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In ancient times many people believed that the earth was flat - but not all. Some used observations like the disappearance of ships over the horizon, the setting sun, and the shape of the lunar eclipse to argue that the earth was in fact round. As early as 400BC people (including Aristotle) argued that the earth was round (cite). These ideas were confirmed once ships were able to circumnavigate the globe starting in the 1500s (cite). Around the same time Copernicus (who already knew the earth was round) was developing his model of heliocentrism.
Since then we have, landed one the moon, launched many satellites that circle the (round) globe constantly. Our phones have GPS which uses signals from satellites to identify where we are. And of course the same satellites can send back pictures of our planet which looks....round! (or pictures from high altitude balloons like below right)
Despite all this evidence over hundreds of years, there still exist people who believe that the earth is flat. In fact their is increasing numbers of people who make this claim. There are websites, many many videos and articles arguing that the earth is in fact flat (Here are some - YouTube is making these harder to find). Their is an image of a flat earth with the north pole at the center that is argued to be the correct shape. Some argue that a dome covers the earth to contain the atmosphere. These descriptions of the flat earth model raise more questions than they answer.
(NOTE to TEACHERS - these flat earth videos are all very long (2+hours each). I have yet to find a concise summary of these ideas except as done in debunking videos).
On its face, this does not seem like a serious case for study, but there are three reasons why this is a useful topic for science students.
Pseudoscience. Although some flat earth advocates claim to be doing scientific research, they all dismiss most of the scientific information (e.g. satellites) as part of a "globalist conspiracy". Serious science cannot start from a distrust of all previous science. So this must fall in the pseudoscience category. Cases like flat earth help define the categories more accurately.
Popularity. Flat earth had all but disappeared as an idea that was taken seriously. The Flat Earth Society existing in the 1970's and 80's but then disappeared (cite). More recently the idea has seen significant growth generated through social media. A recent survey suggests that up to 9% of the American population now thinks the earth is or might be flat (cite). YouTube videos about flat earth have millions of views (as do many videos debunking these). The growth in interest in a topic that had disappeared and has no scientific support seems linked to anti government and anti science conspiracy theories. Many flat earth adherents also believe in conspiracies about the moon landing, JFK assassination and vaccines. It is not clear how much of the flat earth enthusiasm is meant to be taken as an effort to understand our world or if it is a statement of resistance from authority.
Testing. Flat earth theory presents an easy entry into the idea of questioning and testing scientific claims (aka Debunking). There are many ways to provide contrary evidence to the flat earth hypothesis. Students can choose from a variety of approaches to cast doubt including:
Disappearance of ships on the horizon
Lunar eclipses
Size of the sun at sunset
Change of seasons
Cycle of night and day
Motion of the stars over the northern and southern hemisphere
Travel time between cities in the southern hemisphere
Curvature of the earth as seen from high mountains and balloons
Calculation of gravity at high peaks
For these reasons we find the flat earth hypothesis is a valuable topic for science students to explore. Flat earth inquiry could be an effective early year task as a way to establish what real science and scientific reasoning is. Alternatively flat earth can be an effective introduction (or extension) on any of these topics:
Elementary
5-PS2-1: Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.
5-ESS1-2. Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky
Middle School
MS-PS2-4: Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects
MS-ESS1-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
High School
HS-PS2-4: Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.
HS-ESS1-4. Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
An example lesson plan is available here - Flat Earth in the Classroom
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