click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Unit 4 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Rotation | the spin of a body on its axis |
| day | the time required for Earth to rotate once on its axis |
| revolution | The motion of a body that travels around another body in space; one complete trip along an orbit |
| year | The time required for the Earth to orbit once around the sun |
| season | A division of the year that is characterized by recurring weather conditions, and determined by both Earth's tilt relative to the sun and Earth's position in its orbit around the sun |
| equinox | The moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator. |
| solstice | The point at which the sun is as far north or as far south of the equator as possible. |
| satellite | A natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet |
| gravity | A force of attraction between objects that is due to their masses. |
| lunar phases | The different appearances of the moon from earth throughout the month |
| eclipse | an event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another |
| umbra | a shadow that blocks sunlight, such as the conical section in the shadow of the earth or the moon |
| penumbra | the outer part of a shadow such as the shadow cast by earth or the moon in which sunlight is only partially blocked |
| tide | the periodic rise and fall of the water level in the oceans and other large bodies of water |
| tidal range | the difference in levels of oceans water at high tide and low tide |
| spring tide | a tide of increased range that occurs two times a month at the new and full moons |
| neap tide | a tide of minimum range that occurs during the first and third quarters of the moon |