Earth, Moon and Sun

An artist took two photographs of the Moon that were several days apart. Images that look like his photographs are shown above. The light part of the Moon appeared to get smaller over time. Why did this happen?

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon rotated so that less of the light-colored rock on the Moon’s surface faced Earth.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, Earth moved so its shadow was blocking more of the Moon so the artist was able to see less of it.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved so that the artist could see less of the half that faces the sun.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved farther away from the sun so less sunlight reached the Moon’s surface.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Could the half of the Moon that faces Earth ever be completely dark in any of these diagrams?

• No, the Moon is always lit by the sun.

• Yes, always in Diagrams 2 and 3 but never in Diagram 1.

• Yes, always in Diagram 3 and sometimes in Diagram 2.

• Yes, always in Diagram 3 but never in Diagrams 1 or 2.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Astronomers made two observations of the Moon that were several days apart. Their observations are shown in the diagram above. The light part of the Moon appeared to get larger over time. Why did this happen?

• Between the first observation and the second observation, the Moon rotated so that more of the light-colored rock on the Moon’s surface faced Earth.

• Between the first observation and the second observation, the Moon moved so that the astronomers were able to see more of the half that faces the sun.

• Between the first observation and the second observation, the Moon moved closer to the sun so more sunlight reached the Moon’s surface.

• Between the first observation and the second observation, Earth moved so its shadow was blocking less of the Moon so the astronomers were able to see more of it.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Three students made the diagrams above to show what they think the Moon looks like when it is seen from above (top view). In these diagrams, the sunlight is coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. Which diagram is accurate and why?

• Diagram A is accurate because sometimes the whole Moon is dark if shadows are covering it.

• Diagram B is accurate because the Moon is as close as it can be to the sun, and so all of the Moon is lit by the sun.

• Diagram C is accurate because the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.

• All three diagrams are sometimes accurate because the Moon has some lighter-colored rock and some darker-colored rock, and the half of the Moon with the lighter-colored rock rotates to face different directions.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Shira looked up one night and saw a full moon. How long will it be before she can see a full moon again?

• About one week.

• About one month.

• There is no way to tell because the Moon’s pattern is always changing.

• It could be two weeks or a month, depending on what time of year it is.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Which of these things is true about the Moon?

• The Moon is always moving around Earth in a circle.

• The Moon is always in the same position in Earth’s sky.

• The Moon is always moving in many changing patterns around Earth.

• The Moon is always moving back and forth across Earth’s sky.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

a moon phase that looks like a full circle from Earth

• gibbous moon

• quarter moon

• new moon

• full moon

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a moon phase that looks like half a circle from Earth

• crescent moon

• gibbous moon

• full moon

• quarter moon

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a moon phase that looks like less than a half circle from Earth

• crescent moon

• gibbous moon

• full moon

• quarter moon

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the nearly circular path a smaller object (like the Moon) travels around a larger object (like Earth)

• orbit

• scale

• model

• year

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1