Science Methods II - Week 6

 

1: Lab: How the phases of the moon occur: the Moon rotates the Earth and takes about a month to go all the way around, as it goes around each night we see it at a different point in its rotation, and because it is at a different point around the sun, the shadow that the Earth casts on it covers up a little more or less of the moon, resulting in different shaped cutouts or phases that we can see. 2. Seasons: Seasons are caused by the Earth rotating around the sun and spinning on its axis at an angle. The angle of the Earth’s rotation causes either the north or south half of the planet to be closer to the Earth. Whichever half happens to be tilted towards the sun is the season in the Summer, and as it rotates along the angle Fall and Spring are created, and then as it is at it is tilted away from the Sun winter is created. 3: A lunar eclipse is caused when the Moon rotates around the Earth and lines up directly with the Sun where the Sun is in front of it and the moon is invisible. In class today we did a formative assessment, and began to learn about how all the planets are on the same plane, and that the Earth rotates on its axis. We then learned about the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and that they exist because of the Earth’s tilt. We then talked about how the phases of the moon work because the moon rotates around the Earth in 29 days, and at certain points in its orbit it reflects a different amount of sunlight towards the Earth, creating its phases.

2: Big Question: Our big question is: How do the Earth, Moon, and Sun rotate together to create what we see in the sky?

3: Lecture: In lecture we began by talking about the formative assessment we took in lab. We then moved onto talking more about the phases of the moon. I learned how the moon shifts closer and further in the sky from where the sun is rotating. This happens because the moon is also rotating around us while the sun stays in the same place. I learned that this causes the moon to appear in the sky at different times in the day, so we only see the moon at night for two weeks out of the month. We talked about shadows becoming shorter and longer based on what time of the day it is. We then talked about how the moon is on a different geometric plane than the sun and Earth is, so there are only very few times when there could be a lunar eclipse. 4: Textbook Reading:

From the textbook I learned all about the phases of the moon, eclipses, shadows, and how heavenly spheres orbit in Space. I learned how the Earth rotates the Sun, and the reason why we have Seasons. I got to review that seasons are caused by the way the Earth is tilted towards and away from the Earth at certain points during its rotation. I also got to review Solar and Lunar eclipses, by seeing how they occur when the Moon blocks the Sun, and the Sun blocks the Moon respectively. I learned that a Lunar eclipse is actually the Earth blocking the Moon, and preventing the Sun from hitting the Moon with its light. I also learned how solstices and equinoxes occur throughout the Earth’s rotation of the sun.

 I learned that Equinoxes happen when the Sun hits the Earth in such a way that there are exactly 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours lacking in sunlight, around the entire world. I thought it was fascinating that the equinox affects you wherever you are on Earth, and not just in a certain hemisphere. Solstices happen when the Earth is rotated in such a way that the sun creates a day with the least or most amount of daylight, depending on which hemisphere you are standing in. My favorite fact was that if you stand in the tropic of Capricorn on the summer solstice at noon you will have no shadow, because the sun is pointing directly at you without an angle.

I think that learning about how the equinox affects everyone and learning how solstices happen was most helpful to me. I think that learning about how equinoxes and solstices happen because of the angle we are tilted at towards the sun really helps me remember how we are tilted at an angle and helps me to conceptually put together all the different ways the earth rotates, because those all take a little bit more effort in my brain to remember how they work.

I don’t think there is any more information I need from this chapter.

5: More Questions:

              After this week, the only question I really have, is how do Lunar calendars work as opposed to Solar Calendars? How do they keep track of days differently, and how do they line up?