Part1: Colonize the Solar System
Assignment #1 notes
Students usually need around a week to complete Assignment #1. In general,
students should research their planet or moon and collect as much information as they can
about its environmental conditions. They should try to have some information written
under every heading, but there are not specific pieces of information that they need to
have.
Astronomy Project
It’s time to colonize the solar system! You are in charge of
designing a colony to support humans on your planet. If your planet
has moons, you may choose to design a colony for one of the moons of
your planet. Your finished project will be a model that shows what your
colony looks like. It can be made of whatever materials you choose, but it
must accurately depict your colony. You will also turn in a written essay
describing your colony. Your essay will also discuss your planet or moon.
You must write about the difficulties of supporting human life on your
planet and the ways that your colony overcame those difficulties.
There will be six parts to this assignment: two worksheets, a
drawing, a journal entry, an essay and the model or poster. They will be
due at different times during the remainder of this school year. You will be
given specific instructions for each assignment at a later date.
Assignment #1: Research your planet
Your first step is to research your planet. Some things you will need
to know are: temperature, gravity, surface, amount of light, length of day,
length of year, and atmosphere. You will also need to think about what
resources are available on your planet and what resources you will need
to provide for the colonists. As you are learning about your planet, fill out
the form labeled Assignment #1. This form is due on ________________.
You may collaborate with other people when researching your
planet, but everyone must do their own project. If you have access to the
internet you may want to use it to research your planet or moon. Here are
some useful links:
http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/space/planets/
http://www.nineplanets.org/
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage.htm
http://www.the-solar-system.net/
http://www.sciencemonster.com/planets.html
You should give students leeway in interpreting the different headings.
Students tend to make the assignment much harder than it really is, and often they get
upset when they can not find a specific number or term for some of the headings. Under
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“Gravity/Atmospheric pressure” for example, students should try to determine how much
gravity or atmospheric pressure there is compared to Earth. Is it a safe range, or do they
need to be concerned about being crushed? For
“Surface” they should determine if there is a solid surface that they can stand on,
although other additional details about the surface are welcome. “Amount of light” is
difficult to quantify, but students can deduce if the days are much brighter or darker than
on Earth based on their planet’s distance from the Sun. For
“Atmosphere” students should find out if the planet or moon has an atmosphere, how
thick or thin it is compared to Earth, and what some of the main gases are. “Available
resources” refers to what is available on the planet or moon that students can take
advantage of as they build their colony, such as hydrogen gas or iron. Under “Other”
students can put down any information about their planet or moon that they think is
interesting or important. Most of this information is readily available on the internet or in
a good astronomy textbook.
Final Project Assignment #1
Name: _________________________
Planet: _________________________
Temperature range: _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Gravity/Atmospheric pressure: ____________________________
_____________________________________________________
Surface: _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Distance from Sun: ______________________________________
Amount of light_________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Length of day: ______________________________
Length of year: ______________________________
Atmosphere: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Available resources: __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
Other: _____________________________________________________
Assigning Planets
There are eight planets to choose from so, depending on the size of the class, it’s a
good idea to allow no more than four or five students per planet. Ideally every planet will
be represented.
There is no absolutely fair way to assign planets. One method is to write the eight
planets on the board with four or five spaces next to each for names. Then ask students
that have a strong preference for a planet to raise their hands. Ask the students with their
hands raised for their preference and write their names on the spaces next to their chosen
planet. Students can see for themselves when a planet is filling up. After giving the
students with preferences a chance to choose, go back and fill in the rest of the class
names either randomly or by going around the class and calling on students one by one to
make a choice.
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Appendix
Standards Addressed
Benchmarks (Grades 3 through 5)
1B – Scientific Inquiry
Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like
or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
Investigations can focus on physical, biological, and social questions.
3A – Technology and Society
Technology enables scientists and others to observe things that are too small or too far away to
be seen without them and to study the motion of objects that are moving very rapidly or are
hardly moving at all.
4A – The Universe
The earth is one of several planets that orbit the sun, and the moon orbits around the earth.
Benchmarks (Grades 6 through 8)
1B – Scientific Inquiry
Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work.
Although there is no fixed set of steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually
involve the collection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of
imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence.
1C – The Scientific Enterprise
Computers have become invaluable in science because they speed up and extend people's ability
to collect, store, compile, and analyze data, prepare research reports, and share data and ideas
with investigators all over the world.
3A – Technology and Society
Technology is essential to science for such purposes as access to outer space and other remote
locations, sample collection and treatment, measurement, data collection and storage,
computation, and communication of information.
