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Kindergarten worksheets begin in January.
Fun Question for This Week:
Fun Question for This Week:
Why, in the diagrams below, did we show east being to the left and west being to the right?
Answer
Answer
Since we're in Round Rock, the Sun is always to our south. Since the Sun is shown in the diagrams below, we must be looking to the south. Thus, east would be to the left, and west to the right.
If you went further south to the Tropic of Cancer (23.4 degrees north latitude), to a city like Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, then on a few days around the summer solstice, the Sun would, in fact, be directly overhead. Round Rock is about 30 degrees north latitude--too far north to ever be directly under the Sun!
Is It Waxing or Waning?
Is It Waxing or Waning?
Earth Spins --> East
Earth Spins --> East
So to us, it looks like the Sun "moves" from east to west across the sky each day.
Moon Orbits --> East
Moon Orbits --> East
A lot of stuff in the solar system moves eastward, in fact!
Full Moon: Moon Furthest from Sun
Full Moon: Moon Furthest from Sun
The sunlit face of the Moon is fully visible to us when the Moon is on one side of Earth, while the Sun is on the other side.
New Moon: Moon Closest to Sun
New Moon: Moon Closest to Sun
Only the dark face of the Moon is visible to us when the Moon is closest to the Sun.
Moon --> toward Sun: Waning
Moon --> toward Sun: Waning
This is the first key idea: if the Moon is going toward the Sun, it is approaching the new Moon position, so it's waning--getting "darker."
Moon --> away from Sun: Waxing
Moon --> away from Sun: Waxing
And if the Moon is going away from the Sun, it is approaching the full Moon position, so it is waxing--getting "brighter."
Example: "Half Moon" in Morning
Example: "Half Moon" in Morning
In the morning, the Sun is rising in the east. We see a half-lit Moon in the sky. We know the Moon is always heading eastward. So, the Moon is approaching the Sun. That means it's waning. So, this is a third-quarter Moon.
Example: "Half Moon" in Evening
Example: "Half Moon" in Evening
In the evening, the Sun sets in the west. We see a half-lit Moon in the sky. We know the Moon is always heading eastward. So, the Moon is going away from the Sun. That means it's waxing. So, this is a first-quarter Moon.
Schedule
Schedule
All due dates are Wednesdays.
Some weeks are skipped due to holidays. The program concludes prior to STAAR testing in the Spring.
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