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E i n s t e i n A d d s a N e w D i m e n s i o n
TEACHER EDITION
JULIANA
TEXLEY
Arlington, Virginia
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table of contents
TEACHER EDITION
Resources for Integration and Implementation ..............................................................iv A Note From Joy Hakim ...................................................................................................vii 11: A Boy With Something on His Mind .................................................................................1 12: Time on Replay .................................................................................................................... 4 13: Electrifying Thoughts and Magnetic Reasoning .............................................................. 7 14: The M. and M.s of Science ...............................................................................................10 15: Invisible Bits of Electricity .................................................................................................. 12 16: Smaller Than Atoms? Subatomic? Is This a Joke? ........................................................... 15 17: Nobel Marie ........................................................................................................................ 17 18: Mysterious Rays .................................................................................................................. 19 19: Making Waves ....................................................................................................................22 10: Five Papers ..........................................................................................................................25 11: Seeing the (Photon) Light .................................................................................................28 12: Molecules Move .................................................................................................................30 13: Getting the Picture Right ..................................................................................................32 14: Getting Atom .....................................................................................................................35 15: Still Shooting Alpha Particles ...........................................................................................38 16: Bohr Taking Quantum Leaps ..........................................................................................40 17: An American Tracks Photons; a Frenchman Nails Matter ...........................................43 18: Whats Uncertain? Everything, Says Heisenberg ...........................................................45 19: A Cat, Quarks, and Other Quantum Critters ...............................................................47 20: Smashing Atoms ................................................................................................................50 21: Chemistry, Charisma, and Peace .....................................................................................52 22: Energy Equals Mass Times the Square of the Speed of Light or E=mc2.......................55 23: On the Way to War (a List of Happenings) ....................................................................57 24: The Fission Vision ............................................................................................................59
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table of contents
TEACHER EDITION
25: Presidential Power ..............................................................................................................63 26: Manhattan on a Mesa .......................................................................................................65 27: Quantum Electrodynamics? Surely Youre Joking .........................................................68 28: Those Relatives: Galileo and Albert ................................................................................70 29: Relativity: Its About Time ...............................................................................................72 30: An Event? To a Physicist Its Not a Party .........................................................................74 31: Timely Dimensions ...........................................................................................................76 32: A Man in a Red Hat .........................................................................................................78 33: The Paradox of the Twins .................................................................................................80 34: Relative Gravity ..................................................................................................................82 35: Warps in Spacetime ..........................................................................................................84 36: Does It Change? Or Is It Changeless? .............................................................................87 37: Expanding Times ..............................................................................................................89 38: An Expanding Universe ...................................................................................................92 39: A Luminous Indian ..........................................................................................................94 40: Explosive? And How! ........................................................................................................96 41: Singular Black Holes .........................................................................................................99 42: Gravity Waves? ..................................................................................................................102 43: A Singular BANG With a Background .........................................................................104 44: Inflation? This Chapter Is Not About Economics! .......................................................107 45: Entanglement? Locality? Are We Talking Science? ........................................................110 46: Super Stars ......................................................................................................................... 112 47: A Surprising Information-Age Universe .........................................................................116 48: Is Anyone Out There? .......................................................................................................118 49: This Is the Last Chapter, but Its Not the End ..............................................................120 References .........................................................................................................................122
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In 1996, the National Science Education Standards (NSES) made a bold and impassioned plea for scientific literacy, or the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity (NRC 1996, p. 22). Moving away from the idea that science is for the elite, the authors of NSES defined the content, skills, and attitudes that were necessary for every citizen. Under this umbrella they included language arts skills, which were almost exclusively associated with the idea of literacy before the Standards expanded its definition. In the years since the publication of NSES, the inclusion of language arts literacy skills into science and across the curriculum has been heavily emphasized. There has also been an effort to assess student achievement in informational reading, often using selections from textbooks as prompts. While research reaffirms the value of reading about science, quality science literature remains a rare find. Despite the best efforts of teachers, reading about modern physics has seldom been fun or motivatingnot until the publication of Joy Hakims series The Story of Science. Einstein Adds a New Dimension, Hakims third volume, is unique in both its content and its value as an outstanding science trade book. Enjoyable reading about modern physics may seem like an oxymoronuntil you open to the first page. Reviewers have called Hakims prose some of the most exciting and accurate in the field. This great expository writing can become the foundation of an integrated program that infuses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of scientific literacy across the curriculum. With inspiration from the real scientists in the story, as well as their creative biographer Hakim, you can show your students the future. Please consider the ideas that follow simply as clues that can help you expand the potential of Einstein Adds a New Dimension in your school program.
The Story of Science series is first and foremost good literaturetrade books that are designed to spark the curiosity of students. Both the biographies of scientists and the descriptions of their experiments are meant to light fires in young minds. So the first recommendation for the use of Einstein Adds a New Dimension is read and enjoy! The books represent fascinating informational reading. The format and text elements lend themselves to the teaching of informational reading skills in 7th- through 12th-grade language arts courses. However, the content of The Story of Science is, of course, sciencethat is, not just a body of facts but a process and way of knowing. So the reading must be inextricably linked to exploration and inquiry. Whether the books are used as the skeleton of a program or as support, they must be accompanied by hands-on exploration.
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There are also mathematics and social studies links everywhere in these books, with tempting invitations to follow them to new adventures. Those unique features have made The Story of Science volumes very popular with schools that have developed integrated multisubject blocks, as well as with homeschool communities, where the boundaries between subjects are not as sharply defined as in traditional school programs. The level of content and the minimal mathematics that are woven into Einstein Adds a New Dimension connect most easily to an integrated physical science program in grades 7 through 10, but the content in modern physics is every bit as rich as that found in most textbooks written for students in grades 11 through 13. Both the Teacher and Student editions of this guide correspond chapter by chapter to Einstein Adds a New Dimension and offer1 classroom demonstrations and activities that engage students in inquiry-based science lessons; original quotes2 from well-known scientists that help students explore concepts in greater depth by connecting big scientific ideas to scientists individual experiences; lists of important science terms that also can be used to explore concepts in greater depth; links to web resources that encourage active learning and help explain content; links to informational sites, where students can pursue independent research and elaborate on their understandings; and writing prompts through which to evaluate students understanding. In addition, the Teacher Edition also provides short synopses of each chapter; teaching tips for clarifying misconceptions and encouraging further inquiry; answers to the activity questions; and resources for further reading to expand background knowledge (or, perhaps, to recommend to precocious students).
The guide for teachers provides selected examples of the type of innovative ideas and activities from which professionals might develop a program that meets the needs of their particular students. Activities were selected for ease of implementation and are limited to those that involve a minimum of expensive equipment. In addition, wherever possible, mathematics, geography, and history notes are included so that the text can easily be integrated into subject areas other than science. Many of the activities are interchangeable since this story of science moves back and forth through time, space, and the physical universe. How education professionals add these new dimensions to their schools curriculum will ultimately depend on the unique characteristics of their learning communities.
In these components, we have referenced the 5 E model for an inquiry-based lesson developed in 2006 by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. See the report The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins, Effectiveness, and Applications. Many of the translations of these passages have been taken from Stephen Hawkings collection On the Shoulders of Giants (2003).
