Bring Science Alive! Space Unit 3 Lesson 8 ISN

THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND

N O T E B O O K

Formation of the Solar System OBSERVING PHENOMENA

1. As you examine the splatter painting, use the patterns you recognize to write a brief history of the painting.

2. What patterns have scientists observed about the solar system?

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Phenomenon: Humans weren’t around to watch the solar system form, but we have observed patterns that may explain its formation.

3. What questions do you have about this phenomenon?

1 - Recognizing Patterns in the Solar System

Imagine that a new planet was discovered in our solar system. Answer the following questions based on the patterns discovered by solar system scientists. Provide evidence to support your answers.

1. Which direction do you think the new planet would revolve around the sun?

2. Which direction do you think this newly discovered planet would rotate?

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3. If this planet were discovered between Uranus and Neptune, what would you predict its size and composition to be?

4. Fill in the Venn diagram below with some of the patterns discovered by scientists who study the solar system. Organize these patterns by those that describe inner planets, outer planets, or both.

Inner Planets

Outer Planets Both

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N O T E B O O K I N V E S T I G AT I O N 1

1. Make a sketch of your idea for a gravity model.

2. When you placed a marble on the sheet, how did the fabric change around it?

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3. When you placed two marbles on the sheet, how did they move?

4. How did the number of marbles in the center affect the motion of a marble moving around the edge?

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5. As you demonstrate each process using the gravity well, fill in the table.

Gravity Model

Quantity and Type of Objects Used

Type of Initial Motion for the Objects

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2

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How is gravity involved in the process you modeled?

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What process involved in solar system formation does this model?

Formation of the Solar System

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N O T E B O O K 2 - Gravity and the Beginning of Our Solar System

1. How can the formation of the solar system be explained using a scientific theory when no one was able to witness its formation?

2. What important role did gravity play in the beginning of our solar system?

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3. In the boxes on the left, draw three images that show what you think the nebula that created the solar system looked like as it changed over time. In the boxes on the right, describe what your drawings represent.

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N O T E B O O K 3 - The Formation and Growth of the Planets

1. The following statements describe some of the events that took place in the formation of the planets. However, these statements are out of order. Number the following statements from 1-4 to put them in order.

Order of Events

Event

Planetesimals pick up more dust and gas very quickly as they rotate and revolve.

The planets rotate and revolve around the sun along one orbital plane.

Revolving bits of dust and gas run into each other. They stick together due to gravitational and other forces.

Dust and gas particles form distinct clumps that slowly grow in size.

2. Draw a planetesimal and label it. Then draw a small particle and label it. Finally, draw an arrow showing which object would move towards the other due to their gravitational attraction.

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3. Draw a planet that rotates following the typical pattern of planets in our solar system. Show its rotation with an arrow.

4. Draw an image that shows how a large object hitting the planet could cause it to rotate in a different direction relative to the other planets in the solar system.

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5. Examine this image of planets forming in the solar system. Label which will be the Inner Planets and which will be the Outer Planets.

6. Answer each of the following questions with “inner planets” or “outer planets.”

Question

Answer

Which forming planets are coldest?

Which forming planets are hottest?

Where do heavy materials form planet cores?

Where do water, ammonia, and methane form icy planet cores?

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Formation of the Solar System

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N O T E B O O K I N V E S T I G AT I O N 2

After creating your flip books and exchanging it with the other members of your group, flipping through each one, answer the following questions.

1. As you watch the animations, fill out the table below as you determine which patterns are consistent with scientific theories about solar system formation.

Video Number

Process Shown

Inconsistent Patterns

How Can You Fix It?

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2. Describe how your flip book shows the process of moons and planets forming.

3. How does your flip book represent the force that holds the solar system together?

4. What is one other way to represent the force that holds the solar system together?

4 - The Search for Other Solar Systems

1. Why do scientists believe that other solar systems formed the same way ours did?

2. What is the role of evidence in making a claim?

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3. Place an ‘X’ next to the statements presenting evidence that could be used to support the following claim: Claim

The Nebular Theory explains how solar systems form.

Statement 1:

Scientists found a solar system with five suns rotating around a large gassy planet.

Statement 2:

Astronomers found a nebula in the shape of a flat rotating disk with no planets.

Statement 3:

Scientists found a solar system with several large clumps rotating around a sun.

Statement 4:

Citizen scientists found a nebula that was simply a large cloud of gas and dust.

4. Scientists and people around the world examine photos from WISE, looking for solar systems in different stages of formation. These images show many objects in the sky at different distances.

Draw what you think one WISE photo might look like. Be sure to draw and label at least one forming solar system and some stars and galaxies that are different distances away.

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N O T E B O O K MAKING SENSE OF PHENOMENA

Phenomenon: Humans weren’t around to watch the solar system form, but we have observed patterns that may explain its formation.

1. Use what you have learned to explain this phenomenon.

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