Will compensate you! Used with permission from quot;Engaging in Astronomical Inquiryquot;, by Stephanie Slater, Timothy Slater, and Daniel Lyons....

Please help! Will compensate you!

Used with permission from "Engaging in Astronomical Inquiry", by Stephanie Slater, Timothy Slater, and Daniel Lyons. Copyright W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2010

Big Idea: Sky objects have properties, locations, and predictable patterns of movements that can be observed and described. Those motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, the seasons, phases of the moon, and eclipses.

Goal: Students will conduct a series of inquiries about the motion of the Sun in the sky using prescribed internet simulations and learn how the Sun follows different pathways at different times of the year.

Computer Setup and/or Materials Needed:

Access http://www.heavens-above.com/

 (Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

and

a) Under Configuration, Current observing site:, set your observing location using "from database" and first selecting your country. If you can search for and find your city by name in the database, it should automatically choose your correct time zone and direct you back to the home page. Alternatively, you can set your location from the home page by choosing "select from map" and clicking your location on the map - in which case you will ALSO have to choose your time zone by hand from a drop-down menu.

b) Find the WHOLE SKY CHART link under Astronomy

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Question 1

10 pts

Part of your assignment is to d o this lab in collaboration with a partner in the class. See Angel discussion forum (assignment for week 1) for details about how to find a partner. Please enter the name(s) of your partner(s) here, AND the method by which you communicated (e.g. phone, Angel chat, other text chat program, voice chat, video chat, email, etc.). If you did not use a partner, please say "no partner" and give a brief explanation why.

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Question 2

2 pts

Referring to the SETUP step a) above, double-check that your observing location is set by clicking "select from map". It should list your observing location ("Name:") and your "Time zone:" (GMT +/- #). Please enter your

observing location: (city name and country),

and

Time zone: "GMT (please enter as "+" or "-" followed by a number 0 to 13)

in the boxes here. When finished, click the "Submit" button to verify this location and go back to "Whole Sky Chart" in order to complete the rest of the lab.

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Question 3

2 pts

Phase I: Exploration, Part A

On a map of the United States, north is toward the top of the page and west is to the left. On all of the star charts, north is toward the top of the page and west is to the right. How do you account for this difference?

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Question 4

1 pts

This is the current sky. Find the YELLOW dot marking the current location of the SUN. Which constellation is it closest to right now? 

If you do not see the Sun, make sure you have set your observing location and time zone as directed above. If you still don't see the sun, it might be set to night-time - add or subtract enough hours until you do see it.

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Question 5

2 pts

Change the time by increasing it one hour and pressing submit. Exactly how has the Sun's position changed on the map?

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Question 6

1 pts

Slowly increase the time to later and later in the day. This system probably uses 24-hour "military time" or "Zulu" time. So, 6pm is actually entered as 18 hours. Determine EXACTLY what time, hours and minutes, that the Sun will set tonight. Sunset:

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Question 7

1 pts

Which constellation was the Sun closest to when it set?

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Question 8

1 pts

Is this the same or different than where the Sun was earlier in the day?

same

different

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Question 9

2 pts

What generalization can you make about the relative speeds that the Sun and the stars move through the sky over the course of a day?

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Question 10

2 pts

What generalization can you make about the direction the Sun and the stars move through the sky over the course of a day?

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Question 11

1 pts

Phase II: Exploration, Part B:

When looking at the Star Map set for SUNSET TONIGHT:

On what part of the map is the star group that appears highest in the night sky?

center

left

right

top

bottom

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Question 12

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp1]

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Question 13

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that appears near the southern horizon?

bottom

left

right

top

center

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Question 14

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp1]

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Question 15

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that appears near the eastern horizon?

left

right

top

center

bottom

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Question 16

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp1]

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Question 17

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that NOW appears highest in the night sky?

center

left

right

top

bottom

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Question 18

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp1]

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Question 19

1 pts

Where did the stars that used to be at this position move?

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Question 20

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that now appears near the southern horizon?

bottom

top

left

right

center

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Question 21

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp]

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Question 22

1 pts

Where did the stars that used to be at this position move?

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Question 23

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that now appears near the western horizon, where the Sun sets?

right

left

top

bottom

center

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Question 24

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp]

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Question 25

1 pts

Where did the stars that used to be at this position move?

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Question 26

1 pts

On what part of the map is the star group that now appears near the eastern horizon, where the Sun rises?

left

right

top

bottom

center

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Question 27

1 pts

What is the name of this star group? (spelling counts!) [stargrp]

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Question 28

1 pts

Where did the stars that used to be at this position move?

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Question 29

2 pts

If you were to change the time to midnight, predict what would be different about the positions of the stars.

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Question 30

4 pts

What generalization statement can you make about how the stars change position over the course of the night?

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Question 31

1 pts

Phase II: Does the Evidence Match a Given Conclusion? (Display)

Let's consider the research question, "How does the time of sunset change over the course of a year at this location?"

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set one month from now?

