Lunar Cycles Quiz

By: Marie Hullett
Estimated Completion Time
7 min
Lunar Cycles Quiz
Image: Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Moment / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Throughout history, people have gazed up at the night sky, beholding the moon as an orb of wonder. Centuries ago, Stone Age people may have wondered whether they should worry about it falling upon their head, or where it disappears to when it slips under the horizon. These days, we can send humans to the moon, so you'd think the questions about its mystery would halt there. But as our knowledge of this satellite grows, so do our scientific and spiritual interrogations. 

One of the most curious things about our moon is how it proceeds from dark to light, then back to dark again. Even without telescopes and spaceships, though, the Ancient Greeks and Romans already understood that the moon's illumination occurs due to the sun reflecting light on it. We call this the "lunar cycle," which occurs over the course of a synodic month, or about 29.53 days. Throughout world history, people based most calendars upon this cycle. Until recently, though, it remained poorly understood. 

So, how much do you know about lunar phases? Although modern science has us provided us with plenty of answers, many of us are gobsmacked when we realize how so much lunar knowledge still passes right over our heads! If you want to find out just how luny you are, this quiz will get your head spinning around the Earth's axis. 

#5 Dark moon
Michael Phillips / Moment / Getty Images
Maybe you've heard of the "far side of the moon," which refers to the fact that one side of the moon is never visible from Earth. What's with that?
The duration of a rotation of the moon and the duration of its orbit around the Earth make it so that one side of the moon is never visible from Earth.
Science still can't explain it, which is why it's called the dark side of the moon.
This is actually just a myth. Both sides of the moon can be seen from Earth, it just depends where you're located.
Gravity doesn't allow the moon to change directions.
#11 The Full Moon
Ashley / Moment / Getty Images
Waxing and waning indicate the progression of the lunar cycle. At which point in the cycle does the moon then become completely illuminated?
The new moon
The first quarter
The third quarter
The full moon
#18 The oceans
VeryBigAlex / E+ / Getty Images
Besides its potential influence over living creatures, what other natural phenomena are observably influenced by the moon?
Rocks
The oceans
Clouds
Tectonic plates

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#14 Supermoon
Colin Baker / Moment / Getty Images
A few times per year, the moon exists at its closest possible position to Earth amid a full moon. This makes the moon appear larger than usual. What is this phenomena called?
Megamoon
Supermoon
Lunar Grande
Blood Moon
#12 Lunar Eclipse
ElOjoTorpe / Moment / Getty Images
During a lunar eclipse, the moon will often be which color?
Periwinkle
Tan
Russet
Khaki
#7 umbra
Fotosearch / Getty Images
Three ways of describing an obscuration on an object (such as the moon) include umbra, penumbra and antumbra. What do you think "umbra" means?
"Darkness"
"Rain"
"Shadow"
"Space time"

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#21 Moon Terminator
Alan Dyer / Stocktrek Images / Getty Images
Believe it or not, the moon has a terminator. Can you guess the definition of the astronomical term "terminator"?
A line where the light and shadow meet
The deepest crater in the moon
The edge of the moon
The moon's expiration date
#4 Rotation
shaunl / E+ / Getty Images
The Earth and moon also spin around on their own axes. What is this process called?
Spin cycle
Whirling
Circumnavigation
Rotation
#38 barycenter
Wiki Commons by NASA Space Place
The "barycenter" is an important term in astronomy and astrophysics. Do you know what it means?
The second full moon in a calendar month.
The center of mass between two or more bodies orbit (like the earth and moon).
The best place from which to see an eclipse.
The lunar surface.

