Week 4: Our Solar System - Science Methods II (Addy Junge)

 Addy Junge

Week 4: Our Solar System

1. What did you do in lab today?​

  • At the start of our lab, we took our formative assessment and then discussed a prompt about a full moon during the middle of the day (impossible). We then shifted our discussion to our previous assignment, Missconceptions Die Hard, connecting it back to our Week 1 assignment, Private Universe. We briefly talked about the standards in 1st, 5th, and middle school grades. We then switched gears to our investigation of the size of our solar system. We used Play-Doh to replicate the size and distance (to scale) of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the Moon. Here are some of the images I took: 
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2. What was the big question?​
  • During the lab experiment, I would say the big question was "How big is our solar system when comparing the planets to the sun?"
3. What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion?​
  • Here are my notes from the lecture:
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4. Read the online textbook, chapter 1:
  1. What did you learn?​
    • Along with the material we learned during the lecture, I learned more about Pluto and why it is not a planet. I know we touched on this a couple of classes ago, but I learned that it only meets 2 out of 3 classifications for it to be a planet. I also did not know that it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 (I thought it was much earlier than that). I also learned in the TED Talk video about how small our entire universe is. The Hubble Telescope took the first Deep Field image, capturing over 1,500 galaxies! GALAXIES! Not planets, galaxies. The coolest part? That image alone was just a sliver of our universe. 
  2. What was most helpful?​
    • The size comparisons in this chapter really helped me recognize how big the solar system really is. Having those images/videos to understand the size and distance of the planets from the Sun is truly awesome. Without those tools, I would not be able to visualize the true size of our universe.
  3. What do you need more information on?​
    •  I want to know why most people believe the misconception that Earth was formed during the Big Bang (especially since the timeline of creation is so far apart).
5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have?
  • If we were to teach students about the Big Bang, how would we teach them by using visuals if there was literally nothing before the expansion (in theory)? Or how could we help them understand that it was not even darkness? Because, honestly, it is hard for me to wrap my head around it. 

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