                            Moon ABCs Fact Sheet
   Property                  Earth                     Moon                        Brain Busters

 Equatorial           12,756 km                3,476 km                  How long would it take to drive
 diameter                                                                around the Moon's equator at
                                                                         80 km per hour?

 Surface area         510 million              37.8 million              The Moon's surface area is
                      square km                square km                 similar to that of one of Earth's
                                                                         continents. Which one?

 Mass                 5.98 x 1024 kg           7.35 x 1022 kg            What percentage of Earth's mass
                                                                         is the Moon's mass?

 Volume               ---                      ---                       Can you calculate the volumes of
                                                                         Earth and the Moon?

 Density              5.52 grams per           3.34 grams per            Check this by calculating the
                      cubic cm                 cubic cm                  density from the mass and
                                                                         volume.

 Surface              9.8 m/sec/sec            1.63 m/sec/sec            What fraction of Earth's gravity is
 gravity                                                                 the Moon's gravity?




 Crust                Silicate rocks.          Silicate rocks.           What portion of each body is
                      Continents               Highlands                 crust?
                      dominated by             dominated by
                      granites. Ocean          feldspar-rich
                      crust dominated          rocks and maria
                      by basalt.               by basalt.

 Mantle               Silicate rocks           Similar to Earth.         Collect some silicate rocks and
                      dominated by                                       determine the density. Is the
                      minerals                                           density greater or lesser than the
                      containing iron                                    Earth/Moon's density? Why?
                      and magnesium.



Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ                       17
