This collection includes resources for teaching college-level introductory astronomy courses. The resources …
This collection includes resources for teaching college-level introductory astronomy courses. The resources include interactive lecture slides, class activities, and projects. Topics include solar system astronomy, stellar astronomy, and galaxies and cosmology. Sample schedules are included for a sequence of three 10-week courses.This collection was created by Andrea Goering (goeringa@lanecc.edu) and Richard Wagner (wagnerr@lanecc.edu), instructors of physics and astronomy at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Development of these resources was funded through LCC's OER Initiative (https://inside.lanecc.edu/oer).
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientist Mike Garcia draws lava …
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientist Mike Garcia draws lava samples at the foot of the active Kilauea volcano to see if it is related to its neighboring volcano, Mauna Loa.
The purpose of this resource is to develop a classification system for …
The purpose of this resource is to develop a classification system for a set of objects and learn about hierarchical classification systems. Any set of objects, such as insects or rocks, may be used as well.
This class explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and …
This class explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Milton and Ford. It compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well as reading, writing, researching and conversing. The primary theme of the class is to explore how England in the mid-seventeenth century became “a world turned upside down” by the new ideas and upheavals in religion, politics, and philosophy, ideas that would shape our modern world. Paying special attention to the “theatricality” of the new models and perspectives afforded by scientific experimentation, the class will read plays by Shakespeare, Tate, Brecht, Ford, Churchill, and Kushner, as well as primary and secondary texts from a wide range of disciplines. Students will also compose and perform in scenes based on that material.
A dynamically simplified solar system is constructed from online data to explore …
A dynamically simplified solar system is constructed from online data to explore the real solar system on many different scales.
The realistically scaled solar system is surprising because nothing is visible due to the presence of many different scales. That is why it is usually rescaled in animations or illustrations. This is nice but gives us a wrong sense of distances and sizes. This Demonstration is intended to show the solar system's different scales in their full glory.
Since it is hardly possible to see anything when the real scales are used, controls have been added to modify the sizes of the celestial bodies.
This is a hands-on activity to learn that energy can be transformed …
This is a hands-on activity to learn that energy can be transformed into various forms. Potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. Moreover, this kinetic energy can be used (if more than the relative binding energy) to break atoms, particles and molecules to see “inside” and to study their constituents.
This book is a journey through the world of physics and cosmology, …
This book is a journey through the world of physics and cosmology, and an exploration of our role in this universe. We will address questions such as: What if the force of gravity were a little stronger? What if there were more of fewer atoms in our universe? What if Newton and not Einstein had been right? Would we still be here? Can the universe exist without us to observe it? Can chance explain the world around us, as well as us?
The purpose of this book is to phrase these questions and pursue the consequences of potential answers through rigorous scientific reasoning; in the process we will learn how the very small and the very large are interconnected, and even how we can affect events that happened six billion years ago.
Licensed CC-BY-4.0 with attribution instructions on page 2 of the document.
Table of Contents
Introduction 7 The fundamental forces 10 The force of gravity 18 What if … the force of gravity were different? 23 The electric and magnetic forces 26 The electric force 27 What if … the electric force were different? 39 The magnetic force 48 What if … the magnetic force were different? 58 The strong and weak forces 59 What if … ? 65 How do forces work? 74 The history of the universe 85 What if … ? 94 The history of our species 106 Odds 124 The building blocks of the universe 128 What if … ? 140 Dark energy 150 What if … dark matter were more interesting? 159 When you do not look…. 162 Manifestations of the wave nature of matter 169 The delayed choice experiment: Affecting the past 186 What if … ? 191 The story so far 195 Unification and our role 199 Fine-tuning? 214 The Multiverse and aliens 226 The laws of physics 234 The Anthropic Principle and Puddle Theory 237 Post mortem 249 Further reading and chapter notes 251
Did you know that when you look at a star, your eyes …
Did you know that when you look at a star, your eyes are capturing light that traveled all the way from the star to your eye? Learn more about how light carries information from distant objects. This Moveable Museum article, available as a nine-page printable PDF file, offers a kid-friendly look at how information about distant objects comes to us in the form of light. It includes suggested resources for further research.
This fun Web site is part of OLogy, where kids can collect …
This fun Web site is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they are introduced to Einstein's life and work with four engaging and kid-friendly areas. Equation Invasion, a look at the world's most famous equation about the relationship between energy and mass. Web Master, the scientists whose ideas and discoveries shaped Einstein's career. Light the Way, an introduction to "the fastest thing in the universe" and the waves it travels in. Everyday Einstein: LASERS, a comic strip that illustrates how Einstein's work led to the development of lasers.
This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science describes how astronomical …
This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science describes how astronomical distances can be measured in units of light-years, and how the finite speed of light allows astronomers to study how the universe looked long ago.
A unit on wave phenomena, and its applications to detecting and evaluating …
A unit on wave phenomena, and its applications to detecting and evaluating extrasolar planets, and lighting and sound design in theatrical productions. The unit is designed for a high school physics class, but could be modified for physical science, astronomy, technical theater, or the middle school level.
This part of the Student Observation Network allows you to make observations …
This part of the Student Observation Network allows you to make observations to answer the question, "Have auroras been seen within the last 24 hours due to a solar storm?"
The Student Observation Network provides guided inquiry. While participating in the Auroral Friends program your students may think of other questions that they wish to investigate. For instance, they may wish to know; "What causes the aurora?", "What affect does a solar storm have on aurora?", and "What conditions enhance auroras?". These open inquiries may reveal to them that coronal holes may energize auroras even when solar storms have not occurred.
Two children act as the Moon and the Earth. By holding hands …
Two children act as the Moon and the Earth. By holding hands and spinning around they mimic the tidal locking of the Moon. They note that the Moon always keeps the same face towards Earth.
Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your …
Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your fuel runs out, as Neil Armstrong did in 1969? Our version of this classic video game accurately simulates the real motion of the lunar lander with the correct mass, thrust, fuel consumption rate, and lunar gravity. The real lunar lander is very hard to control.
This exercise was designed to address student misconceptions about why the Moon …
This exercise was designed to address student misconceptions about why the Moon exhibits phases. Using a sketchbook, digital camera, or flex cam, a student sits at the center of a darkened room illuminated by a single light source in a stationary position. Stools are set up surrounding the student in the center and other students take those positions, always keeping their faces toward the center. The center student sketches or take pictures of the faces at each of the positions. Substituting a sphere (such as a ball) for the students' faces provides an even more vivid illustration of the shadowing of the sphere and connects directly to the rationale for lunar phases.
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.