Earth and Space SCE 3110 Activities

Activities for Earth Activity 1 Investigating the Relationship between Wind and Wave Size. What you need: Electric fan Tray Water Sand and Pebbles. What to do: 1. Construct a beach with sand and pebbles at one end of the tray. Slowly fill the tray with water to a depth of 3cm. 2. Position the fan at the opposite end of the tray to the sand. Aim the fan so that it will hit the water at roughly a 45 angle. 3. Using the low speed of the fan, turn it on for 3 minutes. Record your observations in the table. Allow water to calm. 4. Using the high speed of the fan, turn it on for 3 minutes. Record your observations on the table. Allow water to calm. 5. Write a prediction that describes what you think will happen when you turn the fan on for 5 seconds at high speed. 6. Turn the fan on for 5 seconds at high speed. Record your observations next to your prediction. 7. Using your observations what can you say about the link between wave size and wind. 8. Fan Time Observations speed

Prediction of High speed for 5 seconds. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Observation of High speed for 5 seconds. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Activity 2 Investigating the Relationship between Wave Speed and Water Depth. What you need: Tray Water Two different lengths of wood. Stopwatches What you need: 1. Fill the stream tray to a depth of 1cm. 2. Use the longer piece of wood at one end to act as a reflector. 3. Using the shorter piece of wood, make a wave pulse by dropping or pushing the wood into the water one end at a time. 4. Time how fast it takes the wave to travel the distance of the tray. 5. Record your findings in the table. 6. Complete again with water depths of 2cm, 3cm, 4cm and 5cm. 7. Record your observations and explanations you might have. Water Depth Time Observations

Explanations ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Activity 3 Formation of volcano What you need: Baking Soda Vinegar Modelling Clay What to do: 1. In groups students build a mini volcano using modelling clay, baking soda and vinegar. 2. Students reflect on the reaction that caused their volcano to erupt and how this is similar to active volcanoes. *Use your creativity to make this experiment a successful one

Activities for Space Activity 1.1 Finding North The direction of true north (towards the geographic north pole) can be found by watching the changing length of a shadow during the middle of the day. When the Sun passes the highest elevation in the sky it is said to transit the meridian, that is, the Sun crosses the line joining the north celestial to south celestial poles (figure 2.2). The highest position of the Sun will give the shortest shadow which lies along the north-south line. You will need: a piece of thick paper or cardboard (foolscap) a 75 to 100 mm nail with a flat head or another suitable pointed object a pair of compasses for drawing circles a protractor for measuring angles blue tack or gum What to do: 1. Start your experiment soon after 11.00 a.m. and continue until about 1.00p.m. Times may be different for different times of the year. 2. Find a flat place outside in the sun. A concrete path is ideal or use a flat board. Make sure the paper or cardboard does not move or blow in the wind. Put heavy stones on it. 3. Mark a point near the centre of your paper. Stand the nail or stick upright on the paper on this mark (Figure 1.1). 4. Mark where the shadow of the nail ends. 5. Take away the nail and use your compass to quickly draw a Figure 1.1 circle with a radius less than the length of the shadow. Your circle should not reach the end of the shadow. 6. Put the nail back in exactly the same position. Make sure the nail shadow ends where it did before. 7. Leave the paper and nail in position for about 2 hours. Mark the position of the top of the nail shadow every 15 minutes. You should also mark the point on the circle when the tip of the shadow just touches the circle you drew. 8. Watch carefully as the shadow lengthens again after local noon time. 9. Mark the position when the top of the nails shadow again touches the circle. 10. Remove the nail. Join the centre of your circle to the two points where the shadows touched the circle. Be careful not to move the paper. 11. Use a protractor or your compass to divide the angle between the shadow lines into two equal parts. Draw this line right across your circle. This line points true north and south. 12. Mark this line on the concrete or ground. Now remove your paper. It is a good idea to paint the line or put some white paint on a post or object that is along this line. It can be used for other activities later on.

Activity 1.2 Locating And Recording The Position Of Objects To locate and record the changing positions of objects in the sky we need to be able to measure angles in a simple way. You carry with you one of the best and easy to use devices for this It is called your hand. The activity that follows shows you how to estimate angles with your hand span and knuckle span. Azimuth and altitude We need a way of measuring two things to find the position of an object. The first is the direction or azimuth from true North which you will find using your hand span. The second is the angle above the ground which you will find using your knuckle span. This is called the altitude. What to do: 1. To find the size of your hand span, stand up and stretch your arm out straight. Spread your fingers wide apart. Close one eye and line the outer edge of your thumb up with a distant tree or object. See what your little finger is lined up with. Move your thumb to this position. 2. Keep doing this and keep count of the number of times to go around a complete circle (360). Divide the number of hand spans into 360. This will give you the size of your hand span. Example: Number of hand spans in a circle = 20 Therefore one hand span = 360/20= 18 per hand span 3. The width across your knuckles (fist) will be approximately half of your hand span. 4. To make it simple for you, most adults with average hands have a hand span of 20 and a knuckle span of 10. You now have two useful ways to measure angles. Question 1. Using your hand span estimate the altitude of a tree or building in the grounds. 2. A student with a hand span of 18 measures the position of the moon early one evening. The measurements are five hand spans from north and three knuckle spans up from the horizon. What is the azimuth and altitude of the moon?

