Part I: Phases of the Moon

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Clementine Nicholson
6 years ago
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1 Part I: Phases of the Moon 1. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit when you are facing the light source. If you are Earth, where is the Sun (light source) in relation to the Moon at this phase? Phase Name: 2. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit after you have rotated 1/8 of a turn to your left. Is the Moon moving toward or away from the Sun? _ 3. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit when your right shoulder is pointed toward the light source. How much of the Moon is lit and seen from Earth? _ 4. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit after you rotated a 1/8 turn to your left. Is the amount of the Moon lit getting larger or smaller? 1

Part I: Phases of the Moon, continued 5. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit when you are standing with your back to the light source. How much of the Moon facing Earth is lit? Phase Name: 6.

2 Part I: Phases of the Moon, continued 5. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit when you are standing with your back to the light source. How much of the Moon facing Earth is lit? Phase Name: 6. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit after you rotated a 1/8 turn to your left. Is the Moon moving toward the Sun or away from the Sun? 7. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit when your left shoulder is pointed toward the light source. How much of the Moon is lit and seen from Earth? 8. Draw the portion of the Moon that is lit after you rotated a 1/8 turn to your left. Is the amount of Moon lit getting larger or smaller? 2

3 Part I: Phases of the Moon, continued 9. Candles were once made by dipping a string and a wick repeatedly into melted wax. Each time the candle was dipped, another layer of wax was added to the candle. If waxing describes a building up or adding on, then when would the Moon be waxing? 10. Go back to your drawings for positions 2 and 4 and start by labeling the Phase Name: Waxing. 11. When someone is losing weight due to an illness, it is described as waning away. If waning describes getting thinner or smaller, then when would the Moon be waning? 12. Go back to your drawings for positions 6 and 8 and start by labeling the Phase Name: Waning. 13. A bread roll that is shaped like a C is called a crescent. When could the phase of the Moon be considered a crescent? 14. Go back to your drawing and add the word Crescent after the words Waxing and Waning to the Phase Names for positions 2 and During two of the phases, half of the Moon seems to be lit. How much of the Moon is actually lit in the two phases? 16. Go back to your drawings and label the Phase Name for position 3 First Quarter and the Phase Name for position 7 Third Quarter. 3

4 Part I: Phases of the Moon, continued 17. The ringer of the bells was called the Hunchback of Notre Dame because he had a gibbous lump on his back. If gibbous describes something that is bulging, but not completely round, then at what phase is the Moon described as gibbous? 18. Go back to your drawing and add the word Gibbous after the words Waxing and Waning to the Phase Names for positions 4 and It is rumored that when the bright moonlight reflected from the Sun fills the sky, people act in an odd or loony manner. What is the name of this phase of the Moon? 20. Go back to your drawings and label the Phase Name for position 5 Full Moon. 21. One expression that refers to starting over is to begin with a clean slate. What phase in your drawings represents the Moon as a clean slate? 22. Go back to you drawing and label the Phase Name for position 1 New Moon. 4

5 Part II: Predicting the Cycle of Lunar Phases 1. Draw and label the Moon s phases on the diagram. Draw what you would see as if you were standing on Earth and looking at the Moon. The Sun s position is at the top of the page (and VERY far away!) Begin with the New Moon and draw each phase as it can be predicted by the cyclical movements between Earth, the Moon, and Sun system. Diagram: Predicting Moon Phases 5

6 Part II: Predicting the Cycle of Lunar Phases, continued 2. Look at the diagram titled Revolution and Phase below. The outer diagrams of the Moon show the Moon phases as if seen in that position from Earth. Why are the shadow positions of Earth and all of the Moon diagrams of the inner circle the same? 6

7 Reflections and Conclusions 1. How can you use the revolution motions within the Sun, Earth, and Moon system to explain the predictable pattern of the lunar cycle? 2. How is a full moon different from a new moon? 3. Why does the illumination of the Moon's surface appear to change when viewed from Earth even though the Sun continuously illuminates half of the Moon? 4. How are waxing and waning different? 5. Contrast the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during the full moon phase and the new moon phase. 6. If a new moon is seen today, in approximately how many days will a full moon be seen? 7

The reason is that the Moon s rotation takes 27.3 days the same amount of time it takes to revolve once around Earth. Because these two motions take

The reason is that the Moon s rotation takes 27.3 days the same amount of time it takes to revolve once around Earth. Because these two motions take Moon Phases 6.E.1.1 Explain how the relative motion and relative position of the sun, Earth and moon affect the seasons, tides, phases of the moon, and eclipses. Motions of the Moon Just as Earth rotates