Star Types and Lifezones
Name: Annessa
Allan
Title of Lesson: Star Types and Lifezones
Date of Lesson:
Length of Lesson: 50 minutes
Description of the class:
Name
of course: Eighth Grade Science
Grade
Level: 8th
Honors
or Regular:
Source of Lesson: GEMS kit
TEKS addressed:
(8.1) Scientific Processes. The student conducts field and
laboratory investigations
using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices. The student is expected to:
(A)
demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations.
(8.2)
Scientific
Processes. The student uses
scientific inquiry methods during field and laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:
(A) collect data by observing and
measuring;
(C)
organize, analyze, evaluate, make inferences, and predict trends from direct
and indirect evidence;
(D)
communicate valid conclusions
(8.3) Scientific
Processes. The student uses
critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed
decisions. The student is expected
to:
(C)
represent the natural world using models and identify their limitations
(8.4) Scientific
Processes. The student knows how
to use a variety of tools and methods to conduct a science inquiry. The student is expected to:
(A)
collect, record, and analyze information using tools including
beakersÉ..computersÉ;and
(B) extrapolate from collected information
to make predictions
(8.13) Science Concepts. The student knows characteristics of
the universe. The student is
expected to:
(A) describe characteristics of the
universe such as start and galaxies.
The Lesson:
I. Overview
Understanding
how far a planet is from a star and how that distance affects the presence and
formation of liquid water is important for students to know when studying our
planet and for thinking about the possibility of life forms similar to ours
elsewhere in the universe. Also,
understanding our position in the galaxy, the immense number of stars, and the
different types stars and galaxies are important to having a greater
understanding of the universe.
II.
Performance of
Learner Outcomes
Students
will be able to:
-Understand
the concept of a lifezone, which is the area around a star where liquid water
might be found;
-know
4 types of stars and be able to describe their differences and relate these
differences to the concept of lifezone;
-describe
the vastness of the universe in terms of the number of stars and galaxies, and
estimate the possible number of planets within their stars lifezone.
III. Resources,
materials and supplies needed
-4 sockets
-extension
cords as necessary
-8-16
meter sticks with centimeter markings
-4
lightbulbs (blue,red, yellow, white)
-overhead
projector
-overhead
transparency each of a Spiral Galaxy, Many Galaxies, Star Cluster the Message
Came From, and Our Solar System
-butcher
paper for the Star Types chart
-clock
with a second hand
-hand
broom (in case of accidents)
FOR
EACH GROUP
-1
radiometer
-1
copy of the Star Types and Lifezones data sheet
IV. Supplementary
material, handouts.
Five-E Organization
Teacher
Does Probing
Questions Student Does
Engage: -Give students
pre-assessment. -Show spiral galaxy
overhead. -Give Carl SaganÕs analogy
of the stars of the universe. -Show Star Cluster
overhead. >Point out the cluster
and note that not all stars are the same. -Ask a student or two to
come forward and point out any stars that appear to have color. -Discuss how different
stars have different temperatures, but donÕt list which is hotter or colder. -List their answers. -Liquid water is very important
to life as we know it. -Define ÒlifezoneÓ and
write it on the board. |
-How many galaxies are
there outside our own? -Why can we never see
pictures of our galaxy? -Has anyone ever seen the
Milky Way? From where? -What shapes can you see? -How many stars make up a
galaxy? -Does anyone notice any
differences among the stars? -Why would there be
different colored stars? -Why might we be
interested in knowing what kind of star it is? -What kinds of things
would a planet have to have to support Earthlike life? -What form of water do we
have on our planet? |
-Billions -We are on the inside looking out. -Camping?
Out in the country? -Spirals, disks -Billions.
400-500 billion in our galaxy. -Size, shape and color. -Come to the board and point out colored stars. -The temperature of the
star determines the color. -Life might exist in a
system around a star like ours. -Lots of things Ð But I am
looking for WATER!!! -Mostly liquid water. |
Explore: -Explain to students the purpose of experiment: To use radiometers to study the illumination of each of the
stars where liquid water may exist because water is so important to life as
we know it. -Go over safety
precautions. Go over what
to do with the equipment when they are done! -Go over the
procedure and explain how the
radiometer works, the timing method and where they are going to measure. -Hang up the Star Types
chart. |
-Do you think your star is one of the hotter hot
stars or cooler hot stars? Why? -Do you think this is an
accurate way to measure a lifezone? |
Students begin exploration
in groups. |
Explain: -Ask one member from each
group to come up and plot on the Star Types Chart where they determined it is
too cold and too hot for liquid water is for their star. If two groups have the same star have
them average together their results. -Have the student draw a
line between the two points to indicate the lifezones for that type of star. -Show Solar System
Transparency -Specify where the
lifezone begins and ends. Refer
to Solar System overhead. -Talk about how scientists
predict that there is water on other planets in our solar system, but not in
liquid form. Mars and Venus were
thought to have had liquid water at one time, but Earth is the only one that
does now. -Mention that it is Òtoo
coldÓ and Òtoo hotÓ on either side of the lifezones kind of likeÉ Explain that this is
called ÒThe Goldilocks Effect.Ó |
-What will the conditions
be like on either side of the lifezone? -Which star has the
largest lifezone? -Is the size of the
lifezone important, or just that there is a lifezone? -Where might there be
liquid water within our solar system? -What does Òtoo hotÓ and
Òtoo coldÓ sound like? A fairy
taleÉ. |
-One student from each
group comes to the front to plot the distances and mark t the lifezone on the
Star Types Chart. -Too hot or too cold to
have liquid water. -The larger the lifezone,
the greater the chance that it might have a stable planet within the lifezone
that could support life. -Just after Venus because
the surface is too hot there, and just before Mars because the surface is too
cold for anything but ice, but there is evidence of flooding in the past.. -Goldilocks |
Extend/Elaborate: -Draw a few planets in and
out of each starÕs lifezone and remind the students that planets within the
zone may have liquid water and are more likely to evolve life as we know it. The larger the lifezone, the larger the chance for
life to evolve. -Write the actual life
spans for each type of star on the Star Type Chart. -Refer back to the number
of stars and galaxies in the Universe. |
-Just because there may be
a planet within the lifezone, does that mean that there is life on the
planet? -What other factors do we
need to consider when thinking
about life in other solar systems? -What effect might this
have on a lifezone? -How long, as far as we
know, did it take life to come into existence in our solar systemÕs lifezone? -In all of these solar
systems in the galaxies in the universe, considering the different life spans
of the stars and different lifezones they may have, is it reasonable to
hypothesize that there may have been or may be other life in the universe? |
-No -Heat put out by the star. ~4.5 billion years |
Evaluate: Post-Assessment |
|
|
Name:___________________________
1)
Approximately how many stars are in our galaxy? Hundreds, thousands,
millions, or possibly billions?
2) Do any
of the stars have planets around them?
3) Are
there different types of stars? If
your answer is yes, please list what you think makes them different?
4) What
things are necessary for life as we know it to exist on a planet?
5) Do you
think it is possible that life may exist on other planets in the universe?
Why?
Name:________________________________
Summary Questions
1) Define
the word lifezone.
2) Draw a
solar system for a yellow sun and illustrate where you would expect the lifezone to be.
3 Would
you expect to find life in the lifezone around all stars?
Why or why not?
4) List the four types of stars in order from least hot to the hottest.