Earth, Moon, and Sun Study Guide Name: (Test Date: ) Essential Question #1: How are the Earth, Moon, and Sun alike and how are they different? 1. List the Earth, Moon, and Sun, in order from LARGEST to SMALLEST SUN, EARTH, MOON 2. The Sun is a (circle one): planet, star, satellite 3. The Moon is a (circle one): planet, star, satellite 4. The Earth is a (circle one): planet, star, satellite 5. True or false (circle one): The Moon generates its own light. 6. True or false (circle one): The Earth and the Moon both have day and night. 7. The Sun is many times larger than Earth. How many times? 170 times 8. Why do we experience day and night on Earth? We experience day and night on Earth because the Earth rotates on its axis. This rotation takes 24 hours and when we are facing away from the Sun, it is night. 1
9. True or false (circle one): The Moon has air and clouds just like Earth. 10. What is moonlight? Explain in complete sentences. The moon does not have a light source of its own. However, it appears to light up in our night sky. The reason it does this is because sunlight reflects off the white/gray dust on the Moon. This is moonlight. 11. If the Sun were closer to the Earth, it would appear SMALLER or LARGER (circle one). 12. If the Moon were farther away from Earth, would it appear SMALLER or LARGER? Explain your answer. If the Moon were farther away from Earth, it would appear SMALLER. The reason for this is because objects that are farther away in distance appear smaller and smaller as the distance between the two objects gets larger. 2
13. True or false (circle one): The Sun is a few times larger than the Moon. The Sun is MANY times larger than the Moon. 14. True or false (circle one): Between the Sun, Earth, and Moon, the Earth is the only one that has living things. 15. The reason that the Moon and the Sun appear to be roughly the same size in our sky (even though the Sun is so much bigger) is because: the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun. 16. If we lived on the Moon, would we experience day and night? (yes or no) 17. On Earth, our day/night cycle is 24 hours. This is how long it takes Earth to (rotate or revolve) 3
on its axis. How long is this day/night cycle on the Moon? 29 ½ days. 18. True or false (circle one): The Earth s tilt changes depending on the phases of the Moon. The Earth s tilt is not related at all to the phases of the Moon. The Earth s tilt of 23.5 degrees is constant. This tilt varies only slightly and the variation occurs over thousands of years. 19. True or false (circle one): Moonlight is heat from the Sun reflected off of Earth. Moonlight is light from the Sun that is reflected off of the Moon. Essential Question #2: How do the Earth, Moon, and Sun move in relation to each other? 20. The Moon orbits or revolves around the Earth. 21. The Earth orbits or revolves around the Sun. 22. We see different parts or phases of the Moon on each clear night because of where the (Earth, Moon, or Sun) is in its orbit. 23. How long does it take the Moon to orbit around the Earth? It takes approximately 27 days. However, it takes approximately 29.5 days for us to experience the full moon-to-full moon cycle. The explanation of this difference is beyond the scope of this unit. 4
24. The Moon s orbit around the Earth causes us to observe: As the Moon orbits around Earth, we see different phases of the Moon. These phases are diagrammed below. The reason we see different phases is because of where the Moon is in its orbit around Earth. When it is the farthest from the Sun, we see a full moon. When it is closest to the Sun, we see a new moon. 25. What unit of time is associated with the Moon s orbit around Earth and is created by the Moon s phases? The month 26. True or false (circle one): We see different parts or phases of the Moon because of the amount of light the Moon gives off. The Moon does not give off any light. What we see is a reflection of sunlight off of the Moon s dust. The reason we see different parts of the Moon is because of where the Moon is in its orbit around Earth. 5
27. Draw a picture that shows how the Earth, Moon, and Sun move in relation to each other. Then explain your diagram. Make sure to use your unit vocabulary in your explanation! Unit vocabulary: axis, planet, seasons, moonlight, revolve/orbit, star, rotate, phases, satellite. A. The Sun is a medium-sized star. It is made of hot gases. It is 170 times bigger than Earth. B. The Earth is a planet that revolves or orbits the Sun. It takes 365 days, or one year, to complete this revolution. The Earth rotates on an axis. It takes 24 hours to rotate on its axis and this causes our day and night. This axis is on a 23 ½ degree tilt. This tilt causes the seasons as the Earth 6
revolves around the Sun. In this diagram, it is winter in Michigan, which is in the Northern Hemisphere. C. The Moon is a satellite that revolves around the Earth. It takes 29 ½ days to orbit the Earth. This orbit causes the phases of the Moon. In this diagram, people on Earth would see of full moon. Moonlight is sunlight reflected off the moon s dust. Essential Question #3: What causes the seasons? 28. Why do we experience different seasons on Earth? Explain using complete sentences. We experience different seasons on Earth because the Earth has a 23 ½ degree tilt on its axis. As the Earth revolves around the Sun, different hemispheres experience different amounts of direct light. When it is summer in the Northern hemisphere, the Earth is tilted TOWARD the Sun and receives the most direct sunlight. When it is winter in the Northern hemisphere, the Earth is tilted AWAY from the Sun and receives the least amount of direct sunlight. 7
29. Label the following diagram with the correct season for Michigan: 30. The tilt of the Earth and its revolution around the Sun causes us to experience seasons. List the seasons in order that they occur beginning with winter: winter spring summer fall 8
31. Draw a picture of each season, beginning with winter. Be sure to label each season. Winter Spring Summer Fall 32. In what hemisphere is Michigan? Northern 33. In the summer in Michigan, we have longer days and shorter nights. Why is this? Explain in full sentences. In the summer in Michigan, we have longer days because of where the Earth is in its revolution around the Sun. When we are tilted toward the Sun, we have more direct sunlight and longer days. 9
34. In the winter in Michigan, we have shorter days and longer nights. This is because the Northern Hemisphere, where Michigan lies, is tilted (toward or away from) the Sun. 35. When it is fall in Michigan, it is (winter, spring, summer, or fall) in Australia. 36. When it is summer in Michigan, the Earth is tilted (toward or away from) the Sun. 10