Tuesday, Sept 16, 2008 - Block 4A

In groups of 4, introduce and say something nice to each other

Give students 5 minutes to discuss planets

Quiz on planets.

Hand out popsicle sticks. Students measure length and width of table top in number of popsicle sticks. You make measurements in units, not always inches or feet. To make the measurement meaningful, you need to clearly state the units.

Hand out graph paper. Students draw similar triangles and make measurements.
Big height/Big base = Little height/Little base

Cut out little triangle and fold it over to big triangle. Note the two triangles have the same shape.

Vocabulary: triangle - 3-sided closed shape
Similar triangles - two triangles that have the same shape, same angles
Circle - round closed shape in which all the points are the same distance from a central point.
Radius - distance from center of circle to circle
Diameter - distance across the circle through the middle

Show diagram of set-up for lab
Just as we measured the length of the table in number of popsicle sticks, we are measuring the distance from the Earth to the Sun in number of Sun diameters.

Lab write-up format
Date: Name:
Block: Partners:

Lab: Sun Lab

Hypothesis: The number of Sun's that could cover the distance from the Earth to the Sun is _____________

Data Table:

Calculation Section:

Conclusion: The measured number of Sun's that cover the distance from the Earth to the Sun is _______________. In the hypothesis I guess that the number would be __________. My hypothesis was (high, low, correct).
The actual number of Sun's that cover the distance from the Earth to the Sun is _________

Go outside and do the lab.

Write-up due on Thursday.