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Area
A. Science as Inquiry (p. 143)
Standard
Abilities necessary to do scientic inquiry Understandings about scientic inquiry Structure of atoms Structure and properties of matter Motions and forces Conservation of energy and increase in disorder Interactions of energy and matter Energy in the Earth system Origin and evolution of the universe Abilities of technological design Understandings about science and technology Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges Science as a human endeavor Nature of scientic knowledge Historical perspectives
D. Earth and Space Science (p. 187) E. Science and Technology (p. 190) F. Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (p. 193) G. History and Nature of Science (p. 200)
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The teacher was young, intense, and very bright. I had just given a talk, and she stayed to continue the conversation, telling me about a science lesson she had taught a few months earlier. She had led her students from experimentation, to discussion, to written analysis and, at the time, thought it was the best teaching she had ever done. So six weeks later, when her students were given a standardized test, she knew they would all get the correct answer to the question that dealt with the material she had taught on that inspired day. As it happened, not one student got it right. And when she spoke to some of them about the material, they hardly remembered her wonderful lesson. She was baffled and asked if I had an explanation for her. She wondered, How do we make science stick? How do we take those terrific hands-on activities and help students turn them into concepts that they will hold in their minds? The quick answer is not easily. Finding ways to help form retentive, thinking minds is a central educational challenge, especially today when knowledge, and the ability to find and use it, is key to success in almost every field of endeavor. Science, perhaps more than any other subject, seems to offer unique opportunities for mental stretching, and yet its a subject that misses much of the school population. Why isnt contemporary science permeating curricula? Why are so many of our school graduates scientifically illiterate? How can adults with prestigious diplomas in languages, literature, or law consider themselves educated if they are without a basic understanding of modern physics or chemistry? Does it matter? Is broad scientific literacy really important? Yes. We live in what is probably the greatest scientific era ever. The 20th century was a golden age for physics; were in the midst of a golden age of cosmology; biophysics is coming on fast. Anyone without basic knowledge of those sciences is missing the intellectual underpinnings of our time. And yet that describes much of our population. But arent todays sciences very difficult? Arent they only understandable to an intellectual elite? No question, the mathematical specifics of quantum theory and relativity (the two great physical science concepts of the modern era) are beyond many of us. But the overarching ideas are not. Do these sciences impact our everyday world? You bet. We wouldnt have TV, computers, or cell phones if we hadnt delved into the quantum world. We wouldnt have GPS or space travel without general relativity. As to cosmology, it now takes us backwith stunning specificsalmost to the moment of creation. Recently we learned, with measured precision, the direction the universe is heading. The search for alien life, once the domain of science fiction, is now mainstream. School science is boring? Maybe weve been leaving out the good stuff. In Einstein Adds a New Dimension youll struggle with some astonishing concepts. Much of modern science is counterintuitive. It doesnt seem to make sense. That makes it challenging, and alsoto use an appropriate clichmind-blowing. Science is a critical-thinking subject. Its an analytical-reading
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subject. Its a stretch-your-mind subject, and weve been missing its potential. There are political implications: Leadership in science translates into world leadership. Science is now too important to be left just to scientists. So what do we do? We consider science as a reading and thinking subjectwithout eliminating the traditional experiment-based approach. How can we possibly add anything else to the curriculum? We dont. We do some rethinking of the literary arts (and maybe social studies, too). Todays dominant literary form is narrative nonfiction. And some of the most creative nonfiction is coming from science writers. Were proposing that you consider science as both a reading subject and a doing subject. Then science becomes a several-bangs-for-your-buck endeavor. Link activities to a narrative and you will teach subject matter as you hone reading and thinking skills. Theres an important bonus: Educational psychologists tell us that students are likely to remember facts woven into a story. Our experience tells us that reading comprehension scores go up with vocabulary-rich narrative nonfiction. Its the classic approach to teaching. From Homer to McGuffeys readers, stories are the way that cultures have traditionally passed on their most important ideas. In recent times, weve gotten away from storytelling. The very word story has been given a negative connotationDont tell me a story, tell me the truth. But the best stories are true. And we all know that truth is stranger than fiction. Why did Dutch police set out after Daniel Fahrenheit when he wanted to build a thermometer? What happened when Niels Bohr tried to climb up a bank building in Copenhagen? What famous American physicist was a prankster skilled at cracking safes? Science is boring? No way. Einstein Adds a New Dimension takes the scientific adventure into the 21st century (it began in ancient Greece in Aristotle Leads the Way and journeyed into the world of classical physics with Newton at the Center). Schools talk a lot about multidisciplinary learning, and The Story of Science books are intended to help make it possible. Ideally, science, language arts, history, and math teachers will use the books in a joint exploration. However, if no team is available and youre on your own with the books, just put on multiple hats. Science is an arena in which everyone can become an explorer. You dont feel secure with the material covered? So much the better. You wont be tempted to lecture. Create an environment in which you and your students learn together. Let them become the experts. Theyll love taking that role. These books were written with the hope that you and your students would question, research, discuss, and writethus honing essential information-age skills. Science is an unending search for answers; the best scientists are those who learn to pose challenging questions. This teachers guide and accompanying student pages will ease you and your students into the process. We expect you to embark together on an adventure for your minds. Hardly anything is as intellectually satisfying as todays science.
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a b oy wit h s o m e t h i n g on h i s min d
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. The young Albert Einstein was often distracted in school by his active curiosity. His teachers often saw this creativity as laziness. He was fascinated by mathematics, music, and especially the laws that guided the physical phenomena around him. He tried to imagine riding on a beam of light, a challenge that would eventually result in the development of the Special Theory of Relativity when he was only 26.
Teaching Tip
In this introductory chapter, it is important for students to identify with Einstein as a person in order to find the qualities of a scientist in themselves. Ask students: Does Einstein remind you of yourself? If so, how? Is there anything Einstein did that seems like something you might do?
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Next, students can explore the unseen world of radiation using a traditional AM radio with a rotating (analog) dial. AM radio waves are longer than FM waves, so reception can be affected by electromagnetic radiation, including solar flares and terrestrial storms. AM waves bounce off the D layer of the ionosphere, which is lower at night. With students, cover the AM radio dial with a round, white sticker to avoid possible confusion (the AM frequencies are different from the range and limits they are recording), and then identify an area near the bottom of the AM range where no distinct channels exist. Have students check this range every day at the same time for the presence of static. A simple sound meter can be used to quantify the volume. Students may want to compare the range of AM signals at night or correlate results to sunspots.
Vocabulary
Dynamo Electromagnetic radiation
Extended Reading
Delano, M. F. 2005. Genius: A photobiography of Albert Einstein. Washington, DC: National Geographic.
Evaluation
The student page presents the following scenario as a tool for assessing student understanding of radiation: In school, Einstein was fascinated with statistics, a branch of mathematics about analyzing data (Hakim 2007, p. 7). Some astronomers believe that there is a correlation between sunspot frequencies and global temperatures. Look at this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration graph. Then write a short news article describing both what you see and the limitations of what you can infer.
Source: Rodney Viereck, NOAA Space Environment Center, NOAA Research, The Sun-Climate Connection (Did Sunspots Sink the Titanic?) www.research.noaa.gov/ spotlite/archive/spot_sunclimate.html.
When evaluating the student news articles, make sure students included factual information (paraphrasing the data), inferences (interpreting the data), and limitations (what scientists do not know about the data).
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t i me o n r e p l ay
TEACHER EDITION
The reader sprints through hundreds of years of science, considering how ideas form the foundation for more ideas. The timeline begins with a revolutionary attitude changethe idea that an experiment could provide new understanding, even if it contradicted traditional wisdom. This change wasnt easy and often caused the experimenter to get into trouble with societys traditionalists.
Teaching Tips
Begin a classroom timeline with photos of key scientists mentioned in each chapter (images are almost always available online in a format that can be enlarged). Encourage students to identify world events unrelated to science that occurred during the lives of key researchers. This chapter discusses compasses. Have students follow a compass trail to a treasure on the schoolyard. Many students who have grown up in the age of GPS have never used a compass.
time on replay
TEACHER EDITION
make it clear that the Earth is not the centre of their circular movements. Therefore, since there are many centres, it is not foolhardy to doubt whether the centre of gravity of the Earth rather than some other is the centre of the world. I myself think that gravity or heaviness is nothing except a certain natural appetency implanted in the parts by the divine providence of the universal Artisan, in order that they should unite with one another in their oneness and wholeness and come together in the form of a globe. It is believable that this affect is present in the sun, the moon, and other bright planets and that through its efficacy they remain in the spherical figure in which they are visible, though they nevertheless accomplish their circular movements in many different ways. Copernicus, On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres Although students may struggle with this excerpt, they will be able to infer meaning even if they dont understand every word.
Vocabulary
Atomic mass Element Compound Microgravity
Extended Reading
Ben Franklins Lightning Bells http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/bells.html The Fat Boys (TIME, September 3, 1979) www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948608,00.html
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TIME ON REPLAY
TEACHER EDITION
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of magnetism: Dartmouth archaeologist Vincent H. Malmstrm found 4,000-year-old statues in Central America with a very unusual property. A compass needle is sharply attracted to their navels! The pre-Olmec people seem to have discovered magnetism some 1,500 years before the earliest evidence of Chinese compasses. Other archaeologists have found Olmec statues of frogs and turtles with magnetic snouts dating from about 3500 BC. What can be hypothesized about their function?
Photo taken by Hajor, July 2001. Released under cc.by.sa and/or GFDL.
Students responses should demonstrate an understanding of magnetism as a property of certain metals. Possible hypotheses include the following: (1) The statues may have been used to create/magnetize compasses, and (2) the Olmecs might have considered magnetism a religious phenomenon.
