Teacher Resources for Instructional Planning


HS, Astronomy Std 21: Explain how objects in the solar system move in regular and/or predictable ways

Lesson Plans: Orbital Forces To demonstrate orbital motions and forces using a tennis ball swung by a ribbon. Gravity Gauge To make a simple accelerometer to measure "G-forces" when you change your motion. Sunspot Races After you've looked at your images, you should be able to predict when sunspot groups or active regions will disappear behind the Sun's limb and, perhaps, eventually reappear from around the back side of the Sun. Gravity Is As Gravity Does Gravity, whether it is holding you to the Earth’s surface or swallowing light in a black hole, is the same force obeying the same laws at all places in the observable Universe. We can measure it with this simple lab. Celestial Navigation The gnomon, a fancy name for a vertical stick (must be thin and round) stuck in the ground, is the most ancient of all astronomical instruments. It can be used to chart the Sun's motion across the sky so as to determine one's latitude and longitude, as well as the time of true noon. Sidereal Day To find the difference between a solar day and a sidereal day you will measure the intervals between the times when a star returns to a given spot over successive evenings. Motion of the Moon The moon changes its position in the sky from day to day as a consequence of its orbital motion around the earth. In this project, we ask you to chart the motion of the moon against the background stars. Kepler's Laws By reproducing ellipses via the "string-and-pencil method," the students will draw ellipses and determine the eccentricities; by measuring the orbits of five of Jupiter's moons, the students will test Kepler's third law; and by using characteristics of Pluto's orbit, the students will confirm Kepler's second law. Motion of the Earth Lab to show the motion of the Earth Sun Activities

Resources: Spacecraft speed and acceleration: Select lesson number 7. Put the spacecraft's speed into perspective. Explore the Solar System: Our solar system consists of the sun, the nine planets and their moons, asteroids and comets. The applet below shows the orbits and positions of the planets right now. Click and drag your mouse to tilt or rotate the solar system. Shift+Click zooms in and Ctrl+Click zooms out. The Physics Classroom Tutorials, animations, sample problems Aeronautics Related Activities, Experiments, and Lesson Plans
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