Shade in the Earth and Moon from the Top-View below.
Why do you think the Moon might appear half illuminated even when the moon is behind the Earth in a top view?
Why do you think the appearance of the Moon and the stone sphere is similar in this way? (Hint: Think about the light in the image.)

Model the Earth, Moon, Sun system below.
Investigation Question: If half of the Moon is always illuminated, why does its appearance from Earth change?
Claim 1: The Moon’s appearance changes because Earth casts a shadow on the Moon.
Claim 2: The Moon’s appearance changes because the position of the Moon changes.
View from Earth Modeling:
Use the simulation to model the moon from the Top-View, and View from Earth at each of the locations below.
Do:
Complete the Top-View moon diagram indicating how much of the moon is illuminated
Draw Earth View perspective lines from a single point on Earth to each side of the closest Moon
Draw the correct Moon Phase (view from Earth) for each of the Moon Phases below
How does the position of the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth impact when the moon is darkest from the View from Earth? Lightest?
"when the moon is closet to the sun it appars (bright/dark) from earth. This is because ... "
Draw the correct Moon phase (view from Earth) to the location at each of the places around the Earth.
Explain why the moon appears different in each position from Earth? What patterns can you observe to predict the next moon phase?

(think: How does ithe moons position impact how much light we see?)