Solar System Scale & Size Grades: 5-8 Prep Time: ~20 Minutes Lesson Time: ~60 minutes

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1 Slar System Scale & Size Grades: 5-8 Prep Time: ~20 Minutes Lessn Time: ~60 minutes WHAT STUDENTS DO: Explre Size and Distance Relatinships amng Planets Students will create a mdel f the slar system using beads and string, and cmpare planetary sizes using cmmn types f fruit and seeds. In this cllectin, this lessn fllws the simple balln mdel in Lessn 2, cvering the relatinships f size and distance in the slar system. It reinfrces cncepts students have just encuntered in terms f scale and distance and the way in which mdels assist us in understanding. NRC CORE & COMPONENT QUESTIONS WHAT IS THE UNIVERSE & WHAT IS EARTH S PLACE IN IT? NRC Cre Questin: ESS1: Earth s Place in the Universe What are the predictable patterns caused by Earth s mvement in the slar system? NRC ESS1.B: Earth and the Slar System INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able IO1: t mdel the relative size and distance f the slar system See Sectin 4.0 and Teacher Guide at the end f this lessn fr details n Instructinal Objective(s), Learning Outcmes, Standards, & and Rubrics.

2 1.0 Materials Required Materials Please supply: Fr Slar System Bead Mdel Large craft pny beads in 11 suggested clrs (1 f each listed belw) per student Yellw (Sun) Opaque Red (Mercury) Cream (Venus) Clear Blue (Earth) Clear Red (Mars) Black (Asterid belt) Orange (Jupiter) Clear Gld (Saturn) Dark Blue (Uranus) Light Blue (Neptune) Brwn (Plut - dwarf planet) 4.5 meters f string fr each student Small piece f cardbard t wrap the Slar System string arund (10 cm X 10 cm) after the prject is cmplete Measuring tapes (with centimeters), meter sticks, r ther metric measuring tls apple Teacher Tip: Buying the String: T prevent tangling frustratins, a specific type f string is strngly suggested. Yu will be lking fr string that is thicker than twine, but thinner than yarn. It is 100% cttn, 4-ply knitting and weaving yarn that many times can be bught n a large cne. apple Differentiatin Tip: Slar System Beads Fr yunger students r t speed up the activity: 1. The string may be pre-cut and a set f Slar System beads may be put int a plastic baggie fr each student. 2. A pre-measured marking grid can be put n a table tp s the students can mark their measured distances, then tie ff the beads. 3. If students will be marking their string ahead f time fr each planet, tape newspaper t the flr t prevent marking the flr. 4 cm will need t be added t each planet distance measurement t accmmdate tying f the bead (duble knt). 2

3 Fr Farmer s Market Slar System (Class Dem) 1 Hneydew Meln 1 Cantalupe 1 Lemn 1 Lime 2 Grapes 1 Macadamia Nut 3 Peppercrns Please Print: Frm Student Guide: (A) Slar System Predictins 1 per student (B) Slar System Beads 1 per student (C) Planet Bead Calculatins 1 per student (D) Farmer s Market Slar System 1 per student Optinal Materials Frm Teacher Guide: (E) (F) (G) (H) Farmer s Market Slar System Key Slar System Cut-uts Slar System Size and Scale Assessment Rubrics Alignment f Instructinal Objective(s) and Learning Outcme(s) with Knwledge and Cgnitive Prcess Types 3

4 2.0 Vcabulary Astrnmical Unit (AU) a standard measurement used within the slar system; Earth is 1 AU frm the Sun Mdels a simulatin that helps explain natural and human-made systems and shws pssible flaws Planet Predictin Relatinship Scale Slar System System a sphere mving in rbit arund a star (e.g., Earth mving arund the sun) the use f knwledge t identify and explain bservatins r changes in advance (NSES, 1996) the cnnectin amng and between bjects a measurement that will represent a standard measurement fr cmparisn amng bjects ur slar system has 8 planets mving in rbit arund the sun, alng with dwarf planets such as Plut, cmets, asterids, and mns; sme ther stars, like the Sun, have slar systems (planets and ther bdies rbiting them) t an rganized grup f related bjects r cmpnents that frm a whle (NSES, 1996) 3.0 Prcedures PREPARATION (~45 minutes) Cnstructing the Slar System Beads A. Fr each student, have available: string cut in 4.5 m lengths, clred beads, cardbard, tape, and measuring tls. Printing: B. Handuts (A) (D) in the Student Guide at the end f this lessn. Preparing the Farmer s Market Slar System C. Have fruits n hand fr students t examine, r prvide cututs fund in (F) Farmer s Market Slar System, Lw-cst Cututs STEP 1: ENGAGE (~10 minutes) Making Predictins 4

