Driving Questions: Why do objects in our system orbit the sun? Crosscutting Concept: Scale, Proportion and Quantity Science and Engineering Practices: Mathematical and Computational Thinking Performance Expectation: 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 In addition to score 3.0 performance, the student demonstrates in-depth inferences and applications that go beyond what was taught. Students will: Use mathematical or computational representations (Kepler's and Newton's laws) to predict and explain the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system (). ** How do these laws prove planets/ objects do not orbit in perfect circles? Potential Phenomena: Why did the asteroid belt form the way it did and why does it stay in its orbit? Why don't planets get pulled into the sun or fly off into space? What causes comets to speed up and slow down as they move? What causes a comet’s tail? Students will: A1. Use focal distance and an ellipses’ major axis length to determine eccentricity of an object’s orbit in space (e=f/d) (Kepler’s 1st law) A2. Describe how distance from the sun impacts the velocity of an object’s orbit in space (Kepler’s 2nd law) A3. Describe how distance from a star is proportional to the orbital period. (yr2=AU3) (Kepler’s 3rd law) A4. Describe the relationship of scale, proportion and quantity in the context of gravitational attraction (Newton’s Laws). Recognize or recall specific vocabulary such as: Revolution, orbit, orbital period, ellipse, focus, eccentricity, area, gravity, mass, acceleration, inertia Student’s performance reflects insufficient progress towards foundational skills and knowledge.
Fusion in the Stars Driving Questions: How do produce the elements that compose our universe? Crosscutting Concept: Scale, Proportion and Quality; Energy and Matter Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Performance Expectation: ; Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 In addition to score 3.0 performance, the student demonstrates in-depth inferences and applications that go beyond what was taught. Students will: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation. (). B. Use model (HR Diagram) to communicate how different elements (matter) are produced throughout the various stages in a star's lifecycle (). Potential Phenomena: How do we know how long the sun (stars) will last? What causes a black hole? Where did the iron in your car come from? Students will: A1. Construct a model to demonstrate the process of nuclear fusion that includes how hydrogen acts as the sun’s fuel to produce helium and energy. (Describe how lighter elements (hydrogen) through collisions can form other light elements (helium). A2. Describe how nuclear fusion produces energy in the form of radiation that reaches Earth B1. Use the quantity of hydrogen as a contributing factor to determine the age of a star. B2. Describe how massive elements, up to iron, are produced in of stars by a chain of processes of nuclear fusion, which also releases energy, in order to determine the stage a star is in in their lifecycle. B3. Discuss how data from stellar observations is used to create the HR Diagram (mass, temperature, luminosity). Specific vocabulary is underlined and bolded Student’s performance reflects insufficient progress towards foundational skills and knowledge.