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Subject: Science Grade: 8 Teachers: Brown, Macedo, Tourkantonis Common Unit Plan Template Unit: Astronomy Duration of Unit: 10-12 Weeks Preceding Unit: N/A Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions: Gravity plays a major role in the formation of the planets, stars, and solar system and in determining their motions. How does gravity effect life on Earth? Tides, eclipses, and moon phases are due to the relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. If the moon or sun were to disappear what changes could we expect? The tilt and revolution of the Earth around the Sun are responsible for uneven heating of the Earth which causes the seasons. What does the distance between the earth and sun have to do with the range of temperatures on Earth? The properties and conditions of the planets and other objects in the solar system share similarities and differences with Earth. Can humans survive beyond Earth? Terrestrial planets, as well as gas giants, exist in the solar system. What makes a planet a planet? The universe has a hierarchical structure. How big is the universe? Massachusetts Framework Standards Addressed: 1.8 Recognize that gravity is a force that pulls all things on and near the earth toward the center of the earth. Gravity plays a major role in the formation of the planets, stars, and solar system and in determining their motions. 1.9 Describe lunar and solar eclipses, the observed moon phases, and tides. Relate them to the relative positions of the earth, moon, and sun. 1.10 Compare and contrast properties and conditions of objects in the solar system (i.e., sun, planets, and moons) to those on Earth (i.e., gravitational force, distance from the sun, speed, movement, temperature, and atmospheric conditions). 1.11 Explain how the tilt of the earth and its revolution around the sun result in an uneven heating of the earth, which in turn causes the seasons. 1.12 Recognize that the universe contains many billions of galaxies, and that each galaxy contains many billions of stars. Content: 1.8 Gravity is force that all objects exert upon all other objects in the universe. The strength of gravity is dependent upon the distance between objects and the mass of the objects. The spherical shape of planets is due to gravity. Gravity in combination with inertia keeps the planets in orbit around the sun. 1.11 Earth’s rotation on its axis causes night and day At any given time one half the Earth’s surface is illuminated and one half is in darkness Earth’s tilt upon its axis as it revolves around the sun causes uneven heating of Earth’s surface (seasons). Near the equator sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface more directly and is less spread out than near the poles. As the Earth orbits the sun the northern part of the axis tilts toward or away from the sun. 1.9 The phase of the moon as seen from the Earth is dependent upon the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and moon. At any given time one half the moon’s surface is illuminated and one half is in darkness. The moon rotates upon its axis and revolves around the Earth. Rotation and revolution occur in the same amount of time. The gravitational pull of the moon upon Earth’s waters is primarily responsible for tidal fluctuations. The relative position either 90˚ or 180˚ of the Sun, Earth, and moon creates neap tides or spring tides respectively. Solar eclipses occur when the new moon passes near the plane of the Earth’s orbit. Skills: 1.8 Identify what determines the strength of the force of gravity between two objects. Describe two factors that keep the moon and Earth in orbit. 1.11 Demonstrate how Earth moves in space. o Model Earth’s rotation on its axis. o Model Earth’s orbit around the sun. o Model the relative position of the Earth with respect to the sun’s rays. 1.9 Explain what causes the phases of the moon. Describes what causes tides. Describe the difference between neap and spring tides. Describe lunar and solar eclipses. 1.10 1.12 Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon passes near the plane of the Earth’s orbit. The moon landforms consist of craters, maria, and highlands. The moon has no atmosphere. The moon has 1/6 the gravitational force of Earth. The collision theory is the widely accepted theory which explains the formation of the moon. Our solar system consists of the sun, four terrestrial planets, four gas giants, dwarf planets, comets, asteroids and meteoroids. Compare and contrast the planets in the solar system with Earth with respect to size, composition, atmosphere, gravitational force, temperature, and orbital period. The hierarchy of the universe consists of stars and star systems within galaxies 1.10 1.12 Describe features found on the moon’s surface. Identify some characteristics of the moon. Explain how the moon formed. Identify the objects that make up the solar system. Describe the characteristics that the inner planets have in common with each other and Earth. Describe the characteristics that the outer planets have in common with each other and Earth. Arrange in order of size objects in the universe. Assessments: Common: Moon Log: Observations, Data, Conclusion Culminating Final Unit Project Section Quizzes Chapter Tests Suggested: Learning Activities: Resources: Common: 1. Building Background Knowledge Changes in Daylight: Ask students to estimate what Materials: daily newspaper time the sun rises in the morning and sets at night. Tell them the actual times from a daily newspaper. Next, ask students to describe how the number of hours of daylight changes during the winter and summer. (There are fewer hours of daylight in winter than in summer.) 