CLASS:VIII MONTH:JULY SUBJECT:SCIENCE

L-18 THE UNIVERSE

PRACTICE TIME:1(Pg.No.245)
Fill in the blanks
1. Moon 2.Astronomy 3.Alpha Centauri 4.Ursa minor
5. Sirius 6.Pole

PRACTICE TIME:2(Pg.No.251)
Write True or False. Correct the false statement.
1.T 2.T 3.T 4.T 5.F. Meteors are also known as shooting stars.
EXERCISE
A. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. b 2.d. 3.c. 4.c 5.a 6.b 7. a
B. FILL IN THE BLANKS
1. Stars 2. Constellation 3. Cassiopeia 4. Rings
5. Mercury 6 Venus 7. Neptune 8.Waxing
9. Ceres 10. Sputnik 1
C. WRITE TRUE OR FALSE. CORRECT THE FALSE STATEMENT.
1. F. Stars twinkle at night 2.T 3. F. Orion constellation is known as Mriga
4. F. All planets revolve around the Sun in a fixed elliptical path, known as orbit.
5.T 6. E Mercury is the innermost planet of our Solar system.
7.T
D.MATCH THE FOLLOWING
1. d 2. e 3. f 4. b 5.c 6. a

D. VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Give two examples of each of the following.
1. Ursa Major, Orion 2. Mercury, Venus 3. Jupiter, Saturn
4. Uranus, Neptune 5. Sputnik 1, INSAT

E. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1.What are celestial bodies? Give two examples.
A) The term celestial body refers to any natural body which is present in the sky.
2. Define the term galaxy. Give an example.
A) A vast collection of dust, gas and large number of stars and their solar system is
called galaxy. There are many different galaxies present in the universe. The
solar system, Sun and all the stars that are visible to us belong to the Milky Way
galaxy.
3. Why cannot we see stars in the day time?
A)Stars are also present in the day time. However, we cannot see them because of
the bright light of the Sun.
4. Calculate the time taken by the light to reach the Earth from the Sun.
A) Time taken by the light to reach the Earth's surface from the Sun. It can be
calculated as follows
Time taken = Distance between Earth and Sun
Speed of light
15 x 10 km
3 x 10 km/s
=500 s
=8.3 min
5. Draw a diagram depicting our solar system. Label the planets.

