2.  Where does the sun rise and set?  The sun rises in the east & sets in the west.  We know that the Earth is where we live and that it rotates on its axis. How often does it rotate?  The Earth rotates once every 24 hours (one day).  So, as the Earth is rotating on it’s axis, what is it also revolving around?  It revolves around the sun. It takes 365 days to do so. On a leap year, it takes 365 ¼ days.

3.  So we know what it means for Earth to rotate on its axis and to revolve around the Sun, but what is an orbit?  An orbit is an invisible path that the moon has around the Earth.  Let’s talk moon- How does the moon get its light?  The amount of sunlight reflected from the moon determines the phase of the moon we see!

4.  So we know the moon has phases, how many are there? How long does it take to get through them all?  The moon has 8 phases and it takes 28 days for the moon to go through them all.  What’s so different about the Moon and the Earth?  There’s no atmosphere & little gravity on the moon. If you weigh 60 pounds on Earth, you weigh 10 pounds on the moon!

5.  What really causes us to have seasons?  The earth’s orbit and the tilt of its axis cause the seasons.  What angle is the earth tilted at?  The earth’s axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees.  How would our seasons be different if there were no tilt to the earth?  Every location on earth would be exposed to the same amount of sunlight during the entire year!

6.  When earth’s axis is tilted away from the sun in the northern hemisphere, what season is taking place in the southern hemisphere?  The southern hemisphere would be experiencing summer! Whichever side of the earth is tilted towards the sun is experiencing summer, while the other side experiences winter!  When are our days longer; winter or summer?  We have the longest days in the summer!

7.  So we know why we have different seasons, but what causes day and night?  Day and night is caused by earth’s rotation on its axis. Since it takes 24 hours to rotate around once, when a side of earth faces the sun, it is day & on the opposite side, it is night.