Moon Phases and Eclipses Quiz

What are the moon phases in order?

New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third/Last Quarter, Waning Crescent

Where is the light when the Moon is waxing?

The right side

Where is the light when the Moon is waning?

The left side

Terminator

the border between light and dark on the Moon

illuminate

to shine light on an object and make it visible

Moon

a rocky sphere that travels around a planet (Earth)

Sun

the star that is the main source of light at the center of our solar system

Model

an object, diagram, or computer program that helps us understand something by making it simpler or easier to see

Scale

the relative size of things

Moon Phase

the shape of the illuminated part of the Moon as it appears from Earth

Orbit

the nearly circular path a smaller object (like the Moon) travels around a larger object (like Earth)

Maria

an arrangement of large flat areas

Cycle

a continuous process where something moves or changes through a series of steps, and then returns to the beginning to start over

How long does it take to complete a cycle?

Approximately 29.5 days or about a month

How long does each moon phase last?

Around 3-4 days

Why do we have phases of the moon?

Because as the Moon orbits the Earth, the Sun lights up different parts of it, making it seem as if the Moon is changing its shape

Which direction does the Moon orbit?

A counterclockwise direction

The moon does not make its own light because…

the sun illuminates the Moon

When a model is “to scale,” object sizes and distances are larger or smaller than in the real world but…

the same relative to one another

The sun illuminates the half of the Moon that is facing it…

and the other half is dark

Light from the sun…

travels in straight lines

From Earth we can only see…

the half of the Moon that is facing us

Because the Moon moves to different positions around Earth…

we see different phases of the Moon

There is a pattern to the position of the Moon because…

the Moon orbits around Earth

It takes about one month for the Moon to orbit Earth…

so it takes about one month to see the full pattern of moon phases