Download here - ScienceA2Z.com

Laboratory Title:
Your Name:
Concept(s) Addressed:
Lab Goals:
Lab Objectives:

Benchmark(s) Addressed:
Materials and Costs:
List the equipment and non-consumable material and estimated cost of each
Item ..........................................................................................................................$
....................................................................................................................................
Estimated total, one-time, start-up cost: ..................................................................$
List the consumable supplies and estimated cost for presenting to a class of 30 students
Item ..........................................................................................................................$
....................................................................................................................................
Estimated total, one-time, start-up cost: ..................................................................$
Time:
Preparation time:
Instruction time:
Clean-up time:
Assessment (include all assessment materials):
1
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_%28spatial%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_units_of_length
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder
Introduction
Scale
Spatial scale provides a "shorthand" form for discussing relative lengths, areas, distances and
sizes. A microclimate, for instance, is one that might occur in a mountain valley or near a
lakeshore, whereas a megatrend is one which involves the whole planet.
It is important to realize that these divisions are more or less arbitrary, and where, on this table,
mega- is assigned global scope, it may only apply continentally or even regionally in other
contexts. The interpretations of meso- and macro- must then be adjusted accordingly.
The cosmic distance ladder is the succession of methods by which astronomers determine the
distances to celestial objects. A real direct distance measurement to an astronomical object is
only possible for those objects that are "close enough" (within about a thousand parsecs) to earth.
The techniques for determining distances to more distant objects are all based on various
measured correlations between methods that work at close distances with methods that work at
larger distances. The ladder analogy arises because no one technique can measure distances at all
ranges encountered in astronomy. Instead, one method can be used to measure nearby distances,
a second can be used to measure nearby to intermediate distances, and so on. Each rung of the
ladder provides information that can be used to determine the distances at the next higher rung.
At the base of the ladder are fundamental distance measurements, in which distances are
determined directly, with no physical assumptions about the nature of the object in question.
These direct methods are:
 parallax (or triangulation) based upon trigonometry, using precise measurements of
angles, similar to what is used in surveying.
 light travel time (that is, the constancy of the speed of light), as in radar. Radar can (for
practical reasons) only be used within the Solar System.
The precise measurement of stellar positions is part of the discipline of astrometry.
The most important fundamental distance measurements come from parallax. The Earth's motion
around the sun causes small shifts in stellar positions. These shifts are angles in a right triangle,
with 1 AU making the short leg of the triangle and the distance to the star being the long leg.
One parsec is the distance of a star whose parallax is one arc second. Astronomers usually
express distances in units of parsecs; light-years are used in popular media, but almost invariably
values in light-years have been converted from numbers tabulated in parsecs in the original
source.
Another fundamental distance method is statistical and secular parallax. This technique combines
measurements of the motions and brightnesses of members of a selected, homogeneous group of
2
stars in a statistical way to deduce an average distance to the group. It remains an important
technique for the Cepheids and the RR Lyrae variables.
Moving cluster parallax is a technique where the motions of individual stars in a nearby star
cluster can be used to find the distance to the cluster. Only open clusters are near enough for this
technique to be useful. In particular the distance obtained for the Hyades has been an important
step in the distance ladder.
Other astronomical distance measures build outward from this.
With few exceptions, distances based on direct measurements are available only out to about a
thousand parsecs, which is a modest portion of our own Galaxy. For distances beyond that,
measures depend upon physical assumptions, that is, the assertion that one recognizes the object
in question, and the class of objects is homogeneous enough that its members can be used for
meaningful estimation of distance.
A succession of distance indicators, which is the distance ladder, is needed for determining
distances to other galaxies. The reason is that objects bright enough to be recognized and
measured at such distances are so rare that few or none are present nearby, so there are too few
examples close enough with reliable trigonometric parallax to calibrate the indicator.
Because the more distant steps of the cosmic distance ladder depend upon the nearer ones, the
more distant steps include the effects of errors in the nearer steps, both systematic and statistical
ones.
Another concern, especially for the very brightest standard candles, is their "standardness": or
how homogeneous the objects are in their true absolute magnitude. Simply stated, a dim, close
star may appear brighter than a far, bright star. Stars range in how bright they shine, and this is
related to their color. Blue white stars are the brightest, and red stars are the dimmest, and that
give clues to how hot and bright the star is.
The observational result of Hubble's Law, the proportional relationship between distance and the
speed with which a galaxy is moving away from us (usually referred to as redshift) is a product
of the cosmic distance ladder. Hubble observed that fainter galaxies are more red-shifted.
