Powers of 10

http://www.powersof10.com/film

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Constellations

For the last two weeks, we have been studying HOW BIG the universe is, and HOW it was made.  Today, you will be creating a personal 2-sided model on your understanding. A model can be a picture or  a concept map with explanation, or a series of statements or a story that are somehow connected. At any rate, your model is UNLIKE anyone else's, because you are a UNIQUE person.  TO start this activity, I would suggest you look around at the links, writing yourself notes and sketching ideas for at least 30 minutes.


SIDE 1:  Tell me about our star, our solar system, our local galaxy, and the local galaxy cluster.  In some way, represent the following

• stellar life cycle
• terrestrials
• gas planets
• asteroid belt
• Kuiper belt
• powers of 10
• life
• gravity
• orbit
• Milky way galaxy
• black hole
• spiral arms

SIDE 2:  This model is a V.  At the point of the V, place the words Big Bang.  At the top of the V, put "about 14 billion years"  Then, using the diagram above, and the links below, fill out the V scape to show your understanding of:

• energy
• pieces smaller than atoms
• fusion
• galaxies
• size of the universe
• local galaxies
• stars
• chemical elements
• speed using the Doppler effect
• supernovas
• dust clouds (nebulas)

Please give any mini-marshmallows that you brought to Melyssa.  Melyssa will label them and put them in the wooden back cupboard and we will use them for tomorrow.

Hand these models in at the end of the hour.

LINKS:

Supernovas

Local Universe

Doppler Effect

Powers of TEN


History of the Universe

Planet Quest

Galaxy Zoo

Our Sun

Life Cycles

What happens as a star moves through its life cycle? This is a journey to find out. For each step, I need to know the following

• the size of the star
• what it is made of
• the tools we can use to study it
• the balance between pressure and gravity
• if fusion is happening
• if burps or eruptions are happening

Earthquake Measurement

Earthquake strength is measured by S and P waves.

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/Labs/SeismicWaves/


http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es1002/es1002page01.cfm



A lab to do

http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/vquakeexecute.html

Our Dyanmic Earth

• Plate tectonics
• Seafloor spreading:   http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/eoc/teachers/t_tectonics/p_seafloorspreading.html
• Volcanos
• Ring of Fire
• New Madrid Fault  http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/awareness/nmsz.html

Use the Internet to research the geographic region known as the Ring of Fire. They should look at the following Web sites and others they can find by searching:

National Geographic: Forces of Nature—Ring of Fire 
The Ring of Fire 
PBS: Savage Earth 
USGS: Active Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, "Hot Spots" and the "Ring of Fire" 
USGS: Ring of Fire

As they go through the sites, answer these questions:

• Where is the Ring of Fire?
• Why is it called the Ring of Fire?
• What does the Ring of Fire have to do with plate tectonics?
• What events on the Earth's surface tend to occur in this region more frequently than in other regions of the Earth? Why do they occur here?
• What do trenches and mountain ranges have to do with the Ring of Fire and plate tectonics?

What should you do about it?

Climate change.  It matters.


Today, you need to figure out what we should do for climate change.  It must involve the following:

a) bringing the geochemical cycles into balance
b) deciding what you do should do differently to reduce your carbon footprint
c) figuring out how methane and carbon dioxide move around the geochemical cycles
d) deciding if there is technology out there to store carbon or methane, or if it still needs invented
e) deciding on what the best strategies should be to control energy and population


EEEEEEEEK.  That's a lot of information to process.

First, break it down.

Define the following:

• geochemical cycle
• carbon footprint 
• methane
• carbon dioxide
• energy sink
• population control

Now, figure out where each of those fit in the 

Carbon Cycle

Water Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Find out how population changes the geochemical cycles

Find out about your carbon footprint by using a calculator or two (there are dozens)

You will turn in your group notes and a poster at the end of the class.

The poster should identify the three most important worries we have about climate change.

It should also identify what YOU can do differently 

Geochemical cycles

http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/courses/GEOL1070/chap04/chapter4.html  (take a look at the pictures of all the cycles