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#13 Moons Orbit
sharply_done / E+ / Getty Images
Which is the best phrase to accurately describe the moon's orbit around the Earth?
A perfect circular ellipse
Galactocentric
A Low Earth orbit
A nearly perfect circular ellipse
#10 Gibbous
(c) by Cristóbal Alvarado Minic / Moment / Getty Images
Pretend that you can see most of the moon - about three-quarters of it. Which lunar phase is this?
New
Gibbous
Waning
Ovoid
#34 Lunar Effect
Dragan Todorovic / Moment / Getty Images
Over the years, researchers have conducted over 40 studies on the purported connection between the lunar cycle and physiological changes among living creatures. What is this proposed phenomenon called?
Lunar occultation
Declination
Lunar conjunction
Lunar effect

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#24 lunar lake
Wiki Commons by Clementine probe
Another type of lunar desert is called a "lunar lake." Do you know the name of one such plain?
"Swan Lake"
"Sandman's Lake"
"Lake of Dreams" or "Lacus Somniorum"
"Gagarin Lake"
#29 Dark Eclipse
Tristan Savatier / Moment / Getty Images
The moon's luminosity during an eclipse varies. According to the Danjon scale, if the eclipse scored a zero, what would that indicate?
A very red eclipse
A perfectly round eclipse
A totally bright eclipse
A totally dark eclipse
#31 King Tide
MathieuRivrin / Moment / Getty Images
A "King Tide" is when the tide is higher than normal. When are these likely to occur?
During full or new moons
During a thunder storm
At dawn
Once in a blue moon

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#9 Crescent Moon
Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Moment / Getty Images
Lunations divide into phases that indicate what the moon looks like from earth at a particular time. What do you call it when you can only see a sliver of the moon?
First Quarter Moon
Occultation
Crescent Moon
Collimation
#33 Moon Surface
photovideostock / E+ / Getty Images
Like Earth, the moon experiences fluctuations in temperature. What are the high and low temperatures on the moon's surface?
0 F to 50 F
-280 F to 260 F
100 F to 400 F
-10 F to -1 F
#25 Mons Huygens
Wiki Commons by James Stuby
Mons Huygens is the tallest mountain on the moon. How high do you think it is?
One foot
100,000 feet
100 feet
18,000 feet

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#39 Nychthemeron
gui00878 / E+ / Getty Images
Which of these technical terms describes the 24-hour rotation we call a "day"?
Solstice
Gibbous
Nychthemeron
Equinox
#27 Blue Moon
Todd Ryburn Photography / Moment / Getty Images
So, we've heard about full moons and supermoons. What do you think a blue moon is?
The second full moons in one calendar month
When the earth's ocean color is refracted off the surface of the moon
When the moon in total eclipse appears bluish in color
When the moon appears particularly large and bright in the sky
#37 Circadian rhythm
seraficus / E+ / Getty Images
The Earth, sun and moon each possess their own rhythm. Humans also have a 24-hour rhythm, which our bodies may have evolved to adjust to. What do you call this physiological function?
Circadian rhythm
Apparent magnitude
Internal clock
Celestial time

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#26 Santa Sleigh
Ramberg / E+ / Getty Images
If Santa (or anybody, really) were flying his reindeer sleigh above the North Pole, which way would the moon appear to be traveling?
Linearly
Counterclockwise
Clockwise
In the fast lane
#19 Lunar Node
Arthur Machado / Moment / Getty Images
In order for a lunar eclipse to occur, the full moon must be near a lunar node. What does a lunar node refer to?
A distinct pattern of stars used to organize the sky
A place on Earth from which a lunar eclipse can be observed
Where the orbit of the moon crosses the ecliptic
When the shadow of the moon falls upon Earth
#3 Solar System
photovideostock / E+ / Getty Images
OK, thanks to gravity, the Earth, sun and moon don't fly away from each other. Why don't they just smash right into each other, then, if they're mutually attracted?
The atmosphere of the earth holds up the moon.
Gravity isn't that strong.
The lateral motion of their orbit
That would ruin the theory of gravity.

