Question

1. latanya is a space enthusiast who made this diagram of the moon and earth, as seen from above their orbit, with sunlight coming from the left, as shown by the arrows. why does latanya’s diagram show that it’s brighter on the left half of the moon? (ngss ms - ess1 - 1)

diagram: earth in the center, moon orbiting earth, sunlight arrows coming from the left, left half of moon is bright, right half is dark

a. because latanya’s diagram is showing that the half of the moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.

b. because the moon has some lighter - colored rock and some darker - colored rock, and latanya’s diagram is showing that the half of the moon with the lighter - colored rock has rotated to the left.

c. because as the moon gets closer to the sun more of it will be lit by the sun, so latanya...

Explanation:

The diagram shows sunlight coming from the left. The bright left half of the Moon is the portion facing the incoming sunlight, while the right half is dark because it is turned away from the sun and not illuminated. Option A correctly describes this relationship between sunlight direction and the illuminated portion of the Moon.

Answer:

A. Because Latorrel's diagram is showing that the half of the Moon that is facing the sun is lit by the sun, and the other half is dark.