Astronomy 2014
Physics 2
Randy Hedlund South High School
12/1
• Can you name all the planets?
• What is the largest planet?
• What are ways that planets are different? (i.e
what are there characteristics?
• If you could visit one planet which one would you
visit and why
• Activity : How did the solar system form
critical reading.
12/2
1. Explain in your own words how the solar system
formed.
2. What 2 things causes the force of gravity to increase
between two objects?
3. Create a list of 2-3 questions you have about the
universe.
• Agenda : tour the solar system, ACT practice
• Asteroid impact versus gradual extinction
.the rocky and cratered surface of Mercury
resembles our own Moon -300°F (-184°C)
(on the side away from the sun) to about 800°
•One rotation takes 59 days.
•One year is 88 days.
•It has no moon or rings.
•Mercury is the closest planet to
the sun.
•It looks a lot like our moon.
Click here to
learn about Mercury.
•One rotation takes 243 days.
•One year is 224.7 days.
•It has no moon or rings.
•Venus is the second planet
from the sun.
•It is as dry as a desert and
hotter than an oven..
Click here to
learn more about
Venus.
Venus – the second planet
Very active volcanic activity
Greenhouse effect - Venus'
thick, toxic atmosphere
traps heat in a runaway
'greenhouse effect.' The
scorched world has
temperatures hot enough
to melt lead.
464 °C (867°F)
Impact crater on
Venus – it has
relatively few, due to
the young surface
•One rotation takes 24
hours.
•One year is 365 1/4 days.
•It has 1 moon and no rings.
•It is the third planet from the
sun.
•Earth is mostly covered with
water.
Click here to learn more about Earth.
Earth – the only
planet with liquid
water
How does this make
it hospitable?
Goldilocks zone,
•One rotation takes 24.5 hours.
•One year is 687 days.
•It has 2 moons and no rings.
•It is the fourth planet from the
sun and the last of the inner
planets.
•Mars looks red because of rusty
iron in its soil and red dust in its
air.
Click here to learn more about Mars.
Mars – 4th planet
Mars's thin
atmosphere,
visible on the
horizon in this
low-orbit photo.
Photo of microscopic rock forms
indicating past signs of water, taken
by Opportunity
•One rotation takes 9.8 hours.
•One year is 12 earth years.
•It has at least 16 moons and 2
rings.
•It is the fifth planet from the
sun and the first gas planet.
•It has a great red spot of
swirling gas.
Click here to
learn more about
Jupiter.
Theoretical models indicate
that if Jupiter had much
more mass than it does at
present, the planet would
shrink
The clouds are
arranged in lightcolored areas called
zones and darker
regions called belts
that circle the planet
parallel to the equator
Europa – moon of Jupiter –
hydrothermal vent
•One rotation takes 10.7
hours.
•One year is 29.5 Earth
years.
•It has at least 17 moons
and many rings.
•Saturn is the sixth planet
from the sun and the
second gas planet.
Click here to
learn more about
•Saturn’s rings are made of
Saturn.
ice, rock, and dust.
This captivating natural color view of the planet Saturn
was created from images collected shortly after Cassini
began its extended Equinox Mission in July 2008.
213,000 km (from 1.14 to 3.53 times Saturn's equatorial
radius), and they are thin, with a thickness as small as
100m
(astrophysicsspectator.com/topics/planets/SaturnRings.ht
•One rotation takes 17 hours.
•One year is 84 earth years.
•It has at least 15 moons and 10
rings.
•Uranus is the seventh planet
from the sun and the third gas
planet.
•Uranus seems to rotate on its
side.
Click here to
learn more about
Uranus.
Uranus's axis of rotation lies
on its side with respect to the
plane of the Solar System,
with an axial tilt of 97.77
Why
degrees
Uranus'
s
internal
temper
ature is
so low
is still
not
underst
ood
•One rotation takes 16
hours.
•One year is 165 earth
years.
•It has 8 moons and 4 rings.
•It is the eighth planet from
the sun and the last gas
planet.
•Neptune is blue-green.
Click here to learn more about Neptune.
The blue clouds of
Neptune are mostly
frozen methane, the
main chemical in
natural gas -- a fuel
for heating and
cooking on Earth.
Formation of the solar system
1. Dust attracted by
gravity
2. Contracted gases
began swirling
3. Protostar formed
when hot enough
for fusion (10 million
degrees)
4. Mass condensed
into planets
Future Topics create a summary of
these topics and cite your sources for
extra credit
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Hubble deep field
How far back can we see?
Can plants grow on other planets?
What causes the rings on planets to form?
What is Kepler- 22
12/3
• Have you taken the ACT? Do you plan to take the
ACT?
• Compare and contrast the terrestrial planets with
the gas giants.
• How does the distance from the sun affect the
period of revolution?
Agenda
ACT asteroid impact theory
versus gradual extinction
theory
• Science is a process of understanding and
comprehending
ACT formats
• Data Representation: This format presents students with graphic and
tabular materials similar to those found in science journals and texts. The
test questions associated with this format measure knowledge and skills such
as graph reading, interpretation of scatterplots, and interpretation of
information presented in tables, diagrams, and figures.
• Research Summaries: This format provides students with descriptions
of one experiment or of several related experiments. The test questions focus
on the design of the experiments and the interpretation of results.
• Conflicting Viewpoints: This format presents students with several
hypotheses or views that are mutually inconsistent owing to different
premises, incomplete data, or differing interpretations of data. The passage
may contain illustrations, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, or figures. The test
questions measure students’ knowledge and skills in understanding,
analyzing, and comparing alternative viewpoints or hypotheses.
• Understanding: Identify and evaluate scientific concepts,
assumptions, and components of an experimental design or
process; identify and evaluate data presented in graphs, figures, or
tables; translate given data into an alternate form.
• • Analyzing: Process information needed to draw conclusions or
formulate hypotheses;
• determine whether information provided supports a given
hypothesis or conclusion;
• evaluate, compare, and contrast experimental designs or
viewpoints; specify alternative ways of testing hypotheses or
viewpoints.
• • Generalizing: Extend information given to a broader or different
context; generate a model consistent with given information;
develop new procedures to gain new information;
• usegiven information to predict outcomes.
Advise from other students
• Scan everything first – get the jist
• Read questions
• Read article
• 17. Astronomers recently estimated that only 3% of
asteroids with orbits that intersect Earth’s have been
identified. This finding adds support to the asteroid impact
theory by:
A. increasing the likelihood of past Earth-asteroid
collisions.
B. showing how little astronomers know about
asteroids.
C. proving that iridium-rich asteroids are common in
the solar system.
D. showing that many asteroids
• 17. Astronomers recently estimated that only 3% of
asteroids with orbits that intersect Earth’s have been
identified. This finding adds support to the asteroid impact
theory by:
A. increasing the likelihood of past Earth-asteroid
collisions.
B. showing how little astronomers know about
asteroids.
C. proving that iridium-rich asteroids are common in
the solar system.
D. showing that many asteroids
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18. A geologist examines a sedimentary rock layer from
the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary. According to the
asteroid-impact theory, the geologist should not expect
to find:
a. a high concentration of iridium.
b. a high concentration of soot particles.
c. evidence of great volcanic activity.
d. fossilized plant remains.
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18. A geologist examines a sedimentary rock layer from
the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary. According to the
asteroid-impact theory, the geologist should not expect
to find:
a. a high concentration of iridium.
b. a high concentration of soot particles.
c. evidence of great volcanic activity.
d. fossilized plant remains.
19. What do supporters of the asteroid-impact theory
assume about the fires started by the white-hot asteroid
fragments?
A. They spread quickly and were wide ranging.
B. They removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
causing a global cooling.