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E le c t r if y in g Thoughts an d Mag n et ic Re a so n in g
TEACHER EDITION
From Volta to Tesla, scientists looked for connections between electricity and magnetism. Scientists made great leaps of understanding in the 19th century but also arrived at a few experimental dead endsfrom ether to Edisons work with direct current.
Teaching Tips
Many young students hold misconceptions about electricity. They have special difficulty distinguishing between voltaic and current electricity. Remind students that a battery is actually a series of cells. The In Their Own Wordsquote from Isaac Newton (see p. 8) is worth repeating in later discussions. When students know more about relativity, ask one student to act as Newton and repeat his basic assumptions. This may help students contrast their own physical experiences with the truths in Einsteins universe. After students have speculated on the Evaluation challenge below, you might share with them that President Theodore Roosevelt sent the first message around the world in 1903. It took nine minutes.
A Pile of Money
Most students have the raw materials in their pockets to replicate Alessandro Voltas electricity experiment. Before class begins, however, you will have to add 15 g of salt to 200 ml of vinegar. Divide students into groups and ask each group to collect six pennies and six nickels. Give each group 10 ml of the solution in a labeled plastic container. Each group will also need safety goggles, one sheet of paper towel, and forceps. You will also need two 30 cm pieces of insulated wire and at least one voltmeter. Have each group cut their paper towels into 3 cm squares. Each group then places a nickel on the table. Next, they soak one of the squares of paper towel in the saltwater solution and place it on top of the nickel. Then they add a penny on top of the paper towel, put another saltwater-soaked square of paper towel on top of that, and add another nickel. Students continue alternating the paper towels and coins until all the coins are used. You can then test the pile by touching one wire from the voltmeter to the top (penny) and one to the bottom (nickel). After the experiment, ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What kind of current is generated? Direct current Once a base value is obtained for the battery, encourage students to investigate further: 2. Does the current increase if more coins are used? Yes. More coins, more current.
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3. What if more salt is added? There is a limit to the increase affected by salt. The results of these experiments should ideally be shown in graphs.
Vocabulary
Ampere Battery Charge Current Volt
Extended Reading
DeMauro, L., ed. 2005. Thomas Edison: A brilliant inventor. New York: HarperCollins. Ancestors of E=mc2 www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/ancestors.html
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the power of electricity and its impact on long-distance communication: When Samuel Morse (17911872) sent an electric current from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 1844, it turned a magnet on and off (Hakim 2007, p. 26). That was the first telegram. How did long-distance communication change the world? Imagine you are a senior citizen in 1870. Write a letter to your grandchild explaining, When I was young, it took weeks to send important information across the country. Then give examples. In their letters and examples, students should make reference to specific items of technology in appropriate time sequence (for example, telegraph and telephone) and to the types of communication the average person uses.
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T h e M. a n d M. s o f S c ie n ce
TEACHER EDITION
Michelson and Morley tried unsuccessfully for nearly 20 years to measure the speed of light in ether. In the end their failed experiment caused physicists to question: If ether doesnt exist at all, how does light travel?
Teaching Tip
Many teachers use the analogy of a river to describe the ether that Michelson and Morley tried to establish. A swimmer might be analogous to the light, trying to swim straight across but being pulled downstream. After students have discussed the effect the stream would have on the swimmer, ask them: What if there was no effect? Would that prove there was no water?
Earth
Earth
Jupiter
Jupiter
1. What was Roemers answer? Roemers calculation was 2.3 105 km/s. 2. What was the percentage of Roemers error? Correcting for instrumentation errors, the answer is 10 105 km/s. He was off by 23%.
Vocabulary
Anode Cathode Ether
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the importance of experimentation: Some of the most famous experiments have had no results. When that happens, its often hard to explain their value. Imagine you are Michelson writing a letter to one of his original sponsors, Alexander Graham Bell. Explain why the funding he offered was worth the expense even though your experiment seems to have failed. In their explanations students should demonstrate an understanding that experiments begin with hypotheses, and that either confirming or refuting a hypothesis is an appropriate result of an experiment.
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In v is ibl e B i t s of El e c t r icit y
TEACHER EDITION
J. J. Thomson discovered the electronthe tiny, negatively charged particle of an atomusing a device that is now part of most traditional television sets. The observations he made form the basis for most of the technology we use today.
Teaching Tips
Unless students have experienced severe storms, they may never have had to live without electricity. Begin this section by asking students to make a list of everything they do in a day that requires power. Safety tip: Under no circumstances should students ever open televisions or monitors to observe cathode ray tubes. These tubes can maintain strong charges long after they are unplugged.
25 20 MASS 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 GROUPS 5 6 7
To get the most from this modeling activity, students must be guided to think about and discover the idea that the masses in the envelope are discrete units. Thinking about the mass ratio of the unseen materials in the envelopes will be new to students; make sure they take their time and discuss carefully.
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Ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What evidence could be used to determine the mass of the envelope itself? In the example above, the contents are grouped in increments of 3 g, so the envelope probably weighs 2 g. 2. Draw a horizontal line across the graph showing the mass of the envelope. Subtracting that mass, create a hypothesis about the mass of the contents. (Line at 2 g) Because all have a base of 2 g, all groups occur in further increments of 3 g.
Vocabulary
Electron Proton Neutron X-ray
Extended Reading
Glasser, R. E. 1970. Mass analogy for Millikans oil drop experiment. The Science Teacher 37 (4): 82.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of assumptions:
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You are teaching a class in which you describe your experiment on protons and electrons. A student challenges you: How do you know that the unseen units youve identified in your massing are single particles (discrete units) and not combinations of particles? Can you defend your assumptions? Write two If, then statements that describe experiments or consequences. For example, if the units of mass that were measured are single particles, then In their explanations, students should note that if the units are single particles, there will never be any envelopes that show intermediate mass. If the units are combinations, a very few envelopes might be found with intermediate mass (or using more power, you might be able to crack open the envelopes).
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Intro. J. J. Thomson has a lot of convincing to do! His fellow physicists cant see electrons, and cant even imagine the electrons behavior. Even Thomson has a hard time accepting the results of his experiments (Hakim 2007, p. 51). So he must use statistics to support his discovery of electrons.
Teaching Tips
While Piaget would have asserted that middle school students are able to reason about things they cant actually see or touch, today we know that many students dont reach this level of logical reasoning until high school (if ever). Therefore, make as many concrete and authentic (personal) analogies in this introduction to atomic structure as possible. Review potential and kinetic energy on the playground slide. Explain to students that potential energy exists at the top of the slide and kinetic energy is released as one goes down the slide. Students may also have examples of kinetic energy in their drivers education materials. The Powers of 10 link listed under Online Learning Tools does not include subatomic levels; other examples later in this guide will expand this experience.
Photon
Ask students to carefully turn on Excited State the burner of their electric range at home, with adult supervision, Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASAs Imagine the Universe! Understanding the Atom. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ then stand back and watch the docs/science/how_l2/atom.html. color of the burner change as it gets hot. Tell them to let it cool and watch the color again. Instruct students to put some nylon and polyester clothing in their dryers at home on a dry evening (tell them not to use fabric softener). After 10 minutes, have them turn the lights off and pull out the clothes. Ask them to observe what happens when they pull the clothing apart. Tell students to chew some Wint-O-Green Life Savers in a dark room. Tell them to chew the Life Savers with their mouths open and observe the candy in a mirror as they chew.
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Ground State
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A sample student observation: All of these experiments involve the movement of electrons to different energy levels due to the addition of photons (discrete amounts) of energy. Adding energy to the iron of a burner increases the energy of the electrons; static electricity involves free electrons. The energy of electrons is raised by chemical or physical energy, causing them to emit light: sodium vapor lamps, neon signs, flames, sparks, lightning, incandescence of heated metals.
Vocabulary
Kinetic energy Potential energy
Extended Reading
3 Experiments, 1 Big Idea www.aip.org/history/electron/jj1897.htm
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the importance of analogies: Analogies about size are helpful for the imagination. Begin an imaginary story by writing: If I were 1/10th my size, I could; If I were 1/100th my size, I could; If I were 1/1,000th my size, I could In their explanations, students should include an accurate sense of ratios and proportions. The Powers of 10 website is a great resource for students who may need inspiration.
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N o b el Mar ie
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. Sklodowska (Marie Curie) grew up in Poland. There, Marya her chances of achieving her academic dreams seemed dim. But her persistence and the help of her family made it possible for her to get degrees in both physics and mathematics.