6. Why is the Earth the only planet in the solar system to have life?
A)The following reasons make the Earth a habitable place:
 The Earth is at the correct distance from the Sun. This makes it neither a too hot
nor a too cold planet.
 It has an atmosphere comprising different gases such as carbon dioxide,
nitrogen and oxygen in the right composition.
 The atmosphere of the Earth has a protective layer called ozone. The ozone
layer absorbs the harmful ultraviolet radiations of the Sun.
 The Earth has various freshwater sources.
7. Why do we see only one side of the Moon?
A)The Moon does not have the light of its own. The Sun always illuminates a portion
of the Moon and only that part which reflects sunlight is visible to us..
8.Why are there craters on the surface of the Moon?
A)The craters are formed as a result of meteoroids striking Moon's surface. The
meteoroids keep colliding with the surface of the Moon as the latter does not have
a protective atmosphere.
9.Differentiate between the following:
a)Planet and star b)Inner planets and outer planets
c)Asteroid and meteorite d)Meteor and meteorite
A)a. Planet and Star.
Planets do not emit light. All planets reflect the sunlight that falls on them whereas all
the stars emit their own light. Besides this, the stars twinkle while a planet does not.
b. Inner planets and outer planets.
The inner planets are also known as terrestrial planets. They have a rocky surface.
The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The inner planets have
none or very few natural satellites.
The outer planets are made of hydrogen, helium and other gases. The four outer
planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter and Saturn are known as
gas giants of our solar system. All the outer planets also have a ring system around
them. The outer planets have large number of natural satellites as compared to inner
planets.
c. Asteroid and meteorite.
In between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, there is a large number of small objects
that revolve around the Sun. These celestial objects are called asteroids. Some
meteors are quite big in size and do not evaporate completely in the atmosphere.
Therefore, these meteors strike the Earth's surface and are called meteorites.
d. Meteor and meteorite.
A meteor is a small object that enters the Earth's atmosphere at very high speed.
Some meteors are quite big in size and do not evaporate completely in the
atmosphere. Therefore, these meteors strike the Earth's surface and are called
meteorites.
F. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
1.Write a short note on the following constellations.
a.Ursa Major b. Ursa Minor c.Orion
d. Scorpius e. Cassiopeia
A) a. Ursa Major.
It is made of a group of seven stars, which appear like a ladle or a question mark. It
is also known as big dipper as it looks like a dipper spoon used to drink water in
earlier days.
There are three stars in the handle of the ladle and four in its howl. The arrangement
of the stars also appears like a bear, thus, it is called the Great Beat
b. Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor is also made up of seven bright stars including the Pole Stat. It is also
known as Little Bear or Laghu Saptarishi in India.
c. Orion
Orion is another well-known constellation which is easy to locate during the winters
in the late evening. It is also known as the hunter, In India, it is known as the Mriga.
Orion is a group of seven or eight stars. The three stars in the middle represent the
belt of the hunter: The other four bright stars appear to be arranged in the form of a
quadrilateral and form the shoulders and legs of the hunter
d. Scorpius
Scorpius consists of seven bright stars that take the shape of a scorpion. It is visible
during the summer season.
E.Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia is another constellation that is visible in the winter sky. It can be seen in
the early part of the night. It appears like a distorted letter W or M.
2. How will you locate the position of Pole Star? Explain with the
help of an activity.
A) Let us relate the above activity with the Earth and stars now. The Earth revolves
on its axis from West to East. Hence, the stars appear to be moving from East to
West. That is why the Sun appears to be rising from the East and setting in the
West. However, there is one star which seems to be stationary. This is the Pole Star
or North Star. The Pole Star appears to be stationary because it happens to lie
directly above the North Pole, lining up with the Earth's axis. If you are at the North
Pole, the North Star would be directly overhead. Since the Pole Star always points
towards the north, it is used as a guide by sailors sailing in the deep sea.
3. Describe all the planets of our solar system briefly.
A)Following is the brief description of planets of Solar system:
Mercury: Mercury (Budh) is the closest planet to the Sun. It does not have any
atmosphere or water. It is the smallest planet of our solar system. This planet is
visible from the Earth just before sunrise or after sunset, near the horizon.
Venus: Venus (Shukra) is the Earth's nearest neighbour. It is the second planet from
the Sun and is visible from the Earth with the naked eye. It appears as a bright object
in the eastern sky before sunrise and sometimes in the western sky just after sunset.
For this reason, it is also known as a morning or an evening star. It is called a star
because it looks bright like a star, Venus is also referred to as Earth's twin sister.
Earth: The Earth or Prithvi is the only planet in the solar system which is known to
have life When seen from space, the Earth appears blue-green in colour. This is
because of the reflection of the light from water and land. The Moon is the only
natural satellite of the Earth.
Mars: Mars (Mangal) is the fourth planet from the Sun. The surface of Mars has an
orange reddish colour because its soil has iron oxide or rust particles in it. Due to
storms, this soil is blown into the thin light atmosphere of Mars, giving it a reddish
colour: Hence, Mars is the red planet of our solar system.
Jupiter: Jupiter (Brihaspati) is the largest planet of our solar. It comprises of gases.
There is no rocky surface on Jupiter. About 1300 Earth-size planets can fit into this
large planet. The mass of Jupiter is about 318 times that of Earth. It rotates very fast
on its axis, Jupiter appears quite bright in the sky. It also has faint rings around it.
Jupiter has many natural satellites. Four of its satellites can be seen from the Earth
using a telescope. It has a large red spot on its surface which is actually a giant
storm that has been going on for years.
Saturn: Saturn (Shani) appears yellowish in colour. The unique thing about this
planet is its beautiful rings which are made of ice and dust and they can be observed
using a telescope. It is the least dense planet. It is even less dense than water. That
means if we ever put Saturn in water, it will float on the surface. Saturn also has
many satellites.
Uranus: Uranus can only be seen using a powerful telescope. Like Venus, Uranus
also rotates from East to West. Uranus has a highly tilted axis, which makes it
appear as if it is rolling on its side.
Neptune: Neptune is the outermost planet of the solar system. It can be viewed with
a powerful telescope. Neptune appears bluish in colour. Neptune is the coldest
planet of the solar system.

