Year 8 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.
- 1. The Sun
- 2. The Moon
- 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.How does watching a lunar eclipse differ from watching a solar one?
- a) A lunar eclipse also needs eye protection, of a different kind
- b) An eclipsed full Moon can be watched safely with the naked eye
- c) A lunar eclipse lasts a few seconds, so there is no time to look
- d) A lunar eclipse can be watched safely through binoculars but not directly
2.Why does the Northern Hemisphere have summer in June?
- a) It is tilted towards the Sun, so the sunlight is more intense and lasts more than 12 hours a day
- b) It is passing through the part of the orbit nearest the Sun
- c) The Earth rotates more slowly in June, giving longer days
- d) The Sun gives out more heat during those months
3.The day-night cycle goes round and round with no true beginning, so start from the step where your place turns into the sunlight, and the Sun rises, and put the rest in order.
- Your place is on the half facing the Sun — daytime
- Your place turns into the sunlight, and the Sun rises
- Your place turns out of the sunlight, and the Sun sets
- Your place is on the half turned away from the Sun — night
4.What causes the seasons on the Earth?
- a) The hemisphere tilted towards the Sun being closer to it
- b) The tilt of the Earth's axis, together with the Earth's spherical shape
- c) The Earth rotating faster in some months than in others
- d) The Earth being at different distances from the Sun over the year
5.Here are the Sun, the Earth and the Moon during a lunar eclipse. Tap the body whose shadow is falling on the Moon.
Write the number of the part.
6.Seen from above the North Pole, which way does the Earth rotate?
- a) Anti-clockwise, which is from East to West
- b) Clockwise, which is from West to East
- c) Anti-clockwise, which is from West to East
- d) Clockwise, which is from East to West
7.Why do the southern states of India feel the change of seasons less strongly than places further north?
- a) They lie close to the equator, where daylight and sunlight intensity vary little through the year
- b) Their days run shorter than 12 hours the year round
- c) They are closer to the Sun, so they stay warm the year round
- d) The Earth's tilt does not affect the Southern Hemisphere
8.Match each kind of eclipse to what is happening.
- Solar eclipse
- Lunar eclipse
- A Moon completely inside the Earth's shadow
- the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon
- a total lunar eclipse, with the Moon turned dark red
- the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
Answer key — Year 8 Science — The Earth, the Moon and the Sun
- 1. b) An eclipsed full Moon can be watched safely with the naked eye
- 2. a) It is tilted towards the Sun, so the sunlight is more intense and lasts more than 12 hours a day
- 3. 1. Your place turns into the sunlight, and the Sun rises 2. Your place is on the half facing the Sun — daytime 3. Your place turns out of the sunlight, and the Sun sets 4. Your place is on the half turned away from the Sun — night
- 4. b) The tilt of the Earth's axis, together with the Earth's spherical shape
- 5. 2 — The Earth
- 6. c) Anti-clockwise, which is from West to East
- 7. a) They lie close to the equator, where daylight and sunlight intensity vary little through the year
- 8. 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