Planetary Revolutions (8.5.3, 8.5.5) - Mrs. Holdcroft's Class



Planetary Revolutions (8.5.3, 8.5.5)Complete the five starred activities and 1 other.*1) Write or draw memory helps for the vocabulary terms as they relate to the orbits of planets. *2) Using the globe and a light source demonstrate why we have day and night and seasons. Then draw a picture of the Earth’s position when Nebraska has summer and daytime.*3) Add one of the following names to the timeline: Johannes Keppler, Tycho Brahe, Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Ptolemy, Edwin Hubble, Newton, Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, and Hipparchus. Put the name, date he lived, and at least one reason why your choice is associated with the solar system on a note card. (Include a picture of your person if you can find one.)*4) Watch Then, complete “Observing the Solar System” worksheet.*5) View Complete Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors worksheet.6) Complete Worksheet p.52 “Orbits of Neptune and Pluto” and “Evidence of a Large Meteorite” p.54.7) Use a computer to find the given websites, then answer the questions. View at least 2 websites. (See back.)8) Read the article “Venus Mysteries Blamed on Big Collision” and write a summary as if you were writing it for a 5th grader.9) Johannes Keppler discovered three laws about planetary orbits. Try to write them so they can be understood by an 8th grader. (The textbook is helpful here.) (You must have approval for this one.)Go to (start from 6th picture down) 1. Do all the planetary orbits lie in a plane? If not, what planet doesn’t?2. Are the objects of the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud on the planetary plane?3 What about recently discovered planetary systems?Go to View “Dance of the Planets.” Explain the path of each planets. TermDefinitionMemory HelpEllipselooks like a circle that has been squashed into an ovalEccentricity he amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circleAstronomical unit (AU)The distance from the Earth to the Sun. Usually written AU.Light yearThe distance which a ray of light would travel in one year. This is about 6,000,000,000,000 (6 trillion) miles.Parsec 3.26 light yearsPerihelion The closest point to the Sun in a planet's orbitAphelion The farthest point to the Sun in a planet's orbitEclipticImaginary plane that connects the orbit of the earth with the celestial sphere. Orbital periodthe time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.Sidereal periodThe period of time that it takes an object in space to complete one full orbit?in relation to the stars.Orbital tiltthe angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axisVernal equinoxTime in the spring when the day and night are the same amount of timeAutumnal equinoxTime in the fall when the day and night are the same amount of time Summer solsticeTime of the year when the day is longest Winter solsticeTime of the year when the day is shortest Precession a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating bodyThe SunComplete #1, then choose #2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Finally, choose one from #7.1. Draw or make a model of the sun. Label the parts and note any interesting facts about those facts. Include corona, chromosphere, sunspots, prominence, core, and photosphere. 2. Use website to learn about solar flares. What effect to they have on us? Write a report, a skit, or draw a comic strip. 3. Use website to learn about sunspots and their cycle. What effect do they have on us? Write a report, a skit, or draw a comic strip. 4. Take the solar tour at . Answer questions at bottom of first page.5. Pretend that you are a photon of energy. Write a story about your travels from the sun through a path you might take on Earth. Make sure you include a trip through the atmosphere and how a plant uses the sun’s energy.6. Radiation from the Sun, which is more popularly known as sunlight, is a mixture of electromagnetic waves. Which types of electromagnetic waves actually make it to the surface of the Earth? Which ones are repelled? What effect do the different waves have on the Earth? 7. Choose one of the following situations and describe how the sun’s energy would affect the Earth under those conditions. Present findings as a report, news report, or story. Make sure you have facts in your presentation.a) What would the Earth be like if it lost its atmosphere?b) What would the Earth be like if there was twice as much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?c) What would the Earth be like if there was a huge volcano that spewed a tremendous amount of ash into the atmosphere? What kind of life do you think would be able to survive if this ever happened?The MoonComplete #1, 2, 3, and 4. Then complete one more plete Earth’s Moon plete A “Moonth of Phases Activity, including “More to Explore.”Complete “The Moon’s Phases Activity.”Complete vocabulary: moon, crater, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, phase.Design a children’s book that explains the phases of the moon and why they happen.Chart the moons phases on the calendar. Include the date and time, a drawing of the moon as it looks, location of the moon as you face south, moon’s height in the sky, and diameter of the moon.Write a script for a television news anchor person who is reporting on euphemisms involving the moon and its phases (i.e. blue moon, harvest moon, moonrise).Describe how we can know the time by looking at the moon. (See activity.)Name _______________________Solar System Anchor ActivitiesComplete the two starred activities and then complete any other activities for 20 points.