Finding the value of the Hubble constant was the result of decades of work by many
astronomers, both in amassing the measurements of galaxy redshift and in calibrating the steps of
the distance ladder. Hubble's Law is the primary means we have for estimating the distances of
quasars and distant galaxies in which individual distance indicators cannot be seen.
3
Scale - Minimum to Maximum
Factor
Value
10-35
1.6x10-35
10-18
10-15
10-14
10-12
1 pm (pico meters)
5 pm
-11
10
25 pm
10-10
154 pm
-9
10
2 nm
10-8
90nm
-7
10
380-740nm
-6
10
~5μm
10-5
80μm
-4
10
500μm
10-3
5mm
-2
10
2.54cm
10-1
91cm
0
10
1.7m
1
10
91.44m
102
340m
3
10
8848m
104
10.9km
5
10
975km
106
3,480km
7
10
40,075km
8
10
299,792.5km
109
1 million km
10
10
18 million km
1011
150 million km
12
10
3x109
1013
15.67x109 km
15
10
7.5x1012 km
16
10
4.22 light years
1017
20.4 light years
18
10
200 light years
1021
1.6 Zm (zeta meters)
22
10
22.3 Zm
23
10
~450 Zm
1024
200 million light years
26
10
13.7x109 light years
1053
1x1037 light years
Item
Planck length, size of string
Quarks and electrons
proton
Atomic nucleus
Wavelength of gamma rays
Wavelength of x-rays
Radius of hydrogen atom
Length of covalent bond
Diameter of DNA helix
Mean diameter of HIV
Wavelengths of visible light
Diameter of typical bacterium
Average width of a human hair
Diameter of human ovum
Length of average red ant
Length of 1 inch
Length of 1 yard (36 inches)
Height of average human being
Length of an American football field
Distance sound travels in one second
Height of the highest mountain, Mount Everest
Deepest trench in Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench
Diameter of largest asteroid, Ceres
Diameter of Moon
Length of Earth’s equator
Distance light travels in one second
Diameter of Sun
Greatest mileage recorded by a car (1966 Volvo)
Mean distance from Earth to the Sun
Pluto’s orbital distance from the sun, edge of Kuiper belt
Distance Voyager 1 has traveled
Boundary of Oort cloud
Nearest star Proxima Centauri
Distance to nearest planet w/potential for life
Our “sister solar system” HIP 56948
Distance to Large Magellanic Cloud
Distance to Andromeda Galaxy
Distance to Virgo cluster of galaxies
Diameter of local supercluster
Size of visible universe
Size of universe
4
Space
The concept of space has been of interest for philosophers and scientists for much of human
history. The term is used somewhat differently in different fields of study, hence it is difficult to
provide an uncontroversial and clear definition outside of specific defined contexts.
Disagreement also exists on whether space itself can be measured or is part of the measuring
system. Science considers space to be a fundamental quantity (a quantity which can not be
defined via other quantities because other quantities — like force and energy — are already
defined via space). Thus an operational definition is used in which the procedure of measurement
of space intervals (distances) and the units of measurement are defined.
Space has a range of definitions:
 One view of space is that it is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a set of
dimensions in which objects are separated and located, have size and shape, and through
which they can move.
 A contrasting view is that space is part of a fundamental abstract mathematical
conceptual framework (together with time and number) within which we compare and
quantify the distance between objects, their sizes, their shapes, and their speeds. In this
view, space does not refer to any kind of entity that is a "container" that objects "move
through".
These opposing views are relevant also to definitions of time. Space is typically described as
having three dimensions, and three numbers are needed to specify the size of any object and/or
its location with respect to another location. Modern physics does not treat space and time as
independent dimensions, but treats both as features of space-time – a conception that challenges
intuitive notions of distance and time.
In physics
Space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, meaning that it cannot be defined via
other quantities because there is nothing more fundamental known at present. Thus, similar to the
definition of other fundamental quantities (like time and mass), space is defined via
measurement. Currently, the standard space interval, called a standard meter or simply meter, is
defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of exactly
1/299,792,458 of a second. This definition coupled with present definition of the second is based
on the special theory of relativity, that our space-time is a Minkowski space.
Before Einstein's work on relativistic physics, time and space were viewed as independent
dimensions. Einstein's discoveries have shown that due to relativity of motion our space and time
can be mathematically combined into one symmetric object — space-time
Spatial measurement
The International System of Units, (SI), is now the most common system of units used in the
measuring of space, and is almost universally used within science.