Teaching Tips
If students have had their own x-rays (especially of broken bones), ask them in advance to share them with the class as an anticipatory activity. When sharing Marie Curies speculations about rays in space with students, discuss how other scientists might have responded to her suggestion. Safety note: In older textbooks, you may find activities using old-fashioned ozalid (drafting) paper. The development process for this paper is considered too dangerous for classrooms today.
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Nobel Marie
TEACHER EDITION
quote aloud to students, then ask, Why did she believe that science is beautiful? I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. Marie Curie, 1933 Future of Culture Conference
Vocabulary
Photography Radium Uranium wave
Extended Reading
Jerome, K. B. 2006. Atomic universe: The quest to discover radioactivity. Washington, DC: National Geographic. Krull, K. 2007. Giants of science: Marie Curie. New York: Viking. McClafferty, C. K. 2006. Something out of nothing: Marie Curie and radium. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Steel, P. 2006. Marie Curie: The woman who changed the course of science. Washington, DC: National Geographic.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of gender equality: Marya Sklodowska (Marie Curie) was not allowed to enter the university in Poland because she was a female. Imagine you had to write her letter of application. Tell the provost of the university why you believe that every student should have an equal opportunity to study there. In their letters, students should make reference to specific skills that would make prospective students likely to succeed and offer evidence that applicants from all genders, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds might have these skills.
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M ys t e r ious Rays
TEACHER EDITION
Intro.Curies quest to isolate the elements polonium and The radium was a historical triumph over difficulties and adversity. Like most scientific triumphs, these discoveries were not ends, but beginnings. The radiation that they studied provided the first clues that smaller particles existed; the hunt was on for a better model of the atom.
Teaching Tip
The idea of risk (especially from radiation) is often quite difficult for teenagers to internalize. Movies and other media may have created some misconceptions. Take class time to discuss the very real and ultimately fatal exposures to radiation experienced by Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin.
Using Statistics
We are exposed to natural sources of radiation every day. These sources range from very short gamma rays to long radio waves. Below are data from Princeton University with estimates of our average exposure to various sources of radiation.
Average Annual Whole Body Dose (millirem/year) 29 29 200 40 10 8 5 11
Radiation Source Cosmic rays Radioactive rocks Radon (in some basements and rocky building sites) Isotopes (K-40, C-14, etc.) in the air (mostly made in the upper atmosphere) One dental x-ray per year One chest x-ray per year Cross-country round-trip by air Consumer products (like home smoke detectors)
Source: Data adapted from Princeton University, Open Source Radiation Safety Training Module 2: Background Radiation & Other Sources of Exposure. http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/osradtraining/backgroundradiation/ background.htm.
Present these data to your students and ask them to develop a bar graph of the various sources of radiation.
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Mysterious Rays
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
particles particles radiation
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Mysterious Rays
TEACHER EDITION
, , Penetration and Shielding www.fas.harvard.edu/ ~ scidemos/QuantumRelativity/PenetrationandShielding/ PenetrationandShielding.html Boehm, J. 2006. Atomic universe: The quest to discover radioactivity. Washington, DC: National Geographic. Open Source Radiation Safety Training http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/osradtraining/backgroundradiation/background.htm
Extended Reading
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario, derived from the same Princeton University website as the table above, as a tool for assessing students understanding of radiation and the dangers of smoking: The average person receives approximately 340 millirem a year of radiation exposure. Smoking adds about 280 millirem of radiation a year to normal exposure. According to data from Princeton University, we increase our risk of cancer by about 0.05% for every 1,000 millirem of exposure. (Of course, everyone is different. Some people have a greater capacity to repair genetic damage from radiation than others.) Develop a short public service announcement describing the dangers of this radiation. (Remember, the radiation is only one smoking-related cause of cancer. Tars and benzene in cigarette smoke can also lead to cancer.) In their public service announcements, students should include quantitative data to support the warnings they provide, including reasonable assessments of risk.
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Ma k in g Wav e s
TEACHER EDITION
Max Planck imagined things that couldnt really exist, like blackbodies that absorbed all the radiation that hit them, and violins that could play only whole notes. In the end, he imagined a form of energy that acted like both a wave and a particlelight.
Teaching Tips
To introduce the concept of waves in a general way, have students model waves physically as they begin to use the term. In a large, open area, such as the cafeteria or courtyard, model transverse waves with a long rope or clothesline. Tie one end firmly to a piece of furniture or a pole. Stretch the rope or clothesline until it sags in the middle, about halfway to the ground. Gently move your hand up and down with enough energy to form one standing wave (an S shape) on the line. Now add more energy to the up and down motion of your hand until you create two crests (or two troughs) between the fixed end and your hand. Ask students to use their hands to point out the distance between two peaks or troughs (the wavelength) and to count the number of waves per unit time (the frequency). Explain to students that they will explore waves like this as they study light, radio, and microwaves in later chapters. Then, using a coil-spring toy, illustrate transverse waves, such as sound, for comparison. This activity is also appropriate for Chapter 11.
Transverse Wave
Particle Movement
Students see satellite photos on weather reports, but they may not realize the differences in wavelength that these images can represent. One way to begin this lesson is to give students yellow sunglasses, which are often used for archery or sports shooting to reduce glare. Ask students to describe how the world is different with one wavelength filtered out.
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Making Waves
TEACHER EDITION
Satellite Eyes
Satellites use cameras that can sense radiation to monitor Earths environment and human activities. Show students the following image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
Source: NOAA Satellite and Information Service, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS). www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/data/FS_km5000.gif.
Ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are being sensed? (As a hint, tell students to look at the patterns in the area of the ocean nearest you.) This graph shows heat in Celsius degrees. 2. What can this tell us about Earth? While the equatorial areas are warmer, the currents change the flow of water significantly.
Vocabulary
Frequency Quantum Wavelength
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Making waves
TEACHER EDITION
Electromagnetic Waves www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/index.html NASA Lunar Prospector http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/education/activities/active22a.htm Ripple (Simulation of Reflection, Refraction, and Interference) www.physicslab.co.uk/ripple.htm Transverse and Longitudinal Waves www.control.co.kr/java1/wave%20Trans/WaveTrans.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the concept of waves: Imagine you witnessed a train robbery that took place in complete darkness. The police ask, How did you know if the train was coming toward you or going away from you? Write down how you would answer. If you need a hint, observe the animation of the Doppler effect at www. walter-fendt.de/ph14e/dopplereff.htm. In their written explanations, students should demonstrate an understanding of how the sound of the train changes depending on whether the sound emitter is approaching or withdrawing.
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F iv e Pa p e r s
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. his amazing miracle year, Einstein published five During papers, with topics ranging from the motion of atoms and electrons to the nature of the universe. These papers would eventually change the world of physics and our understanding of the world.
Teaching Tips
The electroscope in the demonstration below can also be made using a peanut butter jar. If available, gold foil from a craft store works better than aluminum for the demonstration. Although gold foil is more expensive, it is also a great visual aid for the lessons on Rutherfords experiment in Chapter 13. As students read Einsteins In Their Own Words quote (see p. 26), display the applet simulation at http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/faraday2, or allow students to experiment on their own with simple materials.
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five papers
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
Amplitude Conductor Magnet Photoelectric effect Threshold frequency
Extended Reading
Einsteins Big Idea www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein Hawking, S., ed. 2004. The illustrated On the Shoulders of Giants: The great works of physics and astronomy. Philadelphia: Running Press. On Truth & Reality: The Famous Michelson & Morley Experiment www.spaceandmotion.com/Physics-Michelson-Morley.htm
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Five Papers
TEACHER EDITION
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the process for evaluating new inventions: A patent clerk examines descriptions of new inventions. The written applications must be clear and concise and must distinguish one invention from all others like it. Practice writing a description of an inventiona mousetrap, or something else you invent yourself. Convince a careful patent officer that your idea is unique. In their written descriptions, students should include specific descriptions that are unique and quantitative. The descriptions should be understandable to another reader.
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Se e in g t h e ( P h oton ) Ligh t
TEACHER EDITION
Einsteins paper topics ranged from the very small (a study of Brownian motion) to the very large (the nature of the universe). Perhaps the most difficult of his discoveries for the scientific community to accept was the idea that light exists as both particles and wavesan idea that combined the two previously competing theories of Newton and English physicist Thomas Young.
Teaching Tip
If you have not done the wave activity suggested in Chapter 9 (or even if you have), begin students introduction to a wave by having them do the wavethe same wave that spectators do in crowded stadiums. Then ask students to think about the analogy as they read about light.
