Week 1: Sun, Earth, and the Moon

1. What did you do in lab today? In lab today I learned a bunch of things I didn't previously know. We talked about the phases of the moon and that we only ever actually see one side of the moon. We also chatted about what causes the seasons and how it really is just about how much direct sunlight is concentrated on one area. Lastly, we talked about the difference between a solar and lunar eclipse. As a class I feel we all collectively agreed that we really didn't learn about this when we were younger, it was more memorization science classes! I think, based on that, that I will enjoy this class as it is hands on!


2. What was the big question? The big question that I gathered from today was, "How do the movements and positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun affect what we see from Earth, like the phases of the moon, seasons, and eclipses?" I feel like this question encapsulates what we talked about for the majority of the class. I also think about the question, "How can we incorporate this into our classroom?" as a big piece of this course. 

3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion? 
Notes:
  • Historically, people thought that the Earth was in the middle.
  • Pluto finally wasn't considered a planet because it didn't have the same plane of the ecliptic.
  • Tropic Lines --> seasons --> cancer and capricorn
  • if it was summer solstice and we were on the equator we wouldn't have a shadow
  • in Iowa city at noon, our shadow would point north because we're above the equator. 
  • Earth is comparable to a lumpy potato 
  • Earth's orbit around the sun is closer to an eclipse than an oval
  • Earth is tilted because we got hit by a huge meteor that tilted us
  • "Lines" of the earth 
  • Antarctic means no bare 
  • arctic means bare 
  • how to do this with kids? on-going process, measure their shadow
  • What causes an eclipse? Sun, moon, and Earth are perfectly in line
    • sun --> moon --> earth = solar eclipse
    • sun --> earth --> moon = lunar eclipse 
  • menstrual cycles sync up because of the woman in a klan had to sync to a piece and the alpha female.
  • menstrual cycles are tied to the phases of the moon.

4. Read online textbook, chapter 1:
- What did you learn? From Chapter 1, I learned most notably that Earth's distance from the Sun does not cause the seasons. I additionally learned that as Earth orbits the sun, the length and direction of shadows change.
- What was most helpful? There were many helpful resources in this chapter. I enjoyed how at the end of each section, there were 'key takeaways' where it would be a summary of it. This helps me understand what I just read way better. I also enjoyed the images and videos that go along with each section, for example the solar and lunar eclipse. 
- What do you need more information on? I need more information on the equinoxes and solstices. Maybe it's because I never learned about those in grade school, but they still seem a little confusing for me!

5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? What does Direct and Indirect sunlight really mean? The concept is confusing to me. 

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