Astronomy flashcard question: partial lunar eclipse

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2011
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students were asked near the end of their learning cycle the following think-pair-share question, to be answered using flashcards.

Consider a side view of Earth and its shadow zones, the location of an observer on Earth, and the moon. The sun is located to the left, far off of the page. Which view does this observer see?

Section 70160 (pre-)
(A) : 8 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 13 students
(E) : 4 students

This question was asked again after students were instructed to discuss with a neighbor how they chose their answer, and to convince each other why their answer is (in)correct.

Section 70160 (post-)
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 24 students
(E) : 4 students

Correct answer: (D)

Note that (A) is the view of Earth, as seen by an observer located somewhere on the northern hemisphere of the near side of the moon.

Pre- to post- peer-interaction gains:
pre-interaction correct = 48%
post-interaction correct = 86%
Hake (normalized) gain <g> = 73%