Countdown to our Space Unit Test...

The students have literally had a blast learning so much about space exploration, flight, and astronomy!  With our space vocabulary quiz behind us, it is time to get ready for next Friday's Space Exploration Test (1/24).  Students were given their study guides today.  A copy is also included for you here as well.  Thanks so much for all that you do at home!!!

Space Exploration—Test Study Guide

Students should be able to:

·        List the planets in order from the sun and identify the inner and outer planets (My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Noodles).

o   Inner Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)

o   Outer Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

·        Identify Pluto as a dwarf planet.

·        Explain that the tilt of the earth on its axis as it orbits around the sun is what causes the seasons.

·        Identify the 4 seasons in order (winter, spring, summer, fall).

·        Know the difference between a day and a year.  (Day=1 rotation of earth on its axis/24 hours, Year=1 orbit of the earth around the sun/365.2 days)

·        Identify and label the phases of the moon. (Hint=the moon appears on the right when it is waxing or appears to be getting bigger; the moon appears on the left when it is waning or appearing to become less.)

(New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning Crescent)

·        Know these facts about space exploration:

President who supported space exploration=Kennedy

 Countries in the Space Race=USA and Russia

Father of Modern Rocketry=Goddard

First Human in Space=Gagarin (Russia)

First Person to Orbit the Earth=Glenn (USA)

First People on the Moon=Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins* (USA)
 The Name of Their Moon Mission=Apollo 11

First American Woman in Space=Sally Ride

Famous Russian Dog in Space=Laika

Famous American Monkeynauts=Able and Baker

List 2 other interesting animals in space=Mice, Crickets, Frogs, Turtles, Worms, Newts, etc.

2 shuttles were lost in the American Shuttle Series=Challenger and Columbia

·        Know these facts about stars:

o   The sun is our closest star and is the star at the center of our solar system.  It is a yellow star.

o   Blue-white stars are the hottest stars.

o   Red stars are the coolest stars.

o   An exploding star is called a supernova.

o   Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.