Mr. GullacherBalfour Collegiate

Science 9Fall 2008

Space – The Infinite Frontier!

Date Received: Name:

This activity will involve student visiting the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) website: This website is specifically designed for education targeted at young adults. We will focus on the section “Topics in Astronomy” for this project.

Within this section of the website, you will find a number of sections titled:

  1. How old is the universe?
  2. What is a constellation?
  3. Facts about our solar system
  4. The motions in the sky
  5. Tools to look at the sky
  6. A unique Solar phenomenon

In addition to the “Topics of Astronomy” section of the menu bar, you will find the sections “Skygazing” and “Glossary”; these links can be found on the menu bar on the left-hand side of the screen.

The Project

There are six (6) distinct areas of interest (AOE) on this website. Each AOE has something different to learn about space. Your job is to read through each of the sections and complete the described project. On certain questions (2, 6, 7) you may choose the project you prefer.

  1. Space Dictionary (25 Marks)

  1. Create a dictionary of Astronomical words for yourself. This dictionary should include any words you encounter during this project that you can’t define on your own. The Glossary on the website contains about 20 terms you likely don’t know, so this would be a great place to start. Your dictionary should contain a minimum of 25 entries.
  • 1 mark for each successful definition.

Hint: Google will define any term if you type the following: “define ______”, but you must put your word in the blank. It will give you a great deal of definitions, find the one you best understand and put it into your own words!

  1. How Old is the Universe? (10 Marks) choose a or b
    Read this section of the webpage; make some brief notes about space as you read. Use these notes to complete one of the following activities:
  2. Write a short story about our universe; this story must include all four (4) elements of this page. Have fun writing your story by introducing characters and having them experience the universe firsthand.

OR

  1. Create a comic-strip that illustrates all the major ideas from this section. Be sure to make your comic strip large enough to be easily read by a viewer (about 4 pictures per page). This needs to be in enough detail to teach your parents how old the universe is.

(Note: the website will generate characters and textboxes for your cartoon; give it a try!)

  • Describing each of the ideas presented on the website, and explaining them in terms any student could understand
    2 marks each to a maximum of 8 total marks.
  • Ideas are presented in a manner that engages the reader (can be funny, have illustrations, etc.)
    2 marks.
  1. What is a constellation? (5 Marks)
  2. Create a Planisphere (I have copies at the front)
    Use the online Star-Chart to learn about some of the constellations in the night sky.
  • Show me your complete planisphere
    5 marks

  1. Facts about our solar system (25 marks)
    Read through the section titled “Facts about our solar system”; make some brief notes as you read through the section. Complete the following activity with what you have learned from this section.
  2. Create Flash Cards for 20 facts learned in this are of the website. Once complete you need to pair up with a student and practice your space knowledge using your flash cards.
    When complete, clip your cards together
  • 20 marks attributed to facts from this section
    1 mark for each successful fact
  • 5 Marks attributed to the presentation of facts with a partner
    1(not successful)  3(the player is engaged)  5(the player is engaged and learns facts)
  1. The Motions in the Sky (25 marks)
    Read through the section “The Motions in the Sky”; make some brief notes about the “wanderers”, “Lunar Cycle” and others as you read. When you are finished reading, complete the following exercise.
  2. Create a poster (or a series of posters) that explains each of the concepts in this section to an Elementary School audience. For example, use diagrams to explain how the Lunar cycle works, what wanderers and comets are and why the sky looks different depending where you live on earth.
  • 5 marks for each poster/concept (5 different concepts)
  1. Tools of Astronomers (9 marks)choose a or b
    Read through the section titled “Tools of Astronomers”; make some brief notes while you read. When complete, choose one of the two following assignments and complete (you may have to do some additional research to complete this)
  2. Draw a full page diagram explaining how a mirror telescope and lens are constructed; explain in words for each diagram how it works (how the light travels from space to your eye) and how they are different.

OR

  1. Research the Electromagnetic spectrum; write a brief research report to explain what it is and how it is useful to astronomy.
  • Follows Balfour Science Writing Rubric (see end of project description)

  1. Skygazing Log (20 marks)

Follow the link to the Skygazing Section of the Website; choose 5 articles by Ken Tapping (1 article from each section) that catch your interest. For each of the articles you must:

  1. Summarize the article in 3-4 sentences
  2. Record one thing you learned from this article
  1. 4 marks per article (3 mark for completing summary; 1 mark for)
  1. Space Crossword (6 marks)
  2. Complete the space crossword (see last page of Handout)
  • ½ mark for each correct word

This project will be handed-in to a folder. A due date will be assigned for the project as a whole; a good pace would be to complete at least one (1) assignment per day; some will take less than a day, others more than a day, so use your time effectively.

Balfour Science Writing Rubric

3 / 2 / 1 / 0
Topic / Restates the problem, purpose or question clearly and where possible,in students' own words / Attempts to restate the problem, purpose or question / No attempt to restate the problem, purpose or question
Body / Statements are specific and detailed AND data is used to address the problem, purpose or question / Statements are more specific AND data is used to address the problem, purpose or question / Statement(s) are generic, brief or do not address
the problem, purpose or question / Does not contain body statements
Application / Cites appropriate applications with valid explanations / Sites applications that are superficial and or erroneous / No attempt to make connections or site applications
Mechanics / Mechanical errors are unnoticeable. Meaning is clearly conveyed. / Few mechanical errors that interfere only slightly with the meaning / Mechanical errors interfere with the meaning. Comprehension is difficult or impossible

Crossword

Test Your Astronomy Knowledge!Name: ______a

Across

2. A yellow dwarf star at the centre of our solar system, it accounts for 99.8% of our solar system's mass.
4. This describes the motion of spinning on an axis or centre, like a top.
6. These people rely on electromagnetic radiation detected by different types of telescopes to determine the location, composition, temperature, motions and magnetism of celestial objects.
9. This planet is the home of some of the fastest windstorms anywhere in the Solar System, with winds often reaching speeds of 2000 km/h.
11. Every December, meteors appear to spray out of this constellation. This event is called the "Geminid meteor shower."
12. This planet is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Down

1. This planet weights more than twice as much as all the other planets of our solar system combined.
3. An area in the sky where people have looked up and seen a pattern that is helpful in finding our way around the night sky.
5. The Milky Way a spiral disk containing several hundred billion stars is one of these.
7. An event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another celestial body.
8. This beautiful light show of red and green glowing overhead is caused by the interaction of solar materials with the Earth's atmosphere.
10. This planet was named after the Roman god of war, due to its blood-red colour.

1

This is not a group activity; unless instructed please refrain from socializing during this project