Sun Moon Earth Study Guide
Test Date:____________________________
Students should be able to draw and label the 8 phases of the moon in order.
Additionally, students should understand the position of the earth in relation to the sun
and the moon. The moon appears to have different amounts of light based on its
position. If the moon is between the earth and sun, we have a new moon. If the moon is
on the opposite side of the sun, then we have a full moon.
Revolution: Movement of an object in
orbit. It takes 365 ¼ days for earth to
complete one revolution around the
sun.
Rotation: Spinning or turning of the earth
(as it revolves). The rotation of the earth
is why we have day and night.
The Moon: revolves around the earth
once every 28 days, or about once a
month. The moon is a satellite of earth.
The moon is ¼ the size of earth. (About 4
moons would fit in earth) Astronauts
helped us better understand what the
surface of the moon was made of.
Sun Size: About 110 times the diameter
of earth
Earth age: 4.6 billion years old
Axial tilt: Causes the seasons. When our
hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, we
get longer days and shorter nights. This is
summer.