Science Assignment 1

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Kim Hartley

Student Number- 20904573

EDUC5508Integrated Studies from K-&: Science Focus

Assignment 1 Childrens Views of Science

Topic What Caused Day and Night.

Due 2nd April 2013

Word Count 7, 000


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quite limited for young children. The child then constructs meaning from the experience they have had,

often leading to an incomplete understanding, such as the clouds cover the Sun. The child then applies

these experiences to different contexts to develop consistent ideas about how the world works, for

example thinking that the moon is hiding behind the clouds. Until these perspectives are challenged the

child will believe them to be true even in the new experiences they have. Once teachers are able to

identify a students prior knowledge they can then evaluate that knowledge for a ny misconceptions.

However, childrens belief in their prior knowledge can be very strong and they dont always change

their existing perceptions. They may provide resistance to new scientific ideas because they are satisfied

with their own conceptions and see little value in the new concept being taught to them. When a childs

existing knowledge prevails the science concept is rejected or misinterpreted to fit the childs existing

knowledge. In order to foster conceptual change and enhance conceptual understanding children need

to experience cognitive conflict and dissatisfaction with their existing ideas (Chiras & Valanides, 2008).Teachers also need to provide a rich and varied number of experiences and promote a more

appropriate understanding of the scientific concepts (Campbell & Jobling, 2012, p31). Understanding

the prior knowledge their students bring into the classroom allows teachers to prepare their lessons and

activities to help students possibly correct their perceptions or build on from them, creating meaningful

learning (Russ & Sherin, 2013).

SCIENCE TOPIC AND BACKGROUND CONTENT


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Earth is a planet which is part of a larger Solar System. In the Solar System we are apart of there is also a

medium sized star which we call the Sun. There are also seven other planets and numerous moons,

comets, asteroids and dust particles. The Sun is the only star within our Solar System and is much closer

to Earth than any other star. That is why the Sun seems much larger and brighter than other stars. Light

from the Sun reaches the Earth in eight minutes compared to the four years from other the next closest

stars to Earth (Australian Academy of Science, 2012). The stars we see in the sky at night are actually

part of other galaxies and are very far away. Our Solar System is just a fraction of what constitutes theknown universe. Our Solar System is part of the Milky Way Galaxy which contains tens of billions of

stars, and an unknown number of orbiting planets. The universe comprises billions of galaxies. When we

look at the sky we can see the other Solar Systems that make up the Milky Way Galaxy. They appear as a

mass of stars spread in a cloud like formation in the night sky. The Sun and the whole Solar System are

moving at great speed through the Milky Way Galaxy (Australian Academy of Science, 2012).

The Sun is significantly bigger than

anything else in our Solar Systemcontaining 99 percent of the total mass

of the system. Everything in our Solar

System is pulled towards the Sun

because the Suns gravity is so big. This


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different times. Although every day is 24 hours long, not everyone experiences twelve hours of daylight

each day. Although twelve hours is the average length of daylight around the globe, this number can

vary dramatically. Locations around the Earth's equator receive about 12 hours of sunlight each day.

Places like the North Pole receive daylight constantly for months at a time in the summer and then

months of darkness in the winter. These two annual times of light and dark are separated by a long

sunrise and a long sunset. This differentiation in the lengths of day and night occur because Earth's axis

is tilted 23.5 degrees (Wiley & Royce, 2000). I nstead of being a straight vertical line, the Earths axis tilts

giving different areas of the globe varied exposure to the sun. As Earth orbits our Sun, the axis points

toward the same location in space. This means that during Earth's movement around our Sun each year,

our polar regions spend long periods pointed toward our Sun in the summer and long periods pointed

away from our Sun during the winter (Lunar and Planetary Institute, 2012). Other planets also

experience these changes in day and night length because they too are tilted on their axes. The otherplanets vary in how extreme their axis is tilted compared to Earths. Some planets are very similar while

others differ greatly. Jupiter is tilted only 3 degrees, so its change in day and night length as it moves

around the Sun is less extreme than that of Earth. Uranus is on a 98 degree tilt has complete darkness

and winter in the North Pole for 42 Earth years while the South Pole experiences summer and daylight

for 42 years (Lunar and Planarity Institute, 2012).

ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS

Children have many alternative views what caused the day and night phenomena. The main

misconceptions are that the Sun and Moon move around the Earth to cause day and night; the belief

that there are two Earths, one on which we live and one up in the sky; and that there are two skies, one

for night time which contains a Moon and stars, and another for daytime which has the Sun. While

children may correctly understand that the Earths movements cause the changes, this is the limit of

their scientific understanding.

There are different stages of conceptual development that children move through as they are

developing their depth of knowledge about scientific concepts, including the phenomena of day and

night. The first stage is called nave, this is where students believe that Sun is moving across the sky and

the Earth remains still. These views will be influenced by the child s everyday life as children at this stage

understand the world only from their personal perspective (Schwarz, Schur, Pensso & Tayer, 2011).


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The children who participated in this research project were selected for two main reasons. The first

reason is due to the ages of the children, one is eight and the other is six. This age gap means that the

children are in different years at school and different stages of learning. By interviewing these children

there was a higher probability that the research would uncover various stages of misconceptions. The

children were also chosen because of their relationships they have with each other as they are brother

and sister. They have a close relationship and feel comfortable with each other. This provides an existing

support person who they can use during the interview process to provide them more confidence and

power during the interview process. Having another child that they know will help to put the children at

ease and encourage them to be more involved in the interview process.

The children were also selected because they are my own. They are constantly exposed to the different

elements that are involved in university study and how the process works. They know that there is a lot

of reading involved, that reports and assignments are typed on the computer, they understand that

there is a teacher who will read and mark the assignments that are handed in. They also know where

they university is and have visited on several occasions. They are aware that the university is similar to

the school they attend, only bigger and for adults. They find it fascinating and are keen to be involved in

important parts of university life. This background knowledge means that these children will be able to

understand more about what is involved in a project like this and the intentions for the data.

Being the mother of these children has pros and cons. it means that consent was easily obtained, that

access to the children was flexible and that the interests and needs of the children were well understood

before the interview was planned. However, precautions were put in place to prevent the unequal

power relationship between mother and child interfering with the interview process. This was done by

allowing Cara Webling to conduct the interview and limiting my role as note taker. This created genuine

data and interview experience.

Ethical Issues

The rights of children have been formally recognized by and are enforced in many different countries.

The Convention on the Rights of The Child 1989 recognized that a child who has the capability to form

their own view has the right to express their own views. The Nuremburg Code of Ethics states that the

voluntary consent of a human participant in the research process is absolutely essential, this includes

the consent of children who have often become victims of research when the benefits shifted from the

child to the researcher (Harcourt & Sargeant, 2011). The care and protection of the child involved in any


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they should understand what will be expected of them, the consequences and possible risks of taking

part, what will happen to the data and how the results will be used. The children must also be able to

understand that participation is voluntary and that they have the right to withdraw at any time

(Harcourt & Sargeant, 2011). When research is conducted with school children who have not yet

reached the age of consent it is important to inform and include the adults who are responsible for

them, be it their parents, teachers or other relevant authorities. In the case of this project the parents

were responsible (Einarsdottir, 2007). They were kept informed at all times.

Interview Process

The interview process was structured to be relaxed and informal. We conducted the interview outside

on a lawn area. We set up the interview to be more like a conversation between the researcher and the

children to help the children feel comfortable and relay their knowledge more naturally. Einarsdottir(2007) suggests that interviewing with children should primarily be focused on providing children with

an opportunity to be heard, that they should be more about listening to what the children say than

asking questions. Interviews and observations are the preferred methods used in research with children

as their knowledge is often implicit, the child may not be aware of what knowledge they have and these

methods allow them to communicate their knowledge more effectively. (Graue & Walsh, 1998).

