Blog 3

WebQuest 2: The Power of Light

Task 1

The detailed explanation defining light and its sources is helpful to me as a teacher, and it will be a powerful tool to build knowledge for my students.Exploring the electric field of light and the resulting magnetic field will enable students to evaluate the variances among light waves by examining how they travel,posess energy, and can be broken into patterns called spectra. Remote sensing is interesting and exploration of it will be like puzzle being solved by my students.

Task 2

1.Magnesium, sodium, and oxygen are in the sun's spectrum. It is composed mostly of hydrogen, as well as some helium,magnesium, and iron.

2.As light passes through the cooler outer layers of the sun, some of the light is absorbed,resulting in dips in the spectrum graph. Evaluation of this graph enables astronomers to identify which elements are present in the sun. As far back as the 18th century astronomers utilized spectroscopes to determine that space objects are composed of the same elements as Earth.

1.Anorthite 43%, Olivine 16%, Ilmenite 41%

Anorthite is a member of the plagioclase group. It is rich in calcium and exhibits twinning.

Olivine is an essential rock-forming mineral of basalt, gabbro,and peridotite.It is often present with pyroxenes, plagioclase, feldspars, and magnetite. Olivine has a granular appearance,a glassy luster,and is green in color.

Ilmenite is sometimes present in veins or large masses as a product of magnetic segregation within metamorphic rocks. Most often it is present as an accessory mineral in igneous rocks and in beach and river sands.

2.I enjoyed the Lunar Experience and the comparison to the Synthetic Lunar Mare Basalt.I did not look up the answers, but played it as I would want the students to do. Interactive exercises like this stimulate the young mind and show direct correlation to Mathematics.Changing one variable immediately affects another, which is a foundation principle in scientific inquiry.The presence of chemical formulas and links to definitions and descriptions show students how to be scientists, to conduct research, and to presnt the results of their research as scientists would(in tables and graphs).

Task 3

1. This is a picture of my spectrometer.

2. This is a photograph showing the spectrometer in use.

3. A spectrometer is a device which will break light into a spectrum (light's collection of component colors). The spectra are different for each element, enabling identification of elements through spectra observation. Astronomers gain useful information by using spectrometers.

The light coming from the object is filtered into a thin sliver of light which hits a prism, splitting the light into spectral lines of color. The spectrum is reflected off of mirrors until it reaches a flat surface where the spectral lines can be identified by wavelength.The wavelength depends on what color it is(red has a higher wavelength than blue).

Task 4

Figure 3

1.This image of the Moon from the orbiting ROSAT Observatory shows the bright hemisphere, the darker half of the Moon and the sky background.The bright hemisphere of the Moon shines due to the fact that it scatters x-rays emitted by the Sun.

2.The dark side shadows background radiation from deep in space. The background sky is a little lighter due to other galaxies in the distance.

Figure 4

1.The Sun is shining on the left side of the Moon, which is why that side is brighter in radio wavelengths.

Figure 5

1. Image 1,2,and 3 appear to be the Moon viewed from the exact same location with a variety of wavelengths affecting the coloration. The Maria and craters are visible in all 3 photos, but their clarity is enhanced in the ultraviolet and visible examples. The darker regions, which look round, and the bright spots are usually small.The visible, with which we are all most familiar, is the most "comfortable" to view, but the others bring heightened interest as to what new information they can provide. The fourth view(near-infrared) is wildly colorful and an interesting puzzle to analyze. The vivid colors can be utilized to place emphasis on what is being examined or studied. The jagged edge as it cuts to darkness in the upper right quadrant provides challenge and questions.This is probably an image taken from space and at an angle which we cannot see from Earth.

2. Patterns of Moon features are concurrent in all 4 views. The variance is the color emphasis provided by a variety of wavelengths. Many colors were used for each image.

3. The maria are most visible in frames 1 and 4, less visible in 2 and 3. Despite this frame 2 is most like we see the Moon with the naked eye, so this frame is comfortable and clear.

4. A variety of light sources can be utilized to place emphasis on certain features which are being examined and studied. Young children will be most interested in the images utilizing color.

Figure 6

5. These images show the actual terrain of the Moon: the Maria, craters, and highlands. They appear to be 3 dimensional, and a closer view.

6. Many colors are used for each image. Apollo 8 photographs show the Earth as blue-grey and white when viewed from space. Neil Armstrong stated that the closer they got to the Moon, the colors faded. We look up through the atmosphere at the Moon. It is illuminated by the Sun.7. Colors are a product of viewing the Moon through the atmosphere of Earth and distortion occurs. The colors are distorted by the distance. Photos taken by Apollo 17 show blue-green rather than grey.

7. No, these are not the real colors of the Moon. The colors are coded to specific fingerprints of brightness of reflected light. The various colors represent regions that are bright at different wavelengths of light, so a variety of colors indicate that the parts of the Moon are composed of differnet minerals.

