Earth, Moon, and Sun Amplify

Three students made the diagrams above to show what they think the Moon looks like when it is seen from above (top view). In these diagrams, the sunlight is coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. Which diagram is accurate and why?

• a  Diagram A is accurate because sometimes the whole Moon is dark if shadows are covering it.

• b  Diagram B is accurate because the Moon is as close as it can be to the sun, and so all of the Moon is lit by the sun.

• c  Diagram C is accurate because the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.

• d  All three diagrams are sometimes accurate because the Moon has some lighter-colored rock and some darker-colored rock, and the half of the Moon with the lighter-colored rock rotates to face different directions.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

An artist took two photographs of the Moon that were several days apart. Images that look like his photographs are shown above. The light part of the Moon appeared to get smaller over time. Why did this happen?

• a  Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon rotated so that less of the light-colored rock on the Moon’s surface faced Earth.

• b  Between the first photograph and the second photograph, Earth’s shadow moved and was blocking more of the Moon so the artist was able to see less of it.

• c  Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved so that the artist could see less of the half that faces the sun.

• d  Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved farther away from the sun so less sunlight reached the Moon’s surface.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The diagrams above show Earth and the Moon in different positions, as seen from above (top view). Sunlight is coming from the left, but these diagrams do not show what parts of Earth or the Moon are light or dark. Could the half of the Moon that faces Earth ever be completely dark in any of these diagrams?

• No, the Moon is always lit by the sun.

• Yes, always in Diagrams 2 and 3, but never in Diagram 1.

• Yes, always in Diagram 3 and sometimes in Diagram 2.

• Yes, always in Diagram 3, but never in Diagrams 1 or 2.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Three students made the diagrams above to show what they think the Moon looks like when it is seen from above (top view). In these diagrams, the sunlight is coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. Which diagram is accurate and why?

• Diagram A is accurate because the whole Moon is bright as long as there are no shadows covering parts of it.

• Diagram B is accurate because the Moon is almost as close as it can be to the sun, so the Moon is almost fully lit by the sun.

• Diagram C is accurate because the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.

• All three diagrams are sometimes accurate because the Moon has some lighter-colored rock and some darker-colored rock, and the half of the Moon with the lighter-colored rock rotates to face different directions.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

A student astronomer went out and took photographs of the Moon that were several days apart. Images that look like her photographs are shown above. The light part of the Moon appeared to get smaller over time. Why did this happen?

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved farther away from the sun so less sunlight reached the Moon’s surface.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, Earth moved so its shadow was blocking more of the Moon so the student astronomer was able to see less of it.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon rotated so that less of the light-colored rock on the Moon’s surface faced Earth.

• Between the first photograph and the second photograph, the Moon moved so that the student astronomer was able to see less of the half that faces the sun

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Three student astronomers made the diagrams above to show what they think the Moon looks like when it is seen from above (top view). In these diagrams, the sunlight is coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. Which diagram is accurate and why?

• a  Diagram A is accurate because the Moon is almost as far as it can be from the sun, so almost none of the Moon is lit by the sun.

• b  Diagram B is accurate because the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.

• c  Diagram C is accurate because the whole Moon is bright as long as there are no shadows covering parts of it.

• d  All three diagrams are sometimes accurate because the Moon has some lighter-colored rock and some darker-colored rock, and the half of the Moon with the lighter-colored rock rotates to face different directions.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Suki looked up one night and saw a crescent moon. If Suki looks for the Moon again in one month, what will he see?

• a  Suki will see a crescent moon again, like Diagram A.

• b  Suki will see a quarter moon, like Diagram B.

• c  Suki could see either a crescent or a quarter moon; it depends on the time of year.

• d  There’s no way to tell because the Moon’s pattern is always changing

The diagram above shows Earth and the Moon from above (top view). Why is there a dotted circle drawn in this diagram?

• To show that the Moon is always moving around Earth in a circle.

• To show the locations of satellites that are in Earth’s atmosphere.

• To show the way that the Moon can move back and forth across Earth’s sky.

• To show the locations where the sun’s light can reach the Moon.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Felipe believes that whenever the Moon is in the position that is shown from above in Diagram A, the Moon always looks completely bright in the view from Earth, as shown in Diagram B. Is Felipe correct? If he is correct, explain why the Moon always looks bright from Earth in that position, and explain how he should show light in Diagram A. If he is incorrect, explain how else the Moon can look when it is in that position.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

From top view, why is only half of the moon illuminated?

• There are dark rocks on the dark side of the moon.

• Light from the sun travels in straight lines, allowing light to only get to the side of the moon facing the Sun.

• None of the answer choices make sense since the entire moon is illuminated.

• As the Moon gets closer to the sun, more of it is lit by the sun.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1