Review Checklist - Sample Questions
Motions of the Earth
Rotation
- What do we mean by the Earth's rotation?
- What would be different if the Earth started
rotating in the opposite direction?
- Is there a difference between a solar and
a sidereal day?
- Why is a sidereal day different from a solar
day?
- What kind of day is the one our clocks measure
to be 24 hours long?
- Do stars rise exactly at the same time every
day?
- If a star rises at 9:00 pm one day, at what
time will it rise the following day?
Revolution
- What do we mean by the Earth's revolution?
- Why do we see different stars in summer and
in winter?
- What are seasons on Earth due to?
- Why are summer days warmer than winter days?
- What are solstices?
- What are equinoxes?
- What day of the year is the Sun highest/lowest
in the sky?
- Why is a sidereal year different from a tropical
year?
Precession
- What is meant by the precession of the Earth?
- Will Polaris always be the Earth's North
Star?
Parallax
- What is parallax?
- Which objects appear to move more due to
parallax, nearby or distant ones?
- Why do we expect to see parallax in the stars'
positions over a few months' time?
Astronomy and Timekeeping
- Do we use sidereal days or solar days to
keep track of time in our calendars?
- How is astronomy related to the fact that
years are 365 days long?
- Which astronomical phenomenon is related
to the use of months in our calendar?
- How is astronomy related to the names of
the days of the week?
page by luca bombelli <bombelli at olemiss.edu>,
modified 29 sep 2012