Polarized Light
This demonstration can also be done by using two pairs of polarized sunglasses (at right angles). Not all inexpensive glasses that are labeled polarized are made properly, so try them out before class to make sure they are polarized. Provide each student with two sheets of polarized filter (a fine plastic into which thin lines have been etched). Students hold a single filter up to a window or other light source and rotate it 90. Then they overlap the filters and rotate only one filter through 360. Ask students to observe the light that is transmitted. Next, students use an instrument that can measure light intensity (a computer-interfaced or camera light meter) to develop a graph of the intensity of light when the difference between the two filter papers is 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180, respectively. Ask students to describe what they observe (sample description in bold). The wavelengths of sunlight vary, so only a fraction of the total sunlight can pass through a polarized filter. When the slits in the polarized filters are parallel, all the light vibrating in the same plane can pass. But as the filters are rotated, less light can pass; when the slits are perpendicular, no light can pass. This demonstrates the wave nature of light.
Vocabulary
Photon Polarized
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Evaluations
The student page includes two scenarios as tools for assessing students understanding of the relationship between wavelength and visible light. Lord Rayleigh (see p. 96 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension) explained why the sky was blue. But there are times when the sky is green (just before a tornado) or even red. How can you explain the painting The Scream, by Edvard Munch? (Hint: Look at the date it was painted, 1893, and research what earthshaking events happened in the previous decade.)
In their research students should learn that after the eruption of Mt. Krakatau in Indonesia, dust made skies red all over Europe and Asia. Munchs paintings (an entire series) were related to the sky after that eruption. Today a red sunset in the Atlantic Ocean is often caused by a distant Saharan dust storm. When the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is full of dust, there are dense winds aloft out of the Eastern Atlantic. Discuss how this is related to the verse Red sky at night, sailors delight. In their discussion, students should answer that the SAL causes tropical storms to fall apart before they become hurricanes. The verse Red sky at night, sailors delight may be related to the idea that weather from the east was better for sailors who crossed the Atlantic than strong winds from the west.
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M o le c ul e s M ove
TEACHER EDITION
In his miracle year, Einstein solved old problems and proposed new ones that physicists had never thought to ask. One of the simplest problems he solvedthe random motion of moleculesturned out to be one of the most elegant and most cited.
Teaching Tip
Despite their (self-perceived) sophistication, middle school students still learn best with concrete and kinesthetic experiences. Try copying the dance of the molecules on page 102 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension and ask students to replicate it on the school yard under conditions of low energy and high energy.
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molecules move
TEACHER EDITION
Brownian molecular motion; however, the information available to me regarding the latter is so lacking in precision, that I can form no judgment in that matter. If the movement discussed here can actually be observedwe must assume that the suspended particles perform an irregular movementeven if a slow onein the liquid. Albert Einstein, On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid Demanded by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat Ask students, Why was Einstein so hesitant to actually claim that he had the explanation to Browns puzzle?
Vocabulary
Brownian motion
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of Brownian motion: If Albert Einstein could have written a letter to Robert Brown, how would he have explained the observations? In their explanations, students should describe their observations as well as the particle movement that caused the observations.
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Ge t t in g t h e P ic t ur e R igh t
TEACHER EDITION
Niels Bohr had to imagine something he could never hope to see. In the end, he struck goldboth literally and scientificallyin his modeling.
Teaching Tips
Neither the plum pudding nor the cookie is really a good analogy for the structure of an atom. Students should realize that each successive analogy proposed by scientists was a little bit better, but that no analogy will ever be perfect. Safety tip: Do not allow students to eat in the science lab.
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With a toothpick, students test and describe the consistency of the cookie matrix and the chocolate chip. They then put the cookie in the microwave for 20 seconds, check out the consistency of the materials again, and fill out the chart below (answers in bold):
Ingredient Can you see it in the cookie? No No Yes Yes Consistency when cool Firm Firm Firm Firm Consistency when reheated Firm Soft Firm Soft Has a chemical change occurred? Yes No No No
Ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. When you bake, how do you know which changes are physical and which are chemical? In general, those changes that are easily reversed are physical changes. In this example, that includes changes in the consistency of oils and chocolate. 2. How would you explain the cookie analogy to J. J. Thomson and Niels Bohr: This cookie is like an atom because, but it is not like an atom because? (Students may want to review Thomsons image of an atom on p. 52 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension for comparison.) The cookie is more like Thomsons model; Bohr realized that the nucleus and electrons were quite small by comparison. The chips are far larger than the proportional size of electrons; while their position is relatively random, actual electrons can only be found in specific energy levels (shells).
Vocabulary
Radioactive decay
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenarios as a tool for assessing students understanding of atoms and electrons: How small is an electron? Thats a question that cant really be answered, since an electron acts more like a wave than a particle. But its sometimes useful to think of the electron as a particle about 1015 m. A carbon atom is about 1013 m in diameter. Use an analogy: If an electron were the size of a baseball, the entire carbon atom would be about the size of (See the cathedral analogy on p. 111 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension for hints.)
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In their analogies, students should demonstrate an understanding of the relative sizes of atoms and electrons. For example, Earths orbit would be 1 1015 times the size of a baseball. Research: How many carbon atoms would be found in a 1-carat diamond? Students should answer that a carat is 0.2 g and a mole of carbon is 12 g. There are 10,036,666,666,666,666,666,666 atoms in a 1-carat diamond.
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Teaching Tip
G e t t in g Atom
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. Rutherford and Bohr were a great team and made quantum leaps in understanding the structure of the atom. The two scientists learned to understand the rules by which electrons occupy energy levels or shells.
Heres one way to introduce students to the type of thinking involved in the creation of the first periodic table. Think of a way to classify your students that is not sensitive or embarrassing (such as by school club affiliation or hair color). Before students enter the classroom, organize the desks in groups and place names on the desks according to the groups you have predetermined. Challenge students to figure out what criteria you used to group them. (This can be repeated for several days if necessary.)
Missing Pieces
This activity can be completed while students examine pages 122123 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension or at other times in the term. Given 19th-century knowledge, there are several possible answers to the questions asked in the activity. This activity can be limited to a brief what if discussion or extended using the database available at the NASA Genesis website, http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov. If time permits, students can write notes about each elements properties on large note cards. Arrange the cards on the bulletin board as Mendeleyev would have done, and then gradually move them to their modern positions based on properties.
Group Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Au=199 Hg=200 ?Er=178 TI=204 ?La=180 Pb=207 Th=231 TA=182 Bi=208 U=240 35 W=184
Os=195, IR=197, Pt=198
VIII
Nb=94 Sb=122
J=127
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Students begin this activity by looking at Mendeleyevs first periodic table in 1869. Mendeleyev made many educated guesses based on his observations of chemical properties. (The tools he would have used are shown on p. 119 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.) Students compare Mendeleyevs periodic table to the modern table online or on page 123 to find the answers to the following questions (answers in bold): 1. Copper, silver, and gold are in Mendeleyevs Group I but are in modern Group II (coinage metals). What characteristics might have prompted the first placement? They donate electrons in reactions, but Li, Na, and K are far more reactive than coinage metals. 2. Based on 19th-century knowledge, what element might have fit in Group III of Mendeleyevs table under boron and aluminum? Gallium, a liquid metal at room temperature that expands as it solidifies, would have fit in Group III. 3. What element might have fit in Group VII of Mendeleyevs table under bromine? Iodine, another very active halogen, which like chlorine and bromine is an irritating gas at room temperature. (Note: Manganese wouldnt be there.)
Vocabulary
Angular momentum Energy level Shell
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of isotopes: Today we use isotopes of elements for vital studies. Since the 1990s, the positron emission tomography (PET) scan has been used to diagnose the functioning of important body systems. This image shows a series of PET scans of the human brain. The patient was injected with radioactive sugar and scanned for the places where it was metabolized.
Source: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_ notes/NNvol21N2/brains.gif.
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You be the radiologist: Compare the series to a brain diagram, and describe what parts of the brain are most active in each process. In their descriptions, students might, for example, associate speaking or reading language with the parietal lobe.
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What we see is largely due to the action of the very outer layers of atomsand thats pretty random, as we know.
Teaching Tip
Satellite images are difficult for students to conceptualize; use group discussions for the following activity so that students wont be too intimidated to speak up.
Vocabulary
Band Wavelength 1. 0.450.52 m 2. 0.520.60 m 3. 0.630.69 m 4. 0.760.90 m 5. 1.551.75 m 6. 10.4012.50 m 7. 2.082.35 m Isotope
Source: Electromagnetic spectrum image from Virtual Hawaii, Hawaii Space Great Consortium, UH Hanoa, How Are Satellite Images Different From Photographs? http://landsat.gsfc.nasa. gov/education/compositor.
