ESS – Sun, Moon and Earth’s Atmosphere Lab Practical

1. Here is a picture of the Sun. What do the dark areas reveal?

A. Areas that have been burnt out.

B. Areas that have lost heat energy from a solar flare.

C. Dirty spots on the telescope lens

D. Areas of hotter than normal temperatures.

2. Friday night lights, 30 September 2011. What phase is the moon in?

A. NewB. Waxing

CrescentC. First Quarter D. Waning Gibbous E. Waning

Crescent

3. Where would the circled spots most likely be in 24 hours?

A

B

C

D

4. What lunar feature is being marked with an arrow?

A. Crater Copernicus

B. Tycho Ray System

C. Mare Crisium

D. Lunar Appenines

5. What feature of Earth’s upper atmosphere is being depicted

here?

A. Troposphere

B. Stratosphere

C. Mesosphere

D. Magnetosphere

6. Of the following molecules, which one was NOT found in great

abundance in Earth’s early atmosphere?

A. Ar

B. CH4

C. NH3

D. O2

E. H2O

7. Compared to mountains on Earth, lunar mountain ranges

average…A. Taller due to lack of weathering and

erosion

B. Taller due to hyperactive tectonics

C. Smaller due to moon’s smaller size

D. Smaller due to extreme age.

8. The probable cause for this unusual “starburst” lunar feature

is…A. Tectonic shifting

B. Lava Flows

C. Debris scattering from meteor impact

D. Moonquake

10. Here is a picture depicting one of the lunar origin theories. Which

one is being depicted?

A. Capture

B. Giant Impact

C. Condensation

D. Fission

11. What phase is the moon in this picture?

A. New

B. Waxing Gibbous

C. Full

D. Waning Gibbous

12. What is happening here? A.Partial Lunar EclipseB.Partial Solar EclipseC.Annular Solar EclipseD.Annular Lunar Eclipse

13. What will happen in this situation?

A. Total Solar Eclipse

B. Total Lunar Eclipse

C. Partial Lunar Eclipse

D. No eclipse will occur

14. The structure of Earth’s Atmosphere is determined by…

A. Changes in temperature

B. Changes in pressure

C. Changes in chemical composition

D. Changes in physical state

15. What do CFC’s do?

A. Act as greenhouse gasesB. Act as global coolantsC. React with and destroy stratospheric O3D. React with O2 and sunlight to create ground-

level O3.

16. This is an annular solar eclipse. Will there be A. more, B. less, or C. no

change in the numbers of these in the distant future?

17. These are pictures of our Moon’s polar regions. Which letter(s) is(are) pointing at

the moon’s near side? A

B

C

D

18. What layer of the sun is visible only during a total solar eclipse?

A. Photosphere

B. Chromosphere

C. Corona

D. Radiation Zone

E. Core?

Glaciers in the United States and around the world have generally shrunk since the 1960s and the rate which glaciers are melting appears to have accelerated over the last decade. Overall, glaciers worldwide have lost more than 2,000 cubic miles of water since 1960, which has contributed to the observed rise in sea level.

19. Which atmosphere issue does the above reading deal with?

A. Climate Change B. Air PollutionC. Ozone DepletionD. El Niño

20. In which layer is O3 a pollutant?

21. In which layer does O3 protect life from harmful solar radiation?

A. Thermosphere

B. Stratosphere

C. Troposphere

D. Exosphere

Which letters mark the following:

22. Sea of Tranquility

23. Ocean of Storms

24. Sea of Moscow A

B

C

D

E – cannot be seen due to its being located on the far side

25. Where was this photo most likely taken?

A. Montreal, Quebec, Canada

B. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

C. Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

D. Tokyo, Japan

26. Lunar maria formed from…

A. Lava flows

B. Long gone oceans

C. Coastal plains

D. River Deltas

27. What’s going on here? A. Partial Solar EclipseB. Annular Solar EclipseC. Partial Lunar EclipseD. Total Lunar Eclipse

28. This is Crater Kepler. When can it most easily be seen?

A. New Phase

B. Full Phase

C. First Quarter

D. Waxing Crescent

29. This is a picture of the moon’s far side. What is the most likely explanation as to

why it is so different from the near side?

A. Tidal forces exerted by Earth.

B. It’s dark and never receives any light.

C. Oceans never existed here.

D. Water exists here.

30. Here’s a picture of Mars with its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Which lunar origin theory is probably the best

explanation as to how the Martian moons developed?

A. Condensation

B. Giant Impact

C. Capture

D. Fission

31. Is the moon currently A) waxing, B) waning, C) Full, or D) New?

• Rising and setting times for the Moon•     Date Moonrise Moonset Transit Time Altitude Distance Illuminated

Phase• Oct 13, 2011-

7:42 PM 8:43 AM -1:52 AM 75.0° 98.6%• Oct 14, 2011-

8:22 PM 9:37 AM -2:38 AM 78.1° 95.6%• Oct 15, 2011-

9:07 PM 10:31 AM -3:25 AM 80.4° 90.8%• Oct 16, 2011-

9:55 PM 11:23 AM -4:14 AM 81.7° 84.3%• Oct 17, 2011-

10:48 PM 12:13 PM -5:05 AM 81.9° 76.3%• Oct 18, 2011-• 11:45 PM 1:01 PM -5:56 AM 81.0° 67.1%• Oct 19, 2011-• 1:45 PM 6:47 AM 78.8° 56.9%Third Quarter at 10:30 PM

All times are in local time for Houston

32. How did O2 come to be in our atmosphere?

A. It was there originally.

B. It was breathed out by cyanobacteria through photosynthesis.

C. CFC’s took it out of the ozone layer.

D. It came from comets impacting Earth.

33. Here’s a meteor shower. What is happening here?

A. Comet dust is burning up in Earth’s mesosphere due to friction.

B. Lunar dust from moonquakes is igniting in the troposphere.

C. Martian dust is streaking past Earth.

D. Stars are shooting across the sky.

34. Here is a picture of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada – site of the greatest tidal fluctuations on Earth.

Using the lineups of earth, moon, and sun provided, which phase(s) would create the greatest tides here?

A. New Moon B. First Quarter C. Full Moon D. Last Quarter

35. What is happening here?

A. Comet dust is burning up in the mesosphere.

B. Volcanic Dust from Olympus Mons on Mars is interacting with the moon’s magnetosphere.

C. A giant asteroid has just impacted the north pole of Venus.

D. Ions from a solar flare is interacting with Earth’s magnetosphere.