Assessment
Assessment for the lesson will consist, in sequence, of the following:
- Though not essential, I utilized CPS (Classroom Performance System), an interactive instructional aid that allows students immediate feedback during instruction. For additional information on this technology, please visit the vendor website (www.einstruction.com ). In the absence of CPS, students may review the primary concepts by answering questions alone, in groups, or as a class.
- A lab activity to be completed in small groups. See attached file and rubric for details.
- A problem set including Regents questions pertinent to the lesson. Select NYS Earth Science Regents exams may be found at following link: http://www.nysedregents.org/EarthScience/
Author
Jesse Coburn, a certified Earth Science and Biology teacher, teaches in St. Lawrence County.
Duration
The entire Earth Science unit on space lasts 4-5 weeks. The PowerPoint presented here (in the Procedure section) will last 1 day, with discussion of the Big Bang being limited to one class period. The Big Bang Lab Activity requires 2-3 class periods, depending on your pace and the caliber of students.
Essential Question
How can light from stars teach us about the movement of stars and galaxies?
What can we surmise about the history and future of the universe based upon what we see?
Student Work
Selected Examples:
BigBangLabSampleA.pdf BigBangLabSampleB.pdfBigBangLabSampleC.pdf
Description
This Earth Science lesson is part of a larger unit that follows a brief review of the metric system and a discussion of the role of science. The unit will be used to provide perspective on our Earth, examined later in the year, as it relates to the less tangible environment of the cosmos.
The space unit has several sub-units, one of which is entitled "Learning from Light," that explores what astronomers are able to learn about our galaxy and universe by examining light. This lesson is one component of the sub-unit that focuses on the formation of the universe, commonly called "The Big Bang," and it immediately follows "Learning from Light: The Doppler Effect."
Website(s)
Observe an exploding star at various wavelengths
Powers of 10
Observe a red shift
Interactive spectroscopy
Materials and Resources
The Big Bang: Beginning of the Universe_United Str
Procedure
Click on the link below:
Big Bang PowerPoint
Additional Notes
The PowerPoint presentation included here presents a few slides entitled "For Review Purpose Only," followed by several others that address the Big Bang. It is presumed students will have prior instruction on the properties of light and the Doppler effect, so the review slides may be used to briefly reflect on those topics.
The video in the PowerPoint is attached in the Support Materials section below.
Please refer to the lab activity for requisite materials. POTENTIAL PITFALL: The lab is currently written for a certain size balloon. Inflate your balloons to their maximum to see if it will work for the lab as written. If it is smaller than 30 cm diameter, simply edit the steps in the lab to reflect this, by inflating the balloon to 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 at the various steps. For example, instead of blowing a 30 cm balloon up to 10 cm, a 24 cm balloon would only be inflated 8 cm (1/3). Also, it is fine to work with approximations in this lab, just understand that the percent deviation may increase.