4A – The Universe
Nine planets of very different size, composition, and surface features move around the sun in
nearly circular orbits. Some planets have a great variety of moons and even flat rings of rock
and ice particles orbiting around them. Some of these planets and moons show evidence of
geologic activity. The earth is orbited by one moon, many artificial satellites, and debris.
4B – The Earth
We live on a relatively small planet, the third from the sun in the only system of planets definitely
known to exist [sic] (although other, similar systems may be discovered in the universe).
4G – Forces of Nature
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The sun's gravitational pull holds the earth and other planets in their orbits, just as the planets'
gravitational pull keeps their moons in orbit around them.
12D – Communication Skills
Locate information in reference books, back issues of newspapers and magazines, compact disks,
and computer databases.
Benchmarks (Grades 9 through 12)
1B – Scientific Inquiry
Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to
check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different theories.
4A – The Universe
Increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the universe. Visual, radio, and xray telescopes collect information from across the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves;
computers handle an avalanche of data and increasingly complicated computations to interpret
them; space probes send back data and materials from the remote parts of the solar system; and
accelerators give subatomic particles energies that simulate conditions in the stars and in the
early history of the universe before stars formed.
National Standards (Grades 5-8)
Understandings about Scientific Inquiry
Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. Some
investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms, or events; some involve
collecting specimens; some involve experiments; some involve seeking more information; some
involve discovery of new objects and phenomena; and some involve making models.
Earth in the Solar System
The earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other
planets and their moons, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets.
The sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system.
National Standards (Grades 9-12)
Understandings about Scientific Inquiry
Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques
and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby
contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the
quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
Indiana Standards
Grade 5
English/Language Arts – Comprehension
5.2.1 – Use the features of informational texts, such as formats, graphics, diagrams,
illustrations, charts, maps, and organization, to find information and support understanding.
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5.2.3 – Recognize main ideas presented in texts, identifying and assessing evidence that supports
those ideas.
5.2.4 – Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Process
5.4.4 – Use organizational features of printed text, such as citations, endnotes, and bibliographic
references, to locate relevant information.
5.4.5 – Use note-taking skills.
Science – Technology and Science
5.1.4 – Give examples of technology, such as telescopes, microscopes, and cameras, that enable
scientists and others to observe things that are too small or too far away to be seen without them
and to study the motion of objects that are moving very rapidly or are hardly moving.
The Universe
5.3.1 – Explain that telescopes are used to magnify distant objects in the sky, including the moon
and the planets.
Grade 6
English/Language Arts – Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development
6.1.4 Understand unknown words in informational texts by using word, sentence, and paragraph
clues to determine meaning.
Comprehension
6.2.1 – Identify the structural features of popular media (newspapers, magazines, online
information) and use the features to obtain information.
6.2.3 – Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to multiple sources and
related topics.
6.2.4 – Clarify an understanding of texts by creating outlines, notes, diagrams, summaries, or
reports.
6.2.7 – Make reasonable statements and conclusions about a text, supporting them with accurate
examples.
Process
6.4.1 – Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
6.4.5 – Use note-taking skills.
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6.4.6 – Use organizational features of electronic text (on computers), such as bulletin boards,
databases, keyword searches, and e-mail addresses, to locate information.
Science – Technology and Science
6.1.7 – Explain that technology is essential to science for such purposes as access to outer space
and other remote locations, sample collection and treatment, measurement, data collection and
storage, computation, and communication of information.
Scientific Thinking
6.2.6 – Read simple tables and graphs produced by others and describe in words what they
show.
6.2.7 – Locate information in reference books, back issues of newspapers and magazines, CDROMs, and computer databases.
The Universe
6.3.1 – Compare and contrast the size, composition, and surface features of the planets that
comprise the solar system, as well as the objects orbiting them. Explain that the planets, except
Pluto, move around the sun in nearly circular orbits
6.3.3 – Explain that Earth is one of several planets that orbit the sun, and that the moon, as well
as many artificial satellites and debris, orbit around Earth.
Grade 7
English/Language Arts – Comprehension
7.2.2 – Locate information by using a variety of consumer and public documents.
Process
7.4.1 – Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
7.4.5 – Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry,
investigation, and research
Grade 8
English/Language Arts – Comprehension
8.2.1 – Compare and contrast the features and elements of consumer materials to gain meaning
from documents.
8.2.5 – Use information from a variety of consumer and public documents to explain a situation
or decision and to solve a problem.
Process
8.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
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8.4.4 Plan and conduct multiple-step information searches using computer networks.
Earth and Space Science I – The Universe
ES.1.7 – Describe the characteristics and motions of the various kinds of objects in our solar
system, including planets, satellites, comets, and asteroids. Explain that Kepler’s laws determine
the orbits of the planets.
Portions of this article were originally published by the Hoosier Science Teacher, 2004. Reprinted with permission.