Unit 12 - The Sun and Other Stars

Big Idea:  Exterritorial energy and materials influence Earth's systems and the position and motion of the Earth within an evolving solar system, galaxy, and universe.
Learning Targets:

  • I can identify patterns in solar activities (sunspot cycles, solar flares, solar wind).
  • I can relate events on the Sun to phenomena such as auroras, disruption of radio and satellite communications, and power grid disturbances.
  • I can describe how nuclear fusion produces energy in the Sun.
  • I can describe how nuclear fusion and other processes in stars have led to the formation of all t he other chemical elements.
  • I can explain how the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram can be used to deduce other parameters (distance).
  • I can explain how you can infer the temperature, life span, and mass of a star from its color.  Use the H-R diagram to explain the life cycles of stars.
  • I can explain how the balance between fusion and gravity controls the evolution of a star (equilibrium).
  • I can compare the evolution paths of low, moderate and high mass stars using the H-R diagram.

What is a Star? Part 2

NASA: The Sun Song

Massive Solar Storms

The Universe, Season 1
Secrets of the Sun

We watched this episode of "The Universe" to introduce students to the amazing, awesome power of the Sun.  This video reinforces the concepts of nuclear fusion, solar activities (such as sunspot cycles, solar flares, prominences and solar wind), and how these activities effect us on Earth (auroras, disruption of radio and satellite communication, etc.)  This episode of "The Universe" can be found on iTunes by clicking on the title above.

Exit Ticket:

After viewing this video in class, students were asked to "Summarize what you learned from the video today about the Sun and the features that form on or above the Sun's surface". 

The Elements: Forged in Stars

Fusion, which occurs when atomic nuclei combine to form new elements, is extremely powerful. All the stars in the universe, including the Sun, are nuclear furnaces fueled by fusion. Through fusion, stars are responsible for forming all the naturally occurring elements heavier than hydrogen and helium -- before stellar nucleosynthesis, only the lightest elements existed in the universe. This video segment adapted from NOVA illustrates the critical role that stars play in creating the elements.

E5.2D - I can describe how nuclear fusion and other processes in stars have led to the formation of all the other chemical elements.

Life of a Star

TLC Elementary School: The Moon and Beyond Discovery Education,  2004 . Full Video.
Discovery Education. Web. 10 January 2013. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com/>.