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SOL
3.8 ~ Earth Cycles
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Some changes are slow and other changes are fast.
Some changes occur in patterns and happen over and over again in cycles.
A cycle is a repeated pattern or a series of events that happen over and over again in the same order - they repeat and are predictable.
Day and night, the seasons, and phases of the moon are common cycles that can be observed and described.
One complete rotation occurs every 24 hours. When the Earth rotates, it is spinning on its axis.
The part of the Earth toward the sun has day ...
...while the part not facing the sun has night.
The Earth's rotation from west to east causes this cycle. Hence, the Sun will rise in east and set in the western sky. When it is day in the Western Hemisphere, it is night in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Explain how day and night and the seasons occur in a pattern.
Model and describe how the Earth’s rotation causes day and night.
This
cycle has four parts: spring, summer, fall and winter.
Each part
lasts approximately 3 months.
The tilt of the Earth's
axis as it revolves around the Sun
causes this cycle.
Visit Enchanted
Learning to learn more!
At the equator, the Earth is always hot and doesn't have 4 seasons.
At the poles, the seasons of spring and fall are very short; the summer growing season is also very limited.
The seasons are reversed in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. When the Northern hemisphere is having winter, the Southern hemisphere is having summer.
Model and describe how the sun’s rays strike the Earth to cause seasons.
Recognize that the relationships that exist between and among the Earth, sun, and moon result in day and night and seasonal changes.
It takes about a month for the moon to move around the Earth.
The moon reflects light from the sun. Depending on where the moon is in its orbit, we see varying illuminated portions of it. This appears to give the moon different shapes at different times of the month. The shape of the moon does not really change. It just changes its location in space.
The different shapes of the moon are called phases:
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new
moon: the entire half of the moon facing Earth is dark (we cannot see the moon from Earth because the side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun) |
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crescent
moon: as light begins to illuminate the moon, a small “sliver” can be seen |
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quarter
moon: half of the part of the moon facing Earth is lighted |
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full
moon: an entire half of the moon facing Earth is lighted (it looks like a fully lit circle) |
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quarter
moon: half of the part of the moon facing Earth is lighted |
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crescent
moon: as the amount of light on the moon decreases, we again see a small sliver |
Finally, no light illuminates the moon, and the cycle returns to a new moon.
Why
the Moon Changes Shapes
Use
the pull down menu where it says Point of View to look at the Top View
(sun, moon and Earth)
and the Earth View to look at what the moon looks from Earth at the
same time.
The Both will let you look at both of them at the same time.
Click on Animate to see the changes.
Moonlight
Madness
Can
you identify and order the different moon phases?
Observe, chart, and illustrate phases of the moon, and describe the changing pattern of the moon as it revolves around the Earth.
This pull causes the water to draw up (high tide) on the side of the Earth facing the moon and on the opposite side. The areas between those two points experience low tide. As the Earth rotates, locations of the Earth experience different tides.
The tides follow a pattern of two high and two low tides every 24 hours. High tide occurs when the moon is over water and low tide occurs when the moon is over the land.
Explain how the phases of the moon and tides occur in a pattern or cycle.
Analyze data from simple tide tables to determine a pattern of high and low tides.
that happen over and over again in the same order
sequence - a series of events that occur in a natural order.
axis
- an imaginary line running from
the North Pole to the
South Pole
tilt - to lean to the side
rotate - one complete turn or spin on the earth's axis
day cycle - a 24 hour cycle
seasons - the yearly cycle of the Earth
revolution
- the movement in a circle around a central point;
ex: the Earth travels around the Sun
waxes - to get bigger
wanes - to get smaller
gravity - the force that pulls things to the Earth's middle
gibbous - 3/4 of the full moon
crescent - 1/4 of the full moon
new moon - no visible moon
full moon - a complete circular moon
tides - the rising and falling of the waters on the Earth's surface
Review Activities
Earth Cycles Flashcards ~ Earth Cycles Matching ~ Earth Cycles Concentration
Sources come from: