SEQL Science Agenda
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Today we will mostly do a series of brief activities and demonstrations. We will discuss how to
make some of them into experiments.
Your Shadow and the Sun
Before we go outside: pick a volunteer to make a shadow. In a minute the volunteer will go stand
in the sun. Predict where on the ground the tip of the shadow of the volunteer’s head will be.
Then go outside and pick a sidewalk location which will be sunny all day. Have the volunteer
stand there. Trace the outline of the volunteer's feet and shadow with chalk. Optional: measure
the height of the shadow; use a compass to measure the direction the shadow is pointing (foot to
head). Repeat periodically throughout the day. Make a data table and record the data. Predict the
shadow’s position later in the day.
Growing Dinosaurs
Evaporation from a Sponge
Continue recording data for these experiments.
Let’s discuss how you would collect data appropriate for your class.
Sources of Light
Write on a piece of paper a source of light in the room. Give paper to someone else (not in your
group).
Write on the piece of paper whether the source of light is a producer or reflector. Let’s share
what you have come up with.
Can you always see a source of light?
Under what circumstances can you not see the light?
What do we call it when something else gets in the way?
Shadows
Let’s talk about the shadows in our classroom.
Let’s use flashlights to make and observe shadows.
What does it take to make a shadow? (light source, object, observer or surface)
A couple of interesting web links:
http://www.ipn.uni-kiel.de/projekte/esera/book/b103-mur.pdf
http://www.sharon.k12.ma.us/learningstand/Science/gr1sci.html
Tuesday, July 15
Page 1
Moon on a Stick
1. Darken one half of the ball by dipping it in paint or using a black marker. Stick a pencil (sharp
end!) into the ball at the black/white dividing line and let the paint or ink dry.
2. What did the moon look like last time you saw it? Remember, the moon does not emit its own
light, but only reflects sunlight. You can only see the part of the moon facing you, and only the
part of the moon facing the sun will be lit.
3. Draw a large circle on the blackboard and label it the SUN. The styrofoam balls represent the
moon, and each of the partners not holding the “moon” on the stick represents the earth.
4. Demonstrate first with one pair of students. Have the “earth” student stand and face the sun on
the blackboard. The other student holds the “moon” directly between the earth and the sun so
that the white half faces the sun and the black half faces the earth. Only the white half is
receiving and reflecting light from the sun, and the black half is not, so the black half is invisible
(or nearly so). This represents the “new moon.”
5. Have the student holding the “moon” walk slowly in a counterclockwise direction around his
partner. Always hold the white half of the moon facing the sun (even if the moon rotates, only
the side facing the sun will be lit). The “earth” student should follow the moon with his eyes and
observe the changing appearance (phases) of the moon. Have the students switch places and
repeat.
6. Have your students break into groups and repeat the activity as demonstrated.
7. What is wrong with this activity?
8. What force causes the moon to orbit the earth?
Your Shadow and the Sun
Lets make “Your Shadow and the Sun” into an experiment.
When placed in sunlight, an object makes a shadow. How does the shadow behave (changes size,
shape, direction; pick one)?
How could I measure or observe this behavior (measure length of shadow, direction of shadow)?
What materials will I use to make the shadow (stick, sun)?
How could I change the materials to affect the shadow? I can’t directly change the sun, but I can
make measurements when the sun is in different positions in the sky.
Neat Light Activities
If time permits, I will show you a couple of neat “tricks” you can play with light.
You can tell me if you want to take the time to do the next activity.
Tuesday, July 15
Page 2
Sundial Wristwatch
Materials Needed: Wristwatch pattern, scissors, tape, compass to determine north.
Concepts: Shadows change with time of day and indicate the postion of the sun in the sky.
Activity:
1. Using the forms provided, cut out a
watch face and a gnomon for the latitude nearest
ours (Rolla is about 38 degrees north).
2. Cut into the gnomon along the heavy
line. Fold the gnomon along the dashed lines.
Cut into the watch face along the line labeled
“N.”
3. Slide the gnomon into the watch face
slit, as shown in the picture to the right. Make
sure the vertical side of the gnomon is by the
outer edge of the watch face. You can use a
calibrated or uncalibrated watch face (see step 7
below).
4. Tape down the flaps under the watch
face, trimming extra paper from the flaps.
5. Tape the watch to a wristband 2 or 3
cm wide and about 1½ times the diameter of
your wrist, as shown in the picture.
6. Put your sundial watch on your left
wrist and tape the ends together. Go outside and
face west, holding your arm with the watch level
in front of you so that the vertical edge of the
gnomon points north. Use the shadow on the
watch to read the time.
7. Calibration: the calibrated watch face is “set” for early summer months, so it is marked
using local daylight savings time hours (noon sun time is one pm clock time). It is good for several
months, until shorter days set in. If you want to calibrate your own watch, place it on the ground
(sidewalk works well) with N facing north, and mark off the shadows at different times of the day.
I first saw this activity in a “Ranger Rick’s Naturescope” magazine. It was one of the pages
that teachers have permission to copy. I got the forms off the web, at http://www.kyes-world.com .
Tuesday, July 15
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Tuesday, July 15
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Ride the Toilet Paper Roll to the Planets
Materials Needed: Special Measuring Paper (industrial-strength institutional toilet paper is good
for this), cards with names of planets and the sun (or pictures of planets brought in by students).
Concepts: Identify some solar system objects and illustrate the distances between planets.
Activity:
1. Each sheet of Special Measuring Paper represents 10 million miles.
2. Tape the sun to the floor at one end of a very long hallway. Tape the end of the
measuringpaper to the floor by the sun.
3. Carefully unroll the toilet paper. Count 3.6 sheets from the sun and place the planet
Mercury.
4. Continue as follows (use the rounded numbers for grades 1-3):
Venus is 3.1 sheets from Mercury (3 sheets)
Earth is 2.6 sheets from Venus (3 sheets)
Mars is 3.3 sheets from Earth (3 sheets)
Jupiter is 34.3 sheets from Mars (34 sheets)
Saturn is 40.3 sheets from Jupiter (40 sheets)
Uranus is 90 sheets from Saturn
Neptune is 101 sheets from Uranus
Pluto is 86.4 sheets from Neptune (86 sheets).
5. Double-check: the earth is 3.6 + 3.1 + 2.6 = 9.3 sheets from the sun. Each sheet is 10
million miles, so the earth is 93 million miles from the sun. Yup, it works.
6. Forgot the order of the planets? My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
Wait! Pluto is not a planet! My Very Energetic Mother Just Served us Nine. Nine
whats? This is intolerable.
Comments and alternative activities:
Discuss scientific notation. Each sheet is 107 miles. Make a table of distances from the sun
to the planets and of the distances between different planets.
Have your students try to draw on a sheet of paper a picture of the solar system, with the
distances between the planets scaled to agree with the actual distances.
Have your students look up the diameters of the planets, and cut out appropriately-scaled
circles representing each planet.
Use your toilet paper model to hang from the hallway ceiling a scale model of the solar
system. This can be your class project for Space Week.
Is Pluto really a planet?
A light year is 5,880,000,000,000 miles (5.88x1012 miles). A toilet paper sheet is
10,000,000 miles (107 miles). The nearest star is 4.3 light years away. How many toilet paper
sheets away is the nearest star? On this scale, where would the nearest star be located?
Answer: the nearest star is 4.3x5.88x1012 miles away, or 25.3x1012 miles away. Divide that
by 107 to get the number of toilet paper sheets: 2.53x106, or 2.53 million.
A “typical” toilet paper sheet is 4.5 inches long (some are 4 inches long; let’s use 4.5
inches as an example), so the length of 2.53 million toilet paper sheets is 11.4 million inches, or
about 180 miles. Anybody care to check my math or do the calculation in meters?
Tuesday, July 15
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Solar System Data
(higher grades can make graphs of this data)
Object
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Distance
(A.U.)
0
0.39
0.72
1.0
1.5
5.2
9.5
19.2
30.1
39.5
Radius
(Earth’s)
109
0.38
0.95
1.00
0.53
11
9
4
4
0.18
Mass
(Earth’s)
332,800
0.05
0.89
1.00
0.11
318
95
17
17
0.002
# of
Moons
9
0
0
1
2
16
18
15
8
1
Density
(g/cm3)
1.41
5.43
5.25
5.52
3.95
1.33
0.69
1.29
1.64
2.03
Source: http://www.solarviews.com
One A.U. is the distance between the earth and the sun, or 93 million miles, or 150 million
kilometers.
Distances of Planets from Sun
Object
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Distance
(millions of
miles)
36
67
93
140
484
884
1,786
2,799
3,674
Distance
(millions of
kilometers)
59
108
150
225
780
1,425
2,880
4,515
5,925
Gravity
The planets are actually orbiting the sun. What force keeps them in place? Why doesn’t the sun
just suck them all in? Answer: planets “want” to move in a straight line, the sun pulls them
inwards, and the result is an orbit. We will go to the Physics building to model this effect.
Tuesday, July 15
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Our Classroom
For this activity, you are not allowed to use rulers. You may use one pencil and one piece of
paper to measure and record results.
First estimate the length, width, height, perimeter, and volume of our classroom.
Then measure the room length, width, and height, and use these measurements to determine the
perimeter of the classroom; the areas of the floor, walls, and ceiling; and volume.
Make a map of the classroom on grid paper. What is the shape? Does the classroom have any
symmetry.
Something That Goes
Write down something that goes.
Give your paper to someone else.
On the paper you just received, write down the source of energy that makes the thing go.
If you think you identified the original source of energy keep it the piece of paper. Otherwise,
hand to someone else. Each time you get a piece of paper, write down where the energy just
mentioned came from. Repeat until you think you have identified the material object or
collection of matter which is the original source of.
Miscellaneous
Handouts for Tuesday: This agenda (8 pages).
Supplies needed for Tuesday:
Your Shadow and the Sun: sidewalk chalk, ruler/meter stick (optional), compass (optional).
Sources of Light; Shadows: flashlight.
Moon on a Stick: black paint, craft sticks, styrofoam balls, tape, paper.
Ride the Toilet Paper Roll to the Planets: toilet paper rolls, tape.
Gravity: dog leash or equivalent.
Our Classroom: rulers, grid paper.
Something That Goes: paper, pencil
Web Links
 useful site about the solar system (ignore the pop-ups):
http://www.planetscapes.com
 a collection of forms you can print, cut out, and fold to make icosahedral planets:
http://www.planetscapes.com/maps/ico.html
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Tuesday, July 15
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