By the end of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
- understand roughly the relative sizes and distances of major objects within the solar system (1.1)
- construct a scale model of the solar system
- use and recognize common astronomical units of distance (meter, AU, ly, pc)
- understand the relation of the solar calendar to the degree
- describe the stages of the scientific method and differentiate between science and pseudosciences such as astrology (1.2)
- Use the parallax relationship between angles, distances and sizes to solve simple problems. (1.7)
All assignments are due on the date listed. That is not the date they are assigned.
***Note*** Some due dates may be shifted due to inclement weather
Due date Day Assignment
8/31 Thu Read: 1.1, A1, A2 (Scale, lightyears, SI system, scientific
notation)
Do: p. 30 R&D: 2, 3
CST: 2
p. 31 P: 1, 2a, b
9/1 Fri Picture Day
In Class Do: The Stars Activity 1.1
Begin Moon observations
9/4 Mon Labor Day - No School
9/5 Tue Read: pp. 25-27 column 1 (triangulation, parallax)
Do: p. 30 R&D 17, 18
p. 30-31 T/F & MC: 9, 18, 19
Moon observations
9/6 Wed Read: pp. 27-30 (Eratosthenes, parallax)
Do: p. 30 R&D 19, 20
T/F & MC 10, 20
Moon observations
9/7 Thu Read: 1.2 (Scientific methods)
Do: p. 30 R&D: 4
Problems: 8, 9, 10
In class – finish parallax lab
Moon observations
9/8 Fri Finish Parallax lab
9/12 Tue
Do: Astrology – presidents/ finish Astro proj 3
Moon observations
9/13 Wed Test: 1.1, 1.2, 1.7
Do: Moon observations
Good observing targets: Evening: Saturn (South-Southwest)
Jupiter (early evening, West)
Andromeda Galaxy core (east)
Early Morning: Pleiades (high south east)
Orion Nebula (low east)
Venus (east)
Links - Naked Eye Astronomy
Missed a class? Forgot what we did last week? Follow the link to Astronomy Unit 1 Daily Plans
- Scientific Notation
- Bruce Bryson has adapted the rather famous film/book The Powers of Ten by Philip and Phyllis Morrison and the office of Charles & Ray Eames. It teaches about scientific notation and length scales in the univese from tiny quarks to the most distant quasars by zooming in and out from a patch of skin on the hand of a sleeping man in a park.
- International System of Units from NIST describes the SI system, the most widely recognized metric system of units. It includes a history of the system metric prefixes, and unit conversions.
- Frank Tapson's A Dictionary of Measures, Units and Conversions includes tables explaining the same for the SI system as well as for the UK Imperial system and the American systems of measurements with further explanations of units by catagory on separate pages.
- After the mks or SI metric system, the cgs or Gaussian system is the most commonly used metric system - mainly for electricity and magnetism. Eric Weisstein's page compares cgs to SI.
- Measurement, Error, Accuracy and Precision
- Bellevue Community College's physics department has this Introduction to Measurement and Sig Figs including uncertainty, accuracy and precision.
- Geometry - First Rung on the Distance Ladder
- The satellite Hipparcos has used the method of parallax to determine the position of, distance to, and proper motion of thousands of nearby stars with the greatest accuracy to date.
- Eratosthenes is the earliest recorded person to scientifically estimate the size of the Earth to relative accuracy. Carl Sagan explains this discovery in this youtube clip from his 1980 mini-series Cosmos:Episode I - The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean: Eratosthenes measures the size of the Earth, 6 min 58 s
- While often described as "The" scientific method, there is no single recipe for doing good science. There are, however a number of common elements in most versions of the scientific method. The following pages describe them.
- Wikipedia's entry on the Scientific Method describes the method in detail as well as its historical development.
- Jose Wudka's The Scientific Method comes from a collection of physics notes. It describes the method in a general form and contrasts it with non & pseudo-scientific methods.
- Bill Latura maintains a similar page taken from Usenet's sci.skeptic FAQ on the Scientific Method.
- J. Stein Carter describes The Scientific Method from a biological standpoint including javascript exercises to help check your understanding.
- Frank Wolfs provides an Introduction to the Scientific Method including an explanation of when the scientific method is not applicable.
- Dr. Terry Halwes explores The Myth of the Magical Scientific Method calling attention to the multiplicity of methods through which good science is accomplished.
- Carl Sagan describes the differences between the science of astronomy and the pseudo-science of astrology in this YouTube clip from his 1980 mini-series Cosmos Episode III - The Harmony of the Worlds: Astronomy vs. Astrology, 8 min 35 s