A "Moonth" of Phases

A "Moonth" of Phases 

Question- 

What causes the phases of the moon? 

Answer- The position in which the moon is that, so it is lit by the sun, and/or darkened by earth.

Summary- 

In this experiment we observed what the phases of the moon would look like from two different points. We observed what the moon would look like from earth and what they would look like from space. We did this by using a flashlight and taking a small and large styrofoam ball. The smaller one represented the moon while the large one represented earth. There are 8 moon phases: Full moon, New moon, Waxing gibbous, First quarter, Last quarter, Waxing crescent, Waning crescent, and Waning gibbous. 

Full- A completely lit up moon

New-  A completely dark moon

Waxing Gibbous- A moon with a small dark part on the left 

First- A half lit moon, lit part on right

Last- A half lit moon, lit part on left

Waxing Crescent- A mostly dark moon, with a small lit part on right

Waning Crescent- A mostly dark moon, with a small lit part on left

Waning Gibbous- A moon with a small dark part on the right

Materials- 

1 large styrofoam ball- represents earth

1 small styrofoam ball- represents moon  

1 flashlight- represents sun 

2 toothpicks one to hold and other to hold moon 

A dark room 

Procedure- 

1. Go into a room with the lights off 

2. Attach one toothpick to the big styrofoam ball and the other to the small styrofoam ball 

3. Turn on the flashlight 

4. Use the small ball as the moon and the big one as earth 

5. Record Data 

The moon phases if viewed from space- 

 

The moon phases if viewed from a point on earth- 

In your model what represents Earth?Sun?Moon?
The sun was the flashlight. The moon was the smaller styrofoam ball and the earth was the bigger ball. 
How much of the lightened part of the ball did you see when facing the ball?
The half that was facing the light/sun. 
Which drawing represents a full moon? A new moon? Waxing Crescent? A waning crescent?
The full moon is the one completely lit. Waxing crescent is the moon with the crescent on the right. The waning crescent is the crescent on the left side. 
How much of the lightened part of the ball did you see after each turn?
After each part you saw more and more but after a few turns you started to see less. 
How much of the ball's surface was always lit?
There was no amount because at one point the ball was completely dark  
How well did making a model help you understand the phases of the moon?
It helped me a lot because I could physically see how much was lit or in darkness 
What are some disadvantages?
The lighting or darkness could be a bit off because the models are not scale or proportional.

Reasons for The Seasons Lab

Reasons for The Seasons Lab  

In science class we did a lab in which we examined the shadow and sunlight difference from season to season. We made a model earth and shone a light on it to examine. Here is what we had to do: 

1. Take a foam sphere and put a stick right through the middle of it 

2. Take a protractor and position the stick so it has a tilt of 23.5 degrees 

3. For simplicity, tape the stick to the protractor at the 23.5 angle 

4. Shine a flashlight and place the protractor-attached sphere so the protractor's bottom is flat 

5. To show summer, place it so the earth is closer to the flashlight 

6. To show winter, place it so the earth is farther from the flashlight 

7. Place a toothpick between the equator and the north pole 

8. Shine the light and examine the shadow 

9. Record Data 

Here is my recorded data:

Summer

• ·       During the summer there is more light shining
• ·       During the summer there is more of a shadow, probably because there is more light shining on the surface during the summer
• ·       On the surface the grid is stretched in the north pole area because it is in a different position and is partially blocked by other parts of the surface but it gets more sun in the summer than in the winter
• ·       The south pole is the opposite of north pole more sun in winter and less than summer

Winter  

• ·       During the winter there is less light because the planet is farther away from the sun
• ·       During the winter there is less of a shadow, the sun light does not hit as much as it does in the summer, creating a smaller shadow
• ·       The north pole is colder during winter because the surface is partially blocking the north pole   
•  The south pole gets more sun during winter because it is angled toward the sun 

I learned many things from this lab. I learned that the north pole is colder in the winter and hotter in the summer while the south pole is the exact opposite. From what I observed the shadow of the sticking out toothpick was bigger during the summer. This means that buildings and other objects might have a slightly bigger shadow during the summer. After the lab I looked up further info and found out that the regions in the arctic circle have a day that is very dark in the winter and one that is very bright in the summer.