Investigating EARTH SCIENCE Critical-Thinking Activities Differentiated Activities Higher-Order Thinking-Skill Activities Interdisciplinary Activities Written by Jim McAlpine, Betty Weincek, Sue Jeweler, and Marion Finkbinder Illustrated by Karen Birchak
This book is dedicated to Alexis Jordan. The purchase of this book entitles the individual teacher to reproduce copies of the student pages for use in his or her classroom exclusively. The reproduction of any part of the work for an entire school or school system or for commercial use is prohibited. ISBN 1-56644-112-9 2003 Educational Impressions, Inc., Hawthorne, NJ Printed in the U.S.A.
Table of Contents Teacher Section...5 19 MINI-UNITS...21 74 The Solar System...23 Interdisciplinary Activities...24 Plane of the Ecliptic/The Big Bang Theory...25 Asteroids/Moons...26 Glaciers...27 Interdisciplinary Activities...28 Moraine/Glacial Movement...29 Sublimation/Crevasses...30 Volcanoes...31 Interdisciplinary Activities...32 Caldera/Eruption...33 Lives of Volcanoes/Ring of Fire...34 Rocks and Minerals...35 Interdisciplinary Activities...36 Fossils/Crystalization...37 Gems/Physical Properties...38 Plate Tectonics...39 Interdisciplinary Activities...40 Pangea/Great Rift Valley...41 Continental Drift/Fault Zone...42 Weather...43 Interdisciplinary Activities...44 Weather Balloon/Coriolis Effect...45 Cyclones and Anticyclones/Fronts...46 Atmosphere...47 Interdisciplinary Activities...48 Ozone Layer/Jet Stream...49 Solar Radiation/Global Warming...50 Oceanography...51 Interdisciplinary Activities...52 Tides/Waves...53 Currents/Sea Floor...54 Educational Impressions, Inc. Investigating Earth Science 3
Climate...55 Interdisciplinary Activities...56 El Niño/Doldrums...57 Horse Latitudes/Climatology...58 Seasons...59 Interdisciplinary Activities...60 Zones/Tropic of Capricorn...61 Tropic of Cancer/The Arctic Circle...62 Calendars...63 Interdisciplinary Activities...64 The Mayan Calendar/The Lunar Year...65 The Julian Calendar/The Gregorian Calendar...66 Geomorphology...67 Interdisciplinary Activities...68 Anticline/Human Effects...69 Geomorphology of the Past/Mountains...70 Water Cycle...71 Interdisciplinary Activities...72 Evaporation...73 Hydroscopic Particles...74 EXPANSION ACTIVITIES...75 79 Make the Connection!...77 Wild Card!...78 Science Expo...79 Bibliography...80 4 Investigating Earth Science Educational Impressions, Inc.
BACKGROUND: The Solar SystemS Our solar system is one of thousands in a great cluster of stars called the Milky Way Galaxy. The solar system consists of a medium-sized, central star, which we call the sun, and its satellites. Our star is surrounded by an array of satellites: planets, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and millions of smaller bodies. The sun is the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system s total mass. This enables the gravitational attraction of the sun to hold onto its satellite family. The nine largest natural satellites orbiting the sun are the planets. From Earth, these look like bright stars that move through the night sky. Ancient astronomers called these big, moving points of light among the stars planets, a word meaning wanderers. The specific names used today for the most easily observed planets came from Roman times and represent Roman gods: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn. Other ancient cultures throughout the world also had names for these wanderers, but the Roman names stuck. With the invention of the telescope, other smaller and more distant planets were discovered, including Uranus in 1781, Neptune in 1846, and Pluto in 1930. The inner planets, called the terrestrial planets, are composed of mostly rock and metal. They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The outer planets, called the gas giants, are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto, the farthest outer planet, has a solid surface, but it is icier than any of the inner planets. Nearly every planet has an atmosphere of some kind. Mercury does not. The smaller bodies that orbit within the solar system include the natural satellites of the sun s satellites. These are called moons. Each moon orbits its own planet. Several planets have a number of moons, others only one. Some of the moons are large enough to have atmospheres; some have magnetic fields; and some may be smaller asteroids that have been captured by a planet s gravity. The large number of small, dense, rocky bodies that orbit the sun are called asteroids. Comets are small icy bodies that travel to and through the inner parts of the solar system in elongated orbits extending far, far out into space. Trillions of comets are found in the two outer reaches of the solar system called the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt. There are many theories about how the solar system came into existence. At one time it was thought that bits of the sun were flung out into space, and when the pieces cooled, the solar system was formed. Another theory is that the sun was once a double star. When its companion star exploded, a disk of gas circled the sun. When the gas condensed, the planets were all formed simultaneously. Scientists continue to study the solar system attempting to confirm or refute these and other theories or to develop new ones. Technology may offer them the tools to answer questions about the solar system s beginnings and its secrets. Educational Impressions, Inc. Investigating Earth Science 23
Interdisciplinary Activities Language Arts: Write a character sketch for each of the nine planets and the sun. Social Studies: Research the names and roles of the planets and comets in several non-european cultures. Science: Determine how and why gravity holds the solar system together. Math: Determine a ratio pattern to explain the rate at which the planets in the solar system orbit the sun. The Arts: Create and produce a television situation comedy called The Solar Family. Contributors: Research to locate an individual or group whose contribution to this concept is or was significant. Explain how and why this contribution was or is so important. 24 Investigating Earth Science Educational Impressions, Inc.
Plane of the Ecliptic The plane of the ecliptic is the flat, disk-shaped area in space through which most of the planets orbit our sun. The planets move at different speeds in elliptical orbits. These orbits are at nearly the same level relative to the sun s equator. As a result of this, the other planets are visible from Earth when the sun is not in the way. Early astronomers related the path of the sun in the daytime to the path of stars in the night sky. They drew it on their star charts. Because of the sun s relationship to eclipses and because the observed orbits of the planets are more or less in the same plane, the great circle on the celestial sphere is called the plane of the ecliptic. All the planets orbit in the same direction. The constellations in the Milky Way Galaxy, through which the ecliptic passes, are known as the Zodiac constellations. Activities List the planets in order outward from the sun on the plane of the ecliptic. Name the planet that does not orbit on the plane of the ecliptic. Create a demonstration that shows how the planets orbit in the plane of the ecliptic. Write a song called The Plane of the Ecliptic. Hypothesize what the solar system would be like if each planet had a unique orbital plane. The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory is an idea that attempts to explain how the universe came to be. Georges Lemaître (1894 1966) was a Belgian astrophysicist who studied Albert Einstein s ideas about gravitation. Agreeing with Einstein that the universe was expanding, Lemaître proposed his own theory that the universe was expanding at the same rate but outward in all directions. He theorized that the universe began with the explosion of a primordial atom between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago. His idea was that this cosmic explosion hurled matter outward in every direction. In 1929, Edwin Hubble found experimental evidence that galaxies were moving away from each other at very high speeds. Lemaître used Hubble s discovery to support his theory. As new evidence is collected, the big bang theory may finally be proven or another concept developed. Activities Explain how a bursting water balloon could represent the idea of the big bang theory. Investigate and explain Hubble s experimental evidence. Identify and explain several other theories about the origin of the universe. Develop a model to demonstrate the constantly expanding universe. Hypothesize the origin of the primordial atom. Educational Impressions, Inc. Investigating Earth Science 25
Asteroids Asteroids, from the Greek word meaning starlike, are small solar satellites with diameters from a fraction of a mile to Ceres, the largest known asteroid, which is 623 miles, or 1,003 kilometers in diameter; Ceres was discovered in 1801. Their structure is mostly rock which is rich in iron and other metals. They may contain ice as well. Most of the asteroids are in a band on the plane of the ecliptic between Mars and Jupiter. This enormous ring is called the Asteroid Belt. Other asteroids have their own routes through the galaxy and sometimes collide with other members of the sun s family. Others are located in different regions of the solar system. Scientists theorize that the Asteroid Belt may be the remains of a smashed planet or a moon of Jupiter. Activities List as many science words as you can using only the letters in the word asteroid. Research who discovered Ceres. Determine the number of times asteroids hit the earth. As a fashion designer, create and model the Asteroid Belt. Write a mystery that solves the problem of how the Asteroid Belt was created. Moons Moons are natural satellites that travel around most of the planets in the solar system. There are at least 91 moons in our system, many of which have been discovered by various spacecraft. Moons range in size from about 2,160 miles in diameter to small pieces of debris. Some moons, like Saturn s Titan, have atmospheres; others, like Jupiter s Ganymede, have magnetic fields. Some moons may be asteroids that were captured by a planet s gravitational pull. Earth s moon is approximately 239,000 miles away and it orbits Earth from west to east in about 29 days. Moons have no light of their own, but reflect the sun s light as they revolve around the planet. Earth s moon s surface has waterless seas, mountain peaks, and craters; this may demonstrate what Earth s surface might look like without its protective atmosphere. Activities Make a list of the moon s effects on Earth. Create a timeline of the advance in technology for studying the natural satellites in the solar system. Compare and contrast the real experiences and observations of explorers on the Earth s moon with the theoretical ones on Titan and Ganymede. As an inhabitant of a planet with 5 moons, write an image poem describing what you see. 26 Investigating Earth Science Educational Impressions, Inc.