Transcript Space – Lesson 1 - Science education

Space – Lesson 1
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Aim:
Revising Earth and Space
20-Jul-15
* recap ideas about the Earth and space
Questions (finish by 10.25am)
1. How long does the Earth take to orbit the sun?
2. What causes day and night?
3. What causes seasons?
4. Draw a diagram showing the apparent path of the
sun across the sky – draw two paths, one for winter
and one for summer.
5. What does the moon orbit around?
6. How long does the moon take to complete one orbit?
7. Why do we see moon phases (crescent, full moon
etc.)?
8. What causes an eclipse?
9. Surely there should be an eclipse every month then?
Questions (finish by 10.40am)
1. List the nine planets in order.
2. What surface temperature would you expect for
Mercury?
3. What surface temperature would you expect for
Pluto?
4. Draw a sketch graph showing how you think orbit
time varies with distance from the sun.
5. Why is Mars brighter than Pluto in the sky?
6. Why is does Mars sometimes look bigger than
Jupiter, even though it’s smaller?
7. Why is Venus brighter than Mars, even when it’s
further away?
Questions (finish by 10.50am)
1. Is there any gravity in space?
a. If yes, why are astronauts weightless?
b. If no, why do we orbit the sun and not fly off into
space?
2. Is there any gravity on the Moon? What evidence
have you got for your answer?
Complete Title Page
• Try to include …
– an Earth-movement effect (path of the sun,
eclipse, moon phases etc.) and
– some properties of three planets.
Space – Lesson 2
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Orbits and Satellites
20-Jul-15
Aims: * describe how gravity determines orbits
* describe the orbits of comets
* describe uses and orbits of satellites
Demo
Please …
1. Draw the demonstration.
2. Explain:* why the bung does not fly off,
* how the speed, distance and force are
related.
Copy & complete
smaller gravity
slowly
The Sun’s ____ keeps the planets in orbit. The
force of gravity is ____ further from the Sun.
This means the outer planets move more
_____ in their orbits.
Comets
Copy, draw and answer …
Comets orbit in ellipses (flattened circles).
They are sometimes near the Sun and other
times far away.
Sun
A
In which position
do you think the
C
comet is most
B
Earth’s orbit
visible? Why?
Uses & Orbits of Satellites
Low polar orbits:
Geostationary
orbits:
Uses & Orbits of Satellites
Artificial Satellites – Copy & complete
1) Observation (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope)
– these are in orbit high above the Earth and
can observe the universe without interference
by the ____________
2) Communications (e.g. ___, phone,
car “SatNav” systems) – these
satellites are in “geostationary”
orbits. This means that the satellite
always stays above ____ ____ point
on the Earth and takes a ______ to
complete an orbit
3) Monitoring (e.g.
weather, spy
satellites) – these
satellites have a
“___ _____” orbit
and may scan
around the Earth
several times a day
Words – the same, atmosphere, low polar, TV, day
Space – Lesson 3
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Formation & Life of Stars
20-Jul-15
Aims: * describe the lifecycle of a star
* explain how stars generate energy
Tim & Moby
Tim & Moby – Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
What do stars start out as?
What pulls them closer together?
Why do they heat up?
What happens to the hydrogen atoms when the
protostar is hot enough?
What stage in its life is the Sun at?
What will happen when its hydrogen runs out?
What happens after it becomes a white dwarf?
What two steps happen to much heavier stars?
What happens to the most heavy stars?
Now …
Draw a flowchart showing the
lifecycle of stars (there is an
example on one noticeboard
behind you)
Think and answer …
* Thinking about the formation of the star …
How do you think planets formed?
* Thinking about the very hot centre of the Sun …
Why doesn’t the Sun expand? What force
balances the outward heat pressure?
* For higher tier students …
If black holes are totally dark, how do we know
they’re there?
There are plenty of heavy elements on Earth –
where must they have come from?
Solutions
•
•
•
•
Planets form from the
remaining dust around
the protostar
Stars are in balance –
gravity pulling in, and
hot gases pushing out
Black holes suck matter
from nearby stars
Heavy elements come
from former supernovae
Making a spectrometer
• Make an eyehole in
the bottom of one can
(about a pencil’s
diameter)
• Glue the CD at about
45º facing the hole
• Tape the second can
above the first one
• Come to have a slit
made in the top
Light
Top can
Bottom can
CD sliver
Eyehole
Paper Padding
Space – Lesson 4
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The Universe
20-Jul-15
Aims: * compare the sizes of objects in space
* explain how the Universe started
Sing-along … The Galaxy Song
Put these objects in size order
Comet / asteroid
Galaxy
Moon
Universe
Solar system
Dust grain
Star
Planet
HT
FT
It’s time for …
Universe play your cards right
Summary – copy and complete
The Sun is one of the ______
The Milky Way is one of the ________
A galaxy contains billions of _______
The Universe contains billions of _______
Stars are further apart than _______
Galaxies are further apart than ______
stars
galaxies
galaxies
planets
stars
stars
FT
Think – Birth of the Universe
Light from stars has a longer wavelength (lower
frequency) than we expect
It looks redder than it should – we say it is “red
shifted”
Light from the furthest galaxies has the highest
red-shift
Scientists’ explanation for this is that the space
between galaxies is expanding, stretching the
light waves gradually over time
Making a red shift model
1. Draw your model
2. Explain what it shows
3. How must the Universe have looked in the
past if it is expanding now?
4. What do we call that initial phase where
the Universe started rapidly expanding?
Summary – copy and complete
The Sun is one of the ______
The Milky Way is one of the ________
A galaxy contains billions of _______
The Universe contains billions of _______
Stars are further apart than _______
Galaxies are further apart than ______
stars
galaxies
galaxies
planets
stars
stars
Interactive Summary
Put us in size order …
Space – Lesson 5
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Is there anybody out there? 20-Jul-15
Aims: * describe ways of collecting evidence
* explain how to analyse the evidence
Discuss – 3 minutes
How could we collect evidence
for life on other planets?
Discuss – 2 minutes
How could we collect evidence
for life on other planets?
Discuss – 1 minute
How could we collect evidence
for life on other planets?
Discuss – 30 seconds
How could we collect evidence
for life on other planets?
STOP
How could we collect evidence
for life on other planets?
Collecting Evidence
1. Go to another planet and look for yourself
2. Send a space probe (robotic lander)
3. Listen for radio signals
Discuss – 3 minutes
List a disadvantage of each
method
Discuss – 2 minutes
List a disadvantage of each
method
Discuss – 1 minute
List a disadvantage of each
method
Discuss – 30 seconds
List a disadvantage of each
method
STOP
List a disadvantage of each
method
Collecting Evidence
1. Takes too long to get there
2. Can only reach nearby planets in time
3. Don’t know what wavelength to tune into,
or which direction to point the aerial
Analysing Evidence
• Robot landers may take photos or collect
samples that contain organisms (e.g. microbes),
or their fossils.
• Robot landers may collect samples that show
chemicals caused by the presence of life (e.g.
on Earth there’s lots of oxygen showing we
have plant life).
• The most likely places to look are Mars and
Europa.
• The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence
(SETI), using radio telescopes has gone on for
more than forty years, so far without success.
Noise
Signal?
Design Competition
• Your team work for NASA designing a probe to
Europa. (The best design wins chocolate.)
• The probe will be dropped from an orbiting
“mother ship”.
• Europa has weak gravity like on our moon and a
hard, icy surface.
• Design the probe; either a labelled drawing or
description will be fine.
• Include in your design an explanation of how it
will collect and analyse evidence for microbes
on Europa.
How many ears does Mr.
Spock have?
Three – his left ear, his right ear
and his final front-ear.
The End (of Space)
Homework: Revise for test!
but does space have an end … ?