2. Instruct What Causes Day and Night? Tips: Place the bulb at a height approximately level with the globe’s equator. Alternatively, use flashlights and have students work in pairs. One student can hold the flashlight steady while the other turns the globe. (Aries “Lab in a Box”) Expected Outcome: The half of the globe facing the bulb will be lit and will move into shadow as the globe rotates. 3. CHAPTER PROJECT Objectives: This project will enhance students’ observation and measurement skills as they keep track of the moon’s appearance and position for one month. After this Chapter Project, students will be able to: Materials: lamp, light bulb, globe Materials: Moon Log provided • observe the phases of the moon • measure the direction and altitude of the moon in the sky • interpret data to explain why the moon has phases • predict when and where one would expect to see the moon on the basis of analysis of data • Communicate their conclusions to the class Determine how much class time you want to use to introduce the project, and then adjust the class time for this activity. For more information on this Materials: Internet access, project, click on the Targeted Resources link. projector, United Streaming 4. VIDEO/PRESENTATION access. United Streaming video/images of the movement of Earth 5. DEMOSTRATION Key Concepts: The word pair rotation and revolution can be confusing. Provide examples such as rotating a doorknob (it moves around its center) Relate the expression of someone’s life revolving around something; for example, “The athlete’s life revolved around sports.” Point out that "sports" is the center. Ask students to think of other examples in their native language and translate into English. learning modality: verbal 6. BUILD INQUIRY Comparing and Contrasting Angles of Sunlight Materials: Flashlight, graph Have students work in groups to shine a flashlight paper, colored pencils directly above the paper and trace around the lighted area. Next, have students shine the flashlight at an angle and trace around the lighted area. Ask: Which area represents sunlight at the equator? (The smaller area) 7. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION Modeling Seasons: Place a lamp with a bare bulb on a desk. Tilt a globe so that the Northern Hemisphere is pointed toward the lamp. Ask: Materials: lamp, bulb, & globe Which season does this represent in the Northern Hemisphere? (Summer) Walk around the lamp in a circle, but keep the tilt of the globe the same relative to the room, not the lamp. Turn the globe so that the United States is facing the sun. As you walk, stop every 90° to represent Earth’s position at the equinoxes and the winter solstice. Have students identify each season and describe the conditions in the United States. learning modality: visual Adjust the class time based on your students' abilities and your teaching style. 8. Gravitational Attraction: Ask: What is mass? (The amount of matter in an object) What other factor affects the strength of the force of gravity? (Distance) Have students examine Figure 7. Ask: What would increase the force of gravity between two objects? (An increase in mass or a decrease in distance) 9. Inertia: Ask: Why does a baseball continue to move after a pitcher lets go of it and stops applying force? (The ball has inertia.) Why would the ball eventually hit the ground? (Gravity pulls it down.) 10. Learn About Weight: Ask – what is weight? Activity: Students learn that weight is the Materials: tape measure or measurement of the force of gravity. Have meter stick, masking tape or students measure the height of their jump. post-it notes. Take data and calculate what the height of the jump would be on the moon, the sun, and other planets. 11. Interactive Simulation: Demonstrate the relationship between force of gravity and distance and force of gravity and mass between objects. http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravityforce-lab Relate gravitational force to masses of objects and distance between objects. Explain Newton's third law for gravitational forces. Design experiments that allow you to derive an equation that relates mass, distance, and gravitational force. Use measurements to determine the universal gravitational constant. 12. PRETEACH Building Background Knowledge, L1 Observing the Moon: Have students describe observations they have made about the moon. Use questions to help prompt their memories. For example, ask: Have you ever seen the moon low on the horizon? Was it full at the time? Have you ever seen the moon in daytime? Encourage students to think about their observations as they read this section. 13. DISCOVER ACTIVITY How Does the Moon Move?, L1 Tips: Before students try this activity, have them predict how many times the penny will rotate during its revolution around the quarter. Expected Outcome: The penny makes one complete rotation on its axis as it revolves around the quarter. 14. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: Phases of the Materials: quarters, pennies Moon, L2 Exploring Phases of the Moon: Tell students that although the same side of the moon always faces Earth, the moon’s position in relation to the sun is not fixed. As the moon revolves around Earth, sunlight shines on the near and far sides of the moon at different times. Ask: Why can you not see the far side of the moon from Earth? (The far side always faces away from Earth.) Prompt students to connect each phase with how the moon looks from Earth. For example, Ask: What do you see in the first quarter? (Half of the lighted side of the moon) What is happening in the waning gibbous phase? (You see more than half of the lighted side of the moon. The amount you can see from Earth decreases each day.) INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: Eclipses, L2 Causes and Effects of Eclipses: Ask: What causes an eclipse? (When an object in space moves between the sun and a third object, it casts a shadow on the third object.) Describe some events that might occur when the moon blocks out the sun. (Possible answer: Day becomes as dark as night, the air cools, and the sky becomes an eerie color.) 