What are craters. and how did they get on the Moon’s surface?
A crater is a hole created when a meteorite or asteroid hits a Moon or a planet. Our Moon is covered with craters. Try this experiment to get a feel for what has happened to the Moon’s surface over the years.
Pour a 1/2-inch layer of flour or talcum powder into an unbreakable shallow dish
.
Using different size rocks and pebbles, hold them a few inches over the dish and release them. Upon impact, the falling objects will scatter the powdery substance. Remove them, and you will notice they’ve left different size impressions. Heavenly bodies such as Asteroids and Meteoroids hit the Moon’s surface with great force, similarly leaving huge craters on the Moons surface.
If the Moon gives off no light of its own how does it shine?
The Moon’s surface reflects the light of the Sun. Conduct this experiment at night to learn how. You will need a flashlight, an extremely dark room, and a 7-inch paper plate covered with aluminum foil. Tape the covered plate to a wall in your room. Turn out the light. Point the flashlight towards the plate, and turn it on. The plate glows only when the flashlight is on. Alone, the foil-covered plate (like the Moon) does not give off light. Moonlight occurs based on a similar principle. What do you think would happen to Moonlight if there was no Sun?
If it’s not disappearing, why is the Moon changing shape?
(The following exercise serves as a great homework assignment and is best conducted at night. It should, however, be first demonstrated in the classroom.) You will need a ball and a table lamp to better understand what happens when the Moon enters its phases. Pretend you are the Earth, the ball is the Moon, and the lamp is the Sun. Turn on the lamp; it should be the only light on in the room. Stand three or four giant steps away from it. With the lamp in front of you, hold the symbolic Moon outstretched in front of you, and pivot slowly to the left. It’s like pretending the Moon is orbiting around you. Look closely at the way the light hits appears on the ball. Keep pivoting, and you will notice phases on the ball,just like we experience phases on the Moon.
Teacher Note
: As an additional Science/Math/Language Arts reinforcement, have the children experience Moon phases through journal writing. For a month-long duration, have your students observe the Moon in the night sky. Students should record their findings in a composition notebook (or teacher-made journal comprised of stapled writing paper). Every five to seven days, ask you children to draw the shape of the Moon they noticed in the sky. Each child (with the assistance of their parent and/or through inventive spelling) should write a shape that the Moon looked like (a pizza, a cookie, a banana . . . ) The date (month, numeric date, and year) on which it was seen. Encourage the use of complete sentences. Observations can be shared in class.
Shared Reading:
The Greedy Man in the Moon
by Rick Rossiter
The Day We Walked on the Moon
by George Sullivan