It takes 29.5 days for the Moon to orbit Earth. How many days and hours does it take for the Moon to move through a quarter phase?

7 days 10 hours per quarter

7 days 15 hours per quarter

7 days per quarter

7 days and 5 hours per quarter

1 answer

The Moon takes approximately 29.5 days to complete one full orbit around the Earth, which corresponds to a full lunar cycle (new moon to new moon). This full cycle includes all the phases of the Moon: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.

To find out how long it takes to go through a quarter phase, we can divide the total days in a lunar month by 4:

\[ \frac{29.5 \text{ days}}{4} = 7.375 \text{ days} \]

Now, converting 0.375 days into hours (since there are 24 hours in a day):

\[ 0.375 \times 24 \text{ hours} = 9 \text{ hours} \]

So, 7.375 days can be expressed as 7 days and 9 hours.

None of the options provided perfectly match this calculation. However, the closest option in terms of the common division of lunar phases is 7 days and 5 hours per quarter, though it's worth noting it's slightly under the calculated time.

Thus, the most fitting answer from the given choices is:

7 days and 5 hours per quarter.