our solar system and beyond - tecknoquest/kevin...

AstronomyOur Solar System and Beyond

Expanding Science Skills Series

By

DON POWERS, Ph.D., aND jOhN B. BEavER, Ph.D.

CONSultaNtS: SChyRlEt CamERON aND CaROlyN CRaig

COPyRight © 2010 mark twain media, inc.

iSBN 978-1-58037-961-8

Printing No. 404125-EB

mark twain media, inc., PublishersDistributed by Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, llC

the purchase of this book entitles the buyer to reproduce the student pages for classroom use only. Other permissions may be obtained by writing mark twain media, inc., Publishers.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

visit us at www.carsondellosa.com

404125-EB © mark twain media, inc., Publishers ii

Astronomy

Introduction ................................................................. 1How to Use This Book ............................................... 2

Unit 1: Historical Perspective teacher information ............................................. 3 Student information ............................................ 4 Quick Check ............................................................ 6 Knowledge Builder ............................................... 7

Unit 2: The Solar System teacher information ............................................. 8 Student information ............................................ 9 Quick Check .......................................................... 11 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 12 inquiry investigation ...........................................13

Unit 3: Facts About the Planets teacher information ........................................... 15 Student information .......................................... 16 Quick Check .......................................................... 19 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 20

Unit 4: The Sun teacher information ........................................... 21 Student information .......................................... 22 Quick Check .......................................................... 23 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 24

Unit 5: The Earth teacher information ........................................... 25 Student information .......................................... 26 Quick Check .......................................................... 27 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 28

Unit 6: The Moon teacher information ........................................... 29 Student information .......................................... 30 Quick Check .......................................................... 31 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 32 inquiry investigation .......................................... 33

Unit 7: Eclipses teacher information ........................................... 35 Student information .......................................... 36 Quick Check .......................................................... 37 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 38 inquiry investigation .......................................... 39

Unit 8: Daytime Astronomy teacher information ........................................... 41 Student information .......................................... 42 Quick Check .......................................................... 45 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 46 inquiry investigations ........................................ 47

Unit 9: The Milky Way Galaxy and Beyond teacher information ........................................... 59 Student information .......................................... 60 Quick Check .......................................................... 61 Knowledge Builder ............................................. 62

Inquiry Investigation Rubric .........................63National Standards ....................................... 64Science Process Skills ................................... 67Definitions of Terms ..................................... 71Answer Keys .................................................. 73Bibliography ................................................. 76

Table of Contents

table of Contents

404125-EB © mark twain media, inc., Publishers 2

Astronomy

How to Use This Bookthe format of Astronomy: Our Solar System and Beyond is specifically designed to facilitate the

planning and teaching of science. Our goal is to provide teachers with strategies and suggestions on how to successfully implement each lesson in the book. units are divided into two parts: teacher information and student information.

Teacher Information Page Each unit begins with a teacher information page. the purpose is to provide a snapshot of the unit. it is intended to guide the teacher through the development and implementation of the lessons in the unit of study. the teacher page includes:

• National Standards: the unit is correlated with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the National Council of teachers of mathematics Standards (NCtm). Pages 64–66 contain a complete list and description of the National Standards.

• Concepts/Naïve Concepts: the relevant science concepts and the commonly held student misconceptions are listed.

• Science Process Skills: the process skills associated with the unit are explained. Pages 67–70 contain a complete list and description of the Science Process Skills.

• lesson Planner: the components of the lesson are described: directed reading, assessment, hands-on activities, materials lists of Knowledge Builder activities, and investigation.

• Extension: this activity provides opportunities for students who excel to expand their learning.

• Real World application: the concept being taught is related to everyday life.

a rubric for assessing participation in and completion of the inquiry investigations is included on page 63. the teacher can use this to mark the level of mastery and provide feedback for each student.

Student Pages the Student information pages provide built-in flexibility to accommodate a diversity of learning styles and skill levels. the format allows the teacher to begin the lesson with basic concepts and vocabulary presented in reading exercises and expand to progressively more difficult hands-on activities found on the Knowledge Builder and inquiry investigation pages. the Student information pages include: 1. Student information: introduces the concepts and essential vocabulary for the lesson in a

directed reading exercise. 2. Quick Check: evaluates student comprehension of the information in the directed reading

exercise. 3. Knowledge Builder: strengthens student understanding of concepts with hands-on activities. 4. inquiry investigation: explores concepts introduced in the directed reading exercise through

labs, models, and exploration activities.

how to use this Book


Astronomy

Unit 1: Historical PerspectiveTeacher Information

Topic: many individuals have contributed to the traditions of the science of astronomy.

