During this Unit, students will conduct several investigations focused on our Solar System. Through experimentation and observation of models, students will explore the parts of the Solar System and their relationship to one another.
By creating and using models, students will find that the Sun is a vital part of our Solar System. Students will find that the Sun, at the center of the Solar System, is surrounded by eight major planets, each rotating on its axis while revolving in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. Students will find that the Sun provides energy to the planets, shedding light and warmth with decreasing intensity as the distance from the Sun increases.
Students will also find that the Sun has specific effects on the Earth. By using models, students will observe that the Sun’s light energy interacts with objects on the Earth, causing shadows that change in size at different times of day. Students will observe that the Sun’s heat energy to an object can be minimized by shading that object from direct sunlight. Finally, students will find that the Sun’s light energy can be converted into other forms of energy, such as mechanical energy.
Seasonal changes on the Earth are accompanied by temperature changes. Students will explore these changes by creating and using a model to illustrate the position of the Sun and the Earth in each of the four seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.
In all of their explorations, students will focus on the parts of the Solar System and their relationship to one another.
This Unit will broaden students’ understanding of our Solar System and the planets, the Sun, and the other bodies that comprise it. This knowledge will give students a better understanding of their own place in the vast universe which surrounds them.
Conceptual Themes addressed in this Unit:
- Systems
- Energy
- Force and Motion