Week 3: The Moon, Phases, and Different Sides

  1. What did you do in lab today? 

• students actually learning correct science wasn't prioritized which can lead to misconceptions from the private universe video.
• students have their own understanding whether its correct or incorrect.
• The Earth rotates counter-clockwise because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
• It takes 28 days for the moon to revolve around the earth.
• We have only ever seen ONE side of the moon. We didn't see the "dark side" of the moon until space exploration by the Russians in 1959.
• Meaning the moon takes 28 days to rotate on it's axis.
• Scientific theories can change but scientific laws can't be changed.
• Phases of the Moon: 
• New Moon (meaning we can't see any of the moon being lit up by the sun)
• 1/4 or 3/4 moon. That means we can see 1/4 of the moon but your mind may be telling you that it is 1/2 of the moon.
• Full moon. This really means we can see 1/2, the whole 1/2 that is facing the Earth.
• 2nd full moon of the same month is called a Blue Moon
• "Near Side" is the side of the moon that we see
• "Dark Side" is the side we never see
• The texture on the dark side of the moon isn't as bumpy and there aren't as many dark spots.

Investigation: 

• Investigated how it could have happened to create two different sides of the moon

Statement: Depending on the size of the meteorite, the crater is bigger/smaller. The bigger the meteorite the bigger the crater, the smaller the meteorite the smaller the crater. The bigger the meteorite the more cocoa powder we saw, meaning that bigger meteorites show layers underneath the surface of the moon.  

• The crust on the near side of the moon is thinner than the dark side. Making it easier for the craters to be created/seen.

2. What was the big question? How were the two different sides of the moon created? Why? How? What have I learned about the Moon's surface, structure, and history?

3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion? 

Notes:

- Why different thickness of moon's sides?

• Earth facing side: 200 F warmer 
• Near side acts as a more plastic than solid substance
• more prone to volcanic activity, including magma fields (the dark sports on the near side)
• No active core so why did it have volcanoes?
• residual heat from radioactive decay?
• Earth's gravity, due to tidal locking, pulled early molten material toward the observable side?
• Once hit by a meteor that thickened the crust on the far side

- What causes the different phases of the moon?

• Parts of the moon reflect light depending on the position of the earth in relation to the sun and the moon.

- Origin of the moon

• Mars sized object, named Thea, hit Earth (making it tilt on an axis) 
• less gravity on the moon, there still is gravity 
• Capture theory: some researchers suggest that Earth's gravitational pull grabbed it from another planet 
• this is how some people think that other planets have many moons 
• Fission theory: Charles Darwin's son George, thought that the material formed the moon was ejected into space by a molten, fast-spinning Earth in the very early days of the solar system.
• debunked: said that the Earth couldn't have been spinning fast enough to expel a huge blob of rock.
• Co-formation: was formed alongside Earth billions of years ago from gas and dust
• Colliding: suggested that the moon condensed from the debris produced when planetesimals - the building blocks that grew into Earth, Mars and other full-fledged planets - slammed into each other shortly after the solar system was formed
• Takes the moon 28 days to go around the Earth
• The distance between the moon and the earth --> goes away a little bit each year 
• How often does the sun rise on moon? --> Once every 28 days 
• The moon doesn't rotate. --> yes
• During a solar eclipse the moon appears to completely cover the sun. What phase is the moon in just before and after a solar eclipse? --> New moon
• The moon has no gravity. --> False
• The moon becomes larger on the horizon because it is closer to the sun. --> False 
• The moon phase is the same everywhere on Earth on the same day. New moon in Iowa = new moon in Asia

4. Read online textbook, chapter 3:

- What did you learn? 

• Phases of the Moon: The moon goes through predictable phases - new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full - based on its position relative to Earth and the Sun. Everyone on Earth sees the same phase on the same day. 
• Tidal Forces: The moon's gravity, though weaker than Earth's, its strong enough to cause ocean tides. Earth experiences two high tides and two low tides daily due to this gravitational interaction. 
• Moon's surface and composition: The moon has no atmosphere, which means its covered in craters from meteor impacts. It has a rocky surface with dormant volcanos and is composed of an iron core, mantle, and crust - similar to Earth. 
• Tidal Locking: The Moon rotates on its axis the same time it takes to orbit Earth, so we always see the same side --> The "near side."

- What was most helpful? 

• Visuals and Analogies: Diagrams showing moon phases and tidal forces made abstract concepts easier to grasp.
• Connections to NGSS Standards: This clearly linked Moon-related content to grade-level science standards, which is useful for lesson planning!
• Historical Narrative: Learning about the Space Race and the role of women in space exploration added depth and relevance to the science content. 
• Real-world Applications: Understanding how the Moon affects tides helped connect phenomena to everyday life. 

- What do you need more information on?

• Modeling moon phases: I'd like more hands-on strategies or classroom activities to help students visualize and recreate moon phases. 
• Tidal Locking Mechanics: The concept is so cool, but I'd benefit from a deeper explanation or animation to understand how it works. 
• Moon Journals: The idea of observing the moon daily is intriguing, and I'd love more guidance on how to implement and assess this in a K-6 classroom.

5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? I still don't have a grasp on the moon positions and phases. Visual explanations do help though.