Mission#3
Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 90 minutes (students complete Venn diagrams as homework)
High School: 90 minutes
Objective:
- Interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions from the collected data of
the ASM.
Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:
The answers to the Warm-up can be found largely in the
RXTE background information page. The answers to what
the satellite uses for power, communication, and tracking can be found
in the last paragraph.
A pre-made Venn diagram is available - or you
could have the students draw their own.
Engagement:
Warm Up
Have the students write a rough draft of a letter to you, the science
teacher, explaining what a satellite is. Think about what a satellite
uses for power, communication, and tracking. Think about what other
types of instruments might be on a satellite. Also, include why they
think satellites are important to society. Have them use their K-W-L graphic
organizer.
Exploration:
The students will begin Mission 3. Have them:
- Read Mission #3
- Review hyperlinks on black holes and neutron stars
Explanation:
Teacher will lead a class discussion of the questions assigned for
Mission #2. Is it easy or hard to tell if the Mystery Source is a
black hole or a neutron star? Based on the students' work with the light
curve of the Mystery Source, do they think it is a black hole or a
neutron star. Which set of light curves does the Mystery Source most
resemble? Is the class ready to make a definitive statement about the nature
of the Mystery Source? Or do they feel they might need more information
about the source?
Students will be given the opportunity to make any necessary
changes to their answers. After the discussion, students will
complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting black holes, neutron
stars, and the mystery X-ray source.
Elaboration:
The students will:
- Click here to bring up a copy of Venn digram.
- Print a copy of Venn diagram for each member of the team.
- Compare and contrast black holes, neutron stars, and the mystery light
source.
Evaluation:
Teacher will check Venn diagram for accuracy and completeness.
Mission#4
Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 180 minutes (allows time for review of concepts)
High School: 90 minutes
Objective:
Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:
On the Mission 4 page, students will see a
number below a magnifying glass in the Elaboration section. The magnifying
glass represents a clue to answering a question.
The number indicates the NASA bulletin question to which the clue refers.
Exploration:
The students will begin Mission 4. They will:
Explanation:
Read the following to the class:
Your light curve expert team has completed its research on the mystery
source. You have visited hyperlinks, constructed a model, graphed a light
curve, and compared and contrasted black holes and neutron stars. It is
now time to answer the questions from the NASA bulletin. After completing
all questions, your team will download a report from a group of experts
responsible for analyzing the spectrum of this source. This team will
share the results of their investigation of the mystery source in this
report.
Elaboration:
- Each member of the team should take out a sheet of paper to answer the
questions from the NASA bulletin. They may wish to use the magnifying glass
clues to help.
- After completing questions 1 - 4, your team is now ready to read the
spectrum team's report to learn their research results on the Mystery
Source.
- Read the spectrum team's report
- After reading the report complete question 5 from the NASA
bulletin.
Evaluation:
Write your report for NASA Goddard identifying the nature of the source of
the X-ray emission from the Galactic Center Region. Include in your
report your responses to the questions in the bulletin.
Mission#5
Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 90 minutes
High School: 90 minutes
Objective:
- Use prior and acquired knowledge to verify the source of the X-ray
emission
Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:
Make sure that you have QuickTime installed on all the computers that you
will be using for this Mission. If you need to install it, please go to
the QuickTime homepage.
You may want to try downloading the animations that are used in this mission
ahead of time - this way they will be saved in your browser's cache and will
be quicker to load. If you have a slow modem connection, be patient, we are
adding a 2nd version of this Mission that will be more appropriate for
your set-up.
Here are the pages of this mission that contain Quicktime animations:
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Engagement:
Warm Up
Preparation for the Journey
Tell the class that the mysterious source we wish to visit is
4 kiloparsecs away. Have them calculate how many meters (m)
is in 4 kiloparsecs (kpc).
1 kpc = 1000 pc
1 pc = 3.26 light year (ly)
1 ly = 9.46x1012 km
1 km = 1000 m
Now calculate how long (in days) it would take to travel to something
4 kpc away traveling at:
a) the speed at which the Voyager probe is traveling (17.3 km/s)
b) the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s2)
Use the fact that distance (x) is equal to velocity (v) times time (t).
(x=vt) Watch your units!
Exploration:
After being given instructions, the class will proceed to
the Introduction to Stage 1 and begin
their journey to the black hole. They will make observations of the black
hole system based on the animations that they will watch. After they
"return to Earth" they will discuss their observations as a class
and then go over the debriefing page.
Explanation:
Give the class the following instructions:
"In Stage 1 of your journey to observe the mysterious source you have
been researching, you will launch into Earth orbit. From there you
will enter Stage 2 by using your hyperdrive to arrive at our source -
4 kiloparsecs from Earth. In Stage 3 of your mission, you will observe
the mysterious source and its red companion star, by zooming in
closer, and then dropping a drone into the black hole itself. You will
observe as the drone falls towards the black hole, writing down your
observations. Then you will proceed to Stage 4, where you will watch
a video of what the drone experienced. After that you will proceed to
Stage 5 to be debriefed. This is when you will discuss your
observations, and to learn things about the fascinating and bizarre
nature of black holes."
Elaboration:
Each team as a whole will start with the link to the Introduction to
Stage 1, and follow the links to the next stages. They will make observations
about the black hole once it is reached. They will write these observations
down. They will be discussed as a class before proceeding to the
debriefing page.
National Science Standards
- Developing an ability and understanding to engage in
partial inquiries
- Developing abilities in technological design
- Developing an understanding about science and technology
Fundamental abilities and concepts that underlie these standards:
- Identify questions that can be answered through scientific
investigations.
- Conduct a scientific investigation.
- Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret
data.
- Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using
evidence.
- Think critically and logically to make the relationships between
evidence and explanations.
- Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
- Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
National Mathematical Standards
- Pose questions and collect, organize, and represent data to answer
those questions
- Choose, create and utilize various graphical representations of data
appropriately and effectively
- Interpret data using methods of exploratory data analysis
- Develop and evaluate inferences, predictions, and arguments that are
based on data
- Use data to answer the questions that were posed, understand the
limitations of those answers, and pose new questions that arise from the
data.
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