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#30 neap tide
Dorling Kindersley / Getty Images
If you witnessed a neap tide, at which point in the lunar cycle would the moon be?
The full moon
Just after the first or third quarter or the moon
The distant future
The first day of the lunar month
#15 Waxing Gibbous
(c) by Cristóbal Alvarado Minic / Moment / Getty Images
Do you know what it's called when three-fourths of the moon is lit during the latter part of the lunar cycle?
First Quarter
Waning Gibbous
Waxing Gibbous
Last Quarter
#23 Maria
Chris Dennis Rosenberg / Moment / Getty Images
If you look closely at the lunar surface you can see valleys, craters and ... maria. What is maria?
Shield volcanoes
Large, desertlike expanses of molten rock
The moon's mantle
Magma ocean crystallization

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#22 Transient Lunar Phenomenon
FUNFUNPHOTO / Moment / Getty Images
If an astronomer asked you if you've seen the T.L.P., what would you say?
You mean the "Transparent Lunar Phase"?
You mean the "Transitory Lunar Planisphere"?
You mean the "three little pigs?"
You mean the "Transient Lunar Phenomenon?"
#28 Fast Moon
Cyndi Monaghan / Moment / Getty Images
Our moon travels around the earth at a speed of 2,288 miles per hour, which means it travels at supersonic speed. So, how fast does our moon travel in supersonic units (Mach)?
Mach 1
Mach 2
Mach 3
Mach 4
#16 First Quarter
Alan Dyer / Stocktrek Images / Getty Images
What about when you can see exactly half of the moon's face illuminated toward the beginning of the cycle? What's that called?
Waxing Crescent
Waning Gibbous
First Quarter
Last Quarter

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#32 New moon
Valter Jacinto / Moment / Getty Images
Like the moon, the Earth also passes through phases. Imagine that you're standing on the moon during a full moon and you looked at Earth. Which phase would the Earth be in?
New
Crescent
Full
Gibbous
#36 Earthshine
Alan Dyer / Stocktrek Images / Getty Images
People often describe which astronomical phenomena as "the new moon with the old moon in her arms?"
The last moon of the year
When a planet has two moons
The far side of the moon
Earthshine
#17 Last Quarter
huronphoto / E+ / Getty Images
Now, what do you call it when you can see just the other half of the moon's disk?
Third Quarter
Waning Crescent
New Moon
Last Quarter

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#8 Syzygy
photovideostock / E+ / Getty Images
In astronomy there's a word for when three bodies in a gravitational system align. Do you know the term?
Collimation
Syzygy
Linearity
Occultation
#35 lunar calendar
Craig Hastings / Moment / Getty Images
How old is the oldest confirmed lunar calendar?
3,000 years
6,000
8,000
10,000
#6 Lunation
spxChrome / E+ / Getty Images
We divide the year into calendar months due to the orbit of the moon around the Earth. What is the name for a complete lunar month?
Lunation
Lunar unit
Ide
Lunar Culmination

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#40 Moon
Mimi Ditchie Photography / Moment / Getty Images
Finally, the word moon comes from the Proto-Indo-European (P.I.E.) word "meh." What in the world does it mean?
Dream
To inspire
To measure
To illuminate
#20 gibbous moon detail
japatino / Moment / Getty Images
When is the best time to observe the detail of the lunar surface most vividly?
During a gibbous moon
During a new moon
During a full moon
During a crescent moon
#1 Heliocentric
Pixabay / qimono
To understand the lunar cycle, humans had to establish that the Earth was round. Then, they discovered the earth traveled around the sun. What do you call this accurate model of the universe?
Orthodontic
Heliocentric
Olfactory
Astrological

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#2 Apples
George / Moment / Getty Images
After people established the heliocentric model, Isaac Newton made another vital discovery. What did he realize about apples?
Apples, like the moon, travel through space and time.
Apples are drawn downward through the theory of relativity.
You don't have to climb up the tree to get them. There are plenty on the ground.
The earth and apples are mutually attracted.