Eclipses

Eclipses

5/25/2011

Kyle C.

Lunar vs. Solar Eclipse

Occurs at night	Occurs during day
Can only occur when the moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky-full moon	Rare to see
Lunar eclipse doesn’t appear monthly	They can be seen for a short period of time
Can see more readily than Solar	Can damage your eyesight (Use telescope)
Safe to watch lunar eclipse

Hypothesis:

Why do they occur?

It occurs because the moons shadow is longer between the moon and the earth.

What did ancient people used to think the eclipse was?

As far as I know, they thought it was like the world ending.

Question:

What causes them?

Lunar Eclipse is caused when earth is going through between the moon and the sun while the Solar Eclipse is caused when moon is moving through.

When is the next Eclipse?

The next Eclipse discovered by NASA dates Jun 1^st (Partial Solar eclipse of 2011/Jun/1^st)

Which type of eclipse occurs most often? Why?

Lunar, it’s more visible over half the Earth for a certain period of time. Solar Eclipses are rare to see.

Are eclipses seen from every point on Earth?

I think they can all theoretically see the eclipses; however I cannot guarantee that I am right.

How do we view an eclipse?

Before viewing the eclipse we should know that lunar eclipse is more common to our sights than solar. The distance viewing the eclipse really matters. Lunar can be seen for a certain period of time, probably around the world. Solar are rare, and they can seriously damage one’s sight.

Does everyone get to see it? When will it rise?

Those for whom the moon doesn’t happen to be in their sky, can’t actually see the eclipse (So if China is night and England is afternoon, China will have a chance to see it); I’m sure the moon rise is usually or always less than an hour before the sun (Solar Eclipse).

What safe ways are used to view an eclipse?

As I mentioned above Solar Eclipse is not safe; so astronomer and scientist use telescope to prevent their eye sight and discover more about the eclipse.

Moon Phase Lab

Lunar Phases

Moon Phases Lab

5/25/2011

Kyle C.

Guiding Question: What are the phases of the moon? Why do they occur?

Hypothesis: The changing shape of the illuminated moon (Is the phase)

Skills: For this activity we will use the simulation below as well as the flashlight and Moon model in class to find out the answer to this question.

Procedure: For the model, place the flashlight about one meter from Earth. Place the moon between Earth and the sun. Observe the moon as if you were standing on Earth. Sketch the appearance of the moon in your notebook from four point positions. Move the moon 1/4 of the way around Earth in a counterclockwise direction. Sketch your observations. Do the same with the moon 1/2 of the way around and 3/4 of the way around Earth. Place the moon again between Earth and the sun. Observe Earth and the moon from "space" (a position directly above Earth). Record your observations of the moon. Move the moon 1/4 of the way around Earth in a counterclockwise direction. Record your observations of the moon around the Earth. Do the same for 1/2 of the way around Earth and 3/4 of the way around Earth.

Reflect about the various ways we explored the phases of the moon to help us to understand how they occur.
Jan and I used the simulator to understand more about the concept and the movement of the moon. We discovered the importance of the moon’s action towards us. Later we focused on making a graph and a moon clock to tell how the moon is moving.

Questions:

When investigating the simulation, the moon clock, and/or the model, what did you notice about the phases of the moon?

When I was investigating about the graph representing the movement of the different types of moon, I discovered that there was some sort of a pattern (Perhaps 3 hour interval)

Why do we see different parts of the moon each night?

The moon rotates around the earth. It takes 29 days for the moon to complete its rotation. While the moon is moving, some sides are illuminated and some sides are not, causing changes in the shapes of the moon.

How well did making a model help you understand the phases of the moon?

I thought that the model gave a clear information about the phases and the movement of the moon. (21st century euro science speaks that visual effects provide you more knowledge). However I was kind of confused because I didn’t knew this model would be accurate.

Scientists are thinking all the time about how they can make models of objects that are too small or too large to see: Can you think of another way to make a model to represent the various phases of the moon?
Well it’s kind of hard to think about another model; since if scientists are pondering about the model that can see the objects, I don’t think I can find it. But I believe it has something to with laser and other stuffs.
(Could not be scientific in this problem)

What is a lunar month?

The lunar month is the period/time for the moon to revolve around the earth. So it usually takes around 29 days for the moon to rotate around the earth.

KWL of Astronomy Unit

KWL about this unit:

5/25/2011

• Kyle knows the basic vocabularies (Gravity, Black Whole, Milky way).
• Kyle know the order of the planets in solar system (Mercury,Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
• This unit I would like to focus on the vocabulary called Tide, and the importance, cause, etc.
• Also it would be an honor to go in-dept about the astronomy unit.

It would be great if we watch more movies about astronomy

(21st century euro-science says that visual effects give you more knowledge)

Reasons for Seasons

Reason for the Seasons

22/5/2011

Kyle C.

Guiding Question:

How does the tilt of the Earth’s axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?

Hypothesis:

The amount of the light will depend on the tilt; meaning when Australia is summer, Europe or America is experiencing snow, this happens due to the tilt.

