Download BUILD A SUNSPOT VIEWER OVERVIEW Program DIRECTIONS

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BUILD A SUNSPOT VIEWER
Howcanyousafelyobservethesun?
OVERVIEW
Studentsconstructapinholeviewertosafelyobservethesunandsunspots.
Forthecompleteactivitywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/build-a-sunspot-viewer/
Program
DIRECTIO NS
1.WatchtheNASAvideo“Whataresunspots?”
ShowstudentstheNASAvideo“Whataresunspots?”Providesupportfor
vocabularytermssunspots,magneticfield,photosphere,convection,and
atmosphere,asneeded.Thencheckstudents’understanding.Askstudentsto
restatethecomparisonofsunspotstolightbulbsintheirownwords.
2.Introducetheactivityandsafetyconcerns.
Explaintostudentsthatlookingdirectlyatthesunisverydangerousandcan
causepermanentdamagetohumaneyes.Makesurethatstudentsunderstand
thatnoone—notevenscientists—everlookdirectlyatthesun.Instead,
scientistsusemethodsthatallowthemtoobservethesunindirectly.Inthis
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activity,studentswillbuildapinholeviewerthatwillallowthemtoobservethe
sunindirectlyandsafely.
3.Havestudentsbuildapinholeviewertoviewsunspots.
Dividestudentsintosmallgroupsof3or4.Beforestudentsbegin,projectthe
step-by-stepillustrationforthemtorefertoastheybuildtheirviewers.
Takethecardboardboxandcuta2centimeterx2centimeterholeatone
end.
Tapeapieceofaluminumfoiloverthehole,makingsureitistaut.
Carefullyusethepushpinorsewingneedletopokeaholeintothefoil.
Attheoppositesideofthebox,cutasmallwindowabout1centimeterfrom
theend.Thewindowshouldbenolargerthan10centimetersx3
centimeters.Makesurethatthewindowisnowiderthanthesideofthebox.
Tapeapieceofwhitepapertotheinsideofthebox.Thiswillbeyourviewing
screen.
Aimthepinholesideoftheprojectoratthesun.Keeppositioningthe
projectoruntilyouhavetheimageofthesunonyourscreen.Itwillappearto
beawhitedisk.
4.Havestudentsmakeamathconnection.
Tellstudentsthattheycangatherdatafromtheirsunspotvieweractivityto
calculate,orfigureout,thediameterofthesun.Firstmodel,andthenhave
themdothefollowingstepsinorder:
Drawacirclearoundtheimageoftheprojectedsunonthepaper.Findthe
centerofthecirclebyfoldingthecircletwicemakingsuretheouteredgesof
thecirclelineup.Foramoreprecisemethod,studentscanusethechord
bisectormethod,describedbelow.Placeadotintheexactcenterofthe
circle.
Drawanytwochords,orlinesegmentsthatcrossintwoplacesonthe
circumferenceofthecircle.
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Drawalinesegmentperpendicular(ata90°angle)tothechordtowardthe
centerofthecircle.
Repeatwiththesecondchord.
Findthecenterofthecircleatthepointwherethetwoperpendicularlines
drawnintersectorcross.
Then,usearulertomeasurethedistancefromthecenterofthecircletoone
sideofthecircleincentimeters.Thisistheradiusofthecircle.Multiplythe
radiusby2tocalculatethediameter.
Usearulertomeasurethedistancefromthepinholetothepaper.The
pinholeisontheoppositesideoftheboxfromthepaper.Calculatethe
distancebymeasuringthelengthofthebox.Measureusingcentimeters.
Finally,usethisformula:Diameteroftheimageofthesun÷distancefrom
thepinholetothepaper×distancefromEarthtosun,approximately
149,600,000kilometers(92,957,130miles)=diameterofthesun
Notethatstudentsshouldarriveataresultforthediameterofthesunthatis
approximately1.4millionkilometers(870,000miles).Explaintherelativesizeof
theEarthandthesun.Tellstudentsthatthesun’sdiameterisabout100times
thatoftheEarth.
5.Havestudentsusetheirpinholecameratotracksunspotsoveraperiodof
time.
Explaintostudentsthatsunspotscanserveasmarkerstohelpusseethesun’s
rotation.DistributeonecopyoftheworksheetSunspotMappingGridtoeach
group.Askgroupstosketchandlabeleachsunspotfor10days.
6.Haveawhole-classdiscussionaboutwhatstudentsobservedovertime.
Afterstudentshavetrackedsunspotsfortendays,haveawhole-class
discussionaboutwhattheyobserved.Ask:
Havethesunspotsmoved?Describetheirmovement.
Havetheshapesandsizesofthesunspotschanged?How?
Aretherefewersunspotsormoresunspots?Whydoyouthinkthatis?
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Whatdidyoulearnaboutthesun’srotationbytrackingsunspotsovertime?
Studentsshouldunderstandthatthesunrotates,whichcausessunspotstovary
overtimeinaregularandsomewhatpredictableway.
TipSafety
Periodicallyremindstudentstoneverlookdirectlyatthesun.Makesure
studentsunderstandtheycancauseirreversibledamagetotheireyeswithout
usingtheproperequipmentandtechniquestoviewthesun.