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum: Research the NASA website above for the applications for which each of these bands are useful. Then write a short letter to your congressional representative supporting continued funding of Landsat research. In their letters, students should include specific examples of questions that could be answered by Landsat observations. Check for a relationship between at least one band (range of wavelengths) and an Earth feature.
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Bo h r Ta kin g Q u a n t um Le ap s
TEACHER EDITION
When Einstein went for walks with his dog and his baby son, he would often jot equations down on scraps of paper and tuck them into the pram. The baby probably saw the world in light and color, the dog in scents, but Einstein saw the world in mathematical equations.
Teaching Tips
Students often make physical models of the natural world, but the idea of creating a mathematical model may seem strange to them, though mathematical models are the most common method used in science today. One analogy that may be familiar to students is the model that a gambler uses: The chances of a certain team winning depends on a number of factors. Each gambler weighs the factors in a unique way, and only experimentation (experience) determines which model is most accurate. There are many additional ideas and activities for students in Gilbert and Iretons Understanding Models in Earth and Space Science (seeExtended Reading).
Imagine you are traveling up through the atmosphere in a hot air balloon, and you have a barometer and altimeter. Imagine measuring the air pressure as you rise. Here are the data you collect (see graph). Ask students to choose the expression that matches the data best (answers in bold): Air pressure increases just as much as altitude increases. Air pressure decreases as altitude increases. Air pressure doubles as altitude decreases. Air pressure is always half of the altitude.
Altitude
7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 500 1000 1500 Pressure Millibars Air Pressure
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1. What will the air pressure be if the balloon rises to 8,000 feet? Approximately 390 millibars (Note: The slope changes above 4,000 feet so curve fitting is less than accurate.) 2. Scientists often use equations to describe data like these. Which of these equations would come closest to predicting the air pressures at altitudes below 4,000 feet? Pressure = (11,000 altitude)/11 Pressure = (11,000 altitude) 11 Pressure = 11,000 / altitude Pressure = 11,000 + altitude
Vocabulary
Model
Extended Reading
Gilbert, S. W., and S. W. Ireton. 2003. Understanding models in Earth and space science. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of half-lives and dating techniques:
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Scientific dating often involves measurement of radioactive carbon isotopes in a sample. On page 135 of your text, you learned that the half-life of the isotope is 5,730 years. By about 50,000 years, the amount of isotope left in a sample is normally so small that it is difficult to get accurate measurements. The graph below is a model of the decay of a different isotope, radioactive potassium. (Its often found in zircon crystals in igneous rocks.) It decays to argon, with a half-life of 1,251 million years. Imagine you are writing a proposal for a new research project. What kind of scientific question would be better answered with K-Ar dating than carbon-14 dating? Why would your results be more accurate with one method versus the other?
1/1
Amount of Parent Nuclide Remaining
Original 40K Daughter Nuclides Sample containing of original amount of parent material is 1,251 million years old.
40 Ar -------- = 1 40 K
1/2
Adapted from Dr. Nicholas Shorts Remote Sensing Tutorial, Section 2: Geological Applications I: Stratigraphy and Structure, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect2/K-Adeclay.jpg.
In their proposals, students should demonstrate an understanding that answering questions about Earth events of more than 1 billion years ago (for example, the appearance of the earliest forms of life) requires K-Ar dating.
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Intro. x-rays hit atoms, the electrons in their outer shells When sometimes splatter, like mud does when it is hit by water from a hose. The result of x-rays hitting atoms is not a mess but an amazing image that physicists can interpret. The patterns hold clues to structures we cant see clearly.
Teaching Tip
When describing the first views of the internal structure of crystals, it is no exaggeration to describe them as works of art. The order that William and Lawrence Bragg found in metal crystals inspired not just researchers but those who appreciated the beauty of this unseen universe.
Crossing Borders
Science can reveal structures that are as beautiful as any artist might imagine. Have students research the crystal structure of any metal, like the actinide oxide pictured here, the zinc sulfide on page 145 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension, or any other metal crystal. (Ideas can be found on the Crystal Lattice Gallery website below.) Students can build a work of art using the crystal structure as a subunit.
Vocabulary
X-ray crystallography
Copyright 2006 Los Alamos National Security, LLC. All Rights Reserved. http://lanl.gov/source/orgs/nmt/nmtdo/ AQarchive/04summer/xray.html.
Extended Reading
The Structures of Life http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/structlife/chapter2.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students appreciation of scientists essential questions regarding light during Comptons time:
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Louis-Victor de Broglies military responsibility was sending telegraphs. In the days when this was the only form of communication, messages had to be brief. (People paid by the word so they were concise, similar to todays instant messaging or text messaging.) Write a telegram message in less than 20 words describing Arthur Comptons discoveries. In their telegram messages, students should include, in succinct language, evidence that light sometimes acts as a particle.
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Intro. The closer physicists got to the quantum world, the more puzzling it became. It seemed impossible to measure the same particle or phenomenon twice. Einstein struggled against randomness, and he insisted that God was not playing dice. But researchers must learn to accept uncertainty.
TEACHER EDITION
Teaching Tip
Piaget suggests that many adolescents have trouble with the concept of proportionality, which extends to mathematical uncertainty. Do not assume that students have a good understanding of ratios.
Number of Students
Number of Students
40
After the experiment, ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. Did the ratio come closer to 50/50 as the number of trials increased? Why or why not? In any random event, the larger the number of trials the more likely the result is to be characteristic of the entire system. Note: Coins are not symmetrical and almost never result in perfect ratios. 2. What does this say about observations about random events? There is an optimal number of observations. (Students may note that pollsters and other behavioral scientists calculate the most efficient number of samples to take.)
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Have students divide the coins into new coins (less than 10 years old) and old coins. Then calculate the percentage of heads in each group. 3. Are coin tosses really random? Does it make a difference if the coin is old or new? Why or why not? The way in which a coin wears with use can affect its mechanics when it is tossed. 4. What other factors might affect the phenomena that we think of as random, like coin tosses? The process of minting coins does not create a symmetrical object, so the coins do not flip consistently.
Vocabulary
Mechanics Randomness Uncertainty
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of randomness: When pollsters want to know information about an issue, they try to choose a small sample of random people who would represent the entire population. Think of a controversial question in your community. Then think of three locations that you might go to do opinion polls. Two of the locations should be nonrandom: They should be places where the people would mostly agree on one side or another about the issue. The third place should be the location where you think the opinions would be random. Write a short newspaper article about the opinions you think youd find on this issue in these locations. Provide the following example to students to further explain the assignment: Suppose an investor wanted to start a new radio station in town and wanted to know the favorite music in the community. If the survey were taken at a youth center, in front of a theater where a teen movie was being shown, or at a store where there was a sale on video games, the results might be skewed in one way. If it were taken in front of the senior center or a place that offered discounts for AARP members, the result might be different. The population in a large mall or at a subway stop might be relatively random. In their newspaper articles, students should include a method for getting random responses.
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Intro. Schrdinger imagined the uncertainties he could Erwin not see, using the analogy of a cat in a box. We use other analogies to think of atoms and moleculessome more accurate than others.
Teaching Tips
Use the section Up and Atom (pp. 166169 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension) to take a break from the historical approach and review some of the basic concepts that might confuse students. The first chapters of Einstein Adds a New Dimension review how scientists have studied the energy between atoms and molecules (Brownian motion, entropy of various states of matter), the energy that holds molecules together (bond energy), and the energy that keeps electrons around their nuclei. Chapter 20 represents an important transition, as scientists break the nucleus apart to release a totally new type of energy. This is a good time to review the basics of atomic theory, even if students have studied this material in earlier years. As students watch salts go into solution, ask them to discuss and record the differences between these forces. In Chapter 6 an animation on the Powers of 10 was presented. In this chapter A Question of Scale: Quarks to Quasars (see website in Online Learning Tools on p. 48) expands the range of size into the subatomic world. This is a great time to compare the two websites.
