• Objectives:

    1.  The Earth, Sun and Moon are all part of our solar system.

    2.  One way to gather data is through observations. Accurate and complete observations are important for making conclusions about the natural world.

    3.  Scientists use common units of measurement to collect data. This system is known as the metric or international system. (IS)

    4.  Scientists collect reproducible data, from which they can provide evidence for scientific ideas and explanations.

    5.  Scientists communicate their procedures and explanations.

    6.  Scientists evaluate others’ explanations.

    7.  The direction and angle of the Sun’s rays hitting Earth determine the direction and length of shadows.

    8.  The apparent movement of the Sun during the day can be used to determine the time of day.

    9.  The rotation of a planet (in this case Earth) around its axis explains the length of the planet’s day.

    10. Scientist’s explanations rely on evidence, logically consistent arguments, and scientific models.

    11. Science and technology have advanced through contributions of many different people in different cultures and at different times in history.

    12. The yearly cycle of the seasons prompts us to generate questions and ideas about the causes of the cycle.

    13. The length of the day and the height of the Sun in the sky vary as the seasons change.

    14. Graphs provide visual representations of numerical data.

    15. The yearly cycle of the seasons prompts us to generate questions and ideas about the causes of the cycle.

    16. The length of the day and the height of the sun in the sky vary as the seasons change.

    17. Revolution of a planet around the Sun explains its year length and seasons.

    18. Seasons result from variation as Earth revolves around the Sun in the length of the daylight and the intensity of the Sun’s energy hitting the surface, due to the tilt of Earth’s axis.

    19. Models can help us describe and explain natural phenomena.

    20. People from many cultures have studied the skies to predict seasonal changes.

    21. Motions of a planet explain its day length, year length, and seasons.

    22. The Moon’s appearance changes in a regular and repeated pattern.

    23. The lunar cycle allows us to predict future phases of the Moon and prompts us to generate questions and ideas about the causes of this cycle.

    24. Extreme tides occur on or near the full Moon and new Moon.

    25. Gravity and the rotation of the Earth explain the tides.