This activity will help students understand Earth's rotation and the causes for day and night.
Students explore orbit transfers and, specifically, Hohmann transfers. They investigate the orbits of Earth and Mars by using cardboard and string. Students learn about the planets' orbits around the sun, and about a transfer orbit from one planet to the other. After the activity, students will know exactly what is meant by a delta-v maneuver!
Overview: The Middle Grades Literature Study practiced “reading like a teacher” in order to use high-quality, current and diverse middle grade texts within instructional materials to ensure students are meeting grade-level reading standards, can read and comprehend a variety of complex literary and informational texts, while better understanding themselves and others and experiencing the joy of reading. The resources provided include ideas for meeting grade-level standards in grades 3-6, completed text complexity analyses, and additional resources and texts to consider. We hope these might serve as a model for literacy leaders and teachers to replicate at the local level.
Everyone and everything has a shadow. Shadows illustrate how three-dimensional objects can be viewed in two dimensions. Younger students can learn about the Sun’s relative motion in the sky as they experiment with shadows.
Students are introduced to the engineering challenges involved with interplanetary space travel. In particular, they learn about the gravity assist or "slingshot" maneuver often used by engineers to send spacecraft to the outer planets. Using magnets and ball bearings to simulate a planetary flyby, students investigate what factors influence the deflection angle of a gravity assist maneuver.
Series of educational books for elementary age readers. Books vary but align with science standards.
Astronomy 210/ Electrical Engineering 213: Soft X-Rays and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation, Spring 2005. These UCB Course videos examine Soft X-Rays and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation.
Solar scientists need you! Help them spot explosions on the Sun and track them across space to Earth. Your work will give astronauts an early warning if dangerous solar radiation is headed their way. And you could make a new scientific discovery.
An introduction to our solar system the planets, our Sun and Moon. To begin, students learn about the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They explore energy transfer concepts and use renewable solar energy for cooking. They see how engineers design tools, equipment and spacecraft to go where it is too far and too dangerous for humans. They explore the Earth's water cycle, and gravity as applied to orbiting bodies. They learn the steps of the design process as they create their own models of planetary rovers made of edible parts. Students conduct experiments to examine soil for signs of life, and explore orbit transfers. While studying about the International Space Station, they investigate the realities of living in space. Activities explore low gravity on human muscles, eating in microgravity, and satellite tracking. Finally, students learn about the context of our solar system the universe as they learn about the Hubble Space Telescope, celestial navigation and spectroscopy.
This is an introduction to the study of the solar system with emphasis on the latest spacecraft results. The subject covers basic principles rather than detailed mathematical and physical models. Topics include: an overview of the solar system, planetary orbits, rings, planetary formation, meteorites, asteroids, comets, planetary surfaces and cratering, planetary interiors, planetary atmospheres, and life in the solar system.
This s a guide to the solar system.
To understand the challenges of satellite construction, student teams design and create model spacecraft to protect vital components from the harsh conditions found on Mercury and Venus. They use slices of butter in plastic eggs to represent the internal data collection components of the spacecraft. To discover the strengths and weaknesses of their designs, they test their unique thermal protection systems in a planet simulation test box that provides higher temperature and pressure conditions.
This lesson introduces students to the space environment. It covers the major differences between the environment on Earth and that of outer space and the engineering challenges that arise because of these discrepancies. In order to prepare students for the upcoming lessons on the human body, this lesson challenges them to think about how their bodies would change and adapt in the unique environment of space.
The emergence of Western science: the systematization of natural knowledge in the ancient world, the transmission of the classical legacy to the Latin West, and the revolt from classical thought during the scientific revolution. Examines scientific concepts in light of their cultural and historical contexts.
YouTube video comparing the relative size of objects that students are familiar with (planets) and those that they are not (stars, galaxies, etc.) to allow for development of abstract concepts of massive sizes.
This is a guided inquiry investigation where students record and gather visual information of what the moon phases look like.
This is a computer lab activity where students view images of stars, nebulas, and galaxies and discover factors in telescope design that allow scientists to study the universe. The students will write questions about the images and produce a power point presentation on features of the universe.
This activity is a field investigation where the students observe shadows and reflections to learn about the sun.
This is an activity to help students understand the abstract concept about how planets move around the sun and their relative size compared with other planets in the solar system.
This is a whole class activity in which the class will physically model how the planets move around the sun. I will have the balloons blown up, they will be labeled with the names of the planets, along with different sizes, and colors. Students will see all the planets smallest to biggest and their distance from the sun. The students will learn about vocabulary words: solar system, revolution, rotation, and orbit.