*Planet Research: prepare a PowerPoint presentation on your assigned planet. See rubric for requirements. (30)*Deep Space Object PowerPoint: Prepare a PowerPoint presentation on an assigned deep space object. Some choices are: black hole, dark matter, quasar, pulsar, binary stars, nebulae, globular clusters, extra solar planets. Make a model of the life cycle of low-mass, medium-mass, or massive star. (20)10th Planet Activity: Write a paragraph describing a fictitious “10th planet”. Where is it? Describe its characteristics (landscape, climate, life forms). Make sure the characteristics are appropriate for your planet’s makeup and distance from the sun. Name your planet and tell why you chose that name. (5)Astronomy Picture of the Day: View What is the picture? Write a few sentences describing the picture. (5)Current Event: Read an article about outer space and write a summary. See instructions. There are some articles in folder. See rubric. (5)Galaxy Sorting: Complete the activity, then go to Stellarium and do the activity. (10)Solar System Drawing: Draw planets. List their distance from the sun. Draw orbit. Note direction of rotation. Include Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud, heliosphere, heliopause, asteroid belt, and any other object of note. (5)Outer Space Alphabet book: Select a letter not yet chosen. Find a term beginning with that letter. Illustrate and define your term. Make your page attractive. (5)Design an Alien: Design an alien that can live on your planet. It must be a colored picture or a 3-D model. See instructions below. (5-10)Space Exploration Timeline: Make a timeline of space exploration. Include planned future projects. What was the space race? What effects did the space race have on education in the United States?(5) Pluto letter: Write a protest letter from the ex-planet Pluto to the Astronomical Union arguing why you should still be considered a planet.Write a thank you letter from the ex-planet to the Astronomical Union praising them for changing your status in the Solar System. (5)Make a Telescope: Use two hand lenses in combination to see distant objects, experiment to find the perfect distances. Explain and illustrate why the image is seen the way it is. (5)Folktale: Read the folktale in the Planet folder and two other astronomy folk tales from a different culture. Create your own about some aspect of the Solar System (5)Planet Music: Listen to the music found at this website. Give your opinion as to whether each piece represents the respective planet. (5) is a Lightyear worksheet? (5)Scale the planets: Get the planetary revolution overlays and the Omaha map from the folder. Put one of the overlays on the map. Find landmarks on each of the overlays and make a list of the planet and its matching landmark. Get the second overlay and do the same thing. (5)Space Station: Research the international space station. Answer these questions:What is the international space station?What is its purpose? Tell about a purpose it could have.What are future plans for the space station? Is the international space station worth the cost?Here is a website to get you started. (5)Technology: How do scientists use technology to learn about the universe? Describe at least 5 kinds of telescopes, the space station, and 2 space probes. (5)Life Cycle of the Stars: View the Life Cycle of the Stars Power Point. Then make a poster of star’s life cycles.Starry Lives, Starry Skies: Complete activity. (10)Internet activities: scale the universeDesign an AlienDesign a creature that could live on your planet. You are allowed to be fanciful in your creation of this creature so that you may, for example pretend that your creature is able to gain needed nutrients and minerals by eating rocks. But, however imaginative your creature may be, it must still reflect your understanding of what that planet is really like. In order to do this, you will need to make sure you consider the following aspects of your assigned planet:What the atmosphere is likeWhat the physical environment of the planet is likeHow strong the gravitational pull of the planet isWhat the average day and night temperatures areOnce you have considered the above list, you should compose a picture that represents your creature. Its physical details should reflect what unique qualities it has “adapted” to survive on your planet. Labels with appropriate descriptors will be helpful in showing what special details you provided (for example: “large bones and big muscles” for a creature who lives on Jupiter.)Furthermore, you should place your creature in the context of its environment. Where would it live? Does your planet offer any unique features that would make an especially cozy, favorable home for your creature? Your illustration should reflect this understanding.Starry Lives, Starry SkiesMany of the stages in the life stories of the stars can be observed in the night sky some with just your eyes, some with binoculars or a telescope. You can find examples using the Your Sky Tonight star chart and request a picture from Internet Telescope. Instructions:1. Read the essay on Lives of the Stars . Make a list of the first six stages on the life of a star from the essay and explain briefly what is happening during that stage.3. Make an observing scrapbook or log book with a page for each stage. Identify 1 to 3 examples of each stage in the sky.Sites for discovering information about different kinds of celestial objects include:· The Messier Catalog organized by type of object: · The Hubble Space Telescope pictures, organized by type of object: · The National Observatory Image Gallery: · The STARS site by James Kaler with information on the brightest stars (sometimes a bittechnical): 4. Make a star map of the location of one object for each stage, using the Your Sky Tonight star chart. Most sky objects are not visible all year long? determine from the chart whether or not the object they are interested in is visible tonight or what month it will be visible in their sky.5. If the object is visible in the night sky from the U.S., you can request a photo from Internet Telescope. You can also see if there is a picture on Astrophoto Gallery. If not, you could try to find a photo in one of the web galleries in section 3 (above) and add them to your scrapbook or log book.6. How many stages could you illustrate with an object in the sky tonight?Extra: Pick one particularly interesting sky object to research in more depth and fit it into the grand sequence of star lives.Interesting astronomy site manipulate the universe game ................
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