1. How the Moon Affects the Earth
Name
Questions
How the Moon Affects the Earth 1. What was one effect of Earth being hit by an asteroid or
comet?
By Cindy Grigg A. the moon's gravity
B. seasons on the moon
Photo credit: NASA C. ocean waves
D. seasons on Earth
You already know that the moon's
gravity pulls on Earth's oceans and 2. Moon's gravity pulls on Earth and prevents ______ that might
causes tides. But the moon affects Earth cause more severe weather events.
in other ways, too. Here are a few things A. spinning
you may not know about our moon. B. tides
C. wobbling
Many scientists believe that some
object the size of the planet Mars hit 3. One effect of the moon on Earth's oceans is ______.
Earth. It may have been a comet or an
asteroid, but whatever it was, it knocked A. tides
a huge chunk of Earth into space. This B. hurricanes
chunk became our moon. The collision caused Earth to tilt sideways C. tsunamis
slightly on its axis, giving us our seasons of spring, summer, fall, and D. none of the above
winter.
4. Do you believe that Earth's slower rotation had a good or bad
Some scientists believe that the moon's gravity has slowed the effect on Earth?
speed of Earth's rotation on its axis. Days that used to be ten hours
long are now twenty-four hours. The speed of rotating once in only
ten hours caused winds of up to 125 miles per hour on Earth.
Slowing the rotation speed slowed wind speeds. This, in turn, gave
us milder weather.
The moon's gravity pulls on Earth and helps it spin without much
wobbling on its axis. It gives Earth a more even climate. More
wobbling might cause more severe weather events on Earth. 5. List the effects of the moon on Earth. (There are five
mentioned in the story.)
The moon may well have been a part of the Earth at one time.
Now the two are close neighbors in space. Because of the close
relationship, the Earth pulls on the moon, and the moon pulls on the
Earth. We see this pulling in the ocean tides. There are unseen
effects, too.

2. Name
It may be difficult to understand the moon's effects on Earth. Write a
letter to a student in a younger grade to explain the moon's effects on
Earth in your own words.