Standards: NSES unifying Concepts and Processes, (F), (g) See National Standards section (pages 64–66) for more information on each standard.

Science Process Skills:Students will be collecting, recording, and interpreting information while developing the vocabulary to communicate the results of their reading and research. Based on their findings, students will make an inference that many individuals have contributed to the traditions of the science of astronomy.

Lesson Planner: 1. Directed Reading: introduce the concepts and essential vocabulary relating to the history of

the science of astronomy using the directed reading exercise found on the Student information pages.

2. assessment: Evaluate student comprehension of the information in the directed reading exercise using the quiz located on the Quick Check page.

3. Concept Reinforcement: Strengthen student understanding of concepts with the activities found on the Knowledge Builder pages. Materials List: Knowledge Builder activity #1—color pencils or markers, copy paper; activity #2—2 double convex lenses (50 mm and 300 mm), 2 sheets of heavy card stock paper, clear tape

Extension: velcro™ is a product that was first developed by NaSa for use in space. Research other NaSa “spin-offs” that have contributed to improving our lives.

Real World Application: the National aeronautic and Space administration (NaSa), a government agency, handles most space projects in the united States. NaSa began operation in 1958.

Concepts:• Science and technology have advanced

through contributions of many different people, in different cultures, at different times in history.

• tracing the history of science can show how difficult it was for scientific innovations to break through the accepted ideas of their time to reach the conclusions we currently take for granted.

Naïve Concepts:• all scientists wear lab coats. • Scientists are totally absorbed in

their research, oblivious to the world around them.

• ideas and discoveries made by scientists from other cultures and civilizations before modern times are not relevant today.

unit 1: historical Perspective


Astronomy

Unit 1: Historical PerspectiveStudent Information

Astronomy is the study of outer space and all the objects in it. astronomy is thought to be the oldest of the sciences, and it has a rich history that extends back to the earliest recorded civilizations. Records from early cultures in Egypt and the middle East indicate that people were using the heavenly bodies to keep track of and to predict seasonal events. there is evidence that the massive stone structures at Stonehenge in England and even the Bighorn medicine Wheel in Wyoming may have been aligned to highlight the summer solstice, an astronomical event. markings found on 27,000-year-old mammoth tusks indicate that the very early, primitive people observed and made note of the sky.

the early greeks were the first to attempt to understand the heavens from a rational point of view. thales of miletus (624–547 b.c.) was perhaps the first to propose that the universe was rational and understandable to humans, and Pythagoras (570–500 b.c.) suggested that the universe might be mathematical. many other greek philosophers contributed to the understanding of the cosmos, and aristotle (384–322 b.c.) made the greek view popular with his teachings. unfortunately, aristotle’s teachings were held in such high regard that his geocentric model, which placed the earth at the center of the universe, was not abandoned until the mid 1500s.

understanding the universe and our place in the cosmos has paralleled discoveries in mathematics. Nicholas Copernicus (1473–1543) used mathematical arguments as well as other evidence to assert that the sun was the center of the solar system. johannes Kepler’s (1571–1630) laws of Planetary motion, isaac Newton’s (1642–1727) laws of motion and gravitation, and albert Einstein’s (1879–1955) theories of Special and general Relativity are just three examples of astronomical theories and laws that involve an understanding of advanced mathematics.

living without the aid of telescopes, the ancient observers could only see five of the planets: mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and Saturn. after observing these naked-eye planets for many years, patterns of motion began to appear. as these patterns became more recognizable, observers began to formulate explanations for these movements. as time passed, these explanations have been modified and refined. One of the earliest explanations was proposed in the first century by Ptolemy and involved eight different spheres—one for each of the five planets plus one each for the sun, the moon, and the stars, with Earth at the center. While this was a complicated explanation, it was widely accepted because of its Earth-centered basis and because the thought of ever leaving the earth was nonexistent.

in the Copernican model, the sun was at the center, while the planets, earth, moon, and stars revolved in a circle around the sun. the scholars of the world did not accept Copernicus’s explanation until about 100 years later when works by johannes Kepler and galileo galilei were published. Kepler



Astronomy

viewed the Copernican theory as being in error because, according to Kepler, the orbits of the moving bodies were elliptical and not circular. Because of galileo’s outspokenness in regard to his model that placed the sun, and not the earth, at the center of all motion, the Catholic Church excommunicated him and placed him under house arrest until his death. it was not until the 1990s that Pope john Paul ii, on behalf of the Catholic Church, forgave galileo and stated that his model of the solar system was not in conflict with the teachings of the Church.

