Name: ______Period: ______Date: ______
Analyzing the Phases of the Moon
Reminder… The moon does not produce its own light. Where does the light of the moon come from?
Brainpop Refresher
1. The term waxes refers to when the moon’s lit side ______(from our perspective).
2. Wanes describes when the moon’s bright side ______(again, from our perspective).
3. Our Earthly concept of ______is based on the moon’s orbit.
4. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, the phases of the moon have nothing to do with ______.
5. Did you know that the moon’s orbit is ______˚ off the straight line between the sun & Earth? This fact eliminates the possibility of ______produced by the Sun shining on the Earth and/or the moon as a reason for the moon’s phases.
6. Just like ½ of Earth is always “lit” by the sun, ______of the moon is always being illuminated by the sun. The amount of this side that we can see from Earth changes based on the moon’s ______around Earth.
7. Sketch the positions of the Sun, Earth & Moon when it is a new moon.
New moon = ______
8. Crescent describes the moon when we see ______of the bright side of the moon.
9. When the moon has gone ¼ of the way through its orbit, we see ______of the moon’s “lit” side. We call this a (First) Quarter Moon or a Half Moon.
10. The terms gibbous describes when we see ______of the bright side of the moon.
11. When the moon is ¾ of the way through its orbit, we see ______of the bright side of the moon.
12. One lunar month is ______days, but it takes the moon ______days to orbit Earth. There is a difference because the Earth is moving, too!
http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/moon/lunar_phases_main.html
Part 1
Complete the diagram showing the phases of the moon, copy the drawing in the space below.
Part 2
As you read through the directions, answer the following questions:
a. The moon doesn’t produces its own energy (light), or it would be considered a star… So, how does it “shine”?
b. Explain why we always see the same side of the moon.
c. As you work through the second activity, identify what the moon would look like from the perspectives of each (the letters on the diagram above match the letters in this activity). Make sure to draw the diagram once you know it is correct. Label each drawing with what it is called. See the first one for an example.
Label / A / B / C / D / E / F / G / HDiagram / / / / / / / /
Name
* Note: The letters in this section correspond to the letters in Part 1.
What Do You Know?
Answer the questions about what you just completed. Record your responses in the space below:
1. ______The phases of the moon are produced by:
A) the spin of the Earth
B) varying amounts of sunlight reaching the side of the moon that faces Earth
C) varying amounts of sunlight reaching the side of the moon that faces the sun
D) the orbit of the Earth around the moon
2. ______At full moon:
A) the side of the moon facing the Earth receives no sunlight.
B) the side of the moon facing the Earth receives full sunlight.
C) the moon is between the Earth and the sun
D) none of these
3. ______At new moon:
A) the side of the moon facing the Earth receives no sunlight.
B) the side of the moon facing the Earth receives full sunlight.
C) the moon is between the Earth and the sun
D) A and C
E) none of these
4. ______At first and third quarter moon phases:
A) the moon is basically at a 90 degree angle from the sun.
B) half of the side of the moon we can see "shines"
C) A and B
D) none of these
5. ______In the first half of the lunar cycle, the "growing" part of the moon appears on the ______side. After full moon when the moon is waning, the illuminated part of the moon appears on the ______side.
A) right, left
B) left, right
C) right, right
D) left, left
6. ______Why doesn't the moon appear as bright in the daytime as it does at night?
A) The moon is receiving less sunlight.
B) The sunlight in the atmosphere makes the moon appear less bright.
C) The moon does not reflect light in the daytime.
7. ______If you can see a full moon at your position on the Earth, what type of moon will you see if you go to exactly the opposite side of the world on the same day (24 hours)?
A) A new moon.
B) A full moon.
C) No moon at all.
D) None of these.
8. ______If you see two full moons in the same month of a calendar year, the second full moon is called a:
A) Moon River
B) Blue Moon
C) Moonraker
Part 3
Run the simulation of the moon as it passes through its entire cycle. Once complete, answer the following questions about the moon and what we see from earth:
a. Why is it possible to see the moon during the day? Please explain or draw a diagram to show your answer.
b. How long does it take for the moon to make one complete cycle through all of the phases?
c. Describe the rotation of the moon compared to the revolution of the moon. Explain why we only see one side of the moon from Earth. Both questions require the same answer.
Analyzing the Moon Phases
Use your knowledge of the Moon’s orbit and/or use the model of the Sun (lightbulb), Moon (Styrofoam ball) and Earth (globe) to simulate the motion of the Moon around the Earth as the Earth revolves around the Sun.
1. Sketch the following:
What is the difference between these?
2. Sketch the following:
What is the difference between these?
3. Sketch the following:
What is the difference between these?
4. How much of the moon is always being “lit” by the sun?
5. Why do you think it is called a new moon when no moon appears in the sky?
6. Why do we use the terms Quarter Moon and Half Moon interchangeably – in math you should have learned that a quarter and a half are different amounts!
7. Knowing what you do about the phases of the moon, complete the following calendar for the months of December 2012 and January 2013. Sketch the appearance of the moon for each day. Notice how long it takes for the moon to move from one phase to another.