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NY Regents Earth and Space Sciences Earth, Moon, and Sky — practice questions

Explore 22 free Earth, Moon, and Sky questions in NY Regents Earth and Space Sciences Science. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Earth, Moon, and Sky questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–22 of 22.

The familiar cycle of the seasons on Earth is produced by a tilt of what size?Read the answer and worked solution →The Moon does not shine under its own power. Where does the light we see from it come from?Read the answer and worked solution →A solar eclipse can only happen while the Moon is in which phase?Read the answer and worked solution →The Moon keeps the same face turned toward Earth at all times. Why does it do that?Read the answer and worked solution →By roughly how much is the solar day longer than the sidereal day?Read the answer and worked solution →How many high tides does a place on the coast pass through during one day?Read the answer and worked solution →The time the Moon needs to complete its full cycle of phases is called what?Read the answer and worked solution →On June 21 the Sun stands straight overhead at noon for places 23 degrees north. What is that latitude called?Read the answer and worked solution →The Arctic Circle lies at 67 degrees north. How does that number follow from the 23 degree tilt?Read the answer and worked solution →Stars rise about 4 minutes earlier each day. Roughly how much earlier does a star rise after a month?Read the answer and worked solution →Under the Gregorian reform, which century years still count as leap years?Read the answer and worked solution →The full moon sits opposite the Sun in the sky. When does it rise and set?Read the answer and worked solution →When the Sun and Moon line up at new moon or full moon, what happens to the tides?Read the answer and worked solution →The Moon is far smaller than the Sun, yet it can cover the Sun exactly. What makes that possible?Read the answer and worked solution →Why is there no eclipse at every new moon and every full moon?Read the answer and worked solution →Imagine Earth had an axis tilted by 16 degrees instead of 23. What would the gap in latitude be between its Arctic Circle and its Tropic of Cancer?Read the answer and worked solution →A star rises at 9:00 p.m. tonight. About what time will it rise one month from now?Read the answer and worked solution →It is midnight and a fully lit Moon is high overhead. Two weeks later, what will the midnight sky hold?Read the answer and worked solution →Far more people can watch a given lunar eclipse than a given solar eclipse. What is the reason?Read the answer and worked solution →Sort each clue into its eclipseRead the answer and worked solution →Knock out the phase mythsRead the answer and worked solution →Run the Moon through its monthRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The familiar cycle of the seasons on Earth is produced by a tilt of what size?

  1. A tilt of 23.5 degrees
  2. A tilt of 45.0 degrees
  3. A tilt of 11.5 degrees
  4. A tilt of 90.0 degrees
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Correct answer: A. A tilt of 23.5 degrees

1. Earth spins on an axis that is not upright with respect to its orbit. 2. That axis leans by 23.5 degrees, and it keeps pointing the same way all year. 3. The lean is what swings sunlight between the hemispheres, so it is the cause of the seasons. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Earth, Moon, and Sky" and Ch 5 "Radiation and Spectra", section 4.2 The Seasons_

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The Moon does not shine under its own power. Where does the light we see from it come from?

  1. Burning surface rock
  2. Reflected sunlight
  3. Heat from Earth
  4. Its own hot core
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Correct answer: B. Reflected sunlight

1. A body can either make its own light or bounce someone else's light back at us. 2. The Moon merely glows with reflected sunlight, so it belongs in the second group. 3. Its rocky surface gives off no light of its own, which is why the new moon is invisible. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Earth, Moon, and Sky" and Ch 5 "Radiation and Spectra", section 4.5 Phases and Motions of the Moon_

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A solar eclipse can only happen while the Moon is in which phase?

  1. The full moon
  2. First quarter
  3. The new moon
  4. Third quarter
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Correct answer: C. The new moon

1. A solar eclipse needs the Moon to pass in front of the Sun. 2. The Moon sits in the same direction as the Sun only at new moon. 3. Solar eclipses can therefore occur only at the time of the new moon. 4. At full moon the Moon is opposite the Sun, which is the setup for a lunar eclipse instead. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Earth, Moon, and Sky" and Ch 5 "Radiation and Spectra", section 4.7 Eclipses of the Sun and Moon_

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