The interview began with the two children deciding what name they would like for a pseudonym. Once

this was done they were handed some blank paper and a large selection of textas and pencils werespread on the grass in front of them. They were told that they could use whatever they wanted to draw

what they thought caused day and night. The children drew two pictures each. The first picture they

drew spontaneously, and the second picture they were asked to draw the earth, sun and moon on the

same piece of paper. The questions asked started by having the children explain their basic

understanding of the topic. As the interview progressed the questioning looked at certain details at

greater length. The questions asked towards the end of the interview were directed at trying to

understand if the children could apply their knowledge to other situations, allowing their true

understandings to come out. Two Ipads were used to collect audio recordings of the interview. This was

to ensure that the conversations and understandings were recorded accurately. The apps were turned

on and then the Ipads were left amongst the scattered textas and pencils next to the children. This

allowed the children to forget that they were being recorded and encouraged them to interact naturally

with the researcher.


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Childrens drawings have widely been used for discovering y oung childrens views and expe riences.

Drawings are a useful research tool as they provide a way for children to communicate through

nonverbal expression, and the children are active and creative while they draw. Most children are also

familiar with the activity of drawing, they can change and add to the drawings as they choose, and

drawings often take time so that a quick response is not demanded (Kose, 2008). Using the drawings

allowed for the children to explain their ideas but also gave the children the opportunity to talk about

what they understood about the topic. Having the interviewer listen to the children as they drew was

just as important as the childrens narratives and interpretations of their drawings can allows better

insight into their thinking than interpreting their drawings would have (Einarsdottir, 2007). The drawings

were then interpreted in conjunction with the explanations given by the children.

Before the interview began the children noticed the tropical garden area next to the lawn. They asked if

they could play in amongst the trees. They were told that they could play hide in seek after they

complete their interview. Once the interview was over the children played hide and seek with Cara

Webling, which they loved. They left the interview feeling happy and wanting to know when they could

see Cara again because they thought she was fantastic. This shows that they felt comfortable during the

interview, they could relate equally to the interviewer and they enjoyed their time with the researcher.

SUMARY OF RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION

The results of the interview clearly show that the children held some correct and incorrect conceptions

on this topic. The science conceptions that they did know were heavily fragmented and intertwined with

non-scientific concepts, however this is quite common for children in the age group of 4-9 (Kallery,

2011). It was as if the children had a pile of information snippets and when asked a question they would

select a snippet to recall. When asked the question again or in a slightly different way they would select

a different snippet of information, and this may contradict what they first said. They were then made to

compare the two snippets of information and decide which one was correct. Very little of the

information they knew was a complete idea. It was clearly visible that they had picked up bits and piecesof information from different sources and used them to complete an all-encompassing idea, like a

mosaic, only instead of all the pieces being glass, some were actually plastic.

The children were able to explain that the sun was made of fireballs and that i t was extremely hot.

They went further with this idea to explain that because Mars was closer to the Sun it was hotter than


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Earth, and that Pluto was freezing because it was so far away from the Sun. The children also explained

that the Earth was bigger t han the Moon, but it s not bigger than the Sun, the Sun is bigger than all the

other planetsthe Sun is th e biggest planet in the galaxy (Appendix 2). The basic concepts taught to

children at this age group are evident here. The fact that Che says the sun is the biggest planet in the

galaxy shows that the more complicated scientific understanding of our Sun being a Star, and Our Solar

Systems placement within the Universe has yet to be taught and grasped. This however, is quite

common for this age as it is only in year five that school students are taught about Earths place within

the larger of planets (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority).

Both of the children understood that there is both night time and day time on earth at any one moment,

because the Sun and Moon are on one side and when the Earth changes the night goes to the other

side (Appendix 2). This knowledge comes from having family members who live in other countries and

come from different time zones. The children did not hold any scientific concepts about why this was

able to occur, they only knew that it did occur. There was no mention or indication that the children

understood that it is the Earths shadow that causes night and day. Instead the prevailing concept was

that there are two skies, one with a Sun, and the other with a Moon. Both children located the Sun and

Moon opposite sides earth when they drew their pictures.

