Celebrating National Science Week Day 4 – Moon Phases

Learning about Moon Phases with Oreos

The Moon is usually one of the first things if not THE first thing someone learns with regard to the Solar System – whether they are a child learning about Space for the first time, a budding astronomer, or a student studying astronomy in Science Class. It is fascinating object in our night sky and this is evident in how much it has been researched and photographed throughout the years. Today, we will be joining in the masses and will be talking about why the Moon comes in different shapes – sometimes a sphere, sometimes a crescent, sometimes barely visible. In fact, we will be learning about the Moon phases, what they’re called and why they occur. At the end, there is even a short activity you can do that will help you remember all the 8 phases of the moon.

What are ‘Moon Phases’?

Before we get started, what is the Moon? The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite which means that it is the only natural object that is constantly orbiting around the Earth. One of these orbits takes around 27.3 days. This plays a defining role as to why when we look up at the Moon at night, it looks different every night. On some nights, the Moon is bright and circular, sometimes it is a small crescent shape, sometimes we can barely see it. These changes are known as the ‘moon phases’. It has been well researched that moon phases correspond to the changes in angles between the Sun, the Moon and the Earth that occur during each orbit of the moon. Simply, while the Sun is constantly illuminating and the Moon is constantly orbiting around the Earth, how we see the Moon on Earth is constantly changing. While there are countless angles in which the Sun, Moon and Earth can be positioned, we only refer to 8 main phases of the moon.

Some important terminology is waxing which means growing, waning which means shrinking, gibbous which means more than half illuminated, and finally crescent which means less than half illuminated. Together, they explain what is happening to the moon in four of the phases (waxing gibbous, waxing crescent, waning crescent, waning gibbous).

1. New Moon – Moon is positioned directly in between the Sun and the Earth
2. Waxing Crescent – Moon is less than half illuminated and growing towards a Full Moon
3. First Quarter – The Moon is perpendicular to the Sun and the Earth
4. Waxing Gibbous – Moon is more than half illuminated and growing towards a Full Moon
5. Full Moon – The Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon
6. Waning Gibbous  – Moon is more than half illuminated but shrinking towards a New Moon
7. Third Quarter – The Moon is perpendicular to the Earth
8. Waning Crescent – The Moon is less than half illuminated but shrinking towards

It sounds complicated now but everything will be much clear when we make our own our Moon phase chart. That is exactly what you will be doing in the activity below.

Making A Moon Phase Chart with Oreos

Materials

• 6 or more Oreos
• A spoon or spatula
• A large platter

Instructions

1. Twist open 4 Oreos cookie by twisting each biscuit layer in opposite directions to separate each biscuit.
2. Place one Oreo half with a full coating of icing on a platter at position P5 with the icing side facing up.
3. Place the other Oreo half (no icing) on the platter (P1) with the inside facing up on the opposite side of the platter.
4. Using a spatula, scrape off half of the coating from one Oreo half and place it on the platter (P3).
5. Using a spatula, scrape off one quarter  of the icing from one Oreo half and place it on the platter (P4).
6. Using a spatula, scrape off three-quarters of the icing from one Oreo half and place it on the platter (P2) .
7. With a full intact Oreo cookie, snap off half of the top layer of the Oreo cookie and place the bare side upwards at P7.
8. With a full intact Oreo cookie, snap off three-quarters of an Oreo half and place it on the platter with bare side upwards (P6).
9. With a full intact Oreo cookie, snap off one quarter of the top Oreo layer and place it on the platter with the bare side upwards (P8).
10. Arrange the cookies as shown in the diagram below and label them.

Activity

Can you identify which of the phases is:

• P1?
• P2?
• P3?
• P4?
• P5?
• P6?
• P7?
• P8?

For some additional help, click here to see a Moon Phase Chart
*Please note that the positions on this Chart is slightly different from your creation: P3 which corresponds to New Moon, P4 corresponds to Waxing Crescent and so forth.

Answers

P1 New Moon. P2 Waxing Crescent. P3 First Quarter. P4 Waxing Gibbous. P5 Full Moon. P6 Waning Gibbous. P7 Third Quarter. P8 Waning Crescent

If you have any questions about the activity or anything you have learned today, please feel free to leave us a message at support@opticscentral.com or simply leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. If you make a Moon Phase Chart, we’d love to see it!

I hope you are enjoying your National Science Week. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article about ‘What’s in The Water?’!

Catch up on the previous days: