Earth Patterns, Cycles
& Changes
SOL 4.7
motion of the earth, moon, & sun
cause of Seasons & Phases of the moon
relative size, position, age and makeup of
Earth, Sun, & Moon
Historical Contributions of this System
a.
b.
c.
d.
Motion of the
Earth, Moon, & Sun
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The Earth completes one
revolution around the sun
every 365 days.
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The moon revolves
around the Earth about
once every month.
Seasons
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“Due to its axial tilt, the
Earth experiences seasons
during its revolution
around the sun.”
The direct light from the
sun creates warmer
weather.
The indirect light from the
sun creates cooler weather
Phases of the Moon
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
“The phases of the moon are
caused by its position relative to
the Earth and the sun.
The phases of the moon include
the
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new
waxing crescent
first quarter
waxing gibbous
full
waning gibbous
last quarter
waning crescent.”
Relative Size, Position, Age and
Makeup of Earth

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“The Earth is one of nine planets that
revolve around the sun and comprise
the solar system.
The Earth, the third planet from the
sun, is one of the four rocky inner
planets.
It is about 150 million kilometers
from the sun.” or about 93 million
miles from the sun
Earth is about 8,000 miles around
(diameter)
Relative Size, Position, Age and
Makeup of Sun
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“The sun is an averagesized yellow star, about
110 times the diameter of
the Earth.
The sun is approximately
4.6 billion years old.”
Does not move its location
869,959 miles
around (diameter)
Relative Size, Position, Age and
Makeup of Moon
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“Our moon is a small rocky satellite, having about onequarter the diameter of the Earth and one-eightieth its
mass.
It has extremes of temperature, virtually no atmosphere,
no water, and no life.” and little gravity
Historical Contributions of this
System
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“The Earth is a geologically active planet with a
surface that is constantly changing.
Unlike the other three inner planets, it has large
amounts of life-supporting water and an oxygenrich atmosphere.
The Earth’s protective atmosphere blocks out most
of the sun’s damaging rays and heat.”
Earth is the only planet that supports life in our
solar system!
Historical Contributions of this
System
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“Our understanding of the solar system has
changed from an Earth-centered model of
Aristotle and Ptolemy to the sun-centered
model of Copernicus and Galileo.”
Long Ago people thought that everything
revolved around Earth, but in our explorations
& observations we have discovered that
everything in our solar system revolves around
the sun.
Historical Contributions of this
System
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“ The NASA Apollo missions
added greatly to our
understanding of the moon.”
Apollo Rockets went to the
moon in the 1960’s.
The USA is the only country
that has ever landed on the
moon!
Historical Contribution of this
System
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“Our understanding of the sun,
moon, and the solar system
continues to change with new
scientific discoveries.”
The number of planets keep
changing based on new
information that is received.
Our Solar System and Universe
is always growing, moving and
changing.