Modification
SimplifyStep4forstudentsinyoungergrades.Insteadofusingthechord
bisectormethod,havethemtrace,cut,andfoldthecircleinhalf.Thenmeasure
thatlinetoestablishdiameter.
InformalAssessment
Haveeachstudentwriteabriefparagraphdefiningwhatsunspotsareand
explainingwhatcanbelearnedaboutthesun'srotationbytrackingsunspots.
Encouragestudentstousevocabularytermssunspots,magneticfield,and
photosphereintheirparagraphs.
ExtendingtheLearning
HavestudentsusetheNationalGeographicsuninteractiveTheCenterofitAllto
learnmoreaboutsurfacefeaturesofthesun,suchassunspots,solarflares,
andsolarprominences.
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
InformalEducation
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AcademicEnrichment
Mathematics
Geometry
Measurement
Probability
Science
Astronomy
Spacesciences
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
explaintheimportanceofsafetywhenobservingthesun
gatherdataandcalculatethediameterofthesun
tracksunspotsandmakeobservationsaboutthem
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
TeachingMethods
Cooperativelearning
Discussions
Hands-onlearning
Inquiry
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
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21stCenturyStudentOutcomes
LearningandInnovationSkills
CommunicationandCollaboration
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Creating
Understanding
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N C T M P RI N C I P LE S A N D S TA N DA RDS F O R S C H O O L
M AT H E M AT I C S
•Algebra(6-8)Standard4:
Analyzechangeinvariouscontexts
•DataAnalysis&Probability(6-8)Standard2:
Selectanduseappropriatestatisticalmethodstoanalyzedata
•Geometry(3-5)Standard2:
Specifylocationsanddescribespatialrelationshipsusingcoordinategeometry
andotherrepresentationalsystems
N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E E DU C AT I O N S TA N DA RDS
•(5-8)StandardB-3:
Transferofenergy
•(5-8)StandardD-3:
Earthinthesolarsystem
•(K-4)StandardD-2:
Objectsinthesky
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I S T E S TA N DA RDS F O R S T U DE N T S (I S T E S TA N DA RDS *S )
•Standard2:
CommunicationandCollaboration
PREPARATIO N
WhatYou’llNeed
M AT E RI A LS YO U P RO V I DE
Aluminumfoil
Pencils
Rulers
Sewingneedlesorpushpins
Shoeboxes,or2-footrectangularcardboardboxes
Telescopeorbinoculars
Transparenttape
Whitepaper
Whiteposterboard
RE Q U I RE D T E C H N O LO G Y
InternetAccess:Required
TechSetup:1computerperclassroom,Projector,Speakers
Plug-Ins:Flash
P H Y S I C A L S PA C E
Classroom
Outdoornaturalenvironment
SETUP
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Openspace
G RO U P I N G
Small-groupinstruction
O T H E R N O T E S
Ideally,thisactivitywilltakeplaceovertendays.
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: U N DE F I N E D
WhatareSunspots?
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: H A N DO U T S & W O RK S H E E T S
SunspotMappingGrid
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: I M A G E S
PinholeSunspotViewer
TelescopeProjector
BinocularProjector
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
ThesunisresponsibleforalllifeonEarth;itgivesuslightandheat.Thesunis
notasolidbody;itisagiantballofgas,mademostlyofhydrogenandhelium.
Thesurfaceofthesuniscalledthephotosphere.Sunspotsarecoolerregionson
thesun,causedbecauseofastrongmagneticfield.Sunspotsappeardarkonly
becausetheyarenotashotorbrightastheareasurroundingthem.The
averagesurfacetemperatureofthesunis6,273Kelvin(6,000degreesCelsius).
Sunspotsareabout4,773Kelvin(4,500degreesCelsius).
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PriorKnowledge
[]
RecommendedPriorActivities
None
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
atmosphere noun
chord
noun
convection noun
diameter
noun
Kelvinscale noun
magnetic
field
noun
photospherenoun
sunspot
Definition
Speech
noun
layersofgasessurroundingaplanetorothercelestial
body.
straightlinesegmentjoiningandincludedbetweentwo
pointsonacircle.
transferofheatbythemovementoftheheatedpartsofa
liquidorgas.
widthofacircle.
scaleformeasuringtemperaturewherezeroKelvinis
absolutezero,theabsenceofallenergy.
areaaroundandaffectedbyamagnetorcharged
particle.
lowestvisiblelayerofastarandtheboundaryfromwhich
thestar'sdiameterismeasured.
dark,coolerareaonthesurfaceofthesunthatcan
move,change,anddisappearovertime.
ForFurtherExploration
Websites
HighAltitudeObservatory(HAO):QuestionsandAnswersAbouttheSun
NASA:SolarandHeliosphericObservatory(SOHO)
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NationalSolarObservatory
NationalGeographicScience:Space
NASA:LivingwithaStar—TheSun-EarthConnection
SolarandHeliosphericObservatory(SOHO):RealTimeGIFMovies
SolarandHeliosphericObservatory(SOHO):OurStartheSun
StanfordSolarCenter
NationalGeographicScience:TheSun—LivingWithaStormyStar
NatGeoMovies:WildestWeatherintheSolarSystem
FU NDER
©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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