Earth, Sun and Stars

Earth orbits the sun, yet the sun appears to move across Earth’s sky, rising in the east and setting in the west. What causes this apparent movement of the sun?

• Earth’s revolution on its axis approximately every 24 hours

• Earth’s rotation around the sun approximately every year

• Earth’s rotation on its axis approximately every 24 hours

• Earth’s revolution around the sun approximately every year

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Luis is building a model to compare physical characteristics of the sun, Earth, and moon, including their sizes. Which table below shows models he should use to show accurately which is biggest, smallest, and in between?

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

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If one were to build a model globe to identify the physical characteristics of Earth, how much of it should be blue to represent water?

• most

• half

• one quarter

• very little

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Identify which of the following is a true statement about the physical characteristics of the sun?

• It is a huge hot ball of gases with no solid surface.

• It is a huge hot ball of gases with a rocky surface.

• It is a huge hot ball of gases with a surface covered in water.

• It is a huge hot ball of gases without an atmosphere.

As you compare Earth, the sun, and the moon, which of these share the physical characteristic of being made up of iron, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium?

• Earth and sun

• sun and moon

• Earth and moon

• Earth, sun, and moon

Jaime wants to make a scale model of the solar system. He has a small space for his model. What characteristic of the objects in the solar system will make it difficult to make a scale model in a small space?

• The planet orbits are elliptical.

• Some planets are too small to model.

• The sun is very far from all the planets.

• The sun is much larger than all the planets.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Luce made a scale model of the solar system. What did she notice about the inner planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars?

• They are all the same size.

• They are all larger than the sun.

• They are all larger than the outer planets.

• They are all smaller than the outer planets.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Earth is one of the inner planets. Jupiter is one of the outer planets. How does each planet compare to the other planets in its group?

• Both are the largest planets in their group.

• Both are the smallest planets in their group.

• Both are the closest planets to the sun in their group.

• Both are the farthest planets from the sun in their group.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

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Why is it useful to make a model of the sun and planets?

• It shows the actual size of these objects.

• It helps us quickly compare a physical property of these objects.

• It clearly shows the composition of each object.

• It helps us determine the distance between each object.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

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Josleen divided some of the planets into two main groups. The table below shows how she grouped them.Which two categories did Josleen most likely use to group the planets?

• planets and dwarf planets

• with moons and without moons

• orbit the sun and orbit other bodies

• small diameters and large diameters