Blog 3

1. Concept Map emailed to Cynthia Hall.

2. Relevant South Carolina State Standards for Grade 8: Science 8-4.4,8-4.6, 8-4.10,8-6.7 and 8-6.8. Math 8-5 measurement, 8-6 data analysis, 8-4 geometry

8-4.4 Explain the motions of Earth and the Moon and the effects of these motions as they orbit.

8-4.6 Explain the effects of gravity on tides and planetary orbits.

8-4.10 Compare the purposes of the tools and the technology that scientists use to study space (telescopes, satellites, space probes, spectroscopes)

8-6.7 Explain how the absorption and reflection of light waves by various materials result in the human perception of color.

8-6.8 Compare the wavelength and energy of waves in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

3. Students must understand the following concepts:

8-1.1 Be able to design a controlled scientific investigation.

8-1.3 Make an inference to form a valid conclusion.

8-4.4 Explain the motions of Earth and the Moon and the effects of these motions as they orbit.

8-4.6 Explain the effects of gravity on tides and planetary orbits.

8-4.10 Compare the purposes of the tools and the teachnology that scientists use to study space.

8-6.8 Compare the wavelength and energy of waves in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

It is essential for the students to know:

A day is based on the 24 hours that it takes Earth to rotate on its axis counterclockwise from west to east.

A year is based on 365.25 days it takes Earth to revolve around the Sun in an elliptical orbit.

The Moon revolves with Earth around the Sun as the Moon is revoving around Earth.

The Moon revolves around Earth in 29.5 Earth days.

As the Moon revolves(similar to Earth) it is rotating and spinning on its axis.

The rotation time for the Moon is a little more than 27 Earth days.

Because the Moon rotates and revolves in nearly the same amount of time, the same side of the Moon always faces Earth.

Refracting and reflecting telescopes collect visible light, then use convex lenses or mirrors to focus the light and produce larger, brighter images of distant objects in space.

Radio telescopes receive radio waves emitted from objects in space, including waves from very distant stars and galaxies.

Other telescopes "read" infrared or x-ray signals, but must be placed where Earth's atmosphere does not block or absorb the signals.

Satellites are placed in orbit around Earth with special instruments and telescopes which collect information from space. The information is then sent back to Earth where it is interpreted.

Data gathered from satellites is not hindered by Earth's atmosphere.

Space probes contain instruments to collect data and travel out of Earth's orbit to explore places that would be too dangerous for astronomers.

Spectroscopes collect light from distant stars and separate that light into bands of different colors. By studying these bands, astronomers identify elements.

4. Students can make scientific observations and inferences by conducting experiments like making a spectrometer and using it. The simle project which we did utilizes common household items to make a tool that real scientists employ every day. It links to mathematics through geometry and the recording of data. Inferences are made about repeated trials, and predictions will follow. Curiosity will prompt further questions, and the cycle of learning continues.

5. Many students will arrive with rudimentary knowledge of what a spectrometer does, but will have questions about how modern scientists and ordinary people use this instrument to acquire information about Astronomy. Because we live near the beaches, where nights are dark, the students can be encourged to look skyward in the evening and question what they see. In the daytime they can utilize the spectrometers they have made to delve further into scientific investigation to answer their inquiries.

6. Sir Isaac Newton identified that a glass prism split sunlight into a rainbow of colors, naming this a spectrum(from the Latin word for ghost). If visible light strikes gas molecules as they pass through the atmosphere, the light gets absorbed as energy. Higher energy blue light is absorbed more often than lower energy red light. Red is iron abundance near poles and in ll mare regions of the Moon.

Upon reaching the lunar surface Astronaut Irwin noticed a large boulder that looked green(tiny spheres of green glass). Were they frozen remnants of a fire fountain eruption from 3.5 billion years ago?

Red is hot temperature, blue is cold temperature, while white, yellow, and orange fall between the two. Scientific instruments are able to discern small variations in color.

I learned that distance from the Sun and atmospheric composition affect the temperature. Earth and Moon receive approximately the same amount of heat from the Sun, but the Moon lacks the atmosphere needed to retain much of that heat. The Moon has a very thin atmosphere composed of gases vented from the Moon's interior and particles of solar wind.

7. What is albedo? It is a measure of the reflectiveness of a celestial body, expressed a s a percentage of the amount of sunlight that it reflects back into space. Earth's albedo is 38%, while the Moon's albedo is 7% (12% in another source). Albedo has a large influence on surface temperatures.

How is electromagnetic radiation emitted? It is emitted along a range of wavelengths. Radiation is electromagnetic because it moves as interlocked waves of electrical and magnetic fields.

8. I learned about a variety of games at the NASA Education website. These interesting and simple games will enhance my students' learning in an enjoyable way. These can be accessed from home or school, and the links can be placed on my eChalk page for easy accessibility for students and parents. They can be utilized for extra credit or for buiding knowledge in students who are absent from school.