| Grade Level | 10 - 12 | |
| Standards | Inquiry Skills | |
| Students will design and conduct scientific investigations | ||
| Astronomy Content | ||
| Students will compare stars and contrast their change and development. | ||
| Objectives |
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| Materials and Activities | |
| Materials | pictures of the stars at various stages
calculators |
| Engage | Students are given pictures of people from babies to old age and are to order them chronologically. Then, students will be given pictures of stars in various stages of development (the web site for the Hubble Space Telescope has some great pictures) and asked to classify them chronologically. |
| Explore | Student will begin with a list of the characteristics of the stars, such as luminosity and temperature, to go along with the pictures. They will develop their own classification system to organize the stars. After they are finished, they should be given the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram to compare their solution to a standard astronomy criteria/theory representation. Then, students should categorize pictures using Redshift software, the Internet, the textbook (diagram on p. 433) or other sources according to age and life cycle. Rationalize choices in an oral report and come to a class consensus thus modeling scientific process by a group of scientists to accept a theory. |
| Explain | The teacher should include descriptions of the history of the observations and development of these current theories. Any vocabulary should be covered and the beginning of nuclear fusion should be discussed to introduce the system that drives stellar development. Text reading, lecture or video presentations of the process of nuclear fusion and the creation of the elements is key at this point in the development of stellar development. |
| Elaborate | Use Einstein's equation E=mc2 to find the energy produced by the sun per second. Using 400,000 tones H/sec, convert to approximately 400,000,000 kg/sec H produced. The speed of light is 3E 8 m/sec. |
| Evaluation | Explain the future of the Sun and it's solar system. Where are we and how much time do we have? |
| Homework | Have students find pictures of stars to place on a Time Line showing various stages in stellar development. Black hole and pulsar readings can lead into the next 5 E's cycle. |
Teacher notes/reminders: Read Steven Hawking's books.
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