Part 5A: TTN Questions
Reflect on the following questions based on your observations of the moon Through the Night (TTN). Type your answers in blue font between the questions. To receive full grade for the questions section, you should address fully all questions asked below.
Changes in Motion of the Moon
All of the following questions should be answered based on your own observations, and NOT answers found in the textbook or the internet or other sources.
TTN -1 Through the course of one night, you should have taken a minimum of 4 separate observations of the Moon, spanning a minimum of 3 hours (from start to finish), separated by 1 hour apart.
• Draw the path of the moon over that time with a dashed line through your sequence of observations, on the landscape.
• Describe with words, below, the path you have drawn.
(Somewhere in your description should be terms such as “rising from”, “moving across”, or “setting towards”, and reference to compass directions as well as left and right. Imagine yourself outside, tracing the motion of the moon with your arm. How would you describe that motion? There is no need to explain what you saw, just describe the motion clearly.)
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TTN-2 How much did the moon move? (Words like “a little bit”, “a lot” or “an impressive amount” are not useful in science. Your answer should be given in degrees, based on your own specific observations.)
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TTN-3 Explain why you think the Moon changed its position in the sky as it did, through the course of one night’s observations?
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TTN-3D: If you were to observe the moon over a full 24 hour cycle, what would your observation sequence look like, on your specific landscape? (Make sure to include both the shape of the expected sequence path the moon would follow, and direction.)
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Why would the moon follow this sequence, as described above?
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Changes in Shape of the Moon
All of the following questions should be answered based on your own observations, and NOT answers found in the textbook or the internet or other sources.
TTN-4 Did the shape or orientation of the illuminated part of the Moon change over the time of an observation sequence? If it did change, use specific and descriptive words to describe the change.
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TTN-5 Were there any other changes in the appearance of the moon over a given observation sequence? Were those changes due to the movement of the moon or to other phenomena?
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TTN-6 Explain why you think the apparent shape or orientation of the Moon changed or did not change through the course of one night?
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Part 5B: NTN QUESTIONS
Reflect on the following questions based on your observations of the moon Night to Night (NTN). Type your answers in blue font between the questions. To receive full grade for the questions section, you should address fully all questions asked below.
Changes in Motion of the Moon
All of the following questions should be answered based on your own observations, and NOT answers found in the textbook or the internet.
NTN-1 You likely have observations that span several days broken up by cloudy nights or other interruptions. Ideally several observations were made at the same time each night, but this may not have happened (if you completed two separate sequences, at two different times). Your goal is to identify one or more sequences of linked observations on your drawing.
• Draw the path of the moon over the days within the same NTN sequence with a dashed line through your sequence of observations, on the landscape. Make sure to indicate where the sequence starts and end, based on your observations.
NTN-2
• Describe, with words, the path(s) the moon followed through your NTN sequence(s).
(Hints to assist in your description: Was the path essentially an arc up from or towards the eastern or western horizon, or was it essentially a flat path through the sky? Or some other pattern?)
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• Which part of the ecliptic path in the sky did you see the moon in each of your linked sequences? (From previous discussions in our course we have seen that the Moon follows close to the ecliptic path through the sky. From Toronto, or any mid northern latitude, the ecliptic path is a broad arch including an eastern section, a section through the southern sky and a western section.)
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• Which way did the moon move along the ecliptic path from night to night (NTN)? To the right - towards the west, or to the left – towards the east?
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• On average, how much (in degrees) did the moon move from NTN, in your own observations? How did you get this value? (hint: this value should be coming from measurements of your own observations!)
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NTN-3 From night to night movements you observed, can you conclude if the moon is orbiting clockwise or counter-clockwise around the earth through the month? (Hints: For a linked sequence of observations, was the Moon exactly in the same place in the sky at the same time every night? Yes or No?)
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If directly observed, or projected from your observations, did the moon rise or set at the same time each night? Yes or No? Ff no, how much earlier or later did it rise or set each day?
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NTN-4 Explain why you think the Moon changed its position in the sky from NTN as it did?
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NTN-4D: If you were to complete your NTN sequence at the same time of night/day in the next lunar cycle, where do you think your moon observations would occur, on your landscape, relative to the observations from this current cycle? (Be sure to be very descriptive in your answer, including directions for moons’ new positions relative to the current ones, if you think they would be different.)
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Why would the moon follow this new sequence path, as described above?
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Changes in Shape of the Moon
All of the following questions should be answered based on your own observations, and NOT answers found in the textbook or the internet.
NTN-5 How did the shape of the illuminated part of the Moon change over your period of observation? Use specific and descriptive words. Note similarities and differences in your description if different linked sequences were done at different phases of the moon’s cycle.
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NTN-6 Were there any other changes in the appearance of the moon over your observation period? Were those changes due to the movement of the moon or to other phenomena?
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NTN-7 Explain why you think the Moon changed its apparent shape as it did?
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Part 5: Conclusions
Comparing your hunches with current understanding
Reflect on the following questions based on your observations of the moon Night to Night (NTN). Type your answers in blue font between the questions. To receive full grade for the questions section, you should address fully all questions asked below.
How did the actual movement and change in apparent shape of the Moon change compare to your hunch answers?
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How do your current explanations of why the moon changed its location and why it changed its apparent shape compare with explanations you made in your hunch answers?
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Has the thinking that went into your hunch answers been essentially changed or essentially confirmed by your observations and reflection during this project? (Use specific and descriptive words to illustrate features of this changed or confirmed thinking.)
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Sample Solution