Rudy held a mixture of actual scientific concepts and inaccurate concepts. Rudy knows that the Moon

goes around the Earth, but he believes that this movement causes the day and night cycle. Rudy and Che

agree that the Moon reflects the light from the Sun and this is what makes it glow at night. Rudy also

understands that you can have night without the Moon where Che does not understand this. Che, who

also believes that there are two skies, said that the Sun is in the daytimes sky and the Moon is in the

nigh time sky and you are not able to have night time without the Moon. There is actually a moment in

the interview when Rudy tries to explain to Che how you can have the Moon during the day. Che

however, dismisses Rudys explanation because it conflicts with her existing understanding. Che does

however change her existing understanding of day and night on other planets when given a new

perspective from the researcher during the interview.

The children were asked how long each day was. Neither child understood that there were 24 hours in a

daily cycle. Che demonstrated some understanding and knew that the number 24 had something to do

with it, but attributed this number to both day and night. This also shows that Che perceives night and

day to be two distinctly different things, not part of the one cycle. Rudy was unable to estimate a


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realistic timeframe, however, he has not yet learned to tell the time and this may be blocking his ability

to answer this question properly. The childrens lack of understanding w as also confirmed when they are

asked how fast the Earth spins. Their reply was that the Earth rotates very slowly, it spins very, very,

very, skip 140 verys slowly (Appendix 2). This demonstrates no correlation in their thinking between

the Earths spin to the day and night cycle. This was interesting considering that Che first answered that

the Earth spinning caused day and night.

In summary, Che is in the Synthetic stage of concept development and understand some scientific

concepts and integrates these with her own understanding of how the world works. Che does

understand that the Earth is part of a larger Solar system which contains the Sun. She also comprehends

the notion of different time zones on Earth but does not know the concept behind this. Che understands

that the Earth rotates but does not connect this movement to day and night. Che knows that the Earth is

a sphere and that people live all over the surface of the Earth. At the same time, some of Ches

understanding shows that she remains nave about some things Che believes that the Sun and Moon are

on opposite sides of the Earth creating a day and night sky and that Earth rotates to change from day to

night. Che does know that the Moon reflects the suns light but does not believe that you can have night

without the Moon.

Rudy would also be in the Synthetic stage of concept development. He does not know what causes day

and night but assumes that the Moon orbiting the Earth is the cause. Rudy believes that the Sun and

Moon both move around a stationary Earth to cause day and night also. Rudy understands that the

Earth is part of a larger system of planets which includes the Sun. Rudy has an understanding of how the

Moon reflects sunlight and that we can have the Moon in the sky during the day. He does not base night

on the appearance of the Moon. Alongside these understandings Rudy believes that if the Earth did not

move we would all freeze, demonstrating that some of his thinking is still in the nave stage.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Neither child who participate in the interview held the mental model of two Earths or the Earth rotating

around the Sun. Their pictures both clearly show that the Earth is a stationary object with the Sun and

Moon rotating around the Earth causing day and night. The children seemed to hold some of the

common is conceptions that the literature mentioned and they also had an understanding of some

complex science ideas. I also noticed that the children held a mixture of ideas that were represented in


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instruction. The use of Constructionist ideas in teaching astronomy concepts has proven to make

significant improvements in the understanding of such concepts compared to standard text-book based

instruction (Trumper, 2001). In the constructivist perspective learning is constructed by from experience

children have had in their everyday lives, this prior knowledge is explored and then extended to form

scientific understandings (Trumper, 2001). There are several considerations teachers need to be aware

of when creating an effective sequence of lessons. The first is to uncover the childrens existing prior

knowledge and use this as a starting point for teaching materials and lesson sequences. Children need to

be made aware of what their views are and any uncertainties they may have. Then the students need to

be confronted with the scientifically accepted views, and finally teachers need to provide experiences

that will help change students views and conceptions, encouraging them to take on the scientifically

approved concept (kallery, 630) Because conceptual change does not happen quickly and requires

students to think and rethink about ideas in a multitude of situations, children would require severalopportunities to manipulate the new information given to them to allow their concept to change

gradually (Kallery, 2011). Children who have had the chance to use 3D concrete models are more likely

to understand the movements of the Earth and effects of the Earths rotation on its axis (Kallery, 2011).

