Review: Lunar Cycle

Master the Lunar Cycle! Review Moon Phases & vocabulary with this engaging science worksheet.

Waxing Getting larger Waning Getting smaller Moon Phases The different shapes of the Sun's reflection on the Moon as seen from Earth Lunar Cycle The Moon's repeated pattern of movement caused by its revolution around the Earth Gibbous Moon Lit shape on the Moon that is greater than a quarter but not a full Moon Crescent Moon Lit shape on the Moon that is less than a quarter First Quarter Moon Exactly half of the visible Moon is lit on the right side; waxing phase Third Quarter Moon Exactly half of the visible Moon is lit on the left side; waning phase New Moon None of the illuminated half of the Moon is visible from Earth Full Moon All of the illuminated half of the Moon is visible from Earth Use the words from the Vocabulary Word Search to fill in the blanks. Earth's moon is a familiar sight that lights up the sky on clear nights. However, the moon does not appear the same to us every night due to it's revolutionaround the Earth. While it appears that the amount of the moon that is reflecting the sun's light changes, in fact exactly one half of the moon is always reflectinglight from the sun. It is our perspective of the moon during the 29.5 day orbit around Earth that makes us see the changing moon phases. The moon has eight phases that have different names depending on how much of the moon is lit and if the moons is growing larger, known as waxing, or becoming smaller, known as waning. When the moon is completely lit, it is called a full moon. When the moon is directly between the Earth and the sun and we cannot see it at night, it is called a new moon. When exactly half of the moon is lit on the right it is called a first quarter becauseit is one quarter way around the orbit of Earth. When exactly half of the moon is lit on the left side it is called a third quarter moon. When less than half of the moon is lit it is called a crescentand when more than half of it is lit it is called a gibbous. If the left half of the moon is lit, it is always in the waning phases, whereas when the right half is lit it is always in the waxing phases. Knowing the repeated patterns of the lunar cyclemakes it easy to predict what the moon will look line on a given day. What will be the moon phase two weeks later? New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous 1st Quarter 3rd Quarter What will be the moon phase two weeks later? New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter What will be the moon phase two weeks later? New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter What will be the moon phase two weeks later. New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter What will be the moon phase two weeks later. New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter What will be the moon phase two weeks later? New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter Lunar Cycle Diagram Use the following word bank to label the correct positions of the Moon Phases during the Lunar Cycle:New MoonFull MoonFirst QuarterThird QuarterWaxing CrescentWaning CrescentWaxing GibbousWaning Gibbous New Moon Waxing Crescent First Quarter Waxing Gibbous Full Moon Waning Gibbous Third Quarter Waning Crescent A phase of the moon is shown below:Which phase would you expect to see next? A B C D Alana observes a third quarter moon on Saturday, January 2, 2016. What phase of the moon should she expect to observe on Wednesday, January 20th, 2016 New Moon First Quarter Waxing Gibbous Waning Crescent On a clear night, Jonathan observed that there was no moon visible in the sky after the scheduled time for moon rise and throughout the night. Which phase of the moon would Jonathan have observed two days earlier? Waxing Crescent Waxing Gibbous Waning Crescent Waning Gibbous In the diagram, which position should the sun be located? 1 2 3 4