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Question 32

1 pts

From before, precisely what time (hours and minutes) will the Sun set below the western horizon tonight?

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Question 33

1 pts

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set TWO months from now?

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Question 34

1 pts

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set THREE months from now?

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Question 35

1 pts

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set SIX months from now?

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Question 36

1 pts

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set NINE months from now?

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Question 37

1 pts

Using the sky chart, precisely what time will the Sun set TWELVE months from now?

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Question 38

9 pts

If a fellow student proposed a generalization that "Sunset time changes about one hour per month, setting earlier and earlier in the fall and then setting later and later in the spring," would you agree or disagree with the generalization based on the evidence you collected by analyzing the pattern of sunset times? Explain your reasoning and provide specific evidence either from the above tasks or from new evidence you yourself generate using the star map program.

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Question 39

10 pts

Phase III - What Conclusions Can You Draw From This Evidence?

Most of us would agree that the sun sets in the general direction of west. What conclusions and generalizations can you make from the following data collected by a student in terms of HOW DOES THE DIRECTION THE SUN SETS CHANGE? Explain your reasoning and provide evidence to support your reasoning.

Date

Sunset Time

Azimuth (west=270°)

Direction

August 15

7:00PM

289°

Northwest

September 15

6:10PM

274°

West

October 15

5:20PM

258°

West southwest

November 15

4:40PM

245°

Southwest

December 15

4:30PM

238°

South southwest

Evidence collected in standard time from http://www.heavens-above.com/ using SUN AND MOON DATA FOR TODAY under the Astronomy section and/or http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php for Laramie, WY.

A picture is worth 1 0 3 w o r d s! Optional: Feel free to c r e a t e and label sketches or graphs to illustrate your response. Please upload images directly; please do not email your file to the instructor.

Evidence-based conclusion:

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Question 40

10 pts

Phase IV - What Evidence Do You Need?

Imagine your team has been assigned the task of writing a news brief for your favorite news blog about how the noon-time Sun's position, altitude, or distance above southern horizon changes over the course of the semester. Describe precisely what evidence you would need to collect in order to answer the research question of, "How does the noon-time Sun's position above the southern horizon change over the semester?" You do not need to actually complete the steps in the procedure you are writing.

C r e a t e a detailed, step-by-step description of evidence that needs to be collected and a complete explanation of how this could be done - not just "measure the position of the Sun," but exactly what would someone need to do, step-by-step, to accomplish this. You might include a table and sketches - the goal is to be precise and detailed enough that someone else could follow your procedure. Do NOT include generic nonspecific steps such as "analyze data" or "present conclusions" -- these are meaningless filler. Be specific!

Remember, a picture is worth 1 0 0 0 w o r d s!

Optional: Feel free to c r e a t e and label sketches or graphs to illustrate your response. (Please do not email your file to the instructor).

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Question 41

1 pts

Phase V: Formulate a Question, Pursue Evidence, & Justify Your Conclusion

Your task is to design an answerable research question, propose a plan to pursue evidence, collect data using heavens-above (or another suitable source pre-approved by your lab instructor), and c r e a t e an evidence-based conclusion about some motion or position of the Sun in the sky which you have not completed before.

Remember, a picture is worth 1 0 3 w o r d s ! Optional: Feel free to c r e a t e and label sketches or graphs to illustrate your response. Please follow the instructions for uploading images

 (Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

-- link opens in your original Angel window. (Please do not email your file to the instructor.)

Research Report:

Specific research question:

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Question 42

10 pts

Step-by-step procedure, with sketches if needed, to collect evidence. (Do NOT include generic nonspecific steps such as "analyze data" or "present conclusions" -- these are meaningless filler. Be specific!)

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Question 43

10 pts

Data table and/or results:

Upload Choose a File

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Question 44

5 pts

Evidence-based conclusion statement:

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Question 45

10 pts

Phase IV: Summary

C r e a t e a PITHY 5 0 -word summary, in your own w o r d s, that describes how the Sun's motion and position changes over the day and over the year. You should cite what you learned from doing each of the phases of this lab, not describe what you have learned in class or elsewhere.

Include a word count at the end of your answer. (Remember, 5 0 w o r d s is not much! This is intended to keep you mindful of making your answers BRIEF and PITHY.)

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Question 46

9 pts

Partner Follow Up

We would also like to collect some feedback about how the partnerships worked, and how useful they are, so we can decide whether to continue requiring them or make them optional. Be sure to include the following things:a. A list of all the ways how you helped each other, e.g. Checked answers after doing them alone, discussed answer ideas before writing them out, pooled data, compared data, improved your answer after hearing your partner's answer, etc.b. An estimate of what fraction of the lab you interacted with your partner about, e.g. "two of the six phases", or "about half the time", or "all but two of the questions", etc.c. Your honest opinion about how helpful having a partner was TO YOU. Your partner will not read this, only the instructors will, so please be frank.d. Optional: Any other comments you might wish to share about working in partners. If you did not work with any partners, please say simply "No partner".

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