Activity 2.1 Using Star Chart to Locate Stars A star chart is used to identify stars and constellations. Each night the stars move across the sky, rising in the east and setting in the west. What you need: A star chart for the Equatorial region set at 8.00 pm A torch light (cover with transparent red paper) or red flashlight What to do: 1. Since Malaysia is in the equatorial region, a star chart for the Equatorial region is suitable. 2. The star chart shows the North and South direction as well as dates, hours and altitudes along the sides of the chart. 3. If you are facing south, turn the star chart so that south is at the bottom of the chart. If you are facing north, turn the star chart so that north is at the bottom of the chart. Date North

East

West

1 hour later

hour

South

Figure 3: A Star Chart (Equatorial region) 3. 4. 4. 5. Look for the date that you want to see the stars. The stars along the North to South of the chart at that date are the stars that you will see along the line that passes your zenith at 8.00 pm. An hour later, lets say at 9.00 pm, the stars would have moved towards the west. So, the positions of the stars at your zenith would have changed. The line of stars that passes your zenith would be the stars an hour nearer east on the star chart. The star chart also shows the relative brightness of the stars by their size on the chart. Dim stars are shown as tiny dots. Bright stars are shown by big dots. Observe the relative brightness of stars. Use your star chart to identify (a) the constellations Orion, Taurus, etc. (b) the stars Sirius, Betelgeuse, Procyon, Antares, etc.

Question 1. At what time of the year is Orion, the Southern Cross and Scorpio visible in the Malaysian sky?

Activity 2.2 Star Patterns Many stars have been grouped together into recognisable groups or patterns called constellations. Some of these patterns were made up by the ancients and you need a lot of imagination to see some of the mythical creatures. Most of the names of the constellations are based on the ancient names however many southern star groups were only seen during the explorations into the southern oceans. The Southern Cross (Crux) was named by these early seafarers. However we should also recognise that the southern constellations were also well known, by different names and different legends, by southern civilisations. For example, the Polynesians such as the Tongans call the Southern Cross Toloa (wild duck). You will need: a piece of dark coloured cardboard sticky tape pin and nail another small piece of cardboard What to do: 1. Select one of the constellations. 2. Roll your cardboard into a tube, at least 80 mm across, and tape it. 3. Obtain another piece of cardboard large enough to fit over the end of the tube. Use the nail or pin to make different sized holes to represent different brightness stars. (Large holes for bright stars!) 4. Tape your constellation card over the end of the tube. Make sure the side you pricked faces the inside of the tube. It is now ready for use. 5. Stand somewhere dark and look through the tube towards light. 6. Twist or rotate the tube and observe what happens to the star pattern. 7. Move your tube from east to west over the top of your head without twisting the tube. Observe what happens to the appearance of the constellation. Where is the top and bottom? Question: 1. What is the effect of the rotation of the earth on the apparent movement of the constellations? 2. The constellation Orion rises with the three stars of the belt pointing east. Predict what you would observe when it sets? Sketch the changing orientation of Orion with reference to the cardinal points.

Activity 2.3 Star Movement During the night the stars appear to move from east to west. If you look south, you will notice that some stars appear to move in circles. This happens slowly during the night. In this activity you will make a model of some stars that may have been used by Polynesian and Melanesian sailors to find their way across vast expanses of ocean. You will need: One sheet of cardboard (A4) Scissors Circular star chart on page 10 Charcoal, black paint or texta pen Paper fastener What to do: 1. Place the circular star map (Figure 3.3) over the piece of cardboard. 2. Mark the famous navigation stars by pushing through with your pencil. 3. Mark the outline of the circle and its centre. 4. Now take away the star map and mark the stars, circle and centre on your cardboard. 5. Cut out the circle and push a small hole through the centre. 6. Now use the remainder of your cardboard to mark and cut out the rectangular shape (Figure 3.4) given at the bottom of Figure 3.3. 7. Cut the slot along the line AB. Do not cut to the edges. 8. Colour the portion below the horizon black. 9. Push holes through the major centre e.g. Cairns 9. Put your circle in the slot so that the two holes (hole through centre of circle and major centre point Cairns) line up. 10. Pin the two pieces of cardboard together. You now have a model of the stars around the South Celestial Pole as seen from Cairns. The pin or paper fastener is directly above the Earths South Pole. If you turn your disk clockwise you will see what the stars do at night. The approximate latitudes for the major centres in Eastern Australia are Cairns (17 S), Rockhampton (23 S), Brisbane (27.5S), Sydney (34 S), Melbourne (38 S) and Hobart (43 S).