Recommended Sequence of Lessons

Lesson 1: The first activity should allow students to examine what knowledge they already have on the

topic and any questions they may have. Brainstorming or concept mapping would be useful here, as well

as a class discussion. Class discussions which make publically visible good thinking practices will help

students to internalize these capabilities for themselves even if the students are not at this level of

understanding yet (Sprod, 2011).

Lesson 2: In this lesson students should be encouraged to experiment with different shadows and ways

that they can alter the shapes of shadows. Different examples can be found in Planting the Seeds of

Science by Howitt and Blake. The activities in this resource include children dressing up to alt er their

shadows, students taking photos of one anothers shadows, and finding the shadows of different

objects. Students can also create flow charts to examine the moving shadows over a certain period. The

Primary Connections program offers different ways in which this can be done, either by using a camera

or simply drawing the shadows the children can see (Australian Academy of Science, 2012). This work


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The content of childrens prior knowledge is unpredictable as they pick up information from multiple

sources and each child will transform this knowledge in their own individual way. Prior knowledge is

quite powerful in determining how and what children will learn. If not correctly identified and

addressed, this prior knowledge may prevent children from learning the correct scientific concepts they

are taught. While I learnt about prior knowl edge through research and lots of reading, it wasnt until I

saw it in practice during the interview that I understood the importance of prior learning for teaching

and learning.

Relate

As a teacher understanding the importance of prior knowledge is essential. It has implications for

teacher from planning learning sequences to implementing lessons in the classroom. Teachers are

unable to provide students with optimal learning environments without first establishing their prior

knowledge and having students recognize this knowledge also (Wang, Wang, Tai & Chen, 2009). With

this knowledge and with sufficient knowledge of different teaching and learning theories, such as

Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development, teachers can help students create more complex an d

sophisticated understandings (Champbell & Jobling, 2012). There are not many teachers who teach

science through teacher focused activities or activities relying heavily on textbook readings. The

importance of students being involved in hands on manipulation of resources to enhance their learning

is very well known. In the past students have viewed science as a boring set of fats that must be learnt.

However, todays teachers are aiming to show their students how science is integrated into everyday lifeand how they can take the knowledge form the science classroom and apply it to their everyday lives

(Sprod, 2011).

Reconstruct

In the future I aim to recognize the knowledge that each student brings into the classroom and the

individualization of this knowledge. The identification of prior knowledge will be the first part of each

learning sequence and will determine the next steps in any teaching program I make. This is easily done

and can be as simple as asking the students a few questions before introducing a new topic. However,

for more complicated topics such as the one addressed in this report it may be necessary to spend a few

lessons looking at students prior knowledge. I will also research the topic I am teaching students before

I tech it to make sure that I am aware of any possible misconceptions students may have. This will allow

me to direct my teaching towards dispelling these misconceptions directly. Finding out possible


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REFERENCES

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Australian Academy of Science. (2012). Primary Connections; Earths Place in Space. Year 5, Australia.

Campbell, C. & Jobling, W. (2012) Science in Early Childhood. Cambridge University Press, Australia.

Campbell. C. & Tytler, R. (2007). Views of Student Learning. The Art of Teaching Science. V. Dawson & G.Venville Eds. Allen and Unwin, NSW.

Chiras. A and N. Valanides, Day/Night: Mental Models of Primary School Children, Science EducationInternational , v.19, No.1, March 2008, pp.65-83

Einarsdttir, J. Research with Children: Methodological and Ethical Challenges. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 15: 2, 197 211.

Graue, M.E. & Walsh, D.J. (1998) Studying Children in Context: Theories, Methods & Ethics.

Harcourt, D & Sareant, J. (2011). The Challenges of Conducting Ethical Research with Children. EducationInquiry . Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.421 436.

Kallery, M. (2011). Astronomical Concepts and Events Awareness for Young Children, International Journal of Science Education , 33:3, 341-369.

Kose, S. (2008), Diagnosing Student Misconceptions: Using Drawings as a Research Method. World Applied Science Journals. 3 (2): 283-293.

