Science Olympiad Invitational:
Solar system
“test invitational 2011”
********* KEY**********
SCHOOL NAME: ____________________________________________
Team Member Name : _________________________________________
Team Member Name : _________________________________________
Do not open packet, do not turn over test material until told to do so by instructor.
Each team may bring one 8.5” x 11” two-sided page of notes that contain
information in any form from any source, plus a basic, non-programmable
calculator with a square root function, and a dark writing pen or pencil
Record you answer on the Test.
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1. Polaris is observed to be 20 degrees from your zenith, write in your location’s latitude?
70 degrees North Latitude
2. The Sun is observed to not rise nor set on this day in June but circles our position at 23.5
degrees above our horizon.
a.
Where are you located on the Earth? North Pole, 90 degrees North latitude
b.
What is the name of this event?
Summer Solstice
3. What phase of the Moon would it be, if we were on the Moon and observed a Full Earth?
New Moon
4. State the location of the noon time Sun, in relation to the Earth’s surface, during Winter
Solstice.
Sun is above 23.5 degrees North Latitude
5. State the condition that happens two times a year when the Earth’s axis is perpendicular to
the plane of revolution of the Earth/Sun orbit.
Equinox, Autumnal and Vernal Equinox
6. Regolith is made up primarily of what?
Rock shattered/pulverized by impacts
7. How was the Maria of the Moon created?
Lava flowed into impact craters
8. What features on the Moon are apparently the same age as the rays on the Moon?
Young craters
9. Where on the Earth would you have to be, to have the Sun pass directly across your zenith
at the time of the winter solstice?
23.5 degrees South Latitude
10. What is one thing that all forms of electromagnetic energy have in common?
Speed, all travel at the speed of light
11. With stars of the same initial chemical composition, what determines the length of time it
takes for a star to form, and the length of time that a star will exist? Mass
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12. In mid-northern latitudes, which phase of the Moon would you see if the Moon were rising
at 6 p.m. while the Sun was setting?
Full Moon
13. Which position in the diagram below correctly shows Mars at opposition?
B
14. Which position in the diagram below shows Venus at conjunction?
B
15. What are Mascons, that are found on our Moon?
Concentrations of Mass
16. On January 3d the Earth was closest to the Sun, what is this point in its orbit called?
Perhelion
17. Explain how it is possible to see a partial Solar Eclipse of the Sun, while standing on
the Earth.
A person would be in the PENUMBRA of the Moon’s shadow
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18. Explain how the Moon is not completely darkened by Earth’s shadow during a total
lunar eclipse.
The Moon is reflecting light from the Earth (reflected Earth-shine) back to the
Earth.
19. How long will it take reflected Sunlight from Jupiter to reach us on Earth, if Jupiter
is in opposition?
(The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 1 AU)
(The distance from Earth to Jupiter is about 4 AU;)
(Sunlight to the Earth is about 8.3 minutes, so 4 AU X 8.3 minutes =)
33.3 minutes or 34 minutes
20. Why on the Earth, is the time period of one high tide till the next high tide about 12
hours and 45 minutes?
In the 12 hours time that the Earth was rotating or spinning East, the Moon was
also making it’s own revolution East around the Earth. 12 hours later when the
spot on the Earth should again be under a high tide bulge, the Moon is farther to the
East, so Earth must rotate another 45 minutes East, for the same place on Earth to
again be under the Moon’s high tide bulge.
21. Why is Venus not seen at midnight?
Venus’ orbit around the Sun is inside the Earth’s orbit. If a person is experiencing
local midnight on the Earth, a person is normally unable to see Venus, because the
Earth is blocking the view.
22. An object is discovered orbiting our Sun at a distance of four Astronomical Units.
How long will the objects period of revolution around the Sun be?
(Kepler’s 3d Law of Planetary Motion)
4x4x4 = 64
Square root of 64 = 8 years
8 years
23. At what point in Earth’s orbit around the Sun, will the Earth be traveling the slowest?
APHELION, or the farthest point from the Sun
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24. If the Moon takes 27.3 days to complete one revolution around the Earth, why then
does it take 29.5 days from one New Moon phase to another New Moon phase?
In 27.3 days while the Moon was going around Earth, Earth was moving east in
space around the Sun.
The Moon must move another two days (29.5 vs 27.3 days), to line up between the
Sun, and Earth’s new position in space.
25. Mercury has a very large impact basin called the Coloris Basin, on exactly the
opposite side of Mercury, where the shock waves all converged, is known as what?
Weird or chaotic terrain
26. What are the four large moons of Jupiter from the inside orbit to the outside orbit?
1st is
Io
2d
Europa
3d
Ganymede
4th
Callistro
27. Saturn’s ring systems lie at about 2.44 radii from Saturn; this is well within a certain
limit known as what?
The Roch limit
28. Name the two things that allow a planet to remain in orbit with the Sun.
a.
GRAVITY and
b.
INERTIA or Forward Motion
29. Under what conditions are you able to directly view the Sun’s corona?
During a Total Solar Eclipse
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30. If the Sun were suddenly to become a solar-mass black hole, what would happen to the
Earth’s orbit?
The Earth would remain in its same orbit, or no change.
31. Moons A, B, and C are in a resonance of 1:2:4 as they go around a planet.
Explain what this means; by comparing the orbital periods of the moons to each other.
B is twice the orbital period of A
C is twice the orbital period of B,
and C is four times the orbital period of A
32. The planet with the greatest rotational speed is _____JUPITER__________________
33. As the distance from the Sun increases, the orbital period of the planets __INcreases____
34. How many Earths would fit across the Jupiter’s equator? __11.2 or 12_______
35. How many Earths would fit across the Sun’s equator? __109 or 110 __________
36. The least dense planet is ____SATURN_______________
37. The largest Moon in the solar system is ___GANYMEDE________________
38. The Moon most similar in size to Earth’s Moon is ____EUROPA__________
39. Why do the Moon and Mercury have no significant atmospheres, unlike the Earth?
Weak gravitational forces or very low Escape Velocity
Moon is 2.4 km/s Mercury is 4.2 km/s Earth’s escape velocity is 11.2 km/s
40. If the radius of the Earth were to double, with no change in its mass, what would happen to
a person’s weight?
A person’s weight would be less, ONE HALF LESS
41. If one could somehow turn off the gravity from the Sun, the Earth would do what?
(Circle the most correct answer’s letter)
A. Spiral outward from the Sun
B. Travel in a straight line along its present velocity, perpendicular to a line connecting
Earth and the Sun.
C. Collide with the Moon
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D. Leave the Solar System along a line connecting the Earth and the Sun.
42. Describe a penumbral Lunar eclipse.
A Lunar eclipse in which the Moon passes through the Earth’s penumbra, not the umbra.
43. Describe the location of the Barycenter of the Earth/Moon system.
The Barycenter is the center of mass around which the Earth and Moon rotate. The
Barycenter of the Earth/Moon system is inside the Earth, but not located at the center of
the Earth.
44. What is radial velocity?
Velocity along a line of sight, toward or away from an observer.
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