Activity 2.4 Using Computer Programmes There are many computer programs like (Earth-centred universe, Starry night, Stellarium) that simulate the sky for different locations and time of the year. Find any one of these programme from the internet or buy one yourself. Explore the programme that you have. Look for locations and magnitude of stars and movement of the sun and moon.

Activity 3.1 Relative Size And Distance Of Planets From The Sun The planets and sun in our solar system have different sizes and are at different distances from the sun. How big and how far is each planet from the sun? What you need:

cardboard pencil colour pencils scissors

What to do: 1. Form 9 groups, each group is to draw the relative size of a planet or the sun. 2. Search the internet for information on the size and position of each planet from the sun. 3. Decide on a suitable scale for all the groups. 4. Draw, colour and cut each planet and the sun. 5. Paste the planets and sun on a wall with a suitable scale of the distances between the planet and the sun.

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Activity 4.1 How Can A Small Moon Cover A Big Sun? The size of the sun is 400 times the size of the moon. How can a small moon cover a big sun during an eclipse of the sun? Diameter Moon 3,476 Sun 1,392,000

What you need:

black sugar paper scissors cellotape ten-cent coin

What to do: Draw a circle 5 times the size of a ten-cent coin on a black sugar paper. Cut out the circle and paste in on a wall at eye level. Hold the ten-cent coin a fixed distance in front of your eye and stand in front of the circle on the wall. Move away from the wall until the coin just covers the circle on the wall. Measure and record the distance of the coin from the wall and the eye from the coin in a table. Repeat with circles 10 times, 15 times and 20 times the size of the coin. Analyse your data and draw a conclusion. Question: What do you think is the relative distance of the moon from the earth and the sun from the earth? How far do you think the moon is from the sun for the moon to cover the sun? Activity 4.2 Lines of Nodes and Eclipse Season The moon goes through the full moon and the new moon phases once every month. Why is it that we do not experience eclipse of the sun every month? An eclipse can only occur during a period called an eclipse season during which the sun is close to a node in the moons orbit. What is an eclipse season and what is a node? What you need:

cardboard one ping pong ball one golf ball one torchlight

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What to do: 1. Draw an ellipse on the cardboard. 2. Place the golf ball that acts as the earth in the middle of the ellipse that represents the orbit of the moon and the ping pong ball at the furthest end of the ellipse as in Figure 1 below. 3. Place the torchlight in the middle of a bigger ellipse that represents the orbit of the earth. 4. Place the cardboard at positions A, B, C and D at an angle of 5 from the horizontal for new and full moon. 5. Write done your observation of the shadows of the moon and earth. 6. Based on your observation, explain nodes and eclipse season. B C New moon A Full moon D Figure 1 Activity 5.1 Earths Magnetosphere The interaction of the solar wind and earths magnetic field produces a region called the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere prevents most of the particles from the sun, carried in solar wind from hitting the earth. Sometimes some particles from the solar wind enter the magnetosphere and create the auroral oval lights. The magnetosphere has many regions. In this activity, you will identify the different regions of the magnetosphere. What you need:

Earth

Sun

Paper cut-out of the earths magnetosphere Scissors Colour pencils Tape

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What to do: 1. Print Attachment given. 2. Colour the different regions of the magnetosphere. Colors may distinguish the Plasma Sheet (including area marked "Plasma Convection?"), Plasma Mantle and Low Latitude Boundary Layer (use same color), Tail Lobes and Inner Radiation Belt. The region outside the magnetosphere (in the solar wind) may be left white or given a light color. You may link to the color image above and use it as a guide. 3. Cut out the area marked "Cut Out" but leave tab intact. 4. Fold along the crosslines across the page to produce a three-sided corner with the printed picture on the inside. 5. Use tape to attach the tab to the back side of the panel carrying the words "Tail Lobes" and "Plasma Sheet," to hold the paper in its folded position. If no tape is available, carefully cut a slot in the marked place to the right of the words "Plasma Sheet" and insert the end of the tab. Question 1. What are the regions of the magnetosphere? 2. Why is the magnetic field around the earth important to us? Teachers notes The solar wind compresses the magnetic field lines facing it on the day side of the Earth and confines those lines into a rounded cavity. In the opposite direction, on the night side, the same solar wind stretches field lines into a long "magnetotail" and the cavity then becomes a long cylinder. That gives the shape of the magnetosphere. A magnetosphere has many regions, such as the bow shock, magnetosheath, magnetotail, plasmasheet, lobes, plasmasphere and radiation belts. These regions are composed of charged particles and magnetic flux. These particles are responsible for many wonderful natural phenomena such as the aurora and natural radio emissions such as lion roars and whistler waves. The particles move and circulate about the magnetosphere and even generate storms. The magnetosphere changes constantly, even flipping its orientation every few thousand years.

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