The Moon

The Moon Facts

The Moon, sometimes called Luna, is what people generally say when talking about Earth's largest satellite. It can be seen from Earth and is about quarter the size of the earth, but because it is far away it looks very small. The gravity on the moon is one-sixth of the Earth's gravity. That means that something will be six times lighter on the Moon than on Earth. The Moon is a rocky and dusty place. The Moon drifts away from Earth at the rate of four centimeters per year. See the fact file below for more information about The Moon.

It takes the moon 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes and 11.6 seconds to make a complete orbit around the earth. The moon orbits the Earth in a counterclockwise direction.A lunar month is the time it takes the moon to complete all of its phases from New Moon to New Moon. This cycle takes approximately 29.5 days.
The moon is 4.5 billion years old.
The surface of the moon is made up of craters, mountains, plains and valleys.
There is no atmosphere on the moon, which means there is no air to breathe.
There is no weather or wind on the moon, so the footprints left by the astronauts will remain visible for millions of years.
Water was discovered on the moon in 2007.
The moon is 2,000 miles wide.
The moon is about 250,000 miles from the Earth. If you were driving to the moon in a car, it would take you 130 days.
The moon has no light source of its own. It shines at night because it reflects the light from the sun.

Videos

Websites

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space/moon.html

http://www.planetsforkids.org/moon-moon.html

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/moon/facts.htm

http://www.coolkidfacts.com/moon-facts-for-kids/

http://www.ducksters.com/science/phases_of_the_moon.php

http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/moon/facts.cfm

Ocean Tides

Tides are the rise and fall of the levels of the ocean. They are caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon as well as the rotation of the Earth. Cycles of a Tide Tides cycle as the Moon rotates around the Earth and as the position of the Sun changes. Throughout the day the sea level is constantly rising or falling.

1. The sea level rises

2. High tide is reached

3. The sea level falls

4. Low tide is reached

5. Back to number 1

This cycle can happen once or twice a day depending on the location of the area to the Moon. Tides that happen once a day are called diurnal. Tides that happen twice a day are called semidiurnal. Because the Earth rotates in the same direction as the Moon, the cycle is actually slightly longer than a day at 24 hours and 50 minutes.

Tides and the Moon

While the Sun and the rotation of the Earth both have some tidal impact, the location of the Moon has the biggest affect on the tide. The gravity of the Moon causes a high tide both on the side of the Earth directly below the Moon (sublunar tide) and the opposite side of the Earth (antipodal). Low tides are on the sides of the Earth 90 degrees away from the Moon. See the picture below.

Reading

This resource has other general space information

This resource has other general space information.

Practical

Worksheets

Lunar Maths

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