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The Phases of the Moon

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Introduction Today we will begin learning about the phases of the moon. We will observe the moon and how it changes over the course of a month. Throughout the month we will learn more and engage in activities to help us learn. At the end of the month we will create a poster that displays all the phases of the moon properly.

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What we will learn about the Moon. Today we are going to learn some facts about the moon. We will start by learning how many phases there are and what their names are. Today we are only going to discuss the first 4 phases, what they look like, and how to identify them.

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Standards SC.4.E.5.2 Describe the changes in the observable shape of the moon over the course of about a month. SC.4.N.1.4 Attempt reasonable answers to scientific questions and cite evidence in support.

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Some facts about the Moon The Moon rotates on its axis around the Earth and because of the way it rotates we only ever get to see at most 60% of the Moons surface. The United States of America first landed on the Moon in 1969, making Neil Armstrong the first man on the Moon. The craters we see on the Moons surface are from impacts from comets and asteroids that have hit the moon at points in time. The tides on Earths bodies of water are largely controlled by the Moons gravitational pull. The Moon is the 5 th largest moon in the solar system.

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Common Misconceptions The Moon changes shape. Only the appearance of the moon from earth changes. You can only see the moon at night. The moon can often times be seen during the day. The moon does not rotate. The moon rotates around the earth every 27.322 days.

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About the Phases There are 8 phases in total. These phases last for a little longer than 3 days each. When the phases are all complete the Moon has made a full rotation around the Earth. At any time you can tell what phase the Moon is in based on its appearance.

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The Names of the phases The first half of the phasesThe second half of the phases New MoonFull Moon Waxing CrescentWaning Gibbous First QuarterThird Quarter Waxing GibbousWaning Crescent

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The New Moon The first moon phase in the lunar cycle. The lighted part of the moon is now facing away from Earth.

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How to identify the New Moon Because the lighted part of the Moon is facing away from Earth we can not see the New Moon. The only time you can see it is during a solar eclipse, which is when the moon passes in front of the sun.

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The Waxing Crescent The second phase in the lunar cycle. Waxing means increasing or getting larger. The illuminated crescent is growing larger.

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How to identify a Waxing Crescent An easy way to identify a crescent is that the illuminated part of the moon looks like the tip of your fingernail In this case the right side of the moon will be illuminated because the light is getting bigger and moving towards the left.

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The First Quarter The third phase we see from Earth. The lighted part of the Moon we see from Earth is growing larger at this time until it reaches the Full Moon.

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How to identify the First Quarter The right half of the Moon will be light while the left half will remain dark. The light will continue to grow towards the left of the Moon.

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The Waxing Gibbous The fourth phase in the lunar cycle. Gibbous means more than half full. The illuminated part of the Moon is still growing larger as it is in a waxing stage.

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How to identify a Waxing Gibbous More than half of the Moon will be illuminated. A small portion on the left side of the moon will remain dark until the Moon reaches the Full Moon stage.

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Reviewing the phases. There are 8 phases in total, today we learned about the first four which are; new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous. The term waxing means getting larger. The term gibbous means more than half full. The moon orbits the Earth every 27.322 days.

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Time to test your knowledge! Now were going to answer a few questions on the material we just covered. In your small groups answer the following questions until you find the correct answer.

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Question 1- Which of the following statements is true? A) There are 7 phases of the Moon. A) There are 7 phases of the Moon. B) The Moon rotates around the Earth. B) The Moon rotates around the Earth. C) The shape of the Moon changes as it orbits. C) The shape of the Moon changes as it orbits. D) The U.S.A first landed on the Moon in 1979. D) The U.S.A first landed on the Moon in 1979.

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Question 2- The third phase in the lunar cycle is? A) Waxing Crescent A) Waxing Crescent B) New Moon B) New Moon C) Waxing Gibbous C) Waxing Gibbous D) First Quarter D) First Quarter

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Question 3- When the Moon is in a waxing phase it is A) getting bigger. A) getting bigger. B) staying the same. B) staying the same. C) getting smaller. C) getting smaller. D) more than half full. D) more than half full.

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Question 4- What phase is the Moon in the picture in? A) First Quarter A) First Quarter B) Waxing Gibbous B) Waxing Gibbous C) New Moon C) New Moon D) Waxing Crescent D) Waxing Crescent

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Question 5- The term gibbous means A) getting smaller. A) getting smaller. B) staying the same. B) staying the same. C) more than half full. C) more than half full. D) getting larger. D) getting larger.

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Correct

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Incorrect

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How did you do? If you answered 0-2 correctly, great try. Review the material again, try drawing pictures and labeling the phases it can help in remembering their differences. If you answered 3-4 correctly, great job! Review the material again, specifically the questions you got incorrect. If you answered 5 correctly, Fantastic job! Be sure to review the material again covering anything you may not fully understand.