Macy Blum's Blog - Science II

  1. What did you do in lab today?   Meteors, meteorites, Craters, and Comets Meteor --> a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere meteorite --> part of it strikes the grounds, not actually a shooting star Craters --> circular shape on surface commonly formed by meteors Comets --> icy rocky celestial body composed of frozen gases, dust, and organic compounds Meteors: space rocks that burn in earth's atmosphere  if a meteor makes it though the atmosphere and lands on Earth, its a meteorite 3 kinds: irons, stones, and stony-irons Craters: earth has about 190 craters  largest impact crater on earth is the Vredefort located in South Africa --> 180 - 300 km wide Manson Crater --> in Iowa 22 miles in diameter  Galaxies galaxies are made up of stars only  galaxies and solar systems are the same thing the milky way is the only galaxy the sun is the center of the milky way galaxies are made up of planets, stars, and...

  1. What did you do in lab today?   Thoughts and reflections: My immediate thought to the scale model was that I thought the planets were far away from each other but this was crazy to see in person how large the span of it was. Sculpting each planet helped me visualize their relative sizes and sparked conversations within my group about their characteristics. For example, we made Earth green because of the land, and Venus red because that's how it looks in pictures! This project helped make an abstract concept (space) feel more tangible. It challenged me to think critically about scale and proportions. 2. What was the big question?  How does creating a scale model of our solar system help us understand the vast differences in size and distance? Why is it important for how we view Earth? 3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?  Notes: What we think VS what is real - solar system is bobbing up and down due to the gravity of other stars  - Living on this...

   1. What did you do in lab today?   students actually learning correct science wasn't prioritized which can lead to misconceptions from the private universe video. students have their own understanding whether its correct or incorrect. The Earth rotates counter-clockwise because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It takes 28 days for the moon to revolve around the earth. We have only ever seen ONE side of the moon. We didn't see the "dark side" of the moon until space exploration by the Russians in 1959. Meaning the moon takes 28 days to rotate on it's axis. Scientific theories can change but scientific laws can't be changed. Phases of the Moon:  New Moon (meaning we can't see any of the moon being lit up by the sun) 1/4 or 3/4 moon. That means we can see 1/4 of the moon but your mind may be telling you that it is 1/2 of the moon. Full moon. This really means we can see 1/2, the whole 1/2 that is facing the Earth. 2nd full moon of the same m...

  1. What did you do in lab today?  We didn't have lab this week due to holiday. 2. What was the big question?  How did the Space Race shape our understanding of space and technology? 3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?  Notes: Greek Astronomer Eratosthenes, 240 B.C.E measured the size of the earth  - he hired a pacer to help him measure the size of the Earth (800 km)  Sputnik and the Space Race:  - 1957 Russia launches satellite - 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land  - December 1972 last time on the moon  - America was falling behind the Russians in space exploration --> 1961 Alan Shepard into space Right Stuff/Wrong Gender Women preferred to men due to generalizations:  1. lighter 2. shorter 3. consumed less food  Future of space travel 1. return to the moon in 2019 --> didn't happen 2. water on the moon  3. Mars 2030 --> also probably won't happen Mars: The Red Planet - Galileo invented the telescop...