Lunar Planetary Institute. (2012). Background on Day and Night (Educators). U niversities Space and Research Program. Accessed on 13/03/2013.http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/day_night/about.shtml

Palma, C. (2011). Day and Night. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The Pennsylvania StateUniversity. Accessed on 13/03/2013, https://www.e-education.psu.edu/astro801/content/l1_p3.html .

Plummer, J., Wasko, D & Slagle, C. (2011). Children Learning to Explain Daily Celestial Motion:Understanding Astronomy Across Moving Frames of Reference. International Journal of ScienceEducation . 33:14, 1963-1992.

Richard, G., Mockton. S., Phillips, G. & Roberts, P. (2006). Science dimensions 1: Essential Learning ,Pearson Australia, Australia.

Russ, R & Sherin, MG. (2013). Using Interviews to Explore Students Ideas in Science. National ScienceTeachers Association .
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Schwarz. B., Schur, Y., Pensso, H. & Tayer, N. (2011). Perspective taking and synchronous argumentationfor learning the day/night cycle. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning . 6:113 138.

Sprod, T. (2011). Discussions in Science. ACER Press. Victoria, Australia.

Trumper, R. (2001). A Cross-age Study of Senior High School Students. Conceptions of Basic Astronomy Concepts, Research in Science & Technological Education, 19:1, 97-109.

Vosnaidou, S. &Brewer, F. (1994). Mental Models of the Day/Night Cycle. Cognitive Science . University of Illinois. 18, 123-183.

Wang, J., Wang, Y., Tai, H. & Chen, W. (2009). Investigating the Effectiveness of Inquiry Based Instructionon Students with Different Prior Knowledge and Reading Abilities. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. October.

Wiley, D. & Royce. C. (2000). Earth and Space Science. Hawker Brownlow Education. Victoria.


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Interview Process

Set up and materials

blank paper

coloring pencils and crayons Ipad with recording app Boards to lean on Question sheet Note paper and pen

Interview

Children meet with interviewer. Children decide what pseudonym they wish to use and create nametags. Interviewer provides the children with the opportunity to ask questions and provides a brief

overview of what activities they will be doing.

Children are given the drawing supplies and asked to draw what they know about day and night and whyit happens.

While children are drawing interviewer will ask questions and listen to childrens responses.

Questions;

Can you draw me what you know about night and day? What causes night and day? Does the Sun move, or the Earth? What about the Moon? What shape is the Earth? How big is it? Can you have night time without the Moon? Can you have day without the sun? Is there day and night on the Moon? Is there day and night on other planets? Does the Earth spin? How fast does the Earth Spin?

Are days and nights always the same length of time? Can you have day and night at the same time? If you lived in Australia and it was night, what would it be on the other side of the Earth, in

America? Can you explain your drawing to me? Can you label all the different parts of your drawing?


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Interview Transcript

K. Hartley & C. Webling, Interview with Che and Rudy; What Causes Day and Night, at the University of Western Australia, conducted on the 22 nd March, 2013.

Interviewer Question Child Response Che and Rudy

Chee, do you know what causes night and day?

How does that cause night and day?

The Earth spinning.

Because the Sun and Moon are on one side and when the Earth changes thenight goes on the other side of the world.

Che, does the Sun move or is it the Earth

Che, what about the Moon, what does the Moon do?

The Earth and I think the Sun and the Moon moves too.

Causes light at night time.

Che, can you tell me what shape the Earth is? Its 3d circle.

Wait, and when the moon, the Moon actually doesn

t have its own light. TheSun reflects on the Moon so the Moons light is actually coming from the Sun.

Rudy, can I ask what you think causes night and day? Ummm, the Moon cause it goes around the Earth.

Rudy, does the Sun move or does the Earth move? The Earth moves, because if the Earth do esnt move then we all freeze.

Well thankfully it do es move, I dont want to freeze . Cause we will be all still and wont be able to move.

And you said that the Moon goes around the Earth, what shape is the Earth?

Lovely answer.

Circle.

How big do u think the Earth is? Huge. Bigger than the Moon. But its not bigger than the Sun, the Sun

is bigger than all the planets.

