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8th grade · Science · Unit 9 of 11

Space Systems

Moon phases, eclipses, seasons, gravity and scale.

What your child practices

Practices modeling the Earth-sun-moon system (phases, eclipses and seasons), the role of gravity in the solar system and galaxy, and the scale of objects in the solar system.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: MS-ESS1-1; MS-ESS1-2; MS-ESS1-3 · the Earth-sun-moon system, gravity in the solar system, and its scale

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Moon’s phases depend on how much of its lit half we see.
  2. Seasons come from Earth’s tilt. Tides come mostly from the Moon’s gravity.
  3. A solar eclipse is the Moon between the Sun and Earth; a lunar eclipse is Earth between the Sun and Moon.

Example: The Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. What happens? The Moon blocks the Sun’s light. That is a solar eclipse. Answer: a solar eclipse

Space Systems in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 9 of 11 in 8th grade Science, after Earth's History and before Digital & Analog Signals.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A full moon happens when the moon is…

    • behind the sun
    • very close to Earth
    • between Earth and the sun
    • on the opposite side of Earth from the sun

  2. Question 2

    In December, the noon sun over New York is…

    • lower in the sky than in June
    • below the horizon
    • higher than in June
    • straight overhead

  3. Question 3

    Why does the moon always show the same face to Earth?

    • Earth spins too fast
    • It doesn't spin
    • The far side is dark always
    • It spins once for each orbit

  4. Question 4

    The sun is about how many times wider than Earth?

    • About 109
    • About 1,000,000
    • About 2
    • About 10

  5. Question 5

    A lunar eclipse happens when…

    • clouds hide the moon
    • the moon blocks the sun
    • Earth's shadow falls on the moon
    • the sun blocks the moon

  6. Question 6

    Seasons happen because…

    • the sun turns up
    • Earth's axis is tilted
    • Earth gets closer to the sun in summer
    • the moon blocks light

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