Dennis Schatz Andrew Fraknoi
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Dennis Schatz Andrew Fraknoi Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 Dennis Schatz Andrew Fraknoi Arlington, Virginia Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 Claire Reinburg, Director ART AND DESIGN Wendy Rubin, Managing Editor Will Thomas Jr., Director Amanda O’Brien, Associate Editor Joe Butera, Senior Graphic Designer, cover and Rachel Ledbetter, Associate Editor interior design Donna Yudkin, Book Acquisitions Coordinator PRINTING AND PRODUCTION Catherine Lorrain, Director NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION David L. Evans, Executive Director David Beacom, Publisher 1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201 www.nsta.org/store For customer service inquiries, please call 800-277-5300. Copyright © 2016 by the National Science Teachers Association. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 19 18 17 16 4 3 2 1 NSTA is committed to publishing material that promotes the best in inquiry-based science education. 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E-book buyers may download files to multiple personal devices but are prohibited from posting the files to third-party servers or websites, or from passing files to non-buyers. For additional permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this NSTA Press book, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) (www.copyright.com; 978-750-8400). Please access www.nsta.org/permissions for further information about NSTA’s rights and permissions policies. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schatz, Dennis, author. Solar science : exploring sunspots, seasons, eclipses, and more / Dennis Schatz, Andrew Fraknoi. pages cm Summary: "Solar Science offers more than three dozen hands-on, inquiry-based activities on many fascinating aspects of solar astronomy. The activities cover the Sun's motions, the space weather it causes, the measures of time and seasons in our daily lives, and much more."-- Provided by publisher. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-941316-07-8 (print) -- ISBN 978-1-941316-47-4 (e-book) 1. Astronomy--Experiments--Juvenile literature. 2. Sun--Observations--Juvenile literature. 3. Sun--Experiments--Juvenile literature. 4. Sun-- Juvenile literature. I. Fraknoi, Andrew, author. II. Title. QB46.S2592 2015 523.7078--dc23 2015031629 e-LCCN: 2015035458 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 Dedication To Alan J. Friedman, good friend, colleague, and mentor, who inspired everyone he met to remember that science is a way of thinking, not a list of facts. Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 CONTENTS About the Authors x Introduction xiii CHAPTER 1 1 Understanding and Tracking the Daily Motion of the Sun Learning Goals of the Chapter 2 Overview of Student Experiences 2 Recommended Teaching Time for Each Experience 4 Connecting With Standards 4 Content Background 7 ENGAGE 1.1. Cast Away: What Do We Think We Know? 13 1.2. Your Personal Pocket Sun Clock 16 EXPLORE 1.3. Shadow and Sun Tracking 23 EXPLAIN 1.4. Modeling the Sun–Earth Relationship 32 1.5. Noontime Around the World 36 ELABORATE 1.6. Pocket Sun Compass 43 1.7. High Noon 47 EVALUATE 1.8. Write a Picture Book for Kids 51 1.9. Where Is It Night When We Have Noon? 53 1.10. What Do We Think We Know? Revisited 57 Video Math Literacy Cross-Curricular Resources Connections Connections Connections Connections for Teachers 59 59 60 60 63 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 CHAPTER 2 67 Understanding and Tracking the Annual Motion of the Sun and the Seasons Learning Goals of the Chapter 68 Overview of Student Experiences 68 Recommended Teaching Time for Each Experience 70 Connecting With Standards 70 Content Background 72 ENGAGE 2.1. What Do We Think We Know? 79 2.2. How Can This Be True? 81 EXPLORE 2.3. Sun Tracking Throughout the Year 84 2.4. High Noon Throughout the Year 90 EXPLAIN 2.5. Reasons for the Seasons Symposium 93 ELABORATE 2.6. Length of Day Around the World 116 2.7. Seasons on Other Planets 125 2.8. I Can’t Make It Come Out Even: Fitting Days and Years Into a 132 Workable Calendar EVALUATE 2.9. Write a Picture Book for Kids 139 2.10. E-mail Response to “How Can This Be True?” 141 2.11. Reasons for the Seasons Revisited 143 2.12. What Do We Think We Know? Revisited 146 Video Math Literacy Cross-Curricular Resources Connections Connections Connections Connections for Teachers 148 148 149 149 151 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 CHAPTER 3 155 Solar Activity and Space Weather Learning Goals of the Chapter 156 Overview of Student Experiences 156 Recommended Teaching Time for Each Experience 158 Connecting With Standards 158 Content Background 161 ENGAGE 3.1. What Do We Think We Know? 173 3.2. Be a Solar Astronomer 175 EXPLORE 3.3. Safe Solar Viewing: Project and Record Your Own Images of the Sun 178 3.4. Discover the Sunspot Cycle 182 EXPLAIN 3.5. How Fast Does the Sun Rotate? 196 3.6. Space Weather: Storms From the Sun 206 3.7. What Else Cycles Like the Sun? 218 ELABORATE 3.8. The Multicolored Sun: An Introduction to Electromagnetic Radiation 232 3.9. Student Detectives and the Ultraviolet Sun 243 3.10. Additional Ways of Observing the Sun Safely 250 EVALUATE 3.11. Space Weather Report 257 3.12. Predict the Next Sunspot Maximum and Minimum 259 Follow-Up (Extension) Activities for This Chapter 263 Video Math Literacy Cross-Curricular Resources Connections Connections Connections Connections for Teachers 264 264 266 266 268 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 CHAPTER 4 271 The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth Together: Phases, Eclipses, and More Learning Goals of the Chapter 272 Overview of Student Experiences 272 Recommended Teaching Time for Each Experience 274 Connecting With Standards 274 Content Background 276 ENGAGE 4.1. Predicting What the Moon Will Look Like 288 4.2. What Do We Think We Know? 292 EXPLORE 4.3. Observing the Moon 294 EXPLAIN 4.4. Modeling the Moon 304 4.5. Modeling Eclipses 311 ELABORATE 4.6. How Often Do Eclipses Occur? 313 4.7. Why Do People Spend $10,000 to See a Total Solar Eclipse? 316 4.8. Does the Moon Rotate? 318 4.9. What Do Eclipses Look Like From a Space Colony on the Moon? 321 EVALUATE 4.10. Lunar Phases Revisited 324 4.11. What Causes Lunar Phases and Eclipses? 327 Video Math Literacy Cross-Curricular Resources Connections Connections Connections Connections for Teachers 331 331 332 332 334 Image Credits 337 Index 341 Copyright © 2016 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781941316078 About the Authors Dennis Schatz is the author of years he served as a program direc- numerous resources for educators tor for science education at the and museum professionals, includ- National Science Foundation. At ing Astro Adventures: An Upper the Pacific Science Center, he codi- Elementary Curriculum (Pacific Sci- rected Washington State LASER ence Center 2002) and Astro Adven- (Leadership and Assistance for Sci- tures II (Pacific Science Center 2003). ence Education Reform), a program He is also the author of 23 science to implement a quality K–12 science books for children that have all program in all 295 school districts together sold almost 2 million copies in Washington State. He was also worldwide and have been translated into 23 lan- principal investigator for Portal to the Public, guages. These include Astronomy Activity Book an initiative to develop programs—both on-site (Simon and Schuster 1991) and Stars and Planets and off—that engage scientists in working with (SmartLab Toys 2004).