C. They burned the vegetation, limiting the food
supply.
D. They produced high levels of carbon dioxide,
causing a global warming.
19. What do supporters of the asteroid-impact theory
assume about the fires started by the white-hot asteroid
fragments?
A. They spread quickly and were wide ranging.
B. They removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
causing a global cooling.
C. They burned the vegetation, limiting the food
supply.
D. They produced high levels of carbon dioxide,
causing a global warming.
• 20. Both theories presented in the passage
cite which of the following factors as
contributing directly to the dinosaurs’
extinction?
• A. High levels of soot and volcanic ash
• b. High concentrations of iridium
• c. Global temperature change
• d. Increased amounts of carbon dioxide
introduced into the atmosphere
• 20. Both theories presented in the passage
cite which of the following factors as
contributing directly to the dinosaurs’
extinction?
• A. High levels of soot and volcanic ash
• b. High concentrations of iridium
• C. Global temperature change
• d. Increased amounts of carbon dioxide
introduced into the atmosphere
21. Mass extinctions throughout history often occur in
conjunction with drops in the sea level. What would
proponents of the gradual-extinction theory have to
demonstrate to tie those facts together?
A. Mass extinctions and drops in the sea level are
both caused by increased volcanic activity.
B. The greenhouse effect causes lowering of the sea
level as well as gradual mass extinctions.
C. With less water available, fires run rampant and
destroy the food supply.
D. Drops in the sea level and mass extinctions are caused by
changes in climate
21. Mass extinctions throughout history often occur in
conjunction with drops in the sea level. What would
proponents of the gradual-extinction theory have to
demonstrate to tie those facts together?
A. Mass extinctions and drops in the sea level are
both caused by increased volcanic activity.
B. The greenhouse effect causes lowering of the sea
level as well as gradual mass extinctions.
C. With less water available, fires run rampant and
destroy the food supply.
D. Drops in the sea level and mass extinctions are caused by
changes in climate
22. After examining the 250-million-year fossil record, 2
paleontologists have uncovered evidence suggesting that the rate of
species extinctions peaks every 26 million years. Supporters of the
asteroid-impact theory would most likely favor which of the following
explanations to account for this finding?
a. Some massive object periodically disrupts the solar system, causing
comets and asteroids to enter the inner solar system.
b. The tilt of Earth’s axis changes every 26 million years, causing longterm climatic changes that lead to mass-extinction episodes.
c. Earth’s orbit becomes more elliptical every 26 million years and it
travels farther from the Sun, causing periods of global cooling.
d. Earth’s global weather patterns change in response to the size of the
polar ice caps, plunging Earth into a global
22. After examining the 250-million-year fossil record, 2
paleontologists have uncovered evidence suggesting that the rate of
species extinctions peaks every 26 million years. Supporters of the
asteroid-impact theory would most likely favor which of the following
explanations to account for this finding?
a. Some massive object periodically disrupts the solar system,
causing comets and asteroids to enter the inner solar system.
b. The tilt of Earth’s axis changes every 26 million years, causing longterm climatic changes that lead to mass-extinction episodes.
c. Earth’s orbit becomes more elliptical every 26 million years and it
travels farther from the Sun, causing periods of global cooling.
d. Earth’s global weather patterns change in response to the size of the
polar ice caps, plunging Earth into a global
12/4
1. What happens to the apparent wavelength of an object as it
approaches?
2. What happens to the wavelength of an object as it goes away?
Electromagnetic radiation
What happens to the
wavelength as the
wave moves away
Electromagnetic
radiation – a type of
energy that travels at
light speed through a
vacuum
Give examples of each
12/5
• 1. What does the balloon represent?
• 2. What do the dots represent?
• 3. What is the purpose of the lab?
• 4. How could you graph the data?