Time
Time is a basic component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the
durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. Time
5
has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining time in a noncontroversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest
scholars.
In physics and other sciences, time is considered one of the few fundamental quantities. Time is
used to define other quantities (such as velocity) and defining time in terms of such quantities
would result in circularity of definition. An operational definition of time, wherein one says that
observing a certain number of repetitions of one or another standard cyclical event (such as the
passage of a free-swinging pendulum) constitutes one standard unit such as the second, has a
high utility value in the conduct of both advanced experiments and everyday affairs of life. The
operational definition leaves aside the question whether there is something called time, apart
from the counting activity just mentioned, that flows and can be measured. Investigations of a
single continuum called space-time brings the nature of time into association with related
questions into the nature of space.
Among philosophers, there are two distinct viewpoints on time. One view is that time is part of
the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence. Sir
Isaac Newton subscribed to this realist view, and hence it is sometimes referred to as Newtonian
time. The opposing view is that time does not refer to any kind of "container" that events and
objects "move through", nor to any entity that "flows", but that it is instead part of a fundamental
intellectual structure (together with space and number) within which humans sequence and
compare events. This second view, in the tradition of Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant,
holds that time is not itself some thing and therefore is not to be measured.
Temporal measurement has occupied scientists and technologists, and was a prime motivation in
astronomy. Periodic events and periodic motion have long served as standards for units of time.
Examples include the apparent motion of the sun across the sky, the phases of the moon, the
swing of a pendulum, and the beat of a heart. Currently, the international unit of time, the
second, is defined as a certain number of hyperfine transitions in cesium atoms (see below).
Time is also of significant social importance, having economic value ("time is money") as well
as personal value, due to an awareness of the limited time in each day and in human lifespans.
Materials:
DVD or VHS tape of Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames
TV with DVD or VCR player
Metric rulers, 1 per student
String – 111 meters total x number of student groups
Scissors
Masking tape
Permanent Marker
Stopwatch
Calculators
Paper
Pencils
6
Procedure
Part 1
1. Divide students into groups and ask them to discuss time, space, and
meters
scale.
1/10/100
2. Ask each group to report their discussion.
3. Show the Powers of Ten (only the first one, not the draft).
4. Direct the student teams to measure and cut 1 meter of string, 10 meters of
string and 100 meters of string. Instruct the students to carefully wind the
10 and 100 meters of string around their metric rules to keep them from
tangling. Using a piece of masking tape, identify the length of each piece
of string.
5. Go outside. Direct the students to place their 1-meter string, 10-meter
string and 100-meter string. The string should all start at the same point
and extend out in the same direction.
6. Use the stopwatch to time 10 seconds. Each team will have one student at
a time walk/run through this activity.
7. Discuss that the movie panned out a new power of ten for each 10
seconds. To replicate that, the students will need to walk along 1 meter
over 10 seconds. The students do not go back to the start, but starting at
the 1 meter point, walk the next 9 meters along the 10 meter string in 10
seconds. Finally, starting at the 10 meter point (don’t start back at the
beginning) ask the students to run as fast as they can the remaining 90
meters.
8. Repeat until all students on each team have a chance to walk/run the
course.
9. Collect all materials and return to the classroom.
10. Watch the Draft Powers of Ten.
11. Discuss to reinforce that each power of ten larger the velocity increases.
Discuss at the Powers of Ten decrease to the nucleus of the carbon atom,
the velocity would slow down.
One solution to 1 million seconds old:
60
sec x 60 min = 3600 seconds in an hour
Part Two:
3600
x 24 hour = 86,400 seconds in a day
1. Ask students, “How old will you be
How many days in 1,000,000 seconds?
when you are one million seconds old?”
86,400/1,000,000 = 11.57407 days
2. Allow students to calculate the months,
.57407 x 24 = 13.77768 hours
weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds.
.77768
x 60 = 46.6608 minutes
3. How old will you be when you are
.6608 x 60 = 39.648 seconds
one billion seconds old?
11 days, 13 hours, 46 min, and 40 sec
Answer to 1 billion seconds old:
 31 years
FYI
 8 months
60 seconds = 1 minute
 7 days
60 minutes = 1 hour
 19 hours
24 hours = 1 day
~30 days = 1 month
 46 minutes
 40 seconds
7