Question

1. three students made the diagrams above to show what they think the moon looks like when it is seen from above (top view). in these diagrams, the sunlight is coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. which diagram is accurate and why?note: these diagrams are not to scale.a. diagram a is accurate because the whole moon is bright as long as there are no shadows covering parts of it.b. diagram b is accurate because the moon is almost as close as it can be to the sun, so the moon is almost fully lit by the sun.c. diagram c is accurate because the half of the moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.d. all three diagrams are sometimes accurate because the moon has some lighter-colored rock and some darker-colored rock, and the half of the moon with the lighter-colored rock rotates to face different directions.

Explanation:

From a top view with sunlight coming from the left, only the half of the Moon facing the sun is illuminated, while the half facing away remains dark. Diagram C correctly depicts this, as the sunlit left half of the Moon is bright, and the right half (facing away from the sun) is dark. The other options are incorrect: A shows the entire Moon lit (impossible, since only the sun-facing half gets light), B incorrectly links proximity to the sun to full illumination, and D misattributes the Moon's appearance to rock color rather than sunlight.

Answer:

C. Diagram C is accurate because the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.