5 A. Ask students t imagine taking a vacatin, visiting all f the planets and ther cl destinatins in the slar system. When we plan a vacatin r trip here n Earth, we have t think abut hw far away things are, and hw lng it will take us t get t each place. Ask students t start with their predictins f hw lng it wuld take t reach each planet r ther bdy frm Earth by drawing relative distances. They shuld use (A) Slar System Predictins in the Student Guide at the end f this lessn. Their predictins are represented by a drawing f what students believe the distance t be between the planets (t the scale f a regular size piece f paper). Ask them t draw all f the planets, including the Sun and Asterid Belt, shwing what they believe t be the relative distances between these bdies. Students may need a reminder abut all f the planets and their rder in the Slar System. Ask students t make a secnd predictin, this time with additinal infrmatin. Explain t them that if we were t drive a car at highway speeds t the Sun, it wuld take abut 163 years t get there. If we were t travel at the same speed t Mars, it wuld take 81 years. T get t dwarf planet Plut, it wuld take 6,357 years! Obviusly, we travel faster than a car when we use a rcket t blast ff (e.g., t Mars, spacecraft travel at ~12,000 miles per hur), but the highway cmparisn gives students an idea f relative distance. apple Differentiatin Tip: Fr lder r mre advanced students, have students calculate mathematically. apple Curisity Cnnectin Tip: Fr making a cnnectin t NASA s Mars Rver Curisity, please shw yur students additinal vide and slideshw resurces at: STEP 2: EXPLORE (~10 minutes) Finding the Scale A. Hand ut (B) Slar System Beads Instructin Sheet and (C) Planet Beads Calculatin Wrksheet. B. Have students cmplete the table in (C) Planet Beads Calculatin Wrksheet, cnverting the varius AU distances t centimeters, and cmplete the chart prvided. C. Have students measure and cut a piece f string 4.5 meters lng. D. Using the calculated cm distances, tie the bead nt the string using a duble knt. E. When students finish the activity, review the mdels, then wrap the Slar System string (with beads) arund the cardbard hlder. 5

6 apple Differentiatin Tip: Slar System Beads fr lder r mre advanced students, measurements can be made each time frm the Sun t the planet and tied n after each measurement. Thus, n additinal 4 cm length will be needed in cmpleting the mdel in this way. STEP 3: EXPLAIN (~20 minutes) Explaining the relatinship between their predictins and results. A. Have students cmplete the questins n (C) Planet Beads Calculatin Wrksheet. STEP 4: ELABORATE (~10 minutes) A. Fr this step, allw students t examine the fruits, nuts, and peppercrns (r cutut shapes in the Teacher Guide). Explain t students, nw that they have an idea f the scale and distance between planets, that it will als apply t the size f the planets. Ask them t predict the size f each planet in the slar system using these materials and the (D) Farmer s Market Slar System Wrksheet. They may use sme fruits, nuts, and peppercrns mre than nce. Ask them t wrk cllabratively t discuss ptential sizes. B. Once students are finished, using (E) Farmer s Market Slar System Key, reveal the Farmer s Market Slar System fr students t cmpare their results. STEP 5: EVALUATE (~20 minutes) Assessing Prpsed Strengths and Weaknesses f Missins. A. By cmpleting the final tw questins n (D) Farmer s Market Slar System Wrksheet, students will reflect n what they have learned. In a grup discussin, ask them t cmpare their initial predictins with what they nw knw. This cnversatin is a gd time t reinfrce the idea that science is all abut nt knwing at first, but finding ways (e.g., using mdels, making predictins) t gain new knwledge. It is als a gd time t reinfrce that they are capable f being scientists by fllwing their curisity, making predictins, cllecting data, and revising their riginal ideas with new infrmatin. 6

7 4.0 Extensins Students may be curius abut why Plut is n lnger cnsidered a planet, and ur slar system nw has 8 planets instead f 9 as we nce thught. Have a discussin abut classificatin lking at cmmn characteristics t grup like things. Explain hw, befre we began explring the slar system with spacecraft and befre we had mre pwerful telescpes and ther tls, we didn t realize that Plut was a lt mre like ther bdies, called dwarf planets, than it is like the 8 planets in ur slar system. It s a gd pprtunity t discuss that science is abut cntinuusly revising ur mdels as we discver new things. 5.0 Evaluatin/Assessment In the Teacher Guide, use the (G) Slar System Rubric as a frmative assessment that aligns with the Cmmn Cre, Next Generatin Science Standards, Natinal Science Educatin Standards, and the instructinal bjective(s) and learning utcmes in this lessn. 7

8 Student Guide (A) Student Handut. Slar System Predictins NAME: 1. Draw yur predictins f the Slar System. Yur teacher will give yu directins. Predictin 1: Predictin 2: 8

9 (B) Student Instructin Sheet. Slar System Beads Student Guide Intrductin: We think abut planets revlving arund the Sun, but d nt think abut hw far each planet is frm the Sun. Astrnmers use the distance frm the Sun t the Earth as an Astrnmical Unit, r AU. This unit gives us an easy way t calculate the distances f the ther planets frm the Sun. Directins: Astrnmical Unit: 1 AU = ~150 millin kilmeters (93 millin miles) Yu will cnstruct a distance mdel f the Slar System t scale, using clred beads as planets. The chart n the next page shws the planets and asterid belt in rder alng with their distance frm the Sun in astrnmical units. Nte: Fr this activity 1 AU = 10 cm 1. Cmplete the chart by multiplying each AU distance by ur scale factr f 10 cm per AU. This prcedure will give yu the measurement f each planet in cm fr yur mdel. 2. Use the new distance (in cm) t cnstruct a scale mdel f ur Slar System. 3. Start yur mdel by cutting a 4.5 m piece f string. 4. Use the distances that yu have calculated in the chart belw t measure the distance frm the Sun n the string t the apprpriate planet and tie the clred bead in place 5. When yu are finished, cmplete the Planet Bead Calculatin Sheet and shw yur mdel t yur teacher. If yu were traveling at the speed f light (~300,000 kilmeters per secnd), it wuld take 8 minutes t travel frm the Sun (Earth s nearest star) t the Earth (1 AU). It wuld take 4.3 years at the same speed t reach the next nearest star t Earth, Alpha Centauri. 9

10 (C) Student Wrksheet. Planet Bead Calculatin Sheet Student Guide Planet AU Scale Value (cm) Clr Sun 0.0 Mercury 0.4 Venus 0.7 Earth 1.0 Mars 1.5 Asterid Belt 2.8 Jupiter 5.0 Saturn 10.0 Uranus 19.0 Neptune 30.0 Plut (Dwarf Planet) 39.0 Cmpare yur bead mdel t the predictins yu made in (A) Slar System Predictins. 1. Hw clse was yur predictin t the actual mdel? What are the differences and similarities between the mdel and yur predictins? 2. When yu g hme and shw yur family r friends yur bead mdel, what will yu tell them was the mst surprising thing yu learned abut the slar system? 10

11 (D) Student Wrksheet. Farmer s Market Slar System Student Guide Wrking with yur partner r grup, discuss the fruits and vegetables yur teacher has prvided. Fr each bdy in the slar system, select ne f these as a representatin f their size in relatinship t each ther. In the justificatin clumn, explain why yu believe this particular fruit r vegetable t be the best chice. Planet Object Justificatin Mercury Venus Earth Mn Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune (Plut) 11

12 (E) Teacher Resurce. Farmer s Slar System Key Teacher Guide Planet Object Justificatin Mercury Peppercrn Venus Grape Earth Grape Mn Peppercrn Mars Macadamia Nut Jupiter Hneydew Saturn Cantalupe Uranus Lemn Neptune Lime (Plut) Peppercrn 12

13 (F) Teacher Resurce. Farmer s Market Slar System, Lw-cst Cututs (1 f 3) Teacher Guide Macadamia Nut Lime Grapes Lemn Peppercrns 13

14 (F) Teacher Resurce. Farmer s Market Slar System, Lw-cst Cututs (2 f 3) Teacher Guide Cantalupe 14

15 (F) Teacher Resurce. Farmer s Market Slar System, Lw-cst Cututs (3 f 3) Teacher Guide Hneydew Meln 15