Unit 3 WebQuest - Internet Project

Out of this World

Introduction | Task | Process | Guidance | Conclusion | Questions

Introduction
You can probably name the planets in the solar system, but can you name planets outside of our system? In recent years, planets in other systems have been discovered. In August, 2004, a team of astronomers discovered a small planet orbiting a star known as 55 Cancri. The Hobby–Eberly Telescope (HET) located at the McDonald Observatory in Austin, TX, aided in this discovery. Star 55 Cancri has three other planets making it the first known four-planet system outside our system. The table below shows the locations of some observatories in Texas. Maybe there is an observatory near you where you can observe planets up close!

In this project, you will examine how scientific notation, factors, and graphs are useful in presenting information about planets.

The Task
Since 1997, NASA has sponsored an annual Space Day in which schools everywhere can participate. Your school will be joining in the celebration this coming year by investigating space and technology for the entire day. Your class has been assigned to design a display about the planets in our solar system. Each student in your class needs to contribute some type of planetary information that can be described using mathematics. For this project you need to present your information in a brochure, on a poster, or on a Web page. Be sure you include the following information:

• the data about planets that you will use for your project;
• three graphs, tables, or calculations that present the data you are using in some way. You can use all graphs, all tables, all calculations, or a combination of the three methods;
• diagrams or pictures that will make your project visually appealing.

• Find data about the planets of the solar system. For help, try these Web sites.
  www.nasa.gov
  nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
  nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html
• Brainstorm with several other students. Make a list of ideas for projects. Visit this Web site to learn more about Space Day.
  www.spaceday.com
  quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/space/spaceday/2003
• Consider various types of graphs that you could use to display planetary data.
• See the exercises in Unit 3 to help you with ideas for your project.
• Investigate other information about the planets. Visit these Web sites for additional space information.
  www.infoplease.com and search for planets
  observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/education/reference/orbits/orbit_sim.html
  csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/kepler.html
  home.cvc.org/science/kepler.htm
  btc.montana.edu/ceres
  www.space.com
  www.howstuffworks.com
  www.whitehousecyberlib.org/astronomy.html
• Be creative. Add some additional data, information, or even pictures to your brochure, poster, or Web page.

1. What missions to investigate the planets of our solar system have been completed or are in progress? What were the results of these missions?
2. How many moons do the various planets have? Have there been any space missions to these moons?
3. Have other solar systems been located? If so, how far are they located from Earth?
4. How do telescopes work? What is the history of telescopes? What are the various types of telescopes?
5. How do the missions and research conducted by NASA benefit people on Earth?
6. Have any companies begun to develop plans for space travel for civilians? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such programs?
7. Investigate Kepler's Laws. Verify the third law for each of the nine planets.
8. What is a light-year?
9. What discoveries have been made by the Hubble Space Telescope?
10. What is the eccentricity of an orbit? How is it calculated? Find the eccentricity of the orbit of each planet.

• Present your project to your class or at a family night.
• Present the information on a Web page. Have other students critique your project and help you to make improvements to your project.
• Write a one-page summary of what you have learned from completing this project.

Lesson 7–1
For her project, Priscilla finds these data about the planets on a Web site. The table shows the perihelion (closest point to the Sun), the aphelion (furthest point from the Sun), and the average surface temperature for each planet. Notice that all distances are given as 10⁶ miles.

1. Copy the table and rewrite all the distances in scientific notation.
2. For which planet is the difference between the aphelion and perihelion the greatest?
3. Draw a scatter plot for the perihelion distance and the average temperature. Let distance be on the horizontal axis and temperature on the vertical axis.
4. Describe the scatter plot.

1. Fill in the average distance column. Write your answers as values in 10⁶ miles.
2. What is a common factor of all the distances in column four?
3. Suppose you round each value in column 4 to the nearest 10. What is the greatest common factor of each distance then?
4. How can factoring the values for the distances help Tyler to make a scale model of the solar system?

1. In a reference book, Ingrid finds that the surface area of a sphere is found by multiplying 4 times p times the radius squared. The formula is written SA = 4 x p x r². Fill in column three by finding the radius of each planet. Then fill in column four by finding the surface area of each planet. Use 3.14 for p and round each answer to the nearest whole number.
2. Next, Ingrid decides to make a scatter plot of the data. She writes the ordered pairs (radius, surface area) and plots the points. Draw this scatter plot. Describe the scatter plot.
3. Ingrid uses graphing software to find an equation for the scatter plot. The equation is y = 12.56x². Explain why this equation fits the data.
4. The graph of y = 12.56x² lies in Quadrants I and II. In which quadrant does the graph have no meaning for the surface area of the planets? Explain.