4 Explain the various phases of the Moon using a diagram.

A)The different shapes of the lit portion of the Moon that are visible from Earth are
known as phases of the Moon. When the Earth is in between the Sun and the Moon,
the Moon appears to be completely lit. We call this Full Moon (purnima). When the
Moon is in between the Earth and the Sun, the side of the Moon facing the Earth
becomes dark. We call this a New Moon (amavasya).
In between the Full Moon and New Moon, we see different shapes of the Moon. On
Full Moon, we see the fully illuminated whole disc-shaped Moon. After that, every
night the size of the bright part of the Moon appears to be decreasing in size till it
completely disappears on the fifteenth day (called New Moon). The gradual
decrease in the size of the Moon is called waning. On the night after the new Moon,
we can see a slight sliver of the Moon, which looks like a crescent. This is known as
crescent Moon. The size of the crescent Moon appears to increase every night. The
gradual increase in size of the Moon is called waxing. When half of the Moon
becomes brighter and is visible to us, it is called the half Moon or first quarter. The
visible portion gradually increases and soon we can see more than half the Moon. It
is now called the gibbous Moon. This is followed by the gibbous moon and the entire
cycle repeats itself every 14 days. The time period from one moon to the next full
moon is slightly longer than 29 days. In many calendars, the period called month.

5.What are comets? Why do they appear to have a tail?

A)Comets also revolve around the Sun. A comet is made of war, dust and gas. They
are like m snowballs. The orbits of comets are elliptical in shape. The period of
revolution off very long. A comet appears to have a bright head with a long tail. The
Sun's heat vaporizes some of the comet's material, thereby releasing dust particles
that were trapped in the ice. T forms the dust tail. The tail of a comet is always
directed away from the Sun. The length of tail increases in size as it approaches the
Sun.

6.What are artificial satellites? How are they helpful to us? Give a two
examples.
A)The human-made structures which are launched in the space with a specific
purpose are called artificial satellites. They also revolve around the Earth but they
are the Moon. Each satellite has a specific purpose or mission such as weather
forecasting telecommunication, transmitting radio and television signals and so on.
How do you get daily weather forecasting. There are weather satellites which gather
information. The information and images that are sent back by satellite helps the
meteorologists as predict the upcoming weather Satellites take images of celestial
objects such as the Moon and other planets and help us to know more about the
solar system. They also take photographs of land on the Earth identify deposits of
various minerals. This process of collecting information through a remotely placed
object is called remote sensing.
THINK AND ANSWER

1.Why is it summer on the eve of Christmas in Australia?

A)Christmas is celebrated during the summer in Australia due to their position in the
southern hemisphere where December is a summer month.
2.Imagine you are on Venus. How will the night sky appear to you? Will in
the the same as night sky on the Earth? Explain.
A) On Venus, the night sky would be darken with fewer visible stars due to
its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid clouds. The
atmosphere would scatter sunlight, creating a faint glow. Venus and other
planets might still be visible, but overall it would be less star-filled and
twinkling sky compared to earth.
4. What would have happened if we did not have an atmosphere?
A) In absence of the atmosphere, the earth would get so cold at night that we would
not be able to survive. No CO 2 and N 2 for plants without atmosphere.
DISCUSS
In a solar system, all celestial bodies need each other and also affect
each other. Do you agree? Give reasons. Support your answer.
Celestial bodies in a solar system interact through gravitational force affecting orbits,
energy exchange and overall ability. These interactions demonstrate their
interdependence and influence on each others characteristics and behaviour s.

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