Structure of the Solar System

Imagine Benjamin, Aiden, and Abigail are on a field trip to a planetarium. They are learning about the differences between planets and dwarf planets. What key characteristic would help them distinguish a dwarf planet from a regular planet?

• The dwarf planet is not spherical.

• The dwarf planet does not orbit the sun.

• The dwarf planet has large objects in its orbit.

• The dwarf planet moves more slowly along its orbit.

Aria, David, and Mason are young space enthusiasts. During their summer vacation, they decide to build a small telescope to observe the night sky. One night, they spot an object moving in a highly elliptical orbit around the sun. The object appears to be made of rock and ice. Can you help them identify what this object could be?

• planet

• comet

• star

• meteor

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Imagine Kai, Lily, and Isla are on a camping trip, sitting around a bonfire and stargazing. They start discussing Parallax, a method used to measure the distance of stars from Earth. Which statement do you think they would agree upon?

• Stars closer to Earth, like the ones they are observing, will appear to shift less in position.

• Stars farther from Earth, like the ones they can barely see, will appear to shift less in position.

• Stars closer to Earth, like the ones they are observing, will appear dimmer.

• Stars farther from Earth, like the ones they can barely see, will appear brighter.

Isla, Abigail, and Aiden are in a science museum. They come across a large model of the solar system. They notice something is not quite right with the model. Can you help them figure out what's wrong with this representation?

• It does not depict the elliptical path of the planets around the sun.

• It does not accurately represent the size of each planet.

• It does not illustrate the gravitational pull each planet has.

• It does not display the sequence of the planets, from nearest to the sun to the most distant.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Zoe, Elijah, and Arjun were stargazing one night and noticed that the positions of stars in a constellation appear to remain the same over time. Can you guess why?

• Is it because they are all moving at the same speed around the sun?

• Or because they are all rotating at the same speed around the Earth?

• Could it be because the Earth's rotation on its axis makes them appear to move together?

• Or is it because the gravitational pull between the stars keeps them in the same relative positions?

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Arjun, William, and Zoe are in a science museum. They come across a display showing the heliocentric model of the solar system. Arjun turns to his friends and asks, 'Which scientist first proposed this theory?'

• Nicolaus Copernicus

• Galileo Galilei

• Isaac Newton

• Albert Einstein

Imagine Liam, Aria, and Maya are astronauts exploring the vast universe. They come across a peculiar diagram with dashed lines representing the orbital paths of celestial bodies. They are trying to figure out which celestial body orbits body B. Can you help them?

• body D & E

• body A & C

• body X & E

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Describe the concept of retrograde motion and how it impacted the understanding of early astronomers about celestial bodies.

• Retrograde motion is the actual backward motion of a planet in its orbit as observed from Earth.
• Retrograde motion is the apparent backward motion of a planet in its orbit as observed from Earth.
• Retrograde motion is the result of a planet colliding with another celestial body.
• Retrograde motion is a phenomenon caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

How did the concept of epicycles in Ptolemy's model improve the understanding of the retrograde motion of planets compared to Aristotle's model?

• Ptolemy's model failed to explain the retrograde motion of planets.

• Aristotle's model provided a better explanation of the retrograde motion of planets.

• The concept of epicycles in Ptolemy's model complicated the understanding of the retrograde motion of planets.

• The concept of epicycles in Ptolemy's model provided a more accurate explanation of the retrograde motion of planets compared to Aristotle's model.

What did the Ptolemaic model assert about the structure of the solar system?

• It suggested that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

• It proposed that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

• It confirmed the existence of other galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

• It introduced the concept of elliptical orbits for planets.