PSC 203 - Elementary Astronomy Name __________________
Spring 2007
Pre-Lecture Homework Questions
Due at the beginning of lecture 1/25
Sun-Earth-Moon Overview:
Skim through section 1.1; focus on the general picture of how these objects relate
to each other. The diagrams 1.7 and 1.18 may be particularly useful.
Read though section 1.2 on “the size of the Earth” and “distance and size of the
Sun and Moon”. Focus on the relative sizes of objects not the exact numbers.
Read all of section 6.3.
You may find it useful to look at the numbers in Appendix Table 1 and Table 5.
These values are in the text in various places but summarized here for easy
reference.
Questions:
1) Of the three objects, Sun, Earth, and Moon:
Which object is the largest? ________________
Which object is the smallest? _______________
2) Fill in the blanks with either Sun or Moon:
The ___________ orbits around the Earth.
The Earth orbits around the ___________.
3) Which distance is larger?
the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
or
the distance from the Earth to the Sun.