1. Total Solar Eclipse - a webquest -

2. Task In the morning of Wednesday, 2006 March 29, suddenly the sun disappeared from within a narrow corridor on earth. We want you to find out what happened… A MOVIE should be shown to motivate the pupils!

3. The Process Some of the following websites might help you: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/TSE 2006/TSE2006.htmlhttp://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/TSE 2006/TSE2006.html http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/why_solar.html#Total http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse Following topics should considered: What condition is required for an eclipse to occur? How long does an eclipse last on the average? Why does the eclipse move from west to east? Think about a challenging question for your audience!

4. What condition is required for an eclipse to occur? When the moon stands between the sun and the Earth (New Moon) and part of the umbra falls upon the Earth (http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/why_solar.html#Total)http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/why_solar.html#Total

5. How long does an eclipse last on the average? The total eclipse only lasts for a few minutes with a maximum of 7 minutes and 40 seconds. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

6. Why does the eclipse move from west to east? the earth rotates in 24 hours, moon orbits the Earth once a month but the distance that the moon travels in that month is a whopping 2,415,256km! This means that it's moving really fast, faster than the earth rotates. consequently the shadow zips across much faster than the Earth's rotation (http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/why_solar.html#Total)http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/why_solar.html#Total

7. Additional question What is happening in the picture? When does it occur and how can we explain it? How is it called? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

8. Conclusion A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between earth and the sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring earth's view of the sun. This configuration can only occur during a new moon, when the sun and moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth.