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The Moon Project: Topic 1 – Moon Rise and Set
MP–
The Moon by Mary Barrett 1
The Moon is really just one size The light grows larger every day It always stays the same, Exactly as it ought'er, But here on Earth before our eyes, But logic tells us we must say We see it wax and wane. What looks like half is quarter.
The new moon we don't see at all, And then there's gibbous on its way But then there is a sliver, To full, the brightest face, The crescent moon is what we call Then swiftly it begins to wane This slice that makes us quiver. 'Til gone without a trace.
These changes happen every night; Each month we see each phase The moon intrigues us with its light It truly does amaze.
Dear God, It is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can't you do that with the moon? Jeff (a young child)
Organization of the Moon Project (Worth a total of 150 points)
Part of Project Point Value Specific Requirements are on… Observations and Graphs 30 points MP–2 through MP– Teaching of the Lesson 10 points MP– Written Reflection on the Lesson 20 points MP–4 through MP– Explanations of Concepts (your topic) 60 points MP–6 through MP– Completed Lab Activities (all topics) 30 points MP–
Information, Tables, Graphs, Rubrics and Lab Activities Where to find them Grading Rubric for the Explanations of Concepts MP– Tables in which to record your observations MP–13 through MP– Graphs for you to complete MP–19 through MP– Tables of Moon Facts MP–23 through MP– Lab Activities for all Four Topics C–73 through C–
(^1) Mary Barrett is a school teacher in Berkeley, CA. This poem appeared in the Fall/Winter 1999 GEMS Network News. If you plan to teach elementary or junior high school, check out all the wonderful GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) K–8 teacher’s guides in math and science at http://www.lhs.berkeley.edu/gems/gems.html.
MP–2 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Purpose : This assignment is designed to give you the opportunity to…
- become intimately familiar with the various changes that the moon goes through each month and season.
- conduct a genuine scientific research project: to make systematic accurate observations and to use those observations to derive scientific conclusions WITHOUT “looking it up” somewhere.
- teach a lesson that guides others to discover scientific concepts for themselves.
- reflect on your teaching efforts, documenting successes, problems and ideas for improvement.
- write clear, complete, well-illustrated explanations of scientific concepts.
Questions to Answer for Topic
- We all know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But what does the moon do? Does it rise in the east and set in the west (like the sun does)? Or, since we know that the moon revolves around Earth from west to east, does the moon rise in the west and set in the east (the opposite of what the sun does)? Prove your answers using your observations. Explain WHY the moon rises where it does and sets where it does.
- The sun always rises in the morning and sets in the evening. The moon, on the other hand, rises and sets at any and all times of the day or night. Why? Is there any pattern to the changes in the times of moon rise and set? What is that pattern? Why does that pattern exist?
- Is there any correlation between the times of moonrise/moonset and the phases of the moon? If so, clearly explain that correlation and explain and illustrate WHY this correlation exists.
Observations to Make for Topic
Where to Make Your Observations: The best place to make each observation is in a large open area (a sports field or large parking lot, for example).
Required Number of Observations: You must observe the moon on at least 20 different dates. On 10 of these days, you will observe the moon twice on its journey across the sky. At least 7 of these observations must be made during the waning phases of the moon.2^ BEGIN YOUR OBSERVATIONS IMMEDIATELY. If you have trouble at first, keep trying; it gets easier.
Suggested Times of Observations: Be sure to make each observation when the moon is actually out. The time period when the moon is out varies from day to day. Use the moonrise and moon- set times in the “Moon Facts” tables to figure out when the moon will be out. For your double observations, plan ahead to determine good dates and times for making two observations at least four hours apart. For example, on Saturday, February 7th^ , you will be able to see the moon most of the afternoon and evening. You could observe it at 5:00 p.m. and then again at 11:00 p.m.
The longer the time lapse between your observations, the better, but it is sometimes hard to find the moon in the middle of the day. So watch for opportunities to make two observations in the
(^2) See p. C–1 of your course packet for the definition of a waning moon. Word to the wise: the waning moon is easiest to see in the early morning; and it doesn't have to be dark--you can even see it during the day.
MP–4 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Teaching the Lesson: Requirements
- You will return to your original lab table group and teach the concepts of your topic to your table mates. You will meet with others to brainstorm and plan, but you will teach individually.
- The lesson is constructivist and discovery-based. Facilitate your classmates' progress throughout the activities. Keep them actively engaged, and thinking hard about the concept. Let them get their hands on the materials. Don’t do it for them.
- Let the students construct for themselves the concept that you are trying to teach. Ask them lots of questions; don’t give many answers. Explain things only when students are truly stuck; give them only enough information to help them get unstuck and continue on their own. Do not “give away” the answers; help students discover them.
