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Years 4 to 8
Introduction to these materials
Introduction to these materials
The moon is a fantastic companion. It affects our moods, our tides, our marine plants and animals (particularly those that live in the intertidal zone) and much more.
This section covers the above topics and others based on levels 2 to 4 of the New Zealand Science Curriculum.
The ISS floating above familiar territory - can you recognise it? Image: NASA
Travel to the Moon
Travel to the Moon
The earth provides us with the essentials for life, food, oxygen, water and shelter. To travel into space astronauts have to be contained in a structure that provides these essential things either in the form of a spacecraft or a space suit. The astronaut in the picture below is kitted up with a space suit to provide the essentials for life while on a space walk outside the space shuttle challenger.
Image: NASA
How to be an astronaut
How to be an astronaut
Check out what it is like for an astronaut travelling into space in this video by NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield. See if you can see the Southern Cross constellation in the background of one shot.
David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
How far to the moon
How far to the moon
It took Apollo 11 astronauts 3 days to travel around 400,00km from the earth to the moon, a similar distance to travelling from Nelson to Invercargill and back 200 times.
Click on the the google maps link above and see if you can work out how long it would take to travel to the moon at car driving speeds.
How to work out how long to drive to the moon
Time to drive to the moon = time to drive to Invercargill X 400
Hint: To make your calculation easier first convert any minutes in the travel time to a decimal fraction of 1 hour by dividing the number of minutes by 60 e.g. 9/60 = .15 of an hour
Tides
Tides
Without tides Planet Earth would be a very different place. The tides have a huge effect on oceanic life particularly for those plants and animals in the intertidal zone.
Check out
1. How the Moon affects our tides.
2. Life in the Intertidal zone. A biology extension for people who love our fantastic natural world.
How the Moon affects our tides
How the Moon affects our tides
Ocean’s tides are explained in this video: How the tides work? Why the oceans experience two high tides and two low tides each day?
Intertidal Zone
Intertidal Zone
Once it’s OK to travel get an adult to take you to an intertidal zone and check out what lives in the rock pools (e.g. Cable Bay) but check first that the tide is going to be out by checking the tides at the LINZ website.
Remember to be gentle on the animals (look but do not touch). When turning rocks over and put the rocks back where you found them.
Phases of the Moon
Phases of the Moon
Moon Phases 2020 - Southern Hemisphere
Moon Phases 2020 - Southern Hemisphere
One of the amazing things we can observe about the moon from our earth is the changes in phases.
Phases. Check out the link above to see how the moon phases change throughout 2020 as viewed from the southern hemisphere.
Moon Phases Explained
Moon Phases Explained
You can try this at home! Just follow the video above.
Where did the moon come from?
Where did the moon come from?
This video explains one of the theories for the origin of the moon
You may have to sit through 30 seconds of a Nat Geo advert before the video starts
Activities
Activities
Draw a diagram to show the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon creating a tidal bulge on the earths oceans.
Write a brief explanation to explain your diagram.
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Using the information in the “Moon Phases Explained Video”” (seen in the link above) draw 4 diagrams to show the position of the Sun Moon and Earth at:
1. New Moon
2. First Quarter
3. Full Moon
4. Last Quarter
Write a brief explanation under each diagram.
Test your knowledge!
Test your knowledge!
You can check out what you have learned about the phases of the moon by taking this quiz!
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