Our knowledge of the solar system continued to progress with the development of the telescope. again, it was galileo who first pointed his crude telescope toward jupiter and observed the movement of four moons—io, Callisto, ganymede, and Europa—around the giant gaseous planet. Since that time, as many as 62 moons have been discovered orbiting jupiter. in the book Seeing and Believing, Richard Panek describes galileo’s early experiences with the telescope. “how exciting it must have been to discover mountains, valleys, and plains on the moon and to observe the orbs of light that move relative to the planet jupiter!” Panek describes galileo’s experiences in the following sentences. “he had to struggle against the breath that clouded the glass, against the blood that shook the hand that steadied the (telescope) tube. the more he searched, the more he found.” (Panek, 1998, p. 12). it is not difficult to imagine yourself in the shoes of galileo making these early discoveries.

Our knowledge of the solar system has come not only from the use of the telescope. humans have ventured into the unknown regions by landing and walking on the moon in july 1969. While humans have ventured no farther than the moon, they have used observational tools to travel to other planets. in 1974 and 1975, the united States’ Mariner 10 spacecraft repeatedly orbited the

planet mercury, photographing the surface of the nearest planet to the sun. the atmosphere of the earth’s nearest neighbor, venus, has prevented observers on Earth from seeing its surface. however, in 1993, the Magellan spacecraft with the use of radar was able to view the venusian landscape, revealing it as a desolate planet with a liquid atmosphere of carbon dioxide surrounding it. Since 1997, NaSa has landed several Rovers on mars, which have discovered water and methane—both possible indicators of life on that planet.

Ongoing research continues to reveal new discoveries about our solar system and beyond. Voyager missions have flown past jupiter, Saturn, and uranus and continue on toward the outer boundaries of the solar system and beyond. NaSa, the jet Propulsion laboratory, and other agencies continually announce new discoveries in these far-reaching areas. With continued research, discoveries may be made in regard to possible intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

One of the most exciting projects in recent astronomy was the hubble Deep Field telescope. it was launched on april 25, 1990, from the space shuttle Discovery (StS-31). the hubble telescope gathered information from the deepest reaches of space. it was expected to gather data for twenty years through 2010, when it was designed to shut down and return to Earth. however, recent repairs and updates to hubble have been made in an effort to keep it operating for several more years. information about the hubble Deep Field Project can be found online at www.hubblesite.org. the Webb telescope will replace the hubble telescope in 2013.



Astronomy

Name: Date:

Quick Check

Matching

1. isaac Newton a. study of outer space and all objects in it

2. astronomy b. suggested that the universe might be mathematical

3. albert Einstein c. laws of motion and gravitation

4. Richard Panek d. theories of Special and general Relativity

5. Pythagoras e. wrote Seeing and Believing

Fill in the Blanks

6. living without the aid of , the ancient observers could only see five of the

planets.

7. understanding the universe and our place in the cosmos has paralleled discoveries in

.

8. galileo observed the movement of jupiter’s four moons: ,

, , and .

9. in the , the sun was at the center, while the planets,

Earth, moon, and stars revolved around the sun.

10. viewed the Copernican theory as being in error because, according to

, the orbits of the moving bodies were elliptical and not circular.

Multiple Choice

11. he was excommunicated by the Catholic Church and placed under house arrest until his death

because of his model of the solar system.

a. thales b. Copernicus c. Newton d. galileo

12. man landed and walked on the moon in .

a. 1669 b. 1970 c. 1969 d. 1965

13. Water and have been discovered on mars by NaSa Rovers.

a. oil b. methane c. oxygen d. carbon dioxide


our solar system and beyond - tecknoquest/kevin...

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