Lunar Lollipops
Type of Lesson: Hands-on activity
Time Needed: 1 hour (or one class period with follow-up the next day)
Quick Summary of Lesson
After completing this activity students should understand that the observed phase of the Moon is determined by the Moon's position relative to the Earth and Sun.
Materials
Light bulb (suspended from ceiling or on a stand)
Lunar Lollipops - Styrofoam balls placed on the end of a wooden skewer (1 per student)
Plenty of room for your students to rotate in!
Procedure
1. Turn on the model sun and turn off the other lights in the room. Have your students stand. Tell them in this system the lamp is the sun and their head is the earth. Their nose is their hometown on the surface of the earth.
2. Hand out the lunar lollipops (moons) and tell your students that it should be held at arm's length away from their head. Demonstrate how the moon orbits the earth in a counterclockwise fashion (from right to left). As students watch their moon they will see that it will go through phases similar to those of the real moon.
3. Go through the 8 major phases of the moon with your students. Here is a script you can use:
NEW MOON – moon is between the sun and the earth and you see the shadowed side of the moon. A solar eclipse occurs in this phase when the moon blocks light from the sun from reaching a portion of the earth if the moon is directly between the sun and earth.
WAXING CRESCENT – rotate counter clockwise until you see a sliver of the right side of your moon lit but it is still less than half lit, a backwards "c" shape will appear on the moon. When the right side of the moon is lit it is growing or “waxing”. When less than ½ the moon is lit, but it is not fully dark, we call it a “crescent” moon.
FIRST QUARTER – rotate until the right half of the moon lit. The right shoulder is pointed towards the sun.
WAXING GIBBOUS – rotate so that more than ½ the moon is lit but not yet fully lit. Again, when the right side of the moon is lit it is growing or “waxing”. When the moon is more than ½ lit, but not fully lit, we call it a “gibbous” moon.
FULL MOON – rotate so that the earth is between the moon and the sun, the entire lit side of the moon is visible on earth, (students' backs are to the sun and moons are lifted up to be lit). A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the earth's shadow. (Have your students simulate this event.)
WANING GIBBOUS – rotate so that the moon starts to grow dark on the right side. More than ½ the moon is lit but it is no longer fully lit so it is a “gibbous” moon. Notice that it is now the left side of the moon that is lit. When the left side is lit it is shrinking or “waning”.
LAST QUARTER – rotate so that the left half of the moon is lit, left shoulder is pointing towards the sun.
WANING CRESCENT – rotate until only a sliver of the left side of the moon is lit, a "c" shape of light is seen on the left side of the moon. Less than ½ the moon is lit but is not fully dark so it is a “crescent” moon. Since the left side is lit we know that it is shrinking or “waning”.
4. Have your students repeat the phases on their own as you circulate through the room to correct any problems.
5. Evaluate the lesson by naming a moon phase and having your students rotate until they are in the correct phase. Jumble the phases to make it more of a challenge. Also include the two eclipses and the correct moon phases when they occur.
Notes to the Teacher
Before this lesson you'll need to do a little preparation. It is important to make sure the lights for the "suns" work. Also, either prepare the lunar lollipops by impaling the balls on a pencil, bamboo skewer or wood splint for a handle (or have students do this during lesson).