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Year 7 Science — The Earth, the Moon and the Sun

Tell rotation from revolution, explain day, night and the seasons from the Earth's turning and its tilt, and say what lines up during each kind of eclipse.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The Sun, the Moon and the Earth, lined up for a solar eclipse.

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  1. 1. The Sun
  2. 2. The Moon
  3. 3. The Earth

The Moon sits between the Sun and the Earth and throws a small shadow onto the Earth's surface. Stand inside that shadow and the Sun is hidden — a total solar eclipse. Stand where the Moon covers part of the Sun and you see a partial one.

  1. 1.The Sun appears to travel across the sky from East to West each day. What is really going on?

    • a) The Sun stays still and the sky itself turns around it
    • b) The Sun is circling the Earth once a day
    • c) The Earth is revolving round the Sun, which takes a day
    • d) The Earth is rotating on its axis, and we are watching from it

  2. 2.How does watching a lunar eclipse differ from watching a solar one?

    • a) A lunar eclipse can be watched safely through binoculars but not directly
    • b) A lunar eclipse also needs eye protection, of a different kind
    • c) An eclipsed full Moon can be watched safely with the naked eye
    • d) A lunar eclipse lasts a few seconds, so there is no time to look

  3. 3.Why do the southern states of India feel the change of seasons less strongly than places further north?

    • a) Their days run shorter than 12 hours the year round
    • b) They are closer to the Sun, so they stay warm the year round
    • c) The Earth's tilt does not affect the Southern Hemisphere
    • d) They lie close to the equator, where daylight and sunlight intensity vary little through the year

  4. 4.Seen from above the North Pole, which way does the Earth rotate?

    • a) Clockwise, which is from West to East
    • b) Clockwise, which is from East to West
    • c) Anti-clockwise, which is from West to East
    • d) Anti-clockwise, which is from East to West

  5. 5.About how many hours does the Earth take to complete one rotation?

    Mark the line with an X.

    0123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930

  6. 6.A solar eclipse is happening. How should it be watched?

    • a) At an eclipse-viewing event, using eye protection made for solar viewing
    • b) Directly with the naked eye, since the Moon is blocking most of the Sun
    • c) Through sunglasses, which cut the glare down enough
    • d) Through binoculars, so the eclipse can be seen in detail

  7. 7.Match each kind of eclipse to what is happening.

    • Solar eclipse
    • Lunar eclipse
    • A Moon completely inside the Earth's shadow
    • the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
    • the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon
    • a total lunar eclipse, with the Moon turned dark red

  8. 8.The Earth turns about an imaginary line running through its geographic North Pole and South Pole. What is that line called?

Answer key — Year 7 Science — The Earth, the Moon and the Sun

  1. 1. d) The Earth is rotating on its axis, and we are watching from it
  2. 2. c) An eclipsed full Moon can be watched safely with the naked eye
  3. 3. d) They lie close to the equator, where daylight and sunlight intensity vary little through the year
  4. 4. c) Anti-clockwise, which is from West to East
  5. 5. 24
  6. 6. a) At an eclipse-viewing event, using eye protection made for solar viewing
  7. 7. Solar eclipse → the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth; Lunar eclipse → the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon; A Moon completely inside the Earth's shadow → a total lunar eclipse, with the Moon turned dark red
  8. 8.
    • axis
    • the axis
    • axis of rotation
    • the axis of rotation