Lesson 4 of 84 · Space
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseThe Moon and Its Phases
The Moon and Its Phases.
🎯 Your mission
Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.
⚡ The twist
Up there, the rules of down here stop working.
Mind = Blown
🪐 A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?
What You'll Learn
The moon orbits Earth about once every 27 days. We see different moon phases (new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, full) because the sun illuminates different portions as it orbits.
Key Words
- revolution
- galaxy
Materials Needed
- dark room
- paper plate
- markers
- string
Safety First
- Tie back long hair before starting the experiment.
- Protect your work surface with newspaper or plastic.
- Adult supervision recommended.
Steps
Review the background information on Space before starting.
Calculate your weight on different planets by multiplying your Earth weight by each planet's gravity factor. Make a bar graph of the results.
Look for patterns in your observations.
Make a graph or chart showing your results.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What causes moon phases?
Where you see this in real life
Every sunrise and every shadow is this idea in action.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Look at the moon tonight. Notice its shape. Look again in 3 days.
For the dinner table
“If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Checkout complete lesson on Space for 8th Grade
Get the full Space track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.