Overview
Table of contents
Unit Plan
| Week | Topic | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orbits |
|
| 2 | Spectrums |
|
| 3 | Big Bang |
|
Additional Resources
- This should contain any additional resources that are helpful but not deemed essential or included in the unit plan.
Proficiency Scales
This should contain the proficiency scales for this unit.
State Standards
PS1-8
Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on simple qualitative models, such as pictures or diagrams, and on the scale of energy released in nuclear processes relative to other kinds of transformations.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative calculation of energy released. Assessment is limited to alpha, beta, and gamma radioactive decays.
ESS1-1
HS-ESS1-1. Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”),the 11- y ear sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.
Assessment Boundary : Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the sun’s nuclear fusion.
ESS1-2
Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the astronomical evidence of the red shift of light from galaxies as an indication that the universe is currently expanding, the cosmic microwave background as the remnant radiation from the Big Bang, and the observed composition of ordinary matter of the universe, primarily found in stars and interstellar gases (from the spectra of electromagnetic radiation from stars), which matches that predicted by the BigBang theory (3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium).
ESS1-3
Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the way nucleo-synthesis,and therefore the different elements created, varies as a function of the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime.
Assessment Boundary: Details of the many different nucleo-synthesis path ways for stars of differing masses are not assessed.]
ESS1-4
Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on Newtonian gravitational laws governing orbital motions, which apply to human-made satellites as well as planets and moons.
AssessmentBoundary: Mathematical representations for the gravitational attraction of bodies and Kepler’sLawsoforbital motions should not deal with more than two bodies, nor involve calculus.]