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Summaries · Grade 6 Natural Sciences › Moon phases, space vehicles and design
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Moon phases, space vehicles and design

Moon phases and eclipses, spacecraft and rovers, the SKA, and constraints and specifications. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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Phases and eclipses

NewmoonWaxingcrescentFirstquarterWaxinggibbousFullmoonWaninggibbousLastquarterWaningcrescent
One cycle takes about 29½ days.
  • The Sun always lights half of the Moon; the phases show how much of that lit half we see from Earth. The Earth’s shadow does not cause the phases.
  • Solar eclipse: the Moon covers the Sun (new moon).
  • Not every month: the Moon’s orbit is slightly tilted.
  • Never look directly at a solar eclipse.
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Space vehicles

VehicleFact
Apollo 111969: first people on the Moon
CuriosityNASA rover, 2012 in Gale Crater on Mars
Perseverance + Ingenuity2021 on Mars; the helicopter flew in Mars’s thin air
  • A rover needs special wheels to grip loose sand and rocks; Moon and Mars rovers differ because of gravity and dust.
  • Mars rovers are controlled by a computer: a radio signal takes minutes to reach Mars.
  • Robots are safer and cheaper than people; they look for signs of water and past life.
  • A spacesuit supplies oxygen and protects against heat and cold: the Moon has no air.
A rover explores the red sand of Mars.
A rover explores the red sand of Mars.
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The SKA and design

Artificial satellites help with phones, weather and GPS maps. The SKA, being built in the Karoo and in Australia, will gather radio waves from space; many dishes and antennas will work together as one huge telescope.

Constraint (limit)Specification (requirement)
“We have only R50.”“It must carry 2 kg.”
Rule

We evaluate a design to see whether it meets the specifications.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • A solar eclipse can only happen at new moon; a lunar eclipse at full moon.
  • A rover explores a surface; a lander touches down; an orbiter circles above and takes photos.
  • Apollo 11 (1969): Neil Armstrong was first on the Moon; 12 people have walked on it.
  • The SKA (Square Kilometre Array) is a giant radio telescope being built in the Karoo in South Africa and in Australia: many dishes and antennas will work together as one. MeerKAT’s 64 dishes will become part of it.
  • A constraint limits (“only R50”); a specification requires (“it must carry 2 kg”).

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

New moon = solar eclipse. Full moon = lunar eclipse. Constraint = “I may not”; specification = “I must”.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

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