Topic:
Introduction to Earth, Moon, Sun
Date:
Essential Question/Learning Target: What is the relationship between Earth, Moon, and Sun?
Questions/Key Terms
Where are we?
Why do we experience moon
phases?
Notes
We are in the milky way galaxy.
- A galaxy is a large group of stars, dust, gas, and other bodies
held together by gravity.
 Gravity is a natural force of attraction between bodies in
space with great mass and other objects in space as well
as the objects on their surfaces.
Our solar system is made up of 8 planets that orbit the Sun.
- The Sun is our closest star, which is made up of gases
- Earth is the third planet from the Sun
Half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun and half of the
moon is always dark.
- The moon phases are caused by us seeing neither, both, or
parts of the dark side and the illuminated portion of the moon
- We see different amounts of illuminated portion depending on
where the moon is at in its orbit around Earth and where the
Sun is located
*An orbit is the path an object follows when it goes around
another object
What causes Earth to
experience day and night?
One day is one rotation of the Earth on its axis.
- The Earth takes 24 hours for it to make one complete rotation
- A rotation is the turning on a center point or axis
*Some other examples of rotation: Ferris wheel, rotisserie
chicken…
- One half of the Earth is always in light (day) and one half is
always in darkness
What is a year? Really?
One year is one revolution of Earth around the Sun.
- The Earth takes 365 ¼ days to make one complete revolution
- A revolution is the movement of a body around another in
space
*Some other examples of revolution: running around a track,
tetherball
Summary