In this activity, students construct a magnetometer. A materials list and instructions are provided.
These materials are generalizable to any STEM class. They were developed for Introductory Astronomy at Lane Community College. These assignments were developed with the Equity and Open Education Faculty Cohort, hosted by Open Oregon Educational Resources.
The overarching goal is to broaden participation in STEM and increase student success by using creative portfolio assignments which connect course content with various dimensions of students’ lives.
ASTR 121 - Astronomy of the Solar System
4 Credit(s)
ASTR 121, 122 and 123, may be taken out of sequence. This sequence provides an in-depth and comprehensive introduction to the science of astronomy. These courses are designed to serve non-science majors, but also offer a good introduction for prospective science majors interested in Astrophysics or Space Science. These courses have a significant lab component. ASTR 121 focuses on naked-eye astronomy and the science of astronomy focused primarily on our solar system and comparative planetology, the Earth and its Moon, detailed consideration of the individual planets, solar system debris including comets and asteroids, and modeling the origin of our solar system. Lab included.
Prerequisite: MTH 052 or MTH 060 or MTH 065 or MTH 070 or MTH 095 or MTH 111 or placement test.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Think and communicate based on familiarity with a wide variety of physical phenomena involving the solar system and the means by which it is described and explained.
2. Think and communicate based on familiarity, in part through direct practice, with observational tools, chains of reasoning and exploration and knowledge of scientific methods that are part of the practice of this area of astronomy.
3. Correctly use scientific reasoning regarding the formation of the solar system, and think and communicate with significant basic conceptual understanding of systems involved in present-day terrestrial and Jovian planets.
4. Converse and comprehend making use of elementary descriptions and laws of mechanical motion and gravity applied to the motion of objects in our solar system.
5. Engage this area of astronomy with an active scientific literacy, which includes use of public resources widely available as part of large scale astronomy investigation.
6. Think and communicate based on an elementary understanding of exploration of the solar system, drawing conclusions from experimental data about possible explanations of physical mechanisms of the solar system and its constituent parts.
7. Formulate questions to move their thinking forward concerning the subject matter of the class.
8. Think and communicate with a familiarity with elementary applications of basic physics underlying the formation and structure of the solar system, as well as interplay of planetary systems such as plate tectonics, volcanic activity and atmospheric evolution.
8. Reflect and communicate on possible uses and impacts of this physics knowledge regarding the solar system.
9. Converse and write about the nature of science with increased sophistication and see physics/astronomy as a science, rather than a body of knowledge.
10. Appreciate that the insights provided by Classical Mechanics and Newtonian Gravity are valuable and useful even though physics has developed beyond Newtonian Gravity and Classical Mechanics and beyond mechanical theories - of which Classical Mechanics is a premier example.
11. Appreciate current efforts to create new insights in this area of astronomy and have a sense of currently open questions within the astrophysics community.
about dark matter present in universe.
During the last sunspot cycle between 1996-2008, over 21,000 flares and 13,000 clouds of plasma exploded from the Sun's magnetically active surface. These events create space weather. Students will learn more about space weather and how it affects Earth through reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video segment. Then students will explore the statistics of various types of space weather storms by determining the mean, median and mode of a sample of storm events. This activity is part of the Space Math multimedia modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.
Children talk about the differences between daytime and nighttime, including the activities they do at each time.
This video explains design of the Arecibo Message transmitted in the 1970s by SETI pioneers.
The relationship between mass, volume, and density is explored using chocolate. The mass and volume of solid chocolate bars, liquid chocolate, and small chocolate pieces are determined and used to compute density for comparison. The activity includes a worksheet that allows students to report their findings and infer density changes as a material goes from solid to liquid to gas.
In this activity, students measure the densities of samples of granite, basalt, peridotite/dunite, and an iron meteorite, which are used as representatives of the various layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, core). The samples are weighed to determine their mass, and the Archimedes Principle is used to determine volume. From these two properties, they calculate density, compare it to accepted values presented in the discussion, and answer questions about their observations.
This lesson provides experience working on a real-life scenario by allowing students the opportunity to use topographic maps to design a hiking trail system based on access from road, range of habitats, and other specified criteria. They will also complete a data sheet and produce an informational brochure.
A framework for thinking about how many detectable civilizations are out there. Created by Sal Khan.
Why do we even care about the Drake Equation. Thinking about the fraction of a planet's life when a civilization might be detectable. Created by Sal Khan.
Reconciling with the traditional Drake Equation. Created by Sal Khan.
Taking a shot at estimating the number of detectable civilizations. Created by Sal Khan.
More reasons why we haven't detected anything yet. Created by Sal Khan.
Students learn about ultraviolet light in this Moveable Museum unit, where they detect UV rays and then explore ways to block them. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and information about where to obtain supplies. Students make a bracelet from beads that respond to UV light by changing color, and test it in different light environments.
The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras of the Stone Age. Created by Sal Khan.
This is an activity about creating impacts on sandy surfaces. Learners will use trays of sand and a variety of solid objects to model the effects of "impactors" on the surface. This is activity 6 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
Learners will use trays of sand and cups of water to recreate surface features seen in images of Mars. This is activity 5 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
This is an activity about modeling the effect of wind on a sandy surface. Learners will use trays of sand and straws to recreate surface features of images of Mars. Participants test their ideas about how some of the features on Mars might have been produced. This is activity 4 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
For most of human history, recording a star meant describing it with words or drawing a picture. The 19th-century invention of photography changed that—only to be revolutionized by digital imaging. This Moveable Museum article, available as a six-page printable PDF file, takes a look at the technology of digital imaging. It discusses how digital images are pictures stored as numbers and explains how computer manipulation can enhance images and reduce distortion. Some suggested resources are provided for further research.