 16

A. Full moon
B. Third quarter
C. Waxing crescent
D. Waxing gibbous

Question 17

The Moon is non-luminous, meaning it does not produce light. How do we see the Moon?

Answer 17

It reflects light from the Sun

Question 18

In reference to the Moon, what does the term waxing mean?

Answer 18

More of the illuminated part of the Moon is becoming visible

Question 19

What name is given to the stable phase of a star’s life, like the stage the Sun is in at the moment?

Answer 19

The main sequence

Question 20

Our nearest star after the sun is Proxima Centauri which is 4.26 light years away. Why do we use the unit light years to describe this distance?

Answer 20

When dealing with such large distances, standard units of measurement, like metres or kilometres, are replaced by alternatives that can cover the huge distances in space.