Name Date Class

Content Vocabulary LESSON 1

The Sun-Earth-Moon System

Directions: On each line, write the term from the word bank that correctly completes each sentence. NOTE: You
may need to change a term to its plural form.

eclipse equinox lava revolution rotation

solstice tide waning waxing

1. occur on the first days of spring and fall.

2. One year is the amount of time it takes Earth to make a full

around the Sun.

3. are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and

the Sun.

4. Following a new moon, the Moon is , and more of the

Moon is visible each night.

5. The longest day of the year is a(n) .

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6. A solar can only occur during a new moon, when a

small part of Earth is in the Moon’s shadow.

7. After a full moon, the Moon is , and less of the Moon

is visible each night.

8. Earth’s causes day and night.

9. The surface of the Moon is covered in craters, mountains, and

plains from ancient volcanoes.

Earth in Space 9
 Name Date Class

Content Practice A LESSON 1

The Sun-Earth-Moon System

Directions: Complete the cause-and-effect chart with the correct term or phrase from the word bank in the space
provided. Each term or phrase is used only once.

a solar eclipse move in a straight line night and day orbit the Sun
spring tides the Moon visible the seasons

Cause Effect

Because the Sun contains more than 1. .

99 percent of the solar system’s mass,
objects in the solar system

If the Sun did not have gravitational 2. .

pull, Earth would

Earth rotates as it orbits the Sun, 3. .

causing

The tilt of Earth’s axis as it revolves 4. .

around the Sun causes
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Moon reflects light, making 5. .

The combined gravitational pull of 6. .

the Moon and Sun causes

Sometimes, a small part of Earth is in 7. .

the Moon’s shadow, causing

Earth in Space 13
Name Date Class

Content Practice B LESSON 1

The Sun-Earth-Moon System

Directions: On the line before each definition, write the letter of the term that matches it correctly. Each term is
used only once.

1. daily rising and falling of the oceans A. lunar eclipse

2. the spin of an object around its axis B. solar eclipse

C. solar system
3. largest object in the solar system
D. the Sun
4. to circle around an object
E. the Moon
5. the orbit of an object around another object
F. orbit
6. an object that revolves around Earth G. revolution
7. galaxy that includes our solar system H. rotation
8. shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun I. elliptical

9. occurs during a new moon J. equinox

K. solstice
10. occurs only during a full moon
L. phases
11. means equal night
M. tides
12. visible shapes of the Moon

Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

N. Earth
13. includes the Sun, planets, and the Moon O. Milky Way
14. beginning of summer or winter

15. this object’s shadow covers the Moon during

a lunar eclipse

14 Earth in Space
 Name Date Class

School to Home LESSON 1

The Sun-Earth-Moon System

Did you know?
Interactions in the Sun-Earth-Moon system cause many natural events. These events
are cause-and-effect relationships. A cause is something that makes something else
happen. An effect is what happens as the result of the cause.

Directions: Use your textbook to answer each question.

1. Earth completes one rotation around an imaginary axis every 24 hours.

What does this spinning motion cause?

2. Earth is tilted on its axis by about 23.5°. The direction in which the axis
points changes as Earth revolves around the Sun.
What effect does Earth’s tilt have on the planet?
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

3. Earth’s Moon seems to change shape during the course of one month.
What causes Moon phases?

4. The positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun change in space.
How do these changes affect tides? How do they cause eclipses?

Earth in Space 15