• 4. Students login to their CFS and click
“Survey” > “Start” > “Select a Teacher”
• Hubble’s law – the universe is expanding and
will continue to expand, the further away a
galaxy, the faster it moves away
• Red shift – change in color frequency due to stars
moving away
• Redshift is a shift in absorption bands toward the
red end of the spectrum. What could make the
absorption bands of a star shift toward the red?
12/8
1. Read the graph and describe what happen to the temperature of the universe as
it expanded?
2. How do we know that the universe is expanding?
Expansion
lab due
today!!
12/9
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What are some types of fuels?
What does it mean when things fuse together?
What powers the stars?
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• 100 k =
• Why research fusion?
• Breakeven – where energy in = energy out
• Fusion – the process which atoms fuse
together, produces a large amount of energy
that powers the stars
• How do we know about fusion?
1. They follow the light
2. How do astronomers determine distances of stars and galaxies?
Cosmic background radiation
• Big bang – how the universe started
• Cosmic background radiation – energy that is
found everywhere in the galaxy - 4 degrees
• You might want to underline below
• Dark matter – 75 percent of the universes mass
does not give off electromagnetic radiation
• Dark energy – mysterious force that is causing
everything to accelerate
Any mass, not just a
black hole, bends
light. A spectacular
example of
gravitational lensing is
the galaxy cluster
Parallax warm up
• 1. Stretch your arm out and stick up your
thumb. How does your thumb move when
you blink each eye? (create a diagram)
2. Bring your thumb in about half the distance
and repeat.
• What do you notice about the distance of your
thumb and the change in position.
3. How can astronomers tell how far away stars
are
• Parallax – method used to tell distance from
earth using apparent motion
• Larger stars die faster
12/10
1. What are 3 things you can tell me about the diagram
above?
2. How do solar systems form?
Activity close reading - explain how redshift is
used for evidence for the expanding universe
- key idea
Stars of the universe grand tour
Recent Hubble Space Telescope observations shed
considerable light on the birth of stars and associated
planetary systems. The following image shows
regions in the Orion Nebula where solar systems may
be forming
How is it like looking back in time
Solar system
• Planetesimals – large
astroids like pluto that
helped form planets
• Nebula –large clouds of
dust
1. What are three
patterns you notice in
this graph?
2. What color do hotter
stars burn at?
3. What you think are
the 4 families of stars?
Fun fact : Larger stars
die faster!
12/11/2014
1. What is the surface
temperature of the sun?
2. If the sun were hotter, what
color would it be?
3. What is the relationship
between brightness and surface
temperature for main sequence
stars?
Agenda
- To read or to scan?
- Tips for ACT
- Practice test
- Group study
- Class discussion
12/11
• What are two main things you think should
keep in mind when taking the science ACT?
• Do you think it is better to read everything
first or scan first? (lets carry out this
experiment: I will describe experiment)
Student survey
Class period
Unsure (a)
Better to scan text
(b)
Better to read
everything first
(Close reading)
©
3rd hour initial
response
0
4
6
3rd hour final
response
2
1
5
4th hour initial
response
2
8
9
4th hour final
response
Background :
- Many students and tutors claim it is best to scan, read questions,
scan text by students.
- Certain text authors claim it is better to read everything carefully
first.
Tips on taking ACT
Tips on science ACT :
- Focus on what is supported by the text
- Look for patterns in the graphs
- Science is a process – don’t worry about what
you don’t understand
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Types of questions found in ACT
1. Data representations
2. Research summaries
3. Conflicting view points
• Wonderings:
Conclusions
• What are some different tactics you use to
study for the ACT?
Conclusions
• What are some different tactics you use to
study for the ACT?
Results
Class period
unsure
Scan text
Close reading
1st hour initial
response
1
9
4
2nd hour initial
response
3
9
2
2nd hour final
response
1
3
12
3rd hour initial
response
0
4
6
3rd hour final
response
2
1
5
4th hour initial
response
2
8
9
1st hour final
response
4th hour final
response