Phases of Water Gizmo Answer Key

Name: Date: Student Exploration: Phases of the Moon Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and prompts in the orange boxes. Vocabulary: axis, crescent, First Quarter, Full Moon, gibbous, illuminate, Moon phase, New Moon, orbit, revolve, rotate, Third Quarter, waning, waxing Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. A Moon phase is what the Moon looks like from Earth at a particular time. In the space below, draw a few pictures of different Moon phases, based on what you have seen before. 2. About how often does a Full Moon happen? Once a month Gizmo Warm-up 1. In the Phases of the Moon Gizmo, click Play ( about the motion of the Moon? ). What do you notice The clockwise motion of the moon around the earth The path that the Moon takes is called its orbit. The Moon is revolving around Earth. 2. What do you notice about the motion of Earth? The earth is spinning counterclockwise This motion is called rotation. Earth rotates on its axis, a straight line connecting the North Pole to the South Pole. 3. Where would you have to be to see the view shown above? Explain. You'd need to be aboard the space station. Activity A: Moon phases Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset ( ). Question: Why do we see phases of the Moon? 1. Brainstorm: Why do you think we see phases of the Moon? I believe it is because the sun and moon appear different each day. 2. Run Gizmo: ● Click Play. As the Moon goes around Earth, notice what the Moon looks like on the right side of the Gizmo. (This shows what an observer on the North Pole would see.) ● Turn on Show view area to see which part of the Moon is visible from Earth. 3. Observe: How does the Moon’s appearance change as the Moon revolves around Earth? Darkness hides the moon when we first view it. The Moon is therefore a transparent silver (crescent). Only one-half of the moon would be visible in this scenario. The moon is then lighted for the most part. That means the moon is full if that is the case. The moon then goes from being bright to being largely bright to being half-bright to thin silver to becoming black. 4. Analyze: A. Look at the overhead view of the Moon and Earth. How much of the Moon is always lit up, or illuminated, by the Sun? Half of the moon is always illuminated B. Can we always see the same amount of the illuminated side of the Moon from Earth? Explain. Contrary to popular belief, as the moon circles the Earth, we see more and more of its lighted side until it is fully formed. From that point on, we see less of the sun's illuminated side until we again reach the new moon phase. 5. Think and discuss: Based on your observations, why do we see Moon phases? The sun always shines on half of the moon, so there are two factors that affect the moon's phases. We get a better view of the illuminated side depending on the location of the moon. Activity B: Name that phase! Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset. Goals: Learn the names of Moon phases and when they occur. 1. Run Gizmo: 2. Predict: Suppose you saw a waxing gibbous Moon. What phase would you expect one week later? Test your prediction using the Gizmo. waning gibbous 3. Think and discuss: Waxing means “growing” and waning means “shrinking.” A. Seen from the North Pole, which side of a waxing Moon is illuminated? the right side B. Which side is illuminated when the Moon is waning? the left side C. Suppose you see a crescent Moon. How do you know if it is waxing or waning? If the right side is lit, it is a waxing. The left side is fading if it is illuminated. Extension: The Man in the Moon Get the Gizmo ready: ● ● Click Reset. Turn on Show flag. Question: If you look closely at the Full Moon, you may notice dark areas that look a bit like a face. This is known as “The Man in the Moon.” Does this side of the Moon always face Earth? 1. Form hypothesis: Do you think we always see the same side of the Moon? yes 2. Run Gizmo: Click Play. The flag helps you notice how quickly the Moon is rotating. Click Pause when the flag has rotated in a full circle, showing that the Moon has rotated once. 3. Observe: Where does the flag point as the Moon revolves around Earth? towards earth 4. Draw conclusions: Do we always see the same side of the Moon? How do you know? Yes, every time we look at the moon, we see the same side. Always facing Earth is the lunar flag. 5. Observe: A. How long did it take for the Moon to go around Earth? it take 29.5 days B. How long did it take for the flag to rotate once in a full circle? it take 29.5 days 6. Analyze: What do you notice about these two time intervals? The moon rotates as fast as it orbits the Earth. 7. Think and discuss: Suppose the Moon rotated on its axis just as quickly as Earth. Would we still always see the same side of the Moon from Earth? Explain. We would be able to observe the moon's various faces every day.