- The emphasis is on important concepts—“big ideas,” not trivia.
- Explore the concepts in depth; do not just give them a superficial treatment.
- Make efficient use of your classmates' time. Do not require them to do “busy work” such as cutting, pasting, or doing simple repetitive calculations.
- Make use of the graphs that you constructed for your moon project. The students are not asked to go through the tedium of making a graph, but to interpret the meaning of a completed graph.
- Build on (i.e. do not repeat) what the students have already learned in prior labs in this class.
- Understand the concept well enough that you can answer unexpected questions from students.
- Conclude the lesson by having the students clearly answer the questions for your topic, either orally or in writing.
- Practice! Practice! Practice! Try the lesson on your roommates, family and friends.
- Your lesson must be 40-45 minutes long; no more, no less.
Written Reflection on the Lesson: Requirements
- Record your perception of how well the students came to understand the concept. Provide evidence to support your perception (quotes of what they said, quotes from what they wrote on their evaluation sheets, etc.). Describe what they did not come to understand as well as what they did come to understand.
- Evaluate how effective the lesson was in helping students learn the concept. Describe any changes you would make next time you taught the same lesson.
- Describe any misconceptions that surfaced among the students as they worked through the lesson.
- Discuss, in detail, any insights you had on the concept as a result of trying to teach it. Remember: The best way to learn something is to teach it!
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Example of a Teacher’s Reflection on Her Lesson
(This is a reflection I wrote about a lesson on the moon's phases and eclipses)
This was a fun lesson (lots of “aha!” moments), especially during Activity #2, but toward the end of lab, some students began to feel confused and frustrated by the three-dimensional visualization required for this lab activity. We don’t ask students to visualize in 3-D often enough.
Activity #1 elicited the usual “shadow of the Earth” misconception about the phases of the moon. A few students had had Spatial Concepts already and vaguely remembered what they had learned in that class. There were some heated arguments but many students had no clue and were content to believe their classmates. Many groups forgot to address the issue of eclipses.
Activity #2 worked very well, except when students accidentally held the ball too low, inside the shadows of their heads. Next time, I’ll be sure to tell the students to hold the balls a foot or so above their heads. Another problem that came up in Activity #2 is that students skipped over the instructions to draw the Earth, moon and sun as viewed from the ceiling of the room; many tried to draw a view from the side and then had trouble showing the third dimension. In the future, I will be sure to point out how important perspective is when drawing three-dimensional situations on paper.
Activity #3 was a challenge for some students. For most, it was a first encounter with the method of making and then testing predictions. Quite a few students didn't have their moon projects with them or their tables contained too little data, slowing a few groups down. But, after some scrambling, each group had enough actual moon data to complete the activity. In the future, I will remind students a week or so ahead that they will need to bring their moon observations to lab on the day we cover the moon's phases and eclipses.
In the original version of this lesson, Activity #4 was part of Activity #3. Students tried to complete the pop-up, moon diagram before they had figured out which way the moon revolved around Earth. So, naturally, they had no idea which phases were waning and which were waxing. So, in my rewrite of the lesson, I separated the old Activity #3 into two activities. Also, the original version of the pop-up moon activity didn’t have the table at the bottom of page C–21 (I just referred the students to the same table on page C–1). But students either didn’t have page C–1 or they missed the reference so they got confused about terminology. In my rewrite, I included the table in this lab so it’s right there where students can find it.
When I taught the lesson, I spontaneously decided to do Activity #5 as a whole class. It took a long time to convince some students that the moon really does rotate. It took several repetitions of the demonstration with the two people. It's hard for the human brain to see a perspective other than its own. In the future, I will just plan to do the activity with the whole class.
Activities #6 and 7 were pretty easy and a nice break after several difficult ones. The End-of-Lab questions were difficult for some students, especially question #2. Many students had a hard time REALLY seeing that the moon rises and sets because Earth rotates. Some students had trouble shaking the misconception that the moon goes all the way around the Earth every day, causing different phases in different parts of the world. In the future, I will take more time to help students see how Earth’s rotation causes the sun and the moon (and the stars and planets too!) to rise and set.
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Question #2: Which way does the moon revolve around Earth?
Answer: The moon revolves around Earth from west to east (counterclockwise when viewed from above the North Pole). We know this because, in the northern hemisphere, if we observe the moon each day for a month, we see that the right half of the moon is lit during the waxing phases of the moon and the left half of the moon is lit during the waning phases of the moon. If the moon revolved clockwise around Earth, we would see the opposite: we would see the left side of the moon lit during the waxing phases and the right side lit during the waning phases.
