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Unit 3:  Earth as a Planet

Questions to be answered in this unit:

1.    How do the motions of the Earth and moon impact life on earth?

2.    What is the Earth made out of?

3.    What causes the seasons and the phases of the moon?

What should I understand by the end of this unit?

1.    The relative position and movements of the earth, moon, and sun account for lunar and solar eclipses, the observed moon phases, tides, and seasons.

        2.    Earth consists of an Atmosphere, a Hydrosphere, a Geosphere, and a Biosphere.

3.    The earth has 3 major zones: the core, the mantle and the crust.

4.  The cause of Earth's seasons is the total amount of light an area receives due to the angle of incidence (angle at which the sunlight hits earth) and the concentration of sunlight (insolation) both of which change because of the tilt of the earth.

Classwork, Projects and other Reference Materials:

Unit Pretest

Standing on the Moon project, a classic Grateful Dead tune AND an ESS project!

Online Resources for this Project:

• NASA Origins, Timeline of the Universe: this tutorial follows the 15 billion year history of the universe, including the formation of early earth.
• Live Science Article
• Science Daily Article
• Scientific American Article and Another Scientific American Article

What Causes the Seasons?

• Reasons for the Seasons Notes.ppt
• Best Seasons Applet: the best of the best seasons animation!
• Another Seasons Applet:  simple view of earth's seasons

• Online Seasons Applet: press play to see an animation of Earth's seasons... (*NOTE: The direction of the Earth's tilt does not change, the location of the Earth in relation to the sun does)
• Seasons Applet: a different view of the seasons on earth resulting from earth's tilt.

• Seasons Diagram and Questions.doc
• The Reason for Seasons Homework.doc

• The Seasons Explained
• The Seasons Explained From a Different Source (NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association)
• About the Earth and the Seasons
• Unit Test 2 Questions and Answers students DO NOT click on this link before the exam, make sure speakers are on before you do

Phases of the Moon:

• Phases of the Moon.ppt
• Online Applet: press play to see the positions of the moon, Sun, and Earth during each phase
• Moon Phases Applet: another view of phases of the moon
• Charting the Moon worksheet (this is the month long assignment starting Nov. 1)
• Understanding Moon Phases class hand-out
• About the Phases of the Moon

      Cheesy Music Video, wow, just wow..     

What is an Eclipse?

• Eclipses.ppt
• About Eclipses

• Online Eclipse Animation

• Student Webquest links:

•  NASA Eclipse Web Site

  with dates, maps, and information

   

   

   

   

What causes the tides?  How is the moon related to tidal action?

•  Tides.ppt
• Online Tide Animation
• About Tides
• Link to a website describing the Bay of Fundy, home to the greatest tidal variation in the world.

 Earth the Big Picture assignment.doc

Design a Planet Web Activity

• World Time Zones Map

Ask an Astronomer, answers to tons of curious questions students may have about pretty much anything in the universe!

Bad Astronomy an excellent link that debunks myths and proves misconceptions wrong!

Earth-Moon Viewer, this allows you to view images of the Earth from a number of perspectives (including from the moon and from the sun) and to view the moon from Earth or from the Sun.

Vocabulary:

International Date Line

Geosynchronous orbit

Polar orbit

Perigee

 Apogee

Daylight savings time

Equinox (vernal and autumnal)

Solstice (summer and winter

 Precession

Perihelion

Aphelion

Rotation

Revolution

Magnetosphere

Crust

Mantle

Core

Moho

Axis

 Seismic waves

Eclipse

Waxing

Earth’s spheres (Bio-, Geo-, Atmos-, Hydro-)

Waning

Umbra

Penumbra