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Stargazers And Skywatchers
Students recognize the daily motion of the Sun across the sky, defining the main directions of east, west, south and north. They see how the first calendars were based on changes in the Sun's noontime elevation, and on locations of...
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Stargazers and Skywatchers
Students are introduced to the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky and the way it changes in summer and winter.
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The Path of the Sun, the Ecliptic
Young scholars are introduced to the ecliptic, the zodiac and the apparent motions of the Sun, Moon and planets across the sky.
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The Discovery of the Solar System
Learners explain the observed motion of the planets. The inner ones move back-and-forth across the position of the Sun, while the outer ones usually advance in one direction, but with occasional temporary reversals known as "retrograde...
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Stargazers and Skywatchers
Students observe the daily motions of the sun and relate them to the functions of a sundial. They determine the locations of sunrises and sunsets and determine how the elevation of the sun effects temperature.
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The Path of the Sun: The Ecliptic
Students investigate the celestial sphere and the paths it takes in the solar system.
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Finding the Pole Star
Students study the constellations fo the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia and their use in finding the Pole Star. They realize that other celestial objects--Sun, Moon and planets--share the rotation (and hence rise and set), even though their...
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The Angle of the Sun's Rays
Students study elevation of the Sun above the horizon and the angle of the rays and their heating power.
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Accelerated Frames of Reference: Inertial Forces
Students examine how when applying the laws of motion to an object in an accelerating frame, using coordinates defined in such frame, one must always add an "inertial force", representing forces caused by the frame's acceleration.
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May Earth be Revolving around the Sun?
Ninth graders explore how Aristarchus used the position of the half-full Moon to estimate the distance to the Sun, and how he made a great error, but still figured out that the Sun is much larger than Earth.
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Graphs and Ellipses
Students explore linear graphs, the parabola and the rectangular hyperbola.
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Kepler's Second Law
Learners explore orbital velocities and how they vary along each orbit, according to Kepler's Second Law.
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Kepler's Third Law
Students use Kepler's third law to derive the velocity in a circular orbit of any radius, and identify the Earth escape velocity.