ERIC Number: EJ781090
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Dec
Pages: 7
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0887-2376
EISSN: N/A
Moon Phase as a Context for Teaching Scale Factor
Wallace, Ann; Dickerson, Daniel; Hopkins, Sara
Science Scope, v31 n4 p16-22 Dec 2007
The Sun and the Moon are our most visible neighbors in space, yet their distance and size relative to the Earth are often misunderstood. Science textbooks fuel this misconception because they regularly depict linear images of Moon phases without respect to the actual sizes of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, nor their correlated distances from one another. This integrated lesson is designed to help students communicate their ideas of the relative sizes and distances of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, and to construct appropriate understandings of how scaling factors can be used to make representations of astronomical distances. (Contains 6 figures.)
Descriptors: Textbooks, Astronomy, Science Instruction, Lesson Plans, Earth Science, Grade 7, Mathematical Concepts, Teaching Methods, Scaling
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 7
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A