Moon Phases Middle School Lesson Plan

Transcription

1 Moon Phases Middle School Lesson Plan A first quarter moon as seen in the Moon Phases model. Key Topic/Concept: How the relative position of Sun, Earth, and Moon affect Moon s phases Materials: One review and one guide sheet for each student Flashlight, pencil, and tennis ball (insert pencil into tennis ball as a handle). Computer with moon phase simulation downloaded Science notebook The Easy Java Simulations EJS Moon Phases model can be downloaded from the ComPADRE National Digital Library if it not available on the local computer. The EJS Moon Phases Student model is available at: Safety Precautions: No special precautions needed for this lesson.

2 North Carolina Curriculum Alignment (2004) This lesson addresses the following objectives in the NCSCS 6 th grade science curriculum: 1.07 Prepare models and/or computer simulations to: Test hypotheses. Evaluate how data fit Analyze evidence to: Explain observations. Make inferences and predictions. Develop the relationship between evidence and explanation Use oral and written language to: Communicate findings. Gather and analyze data. Defend conclusions of scientific investigations Use technologies and information systems to: Research. Visualize data Analyze the components and cycles of the solar system including: Sun. Planets and moons. Phases. Eclipses. I. ENGAGEMENT Introduce the idea of illumination of a celestial body by Sun with the tennis ball and flashlight. Hold the tennis ball by the inserted pencil so you do not have to be directly holding the tennis ball. Ask if the tennis ball could be seen in the room with the lights off if the room is absolutely dark, and then demonstrate. Ask students to predict what the ball would look like when illuminated by the flashlight. Demonstrate for the class with the class seeing the ball fully illuminated, mimicking the full Moon (about 15 minutes) and with students using their science notebooks. Have students answer question #1 in the handout BEFORE running the simulation. If possible, have your students view Moon over the course of a month and note its phase on successive nights.

3 II. EXPLORATION Have students work in pairs and open the EJS Phases of the Moon Simulation. Allow students about 5 minutes to explore with the simulation. On one side of the semi-darkened classroom have the flashlight and tennis ball set up so that students can walk around and see the phases of the tennis ball and how they relate to the relative position of the flashlight (Sun), tennis ball (Moon) and the student (Earth). III. EXPLANATION/CONCEPT INVENTION Ask students to start/reset the simulation begin with question #2 in the guide below. When most students have completed the guide, review the answers with the whole group. IV. EXPANSION OF THE IDEA Ask students to write a brief description or make sketches to show the relationship between the phase of Moon and the location of Moon, Sun, and Earth. Follow up with Question#3 from the Guide regarding when Moon is overhead by demonstrating how the Local Time slider changes the location of the green dot, which represents an observer on Earth. For more advanced students who have successfully completed Question #3, ask the follow up question: BONUS QUESTION: Use your answers to the previous questions (and the computer simulation if needed) to determine the times during which each of Moon's phases are visible. An observer on the equator, the green dot, can see Moon when light from Moon reaches the observer. Fill in the table below. Phase Rises Sets Approximate Times Visible New First Quarter Full Third Quarter V. EVALUATION Teacher circulates to check that the Moon Phases Guide are correctly completed and stapled into the science notebook.

4 Activity Guide: Phases of Moon At different times over the course of approximately 29.5 days (which is Moon s synodic period. Synodic means as seen from Earth), differing amounts of the surface of Moon can be seen in the sky (phases of Moon). In this exercise you will use a simple model of the Sun, Earth, and Moon to determine how the relative positions of these objects affects how we see Moon here on Earth. 1. Before running the simulation, complete the above picture by filling in what parts of Moon are illuminated and what parts are not when it is in the same position as each of the four white boxes. (b) Assume that you are standing on a place on Earth where the light from Moon can reach you, below draw a circle and shade in the part of Moon, if any, which indicates what Moon would look like from Earth when it is in the four positions above. Use the space below to describe your reasoning for what you drew in the above figure. Run the EJS (Easy Java Simulation) Moon Phases file by double clicking on the ejs_astronomy_moonphases.jar file. What you will see looks like the figure below. In addition to the sunlight, Earth, and Moon, a light gray wedge shows the regions on the surface of Earth that at that time that can see Moon. The green dot represents a point on the surface of Earth, and when this dot lies in the light gray wedge an observer at that position can see Moon. In addition, there are two sliders: Orbit Angle manually controls the position of Moon and Local Time controls the position of the green dot on the surface of Earth.

5 Play the simulation (hit Play button) and note below the path of Moon and how it is illuminated by the sunlight over the course of its orbit. Also note how the green dot moves over time and what this means as far as when an observer on the surface of Earth can see Moon. 2. Use the Advance the Simulation button to step the simulation to the point where Moon is at each of the four locations indicated by the figure above. (a) Complete the above picture by filling in what parts of Moon are illuminated and what parts are not when it is in the same position as each of four the white boxes. (b) Assume that you are standing on a place on Earth where the light from Moon can reach you, below draw a circle and shade in the part of Moon, if any, which indicates what Moon would look like from Earth when it is in the four positions above. Use the space below to describe your reasoning for what you drew in the above figure and how it differs from what you answered in Question For each phase you were asked about in Question 2, determine the approximate time of day when Moon in that phase would be directly overhead for an observer on the equator of Earth. Write this time next to your drawing of each phase. You may use the Local Time slider to move the green dot into the proper position so that Moon is overhead.