6th Grade Midterm Answer Key
1. Inserting a tooth pick vertically through the top of the Earth (slightly to the side of the North pole) and exiting the tooth pick near the bottom of the Earth (slightly to the side of the South pole.
2. The sun appears to rise from East to West, when in actuality, we (along with all other objects and locations on Earth, relative to Earth) are moving from West to East.
3. Some answers may be different. Ex: Venus days are much longer than Earth days. (Extra note: one day on Venus is 243 Earth days long!)
4. A pattern of recurring weather conditions is a characteristic that separates one season from another.
5. The Northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.
6. The moon’s gravitational force causes the water on the side facing the moon to rise toward the moon creating a high tide on that side facing the moon. Another high tide ( a little smaller) will occur on the opposite side of the planet since the solid part of the Earth will also be attracted to the moon on the side that faces the moon. This will create what seems to be another buldge on the opposite side of the Earth. Low tides will occur on areas of the Earth that are perpendicular to the moon.
7.
8. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation states that every point of mass in the universe attracts every other point of mass and that the amount of mass affects the amount of gravitation.
9. Kepler’s 1st Law
Kepler’s 2nd law
Kepler’s 3rd Law (all three together)
11. Kepler’s 1st law: The orbit of each planet is an ellipse and the Sun is at one focus
Kepler’s 2nd law: The line joining the planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time.
Kepler’s 3rd law: The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.
You will not need to know the 3rd law for the test! J
12. elliptical
13. Both theories were established so that man could understand the heavens. The geocentric theory was first accepted and stated that the Earth was at the center of the solar system. The heliocentric theory was later accepted, after much controversy, and stated that the sun was at the center of the solar system.
14. Copernicus is credited for coming up with the heliocentric theory.
15. 
16. A line graph shows a direct relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
17. The independent variable is always found on the x axis, while the dependent variable is found on the y axis.
18. The independent variable is the variable that the experimenter changes. The dependent variable is often referred to as the outcome, since it depends on the independent variable.
Note: Sometimes the independent variable is time. For example, we could measure a child’s growth in which the dates would be written along the bottom of the graph.
19. Kinetic theory states that gas particles move in a constant, rapid motion. These particles collide with one another causing pressure.
20. Kinetic theory can affect a balloon as the particles in a balloon will collide with one another and maintain a pressure inside the balloon unless the gas is allowed to escape or the temperature is changed.
21.
Kepler: astronomer and mathmetician credited with coming up with three laws of planetary motion and gravity.
Galileo: astronomer credited with developing the telescope and reinforcing Copernicus’s idea of the heliocentric theory.
Copernicus: astronomer and teacher that is credited with the heliocentric theory
Ptolemy: came up with the idea that the universe was made up of “nested spheres” and that many of them moved in elliptical patterns in the sky
Aristotle: Greek philosopher that studied how the heavenly bodies appeared to move across the sky
22. Laws have been supported with evidence and been proven with results from experiments. Theories have only supported evidence but have not been proven.
23. This could be the Kuiper belt which is located beyond the planets that are named and may contain other planets. However, this could also be the Astroid belt that is located between Mars and Jupiter.
24. Meteorites caused craters on the Earth and moon. A meteorite is a meteor that has hit the surface. You could argue “asteroid” since it is a large rocky object that moves through space in the Astroid belt. Sometimes, these objects pass close to Earth in their orbit around the sun.
25. Apparent magnitude is the luminosity of a celestial body (as a star) as observed from the earth.
Absolute magnitude is the magnitude a given star would have if it were situated at a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light years) from the earth
26. solar radius: 696,265 km.
EX: A 2 solar radii star’s radius is 696,265 x 2= 1,392,530
It is twice as big as the sun.
27. Jupiter and Saturn both have moons, rings, colored bands, and are made up primarily of hydrogen.
28. Mars and Earth are both rocky planets that have similar temperature variations in comparison to other planets.
29. Nuclear fusion: when two atomic nuclei are forced together by high pressure ... high enough to overcome the strong repulsive forces of the respective protons in the nuclei. When the nuclei fuse, they form a new element (eventually helium), and release excess energy in the form of a fast-moving neutrons.
30. Venus is hot due to the green house effect caused by its thick atmosphere that traps gasses and heat.
31. Umbra is the darker area of a eclipse shadow and penumbra is the lighter area of an eclipse shadow.
32. -----
33. Steps of the Scientific Method Detailed Help for Each Step
Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
Do Background Research: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.
Make Observations:
Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:
"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.
Analyze Your Data
Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way.
Communicate Your Results: To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.
34. Scientific Ethics: Principles and morals that scientists should follow in order to be responsible for themselves, others, and the environment.
35. Science is supported with facts, testing, and data. Psuedoscience is a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method