MOON UNIT

Lesson 4 – Phases of the Moon 1

Standard:

Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather.

ObjectiveObserve, describe, and record patterns in the appearance

and apparent motion of the moon in the night sky.

Observe and describe the number, arrangement and color/brightness of stars in the night sky.

Vocabulary

moon: the large round object that circles the Earth and that shines at night by reflecting light from the sun

phase: the shape of the Moon we see reflect: to bounce off of Sun: the star that gives us light and heat

Why does the moon change its shape?

The revolution of the Moon around the Earth causes the Moon to appear to have phases. The moon doesn’t change it’s shape, it is always a sphere shape.

Moon Phases

http://www.nasm.si.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/phasepage2.html

Half of the Moon is always lit up by the sun. As the Moon orbits the Earth, we see different parts of the lighted area

Moon Phases

The revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes the Moon look as if it is changing shape in

the sky. 

http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.htm

Moon Phases

This is caused by the different angles from which we see the lighted part of the Moon's surface.  These are called "phases" of the Moon. 

http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.htm

Moon Phases

The Moon passes through four major shapes during a cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days. The phases of the moon work in a cycle starting with the new moon.

The phases always follow one another in the same order: New moon First quarter Last quarter or Third quarter Full moon

Moon Phases

As the moon makes its monthly journey around the earth, the side of the moon reflecting the sunlight is viewed from different angles.

8 Phases of the Moon

New Moon

Waxing Crescent

First Quarter or Half Moon

Waxing Gibbous

Full Moon

Waning Gibbous

Last Quarter or Half Moon (third quarter)

Waning CrescentNSF North Mississippi GK-8

There are 8 basic phases of the moon. They are:

Moon Phases Wheel

Use the moon phases wheel as we learn about each phase.

Color each phase as you learn about it. Don’t skip ahead. Materials:

colored pencils/crayons

glue scissors

Moon Phase Wheel

DIRECTIONS

New Moon

The moon is not visible from Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth.

The illuminated side of the Moon faces away from the Earth.  This means that the Sun, Earth, and Moon are almost in a straight line, with the Moon in between the Sun and the Earth.  The Moon that we see looks very dark

The dark side is facing us.

This phase lasts one night.

NSF North Mississippi GK-8

Which phase will be next?

New Moon

Waning Crescent

Last Quarter

First Quarter

Waning Gibbous

Waxing Gibbous

Waxing Crescent

Full Moon

Waxing Crescent

This Moon can be seen after the New Moon.  The crescent will grow larger and larger every day, until the Moon looks like the First Quarter Moon.

Waxing means that the bright side is increasing. The right side is the bright side.

Less than one half of the moon is illuminated.

This phase includes any visible moon from a small sliver to almost half. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

("Waxing" means increasing, or growing

larger.)

Which phase will be next?

New Moon

Waning Crescent

Last Quarter

First Quarter

Waning Gibbous

Waxing Gibbous

Waxing Crescent

Full Moon

First Quarter or Half Moon

The right half of the Moon appears illuminated and the left side of the Moon appears dark.  During the time between the New Moon and the First Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears illuminated gets larger and larger every day, and will continue to grow until the Full Moon.

The moon looks like a half circle.

The illuminated side is increasing.

This phase only lasts one night.

NSF North Mississippi GK-8

Which phase will be next?

New Moon

Waning Crescent

Last Quarter

First Quarter

Waning Gibbous

Waxing Gibbous

Waxing Crescent

Full Moon

Waxing Gibbous

This Moon can be seen after the First Quarter Moon, but before the Full Moon.  The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow larger and larger every day. 

Gibbous means that more than one half is visible, but it is not quite full.

This phase includes the night after the first quarter to the night before the full moon. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

("Waxing" means increasing, or growing larger.)

Notice the Moon’s illumination increasing on the right side and decreasing on the left side. After the full moon you will see a different pattern.

New Moon

Waning Crescent

Last Quarter

First Quarter

Waning Gibbous

Waxing Gibbous

Waxing Crescent

Full Moon

Moon Phases

Keep your moon phase wheel in a safe place. We will be using them for the next lesson.

Moon Phase

Moon Phase animation http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resourc

e/ess05.sci.ess.eiu.mphase/phases-of-the-moon/

Sources

Power point adapted from NSF North Mississippi GK-8

Power point adapted from Moon Phases Col, Jeananda. Enchanted Learning. Zoom Moon.

Accessed 2005 July 27. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/moon /Phases.shtml>.

Cooley, Keith. 2001. Moon Phases. Accessed 2005 July 27. <http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/>.

U.S. Naval Observatory. 2003 September. Astronomical Applications Accessed 2005 July 27. <http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html>.