Earth Science: The Stars ‘The Universe and Its Stars: The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth. (Ske eos + Students describe the sun and other stars. «+ Students explain units used to measure distance in space, including astronomical units and light-years. + Students describe the relationship between star brightness and distance from Earth. PRT WN ecto The learning path in this unit is designed to take students through different phases of learning based on the 5E model. This approach allows students to explore and connect, to an idea through relatable activities, to build on prior knowledge and experience, to construct meaning, and to use or apply their understanding of a concept in a creative way. oA, Teacher Resource Page Engage Introduce the Concept... seceeseees 80 ‘Spark Question - . - 80 Discussion Guide: Our Sun, an Average Star. .. . 80 Explore Activity Preparation ............ soceeees sees 80 Student Pages Engage Unit concept page 8 Explore Stor Light, Star Bright Investigation ....... 82 Explain Reading Selection: A Universe of Lights eu Concept Vocabulary . . 86 Evaluate Vocabulary Review... . 87 Concept Comprehension 88 Extend Imagine. - 90 Compose...... . 4 Project: life with Three Suns Journal or Star Travel Guide ..............2..62.6000e eeceseeee V2 ~ omyomm mmm HNNHHMNNMNHANMNHNANANMNAHNANHAMNAN © Evan-Moor Corp. * EMC 4315 » Science Lessons and Investigations Earth Science 74The Stars Per eokuek cnc Distribute or display the unit concept page. Read the Spark Question and ask students to think about it. Have students study the space photo at the top of the page and ask them how many stars they see. Have them compare the sun’s light to starlight. Have them find what the rest of the photos have in common. Next, use the text in the Discussion Guide (read it or paraphrase it) to facilitate a deeper conversation about what students know about stars. Use Think-Pair-Share, a whole-class discussion, or any other format that suits your class. Spark Question If the sun isa star, why don't we see it at night like the rest of the stars? Discussion Guide: Our Sun, an Average Star Our sun is a star, just like hundreds of billions of other stars in the universe. In fact, our sun is a rather ordinary star. It’s not really that big or bright compared to other stars. Has anyone ever done some star-gazing at night? Did you notice that some stars appear to be brighter than others? Why is this so? And why aren’t any other stars as bright as our sun? In this unit, you will learn about stars, where they are located, and why some appear brighter than others. Goin aac uc) If needed, clear a bulletin board, wall, or whiteboard in your classroom before starting this activity. Make sure that all flashlights have fresh batteries and the same brightness. After all groups have finished marking distances with tape and are standing in place on their marks, darken the room as much as possible. After the groups observe each pairing of flashlights, turn on the lights so students can record their observations. Repeat for the remaining distances. 80 Earth Science ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + © Evan-Moor Corp.Gree The Stars Earth Science 81The Stars Star Light, Star Bright Investigation You will work in groups of five to explore the relationship between distance and the brightness ofa flashlight. What You'll Need * an empty light-colored wall surface * a fope measure or meter stick * two flashlights * apencil * colored or black tape What You'll Do 1. Choose a wall surface that is fairly empty in your classroom. 2. Measure 10 centimeters away from the wall. Mark the spot with a piece of tape. Do the same for the following measurements: 1 meter, 2 meters, and 3 meters. 3. Two students stand at the 10-centimeter mark. Each of the remaining three students stands at a different mark. All are facing the wall. U, When your teacher darkens the room, the two students at the 10-centimeter mark turn on their flashlights and shine them on the wall What do the lights on the wall look like? How bright are they? Do they each have the same brightness? Record your observations in the first section of the table on the next page. 5. One student at the 10-centimeter mark hands the flashlight to the student at the 1-meter mark, Both students shine their flashlights. How bright is each light? Is one brighter than the other? Record your observations in the second section of the table. 6. The student at the 1-meter mark hands the flashlight fo the student at the 2-meter mark Both students shine their flashlights. Record your observations in the third section. 7. The student at the 2-meter mark hands the flashlight to the student at the 3-meter mark. Both students shine their flashlights. Record your observations in the fourth section. 8, Then answer the questions. 82 Earth Science ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + © Evan-Moor Corp.The Stars Observations Name. 1. Record your observations in the table. Be very detailed when you describe and compare how bright the lights look at each distance. Distance Observations 10 centimeters 1 meter 2 meters 3 meters Analysis Fern From which distance is the light the brightest? = From which distance is the light the dimmest?, ——__ What relationship do you notice between distance and the brightness of the light? flashlights are at the closest distance? Explain your reasoning. Do you think a larger, stronger flashlight would be brighter at the farthest distance than your (© Evan-Moor Corp. # EMC 4315 « Science Lessons and Investigations Earth Science 83The Stars A Universe of Lights People have been fascinated by stars since the beginning of _ recorded history. Humans have used the patterns of stars in the night sky to find their way for thousands of years. Astronomy, the study of outer space, including stars and planets, is one of the An early telescope made by oldest branches of science. Early astronomers could only observe Galileo in 1609 stars with their eyes until the telescope was invented in the 1600s. A telescope is an instrument that uses lenses or mirrors and allows people to see objects that are far away. The telescope enabled scientists fo learn much more about space and stars The earliest telescopes were small and hand-held, about as strong as modern binoculars. Modern telescopes, such as the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes, are launched into space on specific routes. They send images back fo astronomers on Earth The Hubble Space Telescope What exactly are stars? I!turns out that they are giant balls of 1990 supethot gases that give off their own light. Our sun, lke all suns, isa star, the only star in our solar system. A solar system is a collection of planets, moons, and other objects that orbit a sun. Some solar systems have more than one sun. Imagine what it would be like to have two suns in the sky! The sun is the largest object in our solar system. It would take 109 Earths lined up side by side to fit across the sun! Even though the sun is much larger than Earth, it appears small because itis so far away. Think about when you are traveling, whether itis walking, riding in a car, or even flying in an airplane—objects look much smaller when they are far away, Not every bright object in the sky is a star, however. You can see the moon almost every clear night because it reflects the sun’s light. You might also see chunks of rock called meteors as they fall to Earth. They bum up as they enter our atmosphere, which gives off a flash of light. Comets also appear to give off light. When these zooming balls of frozen A sun is at the center of every solar gases and dust approach the sun, the gases reflect system, Some sola aystems have the sun’ light, making the comets appear to glow. 84 Earth Science Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 +@ Evan-Moor Corp,The sun is about 93 millon miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth. Scientists call this distance an astronomical unit. This means that the sun is 1 astronomical unit (au) away from Earth, The next closest star to Earth is 271,000 astronomical units away. Since most stars are even farther away, scientists don’t usually measure their distances using astronomical units. Instead, scientists measure the distances between stars in light-years. Light travels 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second}. A light-year is the distance that light can travel in a year—that's almost 6 trillion miles (10 trilion kilometers) After the sun, the next closest star fo Earth is over U light- years away. This means it takes over 4 years for the star’s light to reach us. Other stars are hundreds and even thousands of light-years away! If you look at the night sky, you can see that not all stars appear fo have the same magnitude, or brightness. Remember that stars range from about U light-years to thousands of light-years away from Earth, Stars that are closer to Earth appear brighter, while stars that ore farther away appear dimmer. When several really bright stars appear close together, they sometimes suggest a shape and are named These constellations help us orient ourselves in the canopy of lights overhead Canus Major, a constellation that looks like a jumping dog, contains Sirius, Our sun looks big and bright to us, but itis not known Sgr the brightest the largest or brightest star in the universe. If we. compare our sun to other stars, it’s just average in size. The sun appears brighter than any other stars because itis closer to Earth than the rest of the stars. Even though other stars are much bigger than our sun, they appear as tiny dots because they are so far away. I's our sun’s closeness that makes it outshine all the other stars enough to give us daylight. (© Evan-Moor Corp. # EMC 4315 « Science Lessons and Investigations Earth Science 85The Stars Notes Concept Vocabulary astronomical unit: the distance between Earth and the sun, astronomy: the study of outer space, including stars and planets comet: a collection of frozen gases and dust that travels around the sun constellation: {a group of stars that form a shape light-year: the distance light travels in a year magnitude: ‘amount or size; brightness meteor: rock traveling around the sun that comes in contact with a planet's atmosphere orbit: to travel around a central object solar system: a collection of planets, moons, asteroids, meteors, and comets that travel around a sun telescope: an instrument that uses lenses or mirrors to see things that are far away 86 Earth Science ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + © Evan-Moor Corp.The Stars Vocabulary Review Name. 1. What do comets, meteors, and constellations have in common? How are they different? 2. Alight-year and an astronomical unit are both When would you use the term light-year? When would you use the term astronomical unit? 3. Complete the story using concept vocabulary terms, My tenth birthday was the best yet! My dad gave me something I've always wanted: o___ so can look at the night sky! My interest in started when I was six. My dad let me stay up late one night in August to watch something special. We went outside and looked up at the stars. Suddenly, I saw a streak of light swoosh down! It looked like a star with a high ___________ was falling, but my dad said itwas a meteor falling to Earth from space. There were a whole bunch of them that night. It was called the Perseid meteor shower. Since then, we go out whenever a planet in our is reflecting light, just like the moon. It has to be in the right place inits __________ around the sun to be visible on Earth. © Evan-Moor Corp. * EMC 4315 » Science Lessons and Investigations Earth Science 87The Stars Concept Comprehension Name. Use the table to answer questions 1 and 2. the ‘Star are numbers for brightness compare how bright stars appear from Earth on a scale of 1 to 100, A 7 with 1 being dim and 100 being very bright B 3 c 50 D 2 E 98 1. Use the grid below fo create a bar graph comparing the brightness of the five stars. 2. Using your graph, arrange the stars according to their distance from Earth, starting with the closest star. Assume all of the stars are about the same size. Explain how you figured out the order. 88 ~~ Earth Science ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + © Evan-Moor Corp.3. Which is farther from Earth, a star that is 300,000 astronomical units away or a star that is 10 light-years away? Explain your reasoning, U. Ifyou look ata star that is 10 light-years away, what are you actually seeing? 5. Compare the size of Earth and the sun. Explain why the sun looks small in the sky. 6. Why do we see the sun during the day but other stars mostly at night? On Earth, this is similar to © Evan-Moor Corp. * EMC 4315 » Science Lessons and Investigations Earth Science 84The Stars Imagine Name. Imagine that you have the ability to travel to stars outside of our solar system. The next closest star to Earth is about UU light-years away. Using concept vocabulary terms from the unit, write a travel journal describing your adventure. Include what you take along, how long the trip lasts, and what you see along the way. Bon voyage! 40s Earth Science ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + © Evan-Moor Corp.The Stars Compose People have gazed at stars for thousands of years and identified groups of stars that make shapes. People named these star groups, or constellations, alter mythological figures and told stories about them. Many of the constellations contain a star that is brighter than the rest. Create and draw your own constellation made up of at least seven stars. Name your constellation and compose a story about it that explains the constellation’s shape. It can also explain the relationship of the stars to each other © Evan-Moor Corp. * EMC 4315 » Science Lessons and Investigations Earth ScienceThe Stars Project ‘Choose one of the project options below. Option I: Life with Three Suns Journal In 2015, astronomers at the University of Arizona first observed a planet that orbits three suns. The planet, officially called HD 131399Ab but nicknamed Scorpion, is about 340 light-years from Earth. It has one large sun and two smaller suns that twirl around each other as they orbit the larger sun. And the planet travels around all three. For about a quarter of its trip around the suns, the planet is in constant daylight as one sun rises while another sets. Think about what it would be like to live on HD 131399Ab. Imagine that you do, and keep a journal of what happens in o week of living on the planet. Option 2: Star Travel Guide Since ancient times, people have observed and mapped the stars in the night sky. Some stars form patterns. But the patterns that we can see from Earth change throughout the year. This is because our planet is revolving around the sun, but the stars stay in place. The only distant star that doesn't change is the North Star, which is aways directly over the North Pole. During the Age of Exploration (1400s through 1600s}, many countries, mostly in Europe, wanted fo expand trade and find other lands. So they built big ships and headed out to sea. But there were no world maps! To figure out what direction they were going, they watched sun patterns by day and star patterns by night. Do some research on constellations that are easy to recognize and where they appear at different times of year. Write a guide that people could use fo find which way they are headed during different times of the year for the part of the world you live in. It should show different constellations, where they are in relation to the North Star, which months they are visible, and in which direction in the sky they are located, 42 Earth Science Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 +@ Evan-Moor Corp,Page 73 Patterns on Earth ‘esmey Een Ansar wil vary. re ten dapennorig branded nin Meera LYON esi yA SEM yc see ioe th een —BXi8 ee (arenas sin HAMiBAnATOR =irh ones ony dow duow Teenine QUAIL scion otterte spot nin Page 74 Patterns on Earth ‘concep comprebrsion oe ‘GityA gots almost S hours [> weit pees mmorethen cy does | Et cnghstpsticistims | [Tee 5. stadia bpnstaeoron sel one eleg ac eteen would be longer, because a day Is one rotation, would be longer, because a years one revolution, Page 75, Page 87 “J eeeS- ‘hen the sun rises and sets. the shadows are longest and Satcondn Wchenapebsonrgesocehnh nn” longest ‘Wtakos mars time fo climb that high in the sky. The low path at the bottom, ‘shows the sun dnt have o travel The Stars eed Re ee They are all space objects, ‘vant Thay are ma of diffrent things (gases, rock), Comets and metsors move through space, but constlations stayin place, 2 slate atta tere massurements ‘eos in? When tang about things that _ are relly faraway, such as ouside our solar system tees teeta ts -whon faking about things that ae closer, such as inside our solar system + ARI9669p@ stents easy astronomy Spt neste —MAGMIRLLS sory mtr ns tara ey esp awn bch ie Solar SYStOM. inn pete Hanne ian ve —Otbit—aunteabeatan 208 ‘Science Lessons and Investigations * EMC 4315 + @ Evan-Moor Corp.Page 88 Page 89 The Stars cp conrnan _ cicereets slafel- af 100 80 6 ol Brightness ~~“ ee stars EACD.B ‘sends Sinow allo the stars ae the same siz, the brightest sta isthe closest star, Therefore, Eis ‘slosest an B i farthest away from Earth, fcc cee reece ZN ‘Acar thats 10 light-years away is much farther away ‘han a star thats 200,000 astronomical. units away. Light years are much large units, 0 they are used to measure ‘much larger distances, The next closest star to Earths 271,000 astronomical units, which is equal to about ‘light years. ‘You are seving 10-year-old light nother words, we are sesing the ight that shone from the star 10 years agol___ ‘The sun i much arger—vor 100 mes larger—than__ Earth, butt looks smaller because is so faraway, | ty wr ted a et ‘The sun Is very bright because of how close itis. When. woe onthe half f the planet that faces the sun, I ighis ‘up the whole sky. Other stars cart compete, conte nent turning ona flashlight outside during the Page 102 Gravity ebay Revi \ meen GBD VEY norte 2 SIPIHE RL CAL upsiararomiomiotingstns las 8 snore Sm CENTER OF MA SIS spstnterae 6 gsc nto ana ten EXE] T. 8 ngotseotice Setngeueniteainat ATMOSPHERE Gravity ene comprehen se The apple doesnot fll because the hand, & ‘There sno longer a force _—_ ‘ct against gravity, #0 the ‘apple alls tothe ground, Drawings should show an apple 1 ostnsmtam snap soni Gravity pulls every particle of owing ball, & © Evan-Moor Corp. * EMC 4315 + Science Lessons and Investigations 204