What is the moon like?

The mood is dry and airless and has an irregular surface. Compared to Earth, the moon is small and has large variations in surface temperature. Galileo observed on the moon’s surface dark flat areas. He called them Maria, from the Latin word meaning “seas”. He thought incorrectly that the Maria were oceans. The singular form of Maria is Mare. Students page 143 figure 1. Observe the surface features of the moon which are Maria, craters, and high lands.

Craters large round pits which can extend hundreds of kilometers across. Craters were caused by the impacts of meteoroids. Meteoroids: chunks of rock or dust from space. Highlands: some of the light colored features you can see on the moon’s surface. Highlands cover most of the moon’s surface.

Summary: What is found on earth that is not found on the moon? Air and abundant water. When you observe the full moon you see both light and dark areas which called Maria in Highlands. Which moon features are linked to ancient volcanic activity? Dark, flat areas called Maria. What are Highlands? Mountains that covered most of the moon’s surface. What causes craters? Impact of meteoroids which are chunks of rock or dust from space.

Moon size How do the diameters of the moon and Earth compare? Earth’s diameter is four times greater than the moon’s diameter. How do the masses of the moon and Earth compare? The moon has only one 80 th(1/80) as much mass as Earth. How does this difference in mass affect the relative densities of the moon and Earth? Earth is denser. Earth has a very dense core. The Moon’s average density is similar to the density of Earth’s outer layers. It’s gravity it’s about 1/6 of Earth’s.

Heating the moon How is the movie warmed? By energy in sunlight. How is Earth warmed? By energy in sunlight. Why do temperatures on the moon very so much more than on earth? The moon has no atmosphere. Highest temperature on earth recorded was less than 60°C. The lowest temperature on earth recorded was -90°C. At the moon highest temperature in direct sunlight is 130°C. Lowest temperature at night is °C.

Students page 144 figure 2 complete the chart compare and contrast ( earth and the moon). Students page 145 apply it,1 and 2. Then assess your understanding 1a,1b,1c.

Homework: Using your completed table comparing the moon and Earth, make a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the properties of the moon and the earth.