SNC 1DO LESSON PLANS


Unit 5: Earth and Space - Study of the Universe (22 hours)

Students will develop observational skills outside the laboratory while studying space and their place in the universe. Methods of space exploration and theories on the origins of the universe will be discussed.


Ontario Curriculum objectives:
U=understanding concepts (U1-U7)
D=developing skills  (D1-D9)
R=relating science (R1-R4)
Text: Sciencepower 9, McGraw-Hill

Lesson One
Summary: (U1)
 -describe geocentric and heliocentric models
-show video "Satellites, orbits and gravity"
-define astronomical unit (AU)
-work on planet database
 Homework:
-complete planet database
-read p. 435-442
-do p. 442, #1-5

CELESTIAL MOTION

GEOCENTRIC MODEL (earth centered model) -proposed by Aristotle
-spheres circulated around earth
-patterns of circles were unchanging
-"fixed stars" in celestial sphere only move as the sphere moves
                               
HELIOCENTRIC MODEL (sun centered model) -proposed by Copernicus (1500's)
-planets orbit the sun in solar plane
-planets move in elipses around the earth
 
Astronomical Units (1 AU = 149 599 000 km)
-these units represent the earth's average distance from the sun
-used to keep numbers reasonable in size (this allows for easier measurements)
-eg. Mars is 228 000 000 km from earth = 1.5 AU

Lesson Two
Summary: (U1,D2,D8)
 -discuss planet database
-start scale model of solar system
 Homework:
-work on solar system model
-read p. 443-445
-do p. 456, #1,2

PLANET DATABASE

Ensure that students have completed filling in information on the planet databases
Use the information on the database to begin work on a model of the solar system

Lesson Three
Summary: (U1,U3,D2,D8)
 -complete scale model of solar system
-add planetary information to the solar system model
 Homework:
-solar system model due next class
-read p. 448-453
-do p. 456, #3,4

SOLAR SYSTEM MODEL

SOLAR SYSTEM MODEL -complete the solar system model using planetary information on databases

Lesson Four
Summary: (D1,D4,D7)
 -define astronomical terms
-start "Lost in Space" worksheet
 Homework:
-complete "Lost in Space" worksheet
-read p. 432-433
-do p. 434, #1-3

ASTRONOMICAL TERMS
Celestial Bodies: objects in space that are visible from earth (e.g. sun, moon, stars, planets)

Asterism: a distinctive star pattern (e.g. the pleiades, the big dipper)

Constellation: an officially recognized grouping of stars covering a certain area of our sky
There are 88 constellations (e.g. Orion, Ursa Major)

Planet: a celestial body that orbits a star and does not produce its own light

Lesson Five
Summary: (U3)
 -work on "Ideas about the Earth" worksheet
-describe types of space debris
-do p. 526, #1-6
 Homework:
-read p. 454-456
-do p. 456, #5

SPACE DEBRIS
ASTEROIDS (also called minor planets):   
-asteroids are irregular shaped bodies made of carbonaceous or silicate rocks (some are metal rich)
-these range in size from 1 m to 100's of km in diameter
-millions are found in the "asteroid belt" between Mars and Jupiter
-eg. Ceres is an asteriod found in asteroid belt and is 1000 km diameter (longest known asteroid)

COMETS:    
-these are celestial bodies made of ice and dust ("dirty snowballs")
-billions of comets orbit the sun at long distance
-as a comet approaches the sun, material is evaporated from surface, forming a tail (1000's of km long)
-the tail always points away from sun due to solar wind
-eg. Halley's comet (16 km X 8 km)
   
METEORS and METEORITES:   
-dust and rock fragments occasionally enter the earth's atmosphere
-friction with the earth's atmosphere causes particles to heat up and vaporize
-some fragments generate visible light as they heat up and are called "shooting stars" or meteors
-some fragments strike the earth and are now called meteorites


Lesson Six
Summary: (D5,D6)
 -complete the first crater lab
-do observations for the second crater lab
 Homework:
-complete second crater lab
-read p. 456
-do p. 456, #6,7

CRATERS
Craters: indentations in planets or moons caused by collisions with meteorites or comets
-craters are found on all planets and moons
-craters are not visible on gas planets (e.g. saturn) or on moons with continuous volcanic eruptions (e.g. Jupiter's Io)
-some craters actually caused by volcanoes while "IMPACT CRATERS" are caused by collisions


Lesson Seven
Summary: (U6)
 -do prepared note on the solar system
-start "Greenhouse Effect" assignment
 Homework:
-complete "Greenhouse Effect" assignment
-read p. 519
-do p. 526, #1

GREENHOUSE EFFECT

Greenhouse effect: When carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere of a planet it traps thermal heat energy made by the sun near the surface of the planet. This effect warms a planet surface.
Venus is further from the sun than Mercury but is warmer than Mercury
Venus has a carbon dioxide atmosphere allowing it to trap heat, while this is lacking on Mercury

Lesson Eight
Summary: (D3)
 -do "Reason for the Seasons" activity
-view "Target Earth" video
 Homework:
-complete "Reasons for the Seasons" activity
-read p. 430-431
-do p. 431, #1,2

REASONS FOR THE SEASONS

The earth is tilted an it's axis as it spins around the sun.
During winter in the Northern hemisphere the Northern part of the earth is tilted away from the sun
(while the earth itself is actually slightly closer to the sun)
During summer in the Northern hemisphere the Southern part of the earth is tilted away from the sun
Spring and Fall are transition stages as the earth rotates around the sun.
Retation of the earth around the sun takes 365 days  (one year)
The earth revolves around it's axis every 24 hours (one day)

conversion factor = 1 688 000 000 is needed to complete the "Reason for the Seasons" activity

