Name Class Date _ Learning Unit: Inquiry (Mathematics); Interactions (Science) Lesson Plan: Counting Sunspots Content Strand: Data Analysis and Probability (Mathematics); Content Strand: Energy Transformation (Science) Pacing: Block = 45 minutes Inquiry Benchmarks 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science. 2. Demonstrate the interactions between science and society through historical examples. Benchmark: 1. Explore and describe in words simple and complex patterns in the environment. 2. Collect data and create appropriate graphs to illustrate findings. 3. Make identifications, comparisons, predictions, and solve application problems using scatterplots, picture, bar, circle, and line graphs. 4. Find the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data and use them in application problems. 5. Detect misuses of statistical or numerical information. 6. Use elementary notations of probability. 7. Explore the role of sampling and collecting data in making a statistical argument. 8. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the relationships between heat transfer, temperature, and properties of materials. OGT Outcomes: 1. Represent a mathematical relationship using a table, graph, symbols, and words, and describe how a change in the value of one variable affects the value of a related variable. 2. Create, interpret and/or analyze tables, charts, and graphs involving data. 3. Choose and apply measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode) and variability (range and visual displays of distribution). 4. Represent and interpret the possible outcomes for a mathematical situation and calculate probabilities. Block 1/ Engagement (a. pre-assessment, motivating activity, posing a problem; b. evaluation - formal and informal questioning, one of which is open-ended, problem-solving approach) Focus "It is reported that about 400 BC near Mt. Lycabettus, in Greece, a man named Meton was observing the Sun as he sought to determine predictable changes in the location of - 1-07/30/2002
sunrise and moonrise. The mist made blemishes on the Sun stand out with unusual clarity, and, acting on a hunch, Meton looked back through his 20 years of notes. He concluded that weather tended to be rainier when spots appeared on the Sun. This is the first report of the solar-climate link. It was another 2,000 years before anyone noticed sunspots again. In the early 1600's Galileo "discovered" sunspots, using their existence as an argument against the Ptolemaic model of the Universe. Activity Project a series (ideally representing examples of a complete sunspot cycle) of solar photographs which illustrate sunspot patterns, including some photographs without noticeable sunspots. Each photograph needs time and date information included. (Alternative: create unique packets of photographs to be distributed to groups of students.) Using cooperative learning groups, challenge students to make observations about these photographs and to organize the observations in a table. Ask the students: Do you see any patterns in the photographs? Students will then develop inferences based on these observations. Probe student inferences by formal and informal questioning. This process will uncover prior student (mis)conceptions and understandings regarding sunspots and sunspot cycles. Causal and unconnected observations may also be discovered. The teacher shares additional historical information. In 1848, Rudolph Wolfe devised a method of counting sunspots that captured the level of activity of the Sun. Wolfe s method of counting sunspots was to count the number of groups of spots and the total number of spots, including the spots within each group since neither the total number of sunspots nor the number of groups of sunspots alone gives a true measure of the Sun's activity. If G is the number of groups of spots and N is the total number of spots, then the Wolfe activity number, R, is determined by the following equation: R = 10G + N The Wolfe Activity Number is the oldest index of the Sun's activity. Evaluation: At the end of the activity the students will report any patterns in the sunspot data. Students may report their findings by written entries in their journals/notebooks. Block 2/ Exploration (a. student-centered activity-based data collection involving all students, i.e. no demos by teacher or one student; b. evaluation: student organization of data, i.e. no data sheets provided, formal and informal questioning as above.) Introduction: In 1851 Heinrich Schwabe demonstrated that there was a periodicity in sunspot cycles, an average of 11.3 years during which sunspot activity increased to a peak and then decreased. This 11.3 year cycle has been occurring with consistent regularity over the history of solar observation. Supposed connections have been made between this - 2-07/30/2002
cycle and salmon populations, grain harvests, mood swings, illnesses, volcanoes and earthquakes. In the 20th Century, meteorologists began to look for consistent changes that could be associated with changes in the sunspot count. Introduce the problem by posing open-ended questions such as: What possible effects on Earth and its inhabitants could be caused by sunspot activity? What data do we need to collect? How long do we need to collect this data? Procedure - Direct observation: Have students set up their procedures for gathering their data (ex. Data table, date/time of each picture, number of pictures, telescope direction). The teacher will provide the procedure for using the university instrument. See telescope procedures. Explain to the students: The images you have obtained from the telescope are in the format of JPEG. You must use computer image software to join these two images to produce on complete image of the Sun. You will now work with this joined image. Using this joined image of the Sun, observe the structure of any sunspots. Sketch the positions on the data sheet that you have developed. Count the number of groups of spots and the total number of spots. Determine the sunspot number, R, for the date of the observation. Record this information on your data sheet. Procedure - Online Data Sets The Wolf Activity Count is the oldest index of the Sun's activity. This daily value has been recorded for over a century. This data is available on line by visiting: http://www. ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/solar/ssn/ssn.html where the data can be downloaded. Students will access online climate data for the identified date. Evaluation: Student hypotheses, based on the effects sunspots have on (student choice), are appropriate. Students experimental design, data collection, techniques, and sources used are relevant to the hypothesis. Block 3/ Explanation (a. student reporting of their activity, answering the posed "engagement" question; b. explicit plan for introduction of clearly-defined vocabulary; c. evaluation: formal and informal questioning as above, requiring problem-solving, writing, stating conclusions, or making explanations) Students report their findings in regard to their hypotheses using appropriate graphs. Using appropriate data analysis and probability techniques, students should make a statistical argument that supports or rejects their hypotheses. Students will use appropriate science and mathematics vocabulary to report their findings. - 3-07/30/2002
Evaluation: Using data and class discussion, students should make explanations based on their data and make conclusions about their hypotheses. Students explanations should include correct terminology. Explanations should be written. See Vocabulary in Teacher s Notes. Block 4/ Elaboration (a. introduce new information, real-life application, pose new problem; b. evaluation: formal and informal questioning as above, requiring higher level thinking.) Teacher begins a class discussion: In order for one thing to effect another, something must travel between them. What things travel between the Sun and the Earth? (Possibilities: light, radiant energy or solar material.) How long does each take to travel between the Sun and Earth? How does this affect your data collection procedures? If it takes time for something to travel between the Sun and the Earth, what might be the relationship between the sunspot cycle and the variable under consideration? Given the data that you have gathered, what predictions can you make regarding sunspot activity and the variable under consideration in one year, ten years, 100 years, or 10,000 years? What data representation will you use to support your predictions? How confident are you in your predictions? What difference does knowing this information make in your personal lives? Evaluation: Did students use correct vocabulary, appropriate graphs and illustrations, and numerical calculations to formulate their predictions? Students may report their predictions and answer the discussion questions either orally or by written entries in their journals/notebooks. NOTES: In order for the Sun to affect a phenomenon on the Earth, something must travel between the Sun and the Earth. A number of things travel from the Sun to the Earth: Light, Radio Waves, X-Rays, atomic and sub-atomic particles. Any one of these could affect the phenomenon being studied as dependent on the number of sunspots; but account must be taken of the time for the effect to travel between the Sun and the Earth. Light, Radio Waves etc. take about 8 minutes to travel between the Sun and the Earth; atomic and sub-atomic particles take about 3 days. If students decide to collect climate data, tell the students that the daily values of temperature, rainfall, windspeed, wind direction has been recorded for over a decade. This data is available for various sites by visiting: To locate the station of interest nearest you visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/stationlocator.html Vocabulary: Photosphere - the surface of the Sun that we normally observe, the surface at which the Sun's atmosphere becomes dense enough to be opaque at optical - 4-07/30/2002
wavelengths. Sunspot cycle - the number of sunspots on the Sun s surface varies in a pattern that repeats itself. The time taken for the pattern to repeat itself is called a sunspot cycle. Wolfe activity number devised in 1846 by Rudolph to count the number of sunspots in such a way as to reflect the way the features in the Sun s surface are changing. Periodicity a phenomenon that repeats itself again and again is said to have a periodicity. Mean - An average, or mean, simplifies a list of numbers into a single number that approximates their value. Median - The median is the middle number in a group of numbers; when there is no middle number, median is the mean or average of the two middle numbers. Mode - The mode is the number that appears most often in a set of numbers. If no number occurs more than once, there is no mode. If two numbers occur more than once and the same amount of times, they are both considered the mode. Range - This is the difference between the highest and the lowest number in a group. Scatter plot - A scatter plot displays data from two sets as ordered pairs. Fitted line - A straight line that closely fits the data points on a scatter plot. Frequency - The frequency of an item is the number of times it occurs. Comparisons - Making statements based on examination of data and the discovery of likeness. Contrast - Making statements based on examination of data and the discovery of noticeable differences in the data. Prediction - To declare in advance an outcome based on observation, experience, or reasoning. Telescope Procedures: Connect to: http://nebula.uakron.edu/telescope Click on: "View through telescope" Click on: "Select view of telescope" From the menu, select "Sun". You will be directed to the "Observatory Status" page. If the Observatory is closed, then open it. (This operation takes about one minute, the status being updated every 30 seconds.) When the Observatory is open, click on "View through telescope". You will be routed to the "Present View through the telescope" page. The image updates every 30 seconds, so after about a minute the image of the Sun will appear. The telescope has a field of view of about 2/3 of a degree. Since the angular diameter of the Sun is about 1, you will need to take two pictures and join them. Click on the "Download Picture" button. After the picture is downloaded, click on the "move telescope to other portion". The image will take about 30 seconds to update. Again, click on "Download picture". - 5-07/30/2002
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