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2. Which process is stronger as salt dissolves? Is the solution more or less organized than the original solid and liquid? The separation of ions uses more energy than the attraction between the ions and the water frees. Direct students to the website Energy Exchange Associated With Dissolving Salts in the Water listed below and ask them to try the same experiment with a variety of salts, keeping the temperature the same. 3. Do they all react in the same way? If not, can you categorize the reactions? Heats of solution vary because the strengths of the ionic bonds broken as the salt ionizes are different. For example, NaCl = +1.02 kcal/mole, while CuSO4 (solid) = 16.20 kcal/mole. CO2 = 4.6 kcal/mole. Students then try the same experiment at a warmer temperature. 4. Can you get more salt into the water before it begins to sink because no more can dissolve? Students compare other salts using the applet in Energy Exchange Associated With Dissolving Salts in the Water. In general, the warmer the water, the more a solid can dissolve. Finally, encourage students to think about the situation where a gas is dissolved in a liquid (for example, the oxygen thats dissolved in tap water). 5. When the water gets warmer, can it hold more or less oxygen? Can you explain the difference in terms of entropy? Solids get less organized as they dissolve, but gases get more organized. So in general, as the solute (water) warms, it can hold less of a gas.
Vocabulary
Entropy Solution
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the energy in substances: Salt is a great way to melt sidewalk ice but it kills plants. Can you propose an alternative that would work as well? Explain why you think it would work. In their explanations, students should include an example of either an exothermic reaction or a solution process that would lower the freezing point of water.
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Sma sh i n g Atoms
TEACHER EDITION
From Cambridge, England, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, the race is on to smash the atom. A machine is built to accelerate protons and reveal the nucleuss secrets.
Teaching Tips
This chapter represents a major leap, not only in science but in student understanding. For many students subatomic particles may seem counterintuitive. In addition, the size of the subatomic particles will be difficult for students to imagine. Physical models are especially appropriate for this transition. Keep the models for continued reference as students explain new ideas in the next dozen chapters. The structure of the Fermi Laboratory accelerators will be referenced in a number of future chapters. The Fermilab games from the Fermilabyrinth (Warp Speed Game) website below are used in Chapter 27 but are appropriate here as well. The work of Leo Szilard, especially the Manhattan Project, is also referenced in later chapters. His political activities are also important in this story.
Falling Apart
In this activity, students build models of the Standard Model of particle physics. Half of the class builds a model like the one pictured here using dice that have been relabeled with stickers. The other half of the class builds their models from plastic foam balls that are sold in craft stores. (Note: Although this open-inquiry exercise Elementary Particles challenges students to explain a model they themselves create, it does not require explicit instructions. up photon top charm However, before students assemble their plastic foamball atoms, they must cut their neutrons and restick gluon strange bottom down them with tiny Velcro dots. They also need to color code the particles with markers and use tiny bits of clay to electron neutrino tau neutrino muon neutrino Z boson hold the entire nucleus together.) Have students explain their version of the model to a partner W boson muon tau electron who has built another model, and I II III encourage students to think about Three Generations of Matter the advantages of both versions.
Quarks
Leptons
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SMASHING ATOMS
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
Accelerator Gluon Neutrino Quark Standard Model of particle physics
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of subatomic particles: Szilards model wasnt physical; it was mathematical. Imagine you are writing the cover sheet that he might have placed on the paper as he offered it to his doctoral adviser. Explain why you think the revolutionary approach should be considered instead of traditional models. Although student responses will vary, its important for students to emphasize that a mathematical model must be consistent with observations and be able to predict future phenomena.
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Linus Pauling didnt just know about chemistry; he understood chemicals. His understanding of bonding enabled leaps of progress in his field as well as in medicine and genetics.
Teaching Tips
Exploring crystals is a good anticipatory activity for this chapter. Students do not need a great deal of experience to visualize the internal structure of a crystal. For the activity below, use kosher salt and only small, labeled quantities of alum. Safety tip: Avoid mineral samples that could contain asbestos or heavy metals, and wash hands after handling. If snowflakes arent available for this activity (from the inside of a traditional freezer), pictures can suffice. When students reach the limits of their imaginations, introduce the x-ray diffraction concepts from Chapter 17. If your facilities permit, isolating a spiraled mass of students own DNA is relatively straightforward; directions can be found in many biology lab manuals.
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Show students the image provided here and describe how the angles of the hydrogens contribute to six-sided snowflakes. NASAs The Chemistry and Thermodynamics of Ice Cream activity (see For Further Investigation) provides a good resource and also explains the phenomena: The hydrogen atoms are attracted to each other and form hexagonal rings in all directions. As ice crystals or snowflakes grow, they expand by attaching new water molecules to each other. Looking at them with a hand lens or microscope tells us about how they join together. The angles are always the same so the designs always have six sides. Whether ice crystals or snowflakes, observing the shape under atomic microscopes reveals a shape that is always hexagonal.
Source: The Chemistry and Thermodynamics of Ice Cream, created for the Deep Impact Mission, A NASA Discovery Mission, by Maura RountreeBrown and Art Hammon. http://deepimpact.jpl. nasa.gov/educ/IceCream04.html.
Vocabulary
Ionic bond Covalent bond
Extended Reading
Pasachoff, N. E. 2004. Linus Pauling: Advancing science, advocating peace. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow.
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of crystal structure: One of the most famous x-ray diffraction photos was the one taken of the DNA molecule by Rosalind Franklin, pictured here. Today most people are familiar with the arrangement of the molecules in DNA. Can you explain the connection between the molecule and the image? What was Franklin seeing? In their written explanations, students should answer that Franklin saw the center of the spiraled helix. Students should also explain that the atoms reflected x-rays.
Source: Talking Glossary of Genetics, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health. www.genome.gov/Pages/ Hyperion/DIR/VIP/Glossary/Illustration/Images/ dna.gif.
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Energy Equals Mass Times the Square of the Speed of Light or E=mc 2
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TEACHER EDITION
Teaching Tip
Researchers tell us that unless students have time to examine the paradigms that they bring to class, it is almost impossible for them to learn new ideas and construct new understandings. That is certainly the case for the idea of conservation of matter and energy. Until this point, it may have been a phrase that students heard, read, or memorized. Before this text or any lesson, students need to re-examine what they already know.
Conservation Conundrum
Before students think about that equal sign in Einsteins equation, encourage them to reconsider the idea of conservation of mass and energy in normal chemical reactions. For the following activity, students will need a water bottle filled with 30 ml of water; an AlkaSeltzer tablet; and a small, round balloon. Alka-Seltzer is made of sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. In water, the tablets react to form sodium citrate. Students first must carefully mass each component and fill in the chart below.
Material Balloon Alka-Seltzer Bottle + water Total Mass in Grams
Then students stretch the mouth of the balloon a bit to make it more flexible. After that, students break the Alka-Seltzer tablet over a bit of paper and put the entire tablet into the water. Students immediately put the balloon over the bottle, watch the reaction, and then feel the bottle. After students put the balloon over the bottle and watch the reaction, ask them the following questions (answers in bold). 1. Does the bottle get warmer or cooler? Why? Cooler. The reaction is endothermic.
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Energy Eq uals Mass Times the Sq uare of the Speed of Light or E =mc 2
TEACHER EDITION
When the reaction is done, students estimate how much volume has been added using the formula for the volume of a sphere: V=4/3r3. (Answers will vary depending on the size of the balloon.) Students then mass the total. 2. How close is the mass to the original? Very slight differences can result from the escape of gas through the walls of the balloon. 3. Has energy gone in or come out of the system? Gone in 4. Where did that energy come from? From air, hands, or table
Vocabulary
Conservation of energy Conservation of mass
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of nuclear energy: Einstein wondered why the energy contained in every gram of material went unnoticed for so long. Many natural phenomena are misunderstood, and people tend to believe old wives tales or assumptions without really examining them. Think of something you know about science that many people dont believe or understand. Think of a short YouTube video that you could make to explain it to an uninformed person. In their examples, students should include a specific misunderstanding and a specific observation that could be used to illustrate a concept. Many times, these observations take the form of discrepant events.
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Intro.path to war can be traced around the world and The through almost every walk of life.
TEACHER EDITION
Teaching Tip
This is the ideal chapter for interdisciplinary teams. Below youll find two different methods for both organizing and reviewing content.
Answer key: Axis powers Allied forces Allied forces that joined after Pearl Harbor neutral countries
Vocabulary
Digital computer
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of World War II, especially its catalysts: Draw a fishbone diagram (you may use the example as a guide) to show the events that led to the war.
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T h e F i s s ion V is ion
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. Leo Szilard was the contrarian, constantly posing questions that seemed unanswerable. Enrico Fermi was the hard worker, spending endless hours resolving his students questions. As Adolf Hitler built support for his Nazi agenda, these scientists built on the work of Frdric and Irne Joliot-Curie, Lise Meitner (who was also fighting gender bias in the scientific world), and others. Ultimately, the physicists found a self-sustaining process of nuclear fission that would change the world.