Materials:

Books

Flashlight

Paper

Pencil

Protractor

Toothpick

Acetate sheet with thick grid lines drawn on it

Plastic foam ball marked with poles and equator

Procedure:

1. Make a pile of books about 15 cm high.
2. Tape the acetate sheet to the head of the flashlight on the pile of books.
3. Carefully push a pencil into the South Pole of the plastic foam ball, which represents the Earth.
4. Use the protractor to measure a 23.5tilt of the axis of your Earth away from your “flashlight sun.” This position represents winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
5. Hold the pencil so that Earth is steady at this 23.5angle and about 15 cm from the flashlight head. Turn the flashlight on. Dim the room lights.
6. The squares on your model should show up on your model Earth. Move the ball closer if necessary or dim the room lights more. Observe and record the shape of the squares at the equator and at the poles.
7. Carefully stick the toothpick straight into your model Earth about halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Observe and record the length of the shadow.
8. Without changing the tilt, turn the pencil to rotate the model Earth once on its axis. Observe and record how the shadow of the toothpick changes.
9. Tilt your model Earth 23.5 toward the flashlight. This is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Observe and record the shape of the squares at the equator and at the poles. Observe and record how the shadow of the toothpick changes.
10. Rotate the model Earth and note the shadow pattern.

Reason for the Seasons Questions:

1. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on Earth get the most concentrated light? Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite of Northern Hemisphere (Southern Hemisphere) receives the concentrated light. As I mentioned above, that’s why there are differences in Australia and Europe

2. Compare your observations of how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer

My observations suggest that when the light hits the area halfway between the equator and North Pole during winter and during summer, there is difference in lightness. There are a lot of shadows during summer, and there is a lot of sunlight. On the other hand, it is dark in winter.

3. If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?

If so, then the areas on earth (squares) will be simply hotter.

4. According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest? Which areas are consistently warmest? Why?

The coolest places on earth are the North and South Poles, meanwhile the hottest are the countries located around the equator. The equator receives more directed sunlight causing heat.

5. What time of year will the toothpick’s shadow be longest? When will the shadow be shortest?

My prediction suggests that the toothpick’s shadow will be shortest in summer and will be longest around/during Winter-Spring.

6. How are the amounts of the heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun’s rays?

The amounts of heat and light received in a square (grid) symbolize how much heat is received in a certain area. Due to this grid, we can easily see the location of the light’s destination.

7. Use your observations of an Earth-sun model to write an explanation of what causes the seasons.

The tilt causes the seasons to alter; without the tilt movement, we would be living in one season. The tilt movement causes the equator to be hotter than the poles, giving people around the equator to adapt to different conditions.

Conclusion:

As my partner Jude and I kept revolving the ball until we found why seasons exist, we found that the tilt will likely be remaining the same as Earth revolves (So probably, seasons chance due to Earth’s tilt). To add on, seasons are created because of the earth’s rotation and revelation, seasons give importance to us; farming or traveling may depend on the earth’s tilt. With this knowledge we are capable of how the seasons work and the earth’s movement.

Unit Reflection: Waves all around us

Unit Reflection: Waves all around us

5/7/2011

How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?

From the past until today, waves were around us; ocean waves, radio waves, sound waves etc. As they became to interested about the waves, they observed and looked forward to the details about the waves. As a result, studying about different types of waves and their movements gave us knowledge about how waves interact with us. Since we know that waves are all around us, we know better about waves. The use and the study of waves affect societal well-being by giving us knowledge about the waves all around us.

What did you learn during the unit? (Looking at the picture you drew-how has your knowledge changed?)

As we approached to the unit "Waves around us," the thought, which first came into my mind us, elevator music. Since, I knew that the elevator music produces sound waves for us, however as I learned step by step and became intellectual about the unit, I understood better. As you can see on the top bubbl.us graph above, I wrote some that I knew, and I wanted to mention that what really surprised me was the idea about this unit. Due to the fact that Japanese Tsunamis occurred while we were learning about the Water Waves (For example), we could write and learn better.

What did you like?

The thing that I liked about this unit was learning about the Seismograph Lab and writing the Tsunamis Essay; I especially enjoyed it since because I was able to learn and gather information about the world wide tsunamis and the seismograph relation to it. But what I really liked about this unit (seismograph lab) was that, I got to use my creativity to design and create it. Though it didn't work that well due to inconvenient problem, I understood the influence and the importance of this tool. First, I thought that that machine only detects the seismic waves, however after going in-dept, I found that it could save thousands of life; the communication device was amazing. So overall, I thought that due to scientists amazing discovery, thousands of people can be safe.

What would you change or add for next year's grade 7 students?

From my perspective, what I want next year's 7th grade to focus on, will be Electromagnetic Spectrum; it is not that the unit is hard, I think that we went and learned too fast. So, I don't think I learned that much, for next year's 7th grade learners, they should be focusing more on Electromagnetic Spectrum.