Moon Phases (Sarah Ratliff)

Title: Oreo Moon Phases

Principle(s) Investigated: Develop a model of the Earth-Sun-Moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases

Standards: ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars - Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained with models.

NGSS

Science and Engineering Practices: Develop and use models

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns

Disciplinary Core Ideas: Describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases

Materials:

1 Handout per individual or group

8 Oreos per individual or group

1 Plate/napkin/something food-safe to work on per individual or group

Popsicle sticks, plastic knives, or other scraping tool

Collaborative document

Procedure:

1. Phenomenon

Ask the following questions to engage students (have students participate via collaborative document):

“How many of you have ever seen the moon?”
“What are some things you have observed about the moon?”

Leading questions

“What do you think causes the moon to ‘shine’ or ‘glow’?”
- “What is our biggest source of light?”
“Does the moon appear to have different shapes on different days?”
- “Why do you think the moon might appear to have different shapes?”
- “Do you think the moon is physically changing its shape?”
“What is an orbit?”
- “What do you think causes something to orbit?”
- “What are some things that you know of that orbit?”
  - “Does the Earth orbit?”
  - “Does anything orbit Earth?”

2. Go over lunar phases

As a class, the instructor will go over the different shapes of the phases, how they relate to the Earth and Sun, and their names/terms: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent

Waxing = getting bigger like dipping a candle in wax

Waning = getting smaller because it sounds like "whining". If you whine, you get less

Talk about phase diagram, photos, calendar, and moongiant

Watch moon phase simulation on YouTube

“What is a cycle?”
“Based on what you’ve seen in the pictures and the simulation, could you conclude that the lunar phases are a cycle?”
“After looking at the pictures and simulation, about how long do you think one lunar cycle takes?”

The moon reflects light from the right to the left. How to tell if a moon is waxing or waning: DOC

"How many of you know about or see the man in the moon?"

"My mother is Japanese and I grew up with a different moon story: Some animals resolved to practice charity on the night of the full moon. When an old man came by begging for food, some gathered fruits, fish, and lizards to give to the man. The rabbit did not know how to do any of these things, so it decided to pound rice to make rice cakes. The old man revealed himself to be the ruler of heaven. He was so impressed with the rabbit's effort and dedication, he put the rabbit's likeness on the moon to immortalize him. Now, there is a cartoon rabbit - Bugs Bunny. What's his infamous line? 'What's up, Doc?' And how do we remember the order of phases? DOC"

3. Describe Oreo activity

The instructor will go over what is expected and the requirements for the activity.

The instructor will demonstrate how to separate the Oreo halves and how to cut and scrape away the Oreo cream to the desired phase shape.

The instructor will answer any questions pertaining to the activity

Students will use this activity to DEVELOP A MODEL of the major lunar phases in one lunar cycle

4. Obtain materials

5. Begin Oreo surgery

Students will work individually or in a group to create and place the phases in relation to the sun and earth

The instructor will walk around and monitor student progress, answer questions, and formatively assess.

6. Label Oreo lunar phases

Using the term bank and the diagrams provided, students will label each phase.

The instructor will walk around and monitor student progress, answer questions, and formatively assess.

Student prior knowledge: 5-ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System - The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year.

Explanation: Based on the position of the moon in relation to the positions of the Earth and the Sun, a different amount of light will be reflected off of the moon's surface resulting in cyclical phases.

Questions & Answers:

1. Why is it called a "first quarter moon" when it's half full?

Because it is a quarter of the way through the moon cycle.

2. Do you think that the lunar cycle is the same in the Southern Hemisphere as it is in the Northern Hemisphere? Why?

I think that the lunar cycle will be the opposite in each hemisphere because of the axis. It will be like the seasons.

3. If you were given a phase of the moon, could you predict the next phase in the cycle? For example, if you observed a first quarter moon, what phase could you expect the next night and why?

I could expect a waxing gibbous because a gibbous is fuller than the first quarter, but is still growing to the full moon.

4. Do you think you could predict which moon phase is present on any day of any year?

Yes. Because the moon is on a cycle, we can predict what phase of the moon is at any point.

Applications to Everyday Life:

By knowing the current lunar phase, one would be able to predict a past or future phase based on the lunar phase cycle.
Knowledge of the direction of the moon phases might help with planning outdoor trips. E.g. it would be better to go camping under a full or gibbous moon because it would provide more light. It would be better to do night photography under a new moon so there would be less light pollution.
Several religions/religious holidays and calendars are based on a lunar calendar. E.g. Chinese Lunar New Year, Easter, Hebrew calendar

Diagrams: