| Grade Level | 10 - 12 | |
| Standards | Inquiry Skills | |
| Students will design and conduct scientific investigations | ||
| Astronomy Content | ||
| Students will relate solar system motions to time | ||
| Objectives |
|
| Materials and Activities | |
| Materials | globe
Vernier or Team Labs temperature probe and software black paper protractor large bulbed light source small styrofoam ball |
| Engage | Disequilibrium discussion question: Where is the Earth in its orbit around the sun on the winter solstice? Why is it that when we are the closest to the sun, we are in our coldest season? Discuss with students the tilt of the Earth's axis and the difference between the northern and southern hemispheres. |
| Explain | Produce a graph from the exploration of temperature versus angle. Students should develop an explanation of the resulting graph. Students should understand the activity is a model of the real Earth and may produce positive temperatures at the pole (where in the real Earth system we have negative temperatures). |
| Explore | Cut and place a black strip on the globe from
the
equator to the poles. Position the globe near the light source and turn
off the classroom lights. The position of the axis and globe is very important
to the understanding of the activity. The northern hemisphere should be
tilted away from the light source.
Measure the temperature with the probe touching the black paper at each
of the following locations:
Angle TemperatureStudents should look for patterns in the data and summarize. This can be repeated for the southern hemisphere and a summer location/axis tilt. |
| Elaborate | Students should use the globe and a styrofoam ball to model the earth moon system daily and monthly. Then, students should physically stand with the globe tilted towards the light and walk through the seasons by walking around the light source/sun showing the seasons. Aphelion and perihelion are terms that should be introduced along with winter and summer solstice and vernal and autumnal equinox. |
| Evaluation | Students will show their knowledge of the seasons
and the effect of the tilt of the Earth's axis by answering the following:
If the tilt of the Earth's axis increased from 23.5o to 90o, how would our climate and seasons be effected? |
| Homework | Show video of the Coriolis Effect called the Doldrums and Horse Latitudes. |
Teacher notes/reminders: For use with textbook Astronomy: From the Earth
to the Universe pages 90-92. Redshift 2 or 3 or Easy Cosmos software have
demonstrations in a multi-media format.
DoDEA Disclaimer
Updated 9/00
Last Reviewed 10/2001
For additional information, contact the Education Directorate Web Author