The diagram below shows a view from space above Earth’s North Pole. The sun is far away on the right. If the moon revolved around Earth in a clockwise direction, it would head toward the Quarter Moon B position after leaving the New Moon position. If you turn this page upside down to get the view of the moon as seen from Earth’s northern hemisphere, you see that Quarter Moon B is lit on the left.
What really happens is that the moon revolves around Earth in a counterclockwise direction, heading toward the Quarter Moon A position after leaving the New Moon position. That is why we see that a waxing moon is lit on the right (in the northern hemisphere, anyway).
Moon is lit on right (as seen from Earth’s northern hemisphere)
Moon is lit on left
(as seen from Earth’s
northern hemisphere)
Full Moon New Moon
Quarter Moon A
Quarter Moon B
You can model this, using a white polystyrene ball-on-a-pencil to represent the moon, your head to represent Earth, and a single light bulb to represent the sun. The diagram on the top of the next page shows what you see when you put the moon in the Quarter Moon A position.
MP–8 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Question #3: Does the moon rotate? If so, how long does one rotation of the moon take?
Answer: No matter what phase the moon is in, the same side of the moon always faces Earth. This is because the moon rotates exactly once every time it revolves around Earth. The easiest way to visualize this is with a partner. Study the drawing on the left. Imagine that the man in the cowboy hat is Earth and the woman is the moon. Imagine that, as this couple dances, the woman is always facing the man, no matter how much they spin around the room. To accomplish this, she must rotate each time she revolve around her partner. As they dance, she keeps facing different sides of the room, but she keeps facing her partner. If she didn’t rotate as she revolved, she would end up facing away from her partner and he would see the back of her head (see the photograph on the right).
A “moon” (woman) that rotates A “moon” (woman) that doesn’t rotate every time she revolves: as she revolves
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0313103/squared.jpg www.debandtomdance.com
MP–10 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Either type of eclipse occurs when the moon, Earth and sun are in perfect precise alignment with each other. Such an alignment is rare and short-lived because these objects are very far apart. No drawing of the sun, moon and Earth during an eclipses is ever to scale. Why? Well, here is a true scale drawing:
Sun Earth and Moon
Earth and the moon show up as two tiny dots which should, in fact, be a lot smaller, but printers can’t print dots any smaller than this. I hope this drawing makes it clear how miraculous it is that the sun, moon and Earth ever line up exactly.
The final reason why we don’t get eclipses every month is this: The moon's revolution around Earth is not in exactly the same plane as Earth's revolution around the sun; it is 5° off. As a result, Earth and the moon can pass through each other's shadows only twice each year; the rest of the time, they “miss” each other’s shadows by quite a bit.
Completed Lab Activities (All Topics): Requirements
- Fully and neatly answer all of the questions in lab activities about the four different moon projects (pages C–73 through C–98). If you messed up on any of the pages that you completed in lab, you may download and print the one ones posted on the course web site.
- Take extra care to correctly answer the questions for your moon project topic. These will carry most of the points.
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Points
Excellent (5) All questions fullyanswered. Explana-tions are clear,correct and complete.The logic is soundand easy to follow.The level is approp-riate for the assignedaudience.Diagrams accuratelyportray all concepts.Captions, labels, and/or written explana-tions clearly revealwhat diagrams areshowing. Diagramsneat and uncluttered.The writing is elegantand original; creativeanalogies clarify con-cepts. Free of errors.Formatted accordingto instructions. Allideas, info andfigures properly
dit d
Good (4) Explanations arecorrect but a littleunclear or incom-plete. A few gaps inlogic. The writerassumes a bit toomuch or too littleprior knowledge inthe reader.Most key conceptsare illustrated.Diagrams containminor errors or are abit unclear. Captions,labels or writtenexplanations areincomplete.Text is a bit toowordy or is so con-cise as to be unclear.Some wording isawkward or containsgrammar or spellingerrors. Minor format-ting errors.
Fair (3) Explanations aremostly correct. Gapsin logic or invalidlogic make theexplanations hard tofollow. The writerassumes too muchprior knowledge inthe reader.Most key conceptsillustrated, but somenot. Diagrams containerrors or are unclear.Captions, labels orwritten explanationsare poor or missing.Text is quite wordy orunclear. Spelling orgrammar errorspartially obscure themeaning of the text.Ideas, info andfigures only partiallycredited.
Unacceptable (0-2) Several questions notanswered. Explana-tions are incorrectand full of gaps. Thelogic is invalid andimpossible to follow.The writer assumesfar too much priorknowledge in reader.Diagrams are missingaltogether or areuseless because theydon’t actuallyillustrate theconcepts. Poorly worded.Meaning unclear. Fullof errors. Formattedincorrectly. Materialobtained from outsidesources is presentedas the writer’s own.
