Chapter 01
The Cycles of the Sky
Multiple Choice Questions
1. After a full moon, about how long is it until the next new moon?
A. A month
B. Two weeks
C. A week
D. Six hours
2. If there is a full moon visible from Paris one evening, twelve hours later in Australia there
will be a _________ visible.
A. Full moon
B. New moon
C. First quarter moon
D. Crescent moon
3. Directly above the Earth's equator lies the ______________ in the sky.
A. North celestial pole
B. South celestial pole
C. Celestial equator
D. Ecliptic
,4. All celestial objects rise in the East and set in the West because
A. The Earth is rotating from east to west.
B. The Earth is rotating from west to east.
C. The Earth is orbiting around the Sun from east to west.
D. The celestial sphere is rotating from east to west.
,5. In which season is the Earth farthest to the Sun?
A. When it is winter in North America.
B. When it is summer in North America.
C. When it is autumn in North America.
D. When it is spring in North America.
6. The equinox is the time when
A. The number of daylight hours is longest in the Northern hemisphere.
B. The number of daylight hours is shortest in the Northern hemisphere.
C. The number of daylight hours equals the number of nighttime hours everywhere on the
Earth.
D. All the nights are equally long throughout the month.
7. When the Moon and the Sun lie exactly in the same direction in the sky, what phase of the
Moon would you see?
A. Full
B. Half
C. Gibbous
D. Crescent
E. New
8. Full Moon sets at
A. Sunrise.
B. Sunset.
C. Midnight.
D. Noon.
9. On what date/s does the Sun rise exactly due east and set exactly due west?
A. June 21 and December 21.
B. March 21 and September 22.
C. Only on Mach 21.
D. Only on June 21.
, 10. In the Northern Hemisphere, between what dates does the location of the Sun's rising
and setting shift a little farther south each day?
A. From March 20 until September 22.
B. From June 21 until December 21.
C. From September 22 until March 20.
D. From December 21 until June 21.
11. Why do the constellations that are visible in the sky at night change with the seasons?
A. Because the celestial sphere revolves around the Earth.
B. Because the Earth is a sphere.
C. Because the Earth rotates about an axis.
D. Because the Earth revolves around the Sun.
12. What is the ecliptic?
A. The line of the solar and lunar eclipses on the celestial sphere.
B. The extension of the Earth's path on the celestial sphere.
C. The elliptical shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
D. All of the above.
13. Which of the following statement(s) describes the ecliptic?
A. The path of the Moon on the celestial sphere.
B. The extension of the Earth's equator on the celestial sphere.
C. The extension of the Earth's path on the celestial sphere.
D. The apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere.
E. Both C and D are correct.
14. What causes the seasons?
A. The tilt of the celestial sphere with respect to the equator.
B. The Earth's distance from the Sun varies throughout the year.
C. The ecliptic is tilted with respect to the celestial equator.
D. The motion of the equinoxes.
E. None of the above.
The Cycles of the Sky
Multiple Choice Questions
1. After a full moon, about how long is it until the next new moon?
A. A month
B. Two weeks
C. A week
D. Six hours
2. If there is a full moon visible from Paris one evening, twelve hours later in Australia there
will be a _________ visible.
A. Full moon
B. New moon
C. First quarter moon
D. Crescent moon
3. Directly above the Earth's equator lies the ______________ in the sky.
A. North celestial pole
B. South celestial pole
C. Celestial equator
D. Ecliptic
,4. All celestial objects rise in the East and set in the West because
A. The Earth is rotating from east to west.
B. The Earth is rotating from west to east.
C. The Earth is orbiting around the Sun from east to west.
D. The celestial sphere is rotating from east to west.
,5. In which season is the Earth farthest to the Sun?
A. When it is winter in North America.
B. When it is summer in North America.
C. When it is autumn in North America.
D. When it is spring in North America.
6. The equinox is the time when
A. The number of daylight hours is longest in the Northern hemisphere.
B. The number of daylight hours is shortest in the Northern hemisphere.
C. The number of daylight hours equals the number of nighttime hours everywhere on the
Earth.
D. All the nights are equally long throughout the month.
7. When the Moon and the Sun lie exactly in the same direction in the sky, what phase of the
Moon would you see?
A. Full
B. Half
C. Gibbous
D. Crescent
E. New
8. Full Moon sets at
A. Sunrise.
B. Sunset.
C. Midnight.
D. Noon.
9. On what date/s does the Sun rise exactly due east and set exactly due west?
A. June 21 and December 21.
B. March 21 and September 22.
C. Only on Mach 21.
D. Only on June 21.
, 10. In the Northern Hemisphere, between what dates does the location of the Sun's rising
and setting shift a little farther south each day?
A. From March 20 until September 22.
B. From June 21 until December 21.
C. From September 22 until March 20.
D. From December 21 until June 21.
11. Why do the constellations that are visible in the sky at night change with the seasons?
A. Because the celestial sphere revolves around the Earth.
B. Because the Earth is a sphere.
C. Because the Earth rotates about an axis.
D. Because the Earth revolves around the Sun.
12. What is the ecliptic?
A. The line of the solar and lunar eclipses on the celestial sphere.
B. The extension of the Earth's path on the celestial sphere.
C. The elliptical shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
D. All of the above.
13. Which of the following statement(s) describes the ecliptic?
A. The path of the Moon on the celestial sphere.
B. The extension of the Earth's equator on the celestial sphere.
C. The extension of the Earth's path on the celestial sphere.
D. The apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere.
E. Both C and D are correct.
14. What causes the seasons?
A. The tilt of the celestial sphere with respect to the equator.
B. The Earth's distance from the Sun varies throughout the year.
C. The ecliptic is tilted with respect to the celestial equator.
D. The motion of the equinoxes.
E. None of the above.