Question
For a 60-day period, Amy observes how much of the lit side of the moon is visible each night. She starts her observations on a night when 0 percent of the lit side of the Moon is visible.
This is a line graph that represents how much of the Moon is visible to Amy each night of the 60-day period.
Predict the night when the next full moon will occur after Amy’s 60 days of observations. Explain your answer.
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This is a line graph that represents how much of the Moon is visible to Amy each night of the 60-day period.
Predict the night when the next full moon will occur after Amy’s 60 days of observations. Explain your answer.
Skip to input field
300 of 300 words remaining
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To predict the night of the next full moon after Amy’s observations, we need to understand the lunar cycle. The moon goes through various phases, ranging from new moon (0% visibility) to full moon (100% visibility) and back to new moon. This entire cycle takes about 29.5 days.
Since Amy begins her observations on a night when 0% of the lit side is visible, this indicates that she starts her observation period on a new moon. Over the following days, she will see the visibility of the lit side increase until it reaches a full moon, which will occur approximately 14-15 days after the new moon.
If Amy observes the moon for a total of 60 days, we should consider how many complete lunar cycles fit into those 60 days:
1. Each lunar cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days.
2. In 60 days, there will be about 60 / 29.5 ≈ 2.03 lunar cycles.
This means there are about 2 complete cycles within the 60-day period, plus an additional few days into the third cycle.
Now, if we define the events in her observation period:
- New moon (0% visibility) → Day 0
- Half moon (50% visibility) → Day 7-14
- Full moon (100% visibility) → Day 14-15
- Back to new moon (0% visibility) → Day 29
If her observations end at day 60, we can calculate:
- The first new moon at Day 0,
- The first full moon around Day 14-15,
- The second new moon around Day 29,
- The second full moon around Day 43-44.
After 60 days, we are looking for the next full moon:
- The second full moon: Day 43-44,
- The new moon following it: Day 58-59,
- Therefore, the next full moon will occur approximately on Day 14 of the next 29.5-day cycle.
So, 60 + 14 = Day 74.
Thus, we can conclude that the next full moon after Amy's 60 days of observations will occur around Day 74.
Since Amy begins her observations on a night when 0% of the lit side is visible, this indicates that she starts her observation period on a new moon. Over the following days, she will see the visibility of the lit side increase until it reaches a full moon, which will occur approximately 14-15 days after the new moon.
If Amy observes the moon for a total of 60 days, we should consider how many complete lunar cycles fit into those 60 days:
1. Each lunar cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days.
2. In 60 days, there will be about 60 / 29.5 ≈ 2.03 lunar cycles.
This means there are about 2 complete cycles within the 60-day period, plus an additional few days into the third cycle.
Now, if we define the events in her observation period:
- New moon (0% visibility) → Day 0
- Half moon (50% visibility) → Day 7-14
- Full moon (100% visibility) → Day 14-15
- Back to new moon (0% visibility) → Day 29
If her observations end at day 60, we can calculate:
- The first new moon at Day 0,
- The first full moon around Day 14-15,
- The second new moon around Day 29,
- The second full moon around Day 43-44.
After 60 days, we are looking for the next full moon:
- The second full moon: Day 43-44,
- The new moon following it: Day 58-59,
- Therefore, the next full moon will occur approximately on Day 14 of the next 29.5-day cycle.
So, 60 + 14 = Day 74.
Thus, we can conclude that the next full moon after Amy's 60 days of observations will occur around Day 74.