Seasons and the Moon Activities

Seasons Lecture Tutorial

Seasons pages 103-108

Note: The Earth is about 6000 km across (0.006 million km).

Read carefully - the tutorials are designed to catch your errors!

Discuss the material in your pod and come to a consensus.

Check your understanding:

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Which of the following are FALSE?

When it is summer, the Sun is giving off more energy and when it is winter the Sun is giving off less energy.

When it is summer, more sunlight reaches Earth as a whole than it does during the winter.

Our location on Earth (Fullerton) is closer to the Sun in summer than it is in winter.

Submit

When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. If something about the Sun and Earth as a whole was responsible, both hemispheres would experience summer at the same time.

Earth's orbit takes us 5 million km closer to the Sun in December than we are in June, a much bigger change than the distance across Earth.

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Which of the lettered observers in the image above are experiencing summer?

A

B

C

D

E

F

Submit

Summer is whenever the hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.

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If Earth were tilted more (60 degrees rather than 23.5 degrees), then during winter at your location you would:

experience cooler temperatures.

experience warmer temperatures.

not experience any significant change in temperature.

This is a more extreme tilt, so the seasonal changes would be more extreme.

Moon Phases Lecture Tutorials

Causes of Moon Phases, pages 91-94

Predicting Moon Phases pages 95-98

Check your understanding

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During the new moon phase, how much of the Moon’s total surface is being illuminated by sunlight?

none of it

less than half

half

all of it

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During the full moon phase, how much of the Moon’s visible surface is being illuminated by sunlight?

none of it

less than half

half

all of it

#

The diagram below illustrates the geometry of lunar phases with the moon shown in eight positions in its orbit.

Which position corresponds to a first quarter moon?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

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The diagram below illustrates the geometry of lunar phases with the moon shown in eight positions in its orbit.

Which position corresponds to a waxing crescent moon?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

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The diagram below illustrates the geometry of lunar phases with the moon shown in eight positions in its orbit.

Which position corresponds to a waning gibbous moon?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

Discussion: Moon Phase Demonstration

Remember this demonstration of moon phases:

Can you reproduce this moon phase demo with materials you already have, or create a similar demo to illustrate the cause of the Seasons or Eclipses? Share a photo of your demo with your discussion pod.