Lesson Nine
Summary: (D3)
 -finish "Reason for the Seasons" activity
-describe tides
-do p. 548, #2,3,4,8
 Homework:
-read p. 525-526
-do p. 526, #2-5

TIDES

The gravity of the moon affects the earth by pulling oceans and causing tides
High Tide: Water moves towards the moon because due to the gravitational pull of the moon as the moon is directly overhead
           OR: Water moves away from the earth due as the moons pull is weakest with the moon on the opposite side of the earth
Low Tide: Water moves back to lower levels as the moon is at right angles to the earth at these points

-tides go through a 24 hour rotation, with bulges away from the earth every 12 hours (high tides) and low tides in between
-this cycle occurs as the earth revolves around it's axis once a day

Spring Tides: Tides are more extreme when both the sun and moon are aligned on one side of the earth.
These could occur any season, and "spring" tide is just a name given to the tides formed by this stronger gravitational pull.
Neap Tides: Tides are less extreme when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, as the gravitational pull balances out.

Lesson Ten
Summary: (U4,D9)
 -describe stars brightness, temperature and composition
-do p. 465, #1-6
-start "killer electron" worksheet
 Homework:
-complete "killer electron" sheet
-read p. 462-464
-complete p. 465, #1-6

STARS

-starlight provides information about a stars brightness, colour, temperature, composition, mass and size

Radiant Energy: energy transmitted in electromagnetic waves

The Electromagnetic Spectrum (pg. 462-463)
larger waves

visible light

smaller waves
radio
 micro
 infra-red
 ROYGBIV
 ultra-violet
 X-rays
 gamma rays

Brightness of stars:
-luminosity is the ability of a star to produce light
-brighter stars may be more luminous because they are either larger or closer to the earth
-once the distance of a star has been determined using triangulation luminosity may be used to find the size of the star
-luminosity measures the energy a star radiates per second to indicate it's size
(some stars are 30 000X more luminous than earth while some 10 000X less)

Temperature of stars:
-starlight comes in different colours
-colour indicates the temperature of the stars (smaller wavelengths indicate hotter stars)
yellow stars = hot (6000oC), our sun is like this
red stars = cool (3000oC)
blue stars = very hot (20 000oC - 35 000oC)

Composition of stars:
-colours of starlight can also be used to show the atoms present inside of a star
-a spectroscope separates bands of light from starlight
-certain band patterns are characteristic certain elements present in the star

Lesson Eleven
Summary: (U7,R3)
 -describe stars
-view "Universe" video
-start p. 467, #1-4
 Homework:
-read p. 466-467
-complete p. 467, #1-4

HERTZPRUNG-RUSSEL DIAGRAMS

-a H-R diagram may be used to compare stars with with respect to luminosity and temperature (p. 467)
-stars move to different parts of the diagram at different times

Lesson Twelve
Summary: (U5,U7,R4)
 -describe stars
-do Investigation 14-B, p. 472
-do "classification of stars" activity
-find your galactic address
-describe galaxies
-do p. 502, #1-6
 Homework:
-read p. 468-471
-complete p. 473, #1-6

GALAXIES

-galaxies consist of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity
-stars are often found in clusters:
-open clusters are 50-1000 stars dispersed, eg. Pleiades
-globular clusters are 100 000 to 1 000 000 stars in spherical shape eg. our galaxy (milky way)

The Milky Way is our galaxy and consists of approximately 400 billion stars
-it is spiral shaped with globular clusters around the center, most likely surrounding a black hole
-it is 75 000 light years in diameter
-our sun is 25 000 light years from the center of the universe

There are three types of galaxies:
Elliptical galaxies -a football shaped group of mostly old stars with little gas and dust
Spiral galaxies -pinwheel shaped with arms of gas and dust and bright blue stars, which indicate formation of new stars
e.g. Milky Way and Andromeda
Irregular galaxies -young and old stars in gas and dust (these are small and less common)

Galaxies occur in clusters (similar to clusters of stars
Lesson Thirteen
Summary: (U2,R2)
 -describe Universe Expansion
-measure the age of the Universe
-do p. 506, #1-3
 Homework:
-read p. 503-504
-complete p. 506, #1-6

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

-the Doppler effect indicates that the Universe is expanding
The Doppler Effect is a change in wavelength that occurs in moving objects
-in front of a moving object the sound wavelength is shorter and produces a higher pitch
-behind a moving object the sound wavelength is longer and produces a lower pitch
-light also travels in waves and shows the Doppler effect

Stars approaching you will appear BLUE shifted (shorter wavelength)
Stars moving away from you will appear RED shifted (longer wavelength)

Hubble discovered that all galaxies are red shifted when viewed from the earth
-this means galaxies are moving away from earth (with the furthest moving quickest) and the Universe is expanding

Lesson Fourteen
Summary: (R1)
 -describe and demonstrate triangulation
-describe eclipses
-have students assemble star charts
 Homework:
-read p. 489-493
-complete p. 494, #1-4

TRIANGULATION

Triangulation is used to find the distance of nearby celestial bodies
-first find a baseline and measure the distance from one point on the line to the next
(in space, this can be the distance between earth in summer and in winter)
-measure the angle to the observed celestial body from the two points on the baseline
-draw a scale diagram of the baseline on a piece of paper (eg. 1 cm represents 10 m)
-draw a line extending at the correct angle form each point on the baseline
-the object will be at the point these two lines intersect
-convert the scale distance to find the actual distance to this object

ECLIPSES

Solar Eclipses occur when the moon comes between the sun and the earth and casts a shadow on the earth
Lunar Eclipses occur when the earth comes between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow over the moon


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