Weight
1 6 4 2
Student Name _______________________________________________
Grading Rubric for the Explanations of the Concepts
ComponentExplanations Diagrams Grammar,spelling,formatting,citations,etc.
Total Points (out of 60):
1 Multiply raw score by this number to calculate the points earned.
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Shade in the portion of the moon you CANNOT see. Leave the visible portion white
MP–14 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Shade in the portion of the moon you CANNOT see. Leave the visible portion white
MP–16 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Shade in the portion of the moon you CANNOT see. Leave the visible portion white
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Location of Moon (sketch showing moon, objects in foreground and
compass directions)
Sketch of
Moon
Date and Time of 2ndObservation
(Includeam/pm)
Shade in the portion of the moon you CANNOT see. Leave the visible portion white
The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set MP–
Example Graph for Topic
The example graph is on the next page; the data used for this graph are listed below. They are from January and February of 2002. Note especially the method for handling those dates when the moon does not rise or does not set.
Date Time of Moonset
Time of Moonrise 1-Jan 9:34 AM 7:48 PM 2-Jan 10:17 AM 9:01 PM 3-Jan 10:54 AM 10:13 PM 4-Jan 11:27 AM 11:22 PM 5-Jan 11:57 AM ∗
Date Time of Moonrise
Time of Moonset 6-Jan 12:31 AM 12:27 PM 7-Jan 1:38 AM 12:58 PM 8-Jan 2:45 AM 1:32 PM 9-Jan 3:51 AM 2:08 PM 10-Jan 4:56 AM 2:50 PM 11-Jan 5:58 AM 3:38 PM 12-Jan 6:54 AM 4:31 PM 13-Jan 7:45 AM 5:27 PM 14-Jan 8:28 AM 6:26 PM 15-Jan 9:05 AM 7:25 PM 16-Jan 9:37 AM 8:24 PM 17-Jan 10:06 AM 9:21 PM 18-Jan 10:32 AM 10:18 PM 19-Jan 10:56 AM 11:14 PM 20-Jan 11:21 AM **
Date Time of Moonset
Time of Moonrise 21-Jan 12:12 AM 11:47 AM 22-Jan 1:10 AM 12:15 PM 23-Jan 2:12 AM 12:48 PM 24-Jan 3:15 AM 1:26 PM 25-Jan 4:21 AM 2:12 PM 26-Jan 5:25 AM 3:08 PM 27-Jan 6:26 AM 4:13 PM
∗ (^) The moon does not set on this date. It sets early the next day. ** (^) The moon does not rise on this date. It rises early the next day.
Date Time of Moonset
Time of Moonrise 28-Jan 7:21 AM 5:24 PM 29-Jan 8:09 AM 6:39 PM 30-Jan 8:50 AM 7:55 PM 31-Jan 9:25 AM 9:08 PM 1-Feb 9:58 AM 10:20 PM 2-Feb 10:29 AM 11:29 PM 3-Feb 11:00 AM *
Date Time of Moonrise
Time of Moonset 4-Feb 12:38 AM 11:33 AM 5-Feb 1:45 AM 12:09 PM 6-Feb 2:50 AM 12:49 PM 7-Feb 3:52 AM 1:34 PM 8-Feb 4:50 AM 2:25 PM 9-Feb 5:41 AM 3:20 PM 10-Feb 6:26 AM 4:18 PM 11-Feb 7:05 AM 5:17 PM 12-Feb 7:38 AM 6:15 PM 13-Feb 8:08 AM 7:13 PM 14-Feb 8:34 AM 8:10 PM 15-Feb 8:59 AM 9:07 PM 16-Feb 9:24 AM 10:03 PM 17-Feb 9:49 AM 11:01 PM 18-Feb 10:15 AM **
Date Time of Moonset
Time of Moonrise 19-Feb 12:00 AM 10:45 AM 20-Feb 1:01 AM 11:20 AM 21-Feb 2:04 AM 12:01 PM 22-Feb 3:07 AM 12:50 PM 23-Feb 4:08 AM 1:49 PM 24-Feb 5:05 AM 2:56 PM
MP–20 The Moon Project: Topic #1 – Moon Rise and Set
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3rd Quarter
NewMoon
FullMoon
NewMoon
FullMoon
1st Quarter
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1st Quarter
12 midnight
11 a.m.10 a.m.9 a.m.8 a.m.7 a.m.6 a.m.5 a.m.4 a.m.3 a.m.2 a.m.1 a.m. 12 noon 11 p.m.10 p.m.9 p.m.8 p.m.7 p.m.6 p.m.5 p.m.4 p.m.3 p.m.2 p.m.1 p.m. Time When the Moon is Out
