Download I CAN SEE THE STARS IN YOUR EYES

I CAN SEE THE STARS IN YOUR EYES!
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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
Why do you think there was a difference in the brightness of the two flashlights. Use prior
knowledge to support your response.
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ESS - 49
Activity 2: Reading Road Map
LOCATION
Page 127
Classifying Stars Paragraph
1
SPEED
MISSION
START
What are stars? _______________
READ QUICKLY,
WRITE!
________________________
________________________
List the characteristics used to classify
Page 127 Par. 1
stars: _____________________
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
Sizes of Stars
Page 127 Par. 4 – 5
________________________
________________________
List five sizes of stars from smallest to
largest.
________________________
READ SLOWLY,
WRITE!
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Page 127 Par. 5
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
Color & Temp. of Stars
Page 127 Par. 2 – 3
READ SLOWLY,
WRITE!
White dwarf stars are about the same size
as what planet? How do neutron stars
compare to white dwarf stars?
Which stars make up the constellation
Orion?
What does a star’s color reveal about the
star?
________________________
________________________
________________________
ESS - 50
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: _____________________
____________________________
White: ____________________
____________________________
Blue:_____________________
____________________________
Brightness of Stars
Page 128 Par. 4
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
List the two characteristics which
determine a star’s brightness.
________________________
________________________
Page 129 Par. 2
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
Define apparent magnitude (brightness).
________________________
________________________
________________________
Page 129 Par. 2
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
Are stars that are closer to Earth and
which appear brighter in the sky,
necessarily brighter stars? Why or why
not?
Define absolute magnitude (brightness).
Page 129 Par. 3
READ
QUICKLY,
WRITE!
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Page 129 Par. 3
READ QUICKLY,
THINK!
STOP!
ESS - 51
How do astronomers determine the
absolute magnitude of a star?
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.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
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
Lights at equal distances
from the screen
(Absolute Magnitude)
7.
How is the information from the chart above similar to observations of actual stars?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
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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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ESS - 49