Is it, wow Im learning lots of things.

So its bigger than the Moon but smaller than the Sun. The Sun is the biggest planet in the galaxy.

Rudy, can you have night time without the Moon? Yeah, if the Sun doesn t reflect it, the Moon is still there but it doesn t reflectfrom the Sun.

Rudy, what are you drawing? A person lying in bed.

Why? Cause its night time.

So night time is when you sleep? Yeah.

Does everybody sleep at night time? Not everybody, on the other side of the world its sunny when we are


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wouldn t even know what it is.

Its an interesting thing isnt it? So she when you are on the

Moon, is it dark, is it black, when people go to the Moon canthey see?

No, the only thing they can see is the white Moon that they are stepping on.

So thats why we havent found aliens? Cause its pitch black in the space sky.

I like that word pitch black. My favorite colour is black.

Youre doing wonderful, your drawings are fantastic, Rudy you are a very good drawer, colouring in lovely.

So Che, is it night, when we have night here in Perth, is it night everywhere? No,

Its not, where is it not night? When its night in the half of the world we are on, the other half, the one on theother side, it s not pitch black over there

Oh thats right, I remember talking about the times?

So Rudy, is there day and night on the other planets?

No one ever knows cause theres different things on every planet, cause its very, very, very cold on Pluto cause its very far away from the Sun.

And Mars is the hottest, Mars is like tornados, a desert that is like hotter thanthe actual desert on Earth.

So is there day and night on other planets? No it s just dark. Dark light dark light.

So having it dark light dark night like that, is that day night day night?

I think so, I change my mind I do think there is day and night on the otherplanets.

Youre answering these questions really well, they arent easy are they?

So Rudy, does the Earth spin? Yeah.

How fast does it spin?

Why does it go slowly?

Um its geos a little bit slow.

Because somethings go slow. Like a turtle goes slow.

Um the Earth moves very, very, slowly, like we don t even notice it. It s likewhen were on Earth, we don t even know the Earth is spinning, it spins very,very, very, skip 140 verys, slowly.

Wow, thats extremely slow. It

s like the Earth isn

t moving like now, it

s completely still.

So is it moving now or not? It is its always is.

Because otherwise we would freeze.

I think its quite good that we dont notice it otherwise Iwould feel quite sick, a bit queasy. Like being on a ride.

Its 24 hours.


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So another question, And how long is a day?

And how longs a night? 24hrs. But sometimes in summer the Sun stays up longer in the afternoon. Butwhen the Sun goes down, a quarter of its top showing, it still night time, butcause its summer the Sun is staying up late. But in winter its dark early.

Why do you think that is? Because winters cold, when the Moon comes up its cold at night and when theSun stays up more in summer because the Sun makes it hot.

And where does the Moon come up from? Um up from like, where probably standing like, we think we are sitting flat outbe we are this side up, the Moon moves around the Earth.

And is the Sun in the same place as the Moon?

Do they take turns?

Er no.

Yes, but they do it at the same time but at different places, so the Sun was onthat side where we were and the Moon was on that side. And when it was nighttime that side the Moon will come around to there and the Sun around tothere.

So does the Sun move round in the day time? When its day time in Australia has the Sun moved around?

Yes.

I think youre learning.

Im learning heaps absolutely heaps.Rudy, are all days thesame length?

Yes.

How long are they?

Theres no wrong answers here. I just want to know what you know and what you can tell me. So how long is a day?

20 minutes. Ahhh 100 hours.

That s more than a day Rudy. It s in the 20s.

Umm 40 hours.

Thank you. Are nights the same length of time? Ummm yes, 40 hours.

Rudy, can we have the Sun and the Moon in the sky at thesame time?

No. Well you could if the Moon goes in front of the Sun and makes a

big sparkle.

Oh does it, how does it do that? Um it say, its a nonfiction book and it and there was a picture on it

that said, it had a picture on it with the Moon in front and the Sun

at the back of it. It was bright.

Explain your drawing Rudy.Um its fireballs going into the Sun, and then Earths in the middle and the Moon goes around the Earth.


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Documents

Science Assignment 1