The document discusses several facts about the moon, including that it is about one-quarter the size of Earth, made of rock, and reflects sunlight giving it a bright appearance. It has no atmosphere or weather and the low gravity allows astronauts to jump higher but makes living there challenging without protective gear and life support. The surface contains mountains and craters formed by asteroid impacts.

1. What Do You Know About the Moon?
By Cindy Grigg
1
Photo Credit: NASA. Scientist-Astronaut
Harrison H. Schmitt is photographed
standing next to a huge, split boulder during
the third Apollo 17 extravehicular activity
(EVA-3) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site on
the Moon. Schmitt is the Apollo 17 lunar
module pilot. This picture was taken by
Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander.
2
Look up at night and the first thing you most likely see is the
moon. What do you know about the moon?
3
How big is it? If the Earth were the size of a basketball, the
moon would be about the size of a tennis ball or an apple. The
moon looks a lot bigger than the stars, but it's just because the
moon is closer to Earth than any star is.
4
How close to Earth is the moon? Not very close - almost a
quarter million miles away!
5
What is the moon made of? The moon is made of rock like
Earth is. In fact, scientists think that a large comet or asteroid
might have hit Earth and knocked a big chunk off of it. That chunk
became our moon.
6
Why is the moon so bright? The moon doesn't make light. The
sun's light is reflected off the rocky surface of the moon.
7
Could people live on the moon? The moon has no air and no
water. There is nothing living on the moon. Men have walked on
the moon. They had to take their own air to breathe. They had to
take food and water, too. They had to wear spacesuits to keep
them warm and cool. At night, the moon gets very cold. During
the day it is hotter than boiling water! Spacesuits were also
needed to protect them from the sun's harmful rays. The

2. astronauts stayed only a few days. It would be hard to live on the
moon.
8
The sky above the moon is always black. Why isn't the sky
blue? That's because there's no atmosphere like here on Earth.
Earth's atmosphere scatters light waves, giving our sky a blue
color.
9
What is the weather like on the moon? There isn't any!
Because there's no atmosphere on the moon, there's no wind or
rain, either. The footprints the astronauts left in the dust are still
there, even after forty years!
10
Would walking on the moon be like walking on Earth? No.
There's much less gravity on the moon. The astronauts were able
to carry much more on the moon than they could have on Earth. If
you see a video of astronauts walking on the moon, it looks like
they were doing the bunny hop! With less gravity, each step made
the astronauts bounce high off the ground. But the moon's gravity
is strong enough to pull on Earth's oceans and cause high and
low tides.
11
Is the surface of the moon like Earth's surface? The moon has
mountains, valleys, and flat plains. There are no rivers or oceans.
When we look up at the moon, we see lighter and darker places.
The light places are highlands. The dark places are lower plains.
They are called maria (MAHR-ee-uh) because long ago people
thought they were seas. The word "maria" is Latin for seas. The
surface of the moon is covered with craters. These depressions
were caused when comets, asteroids, and meteoroids hit the
moon's surface. Some people think the light and dark places
make the moon look like a face. That's why some people talk
about "the Man in the Moon."
Copyright © 2012 edHelper
Name _____________________________ Date ___________________

3. What Do You Know About the Moon?
1. How far from Earth is the 2. What is the moon made of?
moon? Green cheese
Almost a quarter million Rock
miles A man
Almost a half million
miles
Almost three-quarter
million miles
3. Does the moon make light? 4. It is cold on the moon all the
No time.
Yes No
Yes
5. What is the weather like on 6. Gravity on the moon is
the moon? ______ gravity on Earth.
Much more than
Much less than
The same as

4. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
7. There are seas on the moon. 8. Why do some people think
False the moon looks like a face?
True

5. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
"It would be hard to live on the moon." Tell why the writer said this. Give as many reasons
as you can.

6. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
Write five facts you know about the moon.

7. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
Would you like to take a trip to the moon? Tell why or why not. If you went, what would
you need to take with you?

8. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
One of the astronauts hit a golf ball on the moon. The ball went a lot farther than it would
have on Earth. What sport would you like to play on the moon? Tell why.

9. Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
What Do You Know About the Moon?
What is it that you would like to know about the moon?