Download I CAN SEE THE STARS IN YOUR EYES

Student Resource Sheet ESS - 6
I CAN SEE THE STARS IN YOUR EYES!
Your space craft begins to travel at the speed of light, taking you towards the sun. Traveling
at this speed, the trip from Earth to the sun, a distance of 93 million miles, would take about 8
minutes, not very long for such a long trip! Yet, to get to the next closest star, Proxima
Centauri, would take 4.2 years. “Hmmm…,” you think to yourself, “that might be an
interesting fact to include in my presentation.” Even more amazing is that most stars are much farther
from Earth than Proxima Centauri. Even though the stars in the night sky appear to look the same, they
may be very different. In this investigation, you will identify characteristics of stars in order to
distinguish among the many stars in the universe.
Objective
When you have completed this investigation, you should be able to identify characteristics of stars in
order to explain how these characteristics affect a star’s appearance from Earth.
Activity 1: Before You Read
1.
Observe the materials set-up by the teacher.
2.
Describe the position of the two flashlights in Chart 1, “Observations of Flashlights.”
3.
Observe the brightness of the two flashlights. Record your observations of the lights in Chart 1.
Chart 1
Observations of Flashlights
Description of the
positions of the flashlights
4.
Observations of the brightness of the light
2 meters from the screen
This is lighting a brighter region. The region is smaller.
6 meters from the screen
This is lighting a dimmer region. The region is bigger.
Predict why there was a difference in the brightness of the two flashlights. Use prior knowledge to
support your response.
The light from the flashlight that was 2m from the
screen was brighter than the light from the flashlight
that was 6m from the screen. . .
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Student Resource Sheet ESS - 6
Activity 2: Reading Road Map
LOCATION
Page 127
Classifying Stars Paragraph
1
SPEED
START
What are stars? Stars
READ QUICKLY,
WRITE!
Page 127 Par. 1
are huge
spheres of glowing gas. They
are made up mostly of
hydrogen.
List the characteristics used to classify
stars: ____________________
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
Sizes of Stars
Page 127 Par. 4 – 5
The main characteristics
used to classify stars are size,
temperature, brightness,
color and composition _____
List five sizes of stars from smallest to
largest.
READ SLOWLY,
WRITE!
Neutron star
White dwarf star
Medium sized star
Giant star
Supergiant star
White dwarf stars are about the same size
as what planet? How do neutron stars
compare to white dwarf stars?
Page 127 Par. 5
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
Color & Temp. of Stars
Page 127 Par. 2 – 3
MISSION
READ SLOWLY,
WRITE!
White dwarf stars are about
the same size as Earth.
Neutron stars are much
smaller than white dwarves.
Which stars make up the constellation
Orion?
Orion’s shoulder is
Betelguese. Orion’s heel is
Rigel.
What does a star’s color reveal about the
star?
A star’s color reveals its
temperature.
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Student Resource Sheet ESS - 6
Page 127 Par. 3
READ SLOWLY,
WRITE!
Identify the temperature associated with
each color, and include an example of a
star that would appear each color.
Red: about
3200º C -Betelguese
White: about 5500º C -Our sun
Blue: over 20,000º C -Rigel
Brightness of Stars
Page 128 Par. 4
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
List the two characteristics which
determine a star’s brightness.
A star’s brightness depends on
its size and its temperature.
Define apparent magnitude.
Page 129 Par. 2
Page 129 Par. 2
Page 129 Par. 3
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
Apparent magnitude is a
star’s brightness as seen
from Earth. ______________
Are stars that are closer to Earth and
which appear brighter in the sky,
necessarily brighter stars? Why or why
not? They may only appear
brighter because they are
closer.
Define absolute magnitude.
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
Page 129 Par. 3
STOP!
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Absolute magnitude of a star
is its brightness if it were a
standard distance from
Earth.
How do astronomers determine the
absolute magnitude of a star?
Scientists determine absolute
brightness by studying globular
clusters. The stars in a globular
cluster are all about the same
distance from Earth.
Student Resource Sheet ESS - 6
5.
Review the demonstration from Activity 1. Explain why there is a difference between the brightness
of the two flashlights you observed. Use information from the reading to support your response.
There is a difference in the apparent brightness of the two
flashlights, because they were different distances from the screen.
6.
Observe the teacher demonstration using different sizes of bulbs. Complete Chart 2, “From Lights to
Stars,” based on your observations.
Chart 2
From Lights to Stars
Position of Lights
Lights at different distances
from the screen
(Apparent Magnitude)
Observations of Brightness
They have the same apparent magnitude, because they are
different distances from the screen. The absolute magnitudes
are different.
Lights at equal distances
from the screen
(Absolute Magnitude)
At the same distance from the screen, they have different
apparent magnitudes because their absolute magnitudes are
different.
7.
Compare your observations of the lights using different sized bulbs to your observations using the
flashlights. Tell the difference between apparent and absolute magnitude based on our
flashlights.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
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Analysis
1.
The Sun is a medium sized star while Betelgeuse is a super giant star. However, the Sun appears
much brighter in the sky than Betelgeuse does. Explain why the Sun appears to be so much brighter
than Betelgeuse. In your response you must include information about the apparent and
absolute magnitudes of both stars. Use information from the reading and the demonstrations to
support your response.
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