Day, Night and Time
Students explore how Earth's rotation causes day and night, the apparent motion of the Sun, the difference between solar and sidereal days, time zones, evidence that Earth spins, and how the Moon is slowly lengthening Earth's day.
Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops7 stops
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What students will see and do
Students circle Earth five times to study its spin, the day and night line, the true length of a day, time zones and Foucault's pendulum, and visit the Sun and the Moon along the way. The class pauses at two discussion stops: the Sun, about apparent motion, and the Moon, about the length of a day.
Learning objectives
- Explain how Earth's rotation causes day and night and the apparent east to west motion of the Sun and stars.
- Calculate Earth's rotation speed at the equator from its circumference and the length of a day.
- Distinguish a solar day from a sidereal day and explain the roughly 4 minute difference.
- Describe evidence for Earth's rotation, including Foucault's pendulum and storm rotation, and how fossil coral growth bands show the spin has slowed.
NGSS connections
| MS-ESS1-1 | Students use models of the Earth, Sun and Moon system to explain cyclic patterns of day and night, the apparent motion of the Sun, and the length of the day. |
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Stops on this journey
- A Spinning World
- The Sun Stands Still (discussion stop)
- The Line Between Day and Night
- What Is a Day, Really?
- Slicing the World into Time Zones
- Proof That Earth Spins
- A Day on the Moon (discussion stop)
Vocabulary
- rotation
- axis
- terminator
- twilight
- solar day
- sidereal day
- time zone
- International Date Line