15. INSTRUCT Use Visuals: Figure 13, L1 Ask: What causes a solar eclipse? (The moon passes directly between the sun and Earth.) Which side of the moon receives the light of the sun during a solar eclipse? (The far side) Would people in the moon’s penumbra experience a total or a partial eclipse? (Partial) 16. INSTRUCT Use Visuals: Figure 14, L2 Ask: Why do lunar eclipses occur only during a full moon? (Earth must come between the sun and moon during a lunar eclipse; this happens only during the full-moon phase.) Why does the moon appear reddish during a lunar eclipse? (Some sunlight is bent as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere and then strikes the moon.) 17. INSTRUCT Help Students Read: Eclipses, L2 Visualizing: Instruct students to close their eyes and form mental pictures as you slowly read aloud Eclipses. Then tell students to read the passage by themselves and recreate the mental images they formed earlier. Explain that visualizing the text as they read will be particularly useful throughout the next two pages, which discuss the positions of the moon, Earth, and the sun during solar and lunar eclipses. 18. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: Tides, L2 What Causes Tides: Explain that the moon’s gravity is pulling Earth’s water at point A, and a high tide forms. Ask: What happens at C? (The moon pulls more strongly on the solid part of Earth than on the water at C. Earth is pulled toward the moon and water flows toward point C, causing a high tide there.) What happens at B and D? (Water is flowing away toward A and C, so low tides form at B and D.) 19. BUILD INQUIRY Comparing and Contrasting Solar and Lunar Eclipses, L2 Organize students into small groups. Tell them to make tables that compare and contrast the umbra and penumbra of the moon during a total and partial solar eclipse with the umbra and penumbra of Earth during a total and partial lunar eclipse. Groups should first decide what headings to use for their tables—that is, which aspects of the umbra and penumbra to compare and contrast. Suggested headings might include: “Portion of the surface covered by the umbra,” “Phase of the moon when the eclipse occurs,” and “Portion of Earth from which eclipse is visible.” Have students present their tables to the class. 20. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION Modeling Eclipses: Give students three differentsized balls. Tell them that the largest ball represents the sun, the second largest ball represents Earth, and the smallest ball represents the moon. Have students arrange the balls in proper order to model the positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth during a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse. You might also try using the natural light from a window as the sun. (During a solar eclipse, the balls should be arranged in the following order: sun, moon, Earth. During a lunar eclipse the balls should be arranged in the following order: sun, Earth, moon.) Materials: spheres of various sizes, light source (film-strip 21. A “Moonth” of Phases projector, lamp, flashlight) Students will make a model of the Earth-moon-sun system to explore the phases of the moon They will observe and record the phases of the moon. 22. Modeling Tides Give students three different-sized balls. Tell them that the largest ball represents the sun, the second largest ball represents Earth, and the smallest ball represents the moon. Have students arrange the balls in proper order to model the positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth during a neap tide and a spring tide. (During a neap tide, the balls should be arranged in the following order: sun, Earth, moon at a 90 degree angle with the Earth at the vertex. During a spring tide the balls should be arranged in the following order: sun, Earth, moon in a straight line.) 23. ACTIVATOR Impact Craters: Hold up a rock. Tell students to suppose that the rock is as large as a building and is traveling through space. Ask them to picture the rock falling through Earth’s atmosphere and landing in an open desert. Ask: What do you think would happen? (Possible answer: The rock would leave a large depression in the desert sand or explode on impact.) 24. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: Characteristics of the Moon Moon Properties: Ask: How does the moon’s diameter compare to Earth’s? (The moon is about one-fourth Earth’s diameter.) Why do temperatures on the moon vary so much? (The moon has no atmosphere.) In which state of matter would you likely find water on the moon? (Solid 25. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: The Moon's Surface - Features on the Moon: Explain that these areas are caused by maria and highlands. Ask: Which moon features are linked to ancient volcanic activity? (Maria) What are highlands? (Mountains on the moon) What causes craters? (The impacts of meteoroids, which are chunks of Materials: -pencils -Styrofoam spheres - flashlight (lamp, overhead projector, or film-strip projector) rock or dust from space) 26. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: The Origin of the Moon - How the Moon Formed: Have students use the diagram to summarize the collision-ring theory. 27. INSTRUCT Teach Key Concepts: The Hierarchy of Objects in the Universe. Have students create concentric circle diagrams with objects in this order star – galaxy – universe, solar system – galaxy – universe, or star-star system-galaxyuniverse.