Earth's Place in the Solar System

Source: Interactive Earth
Type: Investigation
Theme: Nature
Grades: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Learning Target: Students will compare orbital and rotational differences between the Sun, Earth, and Moon.
Instructions
For this investigation each student will illustrate a diagram showing how the Moon and Earth rotate and how they orbit around the Sun.
- View this web page and watch the video. https://clarkscience8.weebly.com/sun-earth-moon-motion.html
- Explore the Sun, Earth and Moon animation.
- Configure the model so it will work in a diagram. Keep in mind that diagrams of the solar system are usually not to scale. If they were, you would not be able to practically fit them in a diagram. Since the Sun has a diameter 100 times larger than the Sun, you will need to scale the Earth so it will help users make sense of the rotation and orbital relationships. The Moon has a diameter of 1/4 the Earth, so that scale may be shown. Additionally, the Earth is 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) from the Sun. And the Moon is 400,000 km (a quarter of a million miles) from Earth, so showing those relationships will be impossible.
- Build a model of the orbits and rotations. Include each of the following in your illustration.
- Sun, Moon and Earth
- Show the Earth's rotational axis.
- The Earth's rotational direction. Use curved arrows.
- The Moon's rotational direction. Use curved arrows.
- The Moon's orbital path and direction around the Earth. Use ellipses and arrows.
- The Earth's orbital path and direction around the Sun. Use ellipses and arrows.
- Use pen, ink, color, marker, etc. Give the illustration some style. Make it clear.
- Final product will be a JPG file (graphic). Please do not produce a Sway or PowerPoint, just a graphic.
View Sun, Earth and Moon Animation
For the full investigation, see Earth's Place in the Universe
Exit Ticket
CCSS Math Practice
- I can model with mathematics.
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
- Systems and System Models