Teaching Tips
Although they may have heard the term many times, students often have difficulty conceptualizing the process of nuclear fission. The kinesthetic simulation below, as well as the two suggested applets, are worthwhile activities for clarifying the process of nuclear fission. Ask students to respond to what they model and observe in discussions and journal entries. Another point of confusion is the source of fission energythe nucleus rather than the electron shells. Remind students that before fission became a reality, even physicists were skeptical that bombarding a nucleus with neutrons could create significant energy. Labeled drawings can help clarify this concept.
Fission Simulation
Students can model nuclear fission in an open space. In the following simulation, students represent uranium atoms, either U-235 (which is fissile) or U-238 (which is nonfissile), while the teacher represents the neutron. Students draw roles at random, based on predetermined ratios. For the first simulation, 25% of students should draw fissile. Once roles have been assigned, students stand in a matrix formation, leaving 1 m between one another. (Discuss this arrangement with students as they move to their positions: The rigid structure may remind them of atoms in a crystal.) Make sure students understand the directions for their roles. The neutron (teacher) walks into the formation in a straight line and touches the first atom (student) he or she encounters. If the atom is nonfissile, nothing happens. The neutron continues on the same straight path and touches another atom at random. When a fissile atom is touched, that student silently counts, One tomato, two tomato, three tomato, then shouts, Bang, and quickly (but gently) tags all the other students within arms reach. If one of the atoms touched is nonfissile, it remains still, but if it is fissile, it repeats the count and then tags surrounding atoms. Capture and play back the simulation via audio or video recorder. The class can count the number of bangs that occur until the process stops. In the second round, students draw new roles. This time designate 50% of them fissile; in the third round designate 75% fissile. Students should track the number of generations of reactions (bangs) for each percentage of fissile atoms using the chart on page 60:
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% Fissionable 25 50 75
# of Generations of Reactions
While discussing the data, students can compare the various ratios they have modeled and answer the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What percentage of fissile atoms produced the longest/strongest chain reaction? 75% 2. Why? The chain reaction is longer because the likelihood of finding a fissile atom is higher. You may also want to extend the discussion to incorporate current events. News stories often cite the role of governments in enriching uranium. Lead your class into a discussion of the high ratio of fissile to nonfissile isotopes necessary for the chain reaction to be perpetuated. 3. On the news you often hear the term enriched uranium. Why do scientists enrich uranium before fission can occur? The higher the percentage of fissionable material, the stronger the reaction. Encourage students to look carefully at the diagram on page 217 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension. Note that when the first neutron hits the uranium-235, two neutrons are released in addition to the original one. In the next reaction, potentially nine neutrons are released. Have students complete the table showing the reaction number and number of free neutrons (see p. 61) and answer the following questions: 4. How many reactions are required to release at least 1 million free neutrons? 13 5. Graph the number of free neutrons in each reaction. What is the shape? The result is a curve in the shape of a J. 6. If each reaction takes about 107 second, how long will this process take? 13 107 seconds 7. In fission reactors, rods are sometimes used to slow reactions. If a rod absorbed one of every three released neutrons, how would the shape of the graph change? It would slope later but have the same J shape.
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Reaction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
# Free Neutrons 3
> 1 million
Vocabulary
Fission Fusion
Extended Reading
Sullivan, E. 2007. The ultimate weapon. New York: Holiday House.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of nuclear fission:
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Physicists love to do rough, back of the napkin estimates. These are often called Fermi Questions after Enrico Fermi. Heres a Fermi Question for you: Look at the chart below. It shows the energy needed to get from Earth to the dwarf planet Pluto, at the edge of our solar system, if we were to harness the energy of a fission reaction. Compare that to the energy available in gasoline. If we could somehow create a gasoline-powered rocket, how much fuel would we need to get to Pluto? How much mass would that represent? Answers are in bold.
Mass (g) per Molecule or Reaction 4 x 10-23 1.9 x 10-22 Energy Released per Molecule/ Reaction (eV) 2 x 107 66 # of Reactants/ Reactions Needed to Get to Pluto 3.5 x 1024 1.2 1031
Source: Adapted from NOVA, A Trip to Pluto. www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/3213_einstein_05.html, where complete answers, explanations, and extensions can be found.
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Presidential Power
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. At Princeton, Einstein found security, friends, and inspiration. He also became an inspiration for many who considered him the universitys resident genius. But in many ways he was still the young man imagining a ride on a light beam. Everything fascinated him.
Teaching Tips
This is a long chapter in which social relationships are interwoven with vital scientific ideas. Encourage students to find the key science ideas, while at the same time discussing the ways in which scientists interact. As students grapple with the heavy significance of heavy water, do not hesitate to take a side trip to explore how the yo-yo works. Einstein did. The Evaluation section implies that a good scientist must be able to communicate his or her ideas. But there is an opposing view. Once, when asked by a reporter to explain his ideas in simple terms, Richard Feynman said that if he could, it would not have merited the Nobel Prize! Students might argue that scientists must be able to communicate, but many find it difficult.
Fermi
Teller
Szilard
Fission
Oppenheimer
Feynman
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Presidential Power
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
Deuterium Heavy water
Extended Reading
How Yo-Yos Work www.howstuffworks.com/yo-yo.htm
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the role of curiosity in scientific study: What are the key characteristics of a scientist? One trait is curiosity. Einstein wondered about light, the universe, and yo-yos. Study a yo-yo or go to the Yo-Yo Animation website above to complete the activity. Put the loop on your finger. Why does the yo-yo move down? Predict how far the yo-yo will move back up the string. Then let the yo-yo fall without moving your hand. Was your prediction correct? Repeat the motion. Does the yo-yo move the same amount up the string each time? Write a paragraph explaining the motion of a yo-yo. (Use velocity and momentum in your explanation if you can.) Illustrate your paragraph with a picture. In their paragraphs and illustrations, students should reflect an understanding that gravity and elasticity are opposing forces in the operation of the yo-yo.
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M a n h at tan o n a Me s a
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. warned the world to be ready, while Bohr was spirited Szilard from Scandinavia to England. Across the ocean, the worlds best scientists struggled to make amazing progress in record time. Isolated in New Mexico, great minds worked together to create a massive weapon...hoping that devastating destruction would ultimately achieve peace.
Teaching Tips
The story of the Manhattan Project can work on at least three levels for students. The basic progress of the nuclear science and control of fission continues. However, there is also the story of how scientists of different backgrounds, talents, and methods interacted and how they handled ethical and political issues. The role-play in the activity below can emphasize any of these levels, depending on students maturity and the time you wish to allocate to research. It is important to show students the human side of these scientists. For example, Oppenheimer was interested in ancient language, Teller in music, and Feynman in magic tricks. The movie Fat Man and Little Boy is an outstanding reenactment of the personal and psychological dynamics of the Manhattan Project (this movie is good for older students). If you show the movie, emphasize one sentence at the start of it: You have all these great minds dancing to different tunes The movie also highlights the ongoing argument between Robert Oppenheimer and General Groves about the value of free and open discussion, as well as the significant political discussion about whether a demonstration of the bomb should be made on an uninhabited Japanese island rather than in the city of Hiroshima. (There were only two bombs.) Note: One mature scene with sexual overtones makes this movie PG-13. The study of this area of history can be extended and enriched with classic literature. For example, students can read and interpret parts of R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robots) by Karel apek, a play written about how robotic entities caused great destruction for humans. After students read the play, ask the following questions: 1. Who were these robots and what did they have to say to the world during the 1920s? 2. How do the philosophies and actions of the robots mirror and compare to the scientists at work on the Manhattan Project?
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For example, suppose Oppenheimer (expert in Sanskrit) had told his colleagues: The founder of the Vaisheshik Darshan school of Hindu philosophy was Acharya Kanad. He described atoms in the 9th century BC. He classified all objects in creation into nine elementsearth, water, light, wind, ether, time, space, mind, and souland said: Every object of creation is made of atoms, which in turn connect with each other to form molecules. How would the other scientists respond to Oppenheimers statement? Students create a short, imaginary conversation among the Los Alamos scientists to illustrate how the scientists approaches might have differed.
Extended Reading
Capek, K. 1921/2004. R.U.R. (Rossums universal robots). Repr., translated by Claudia Novack-Jones, New York: Penguin.
Video Value
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, and John Cusack. 1989. Fat Man and Little Boy. DVD. Directed by Roland Joff. Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the importance of scientific study: Below is an excerpt from a poem that Richard Feynman wrote as part of his The Value of Science address to the autumn meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, in 1955: Deep in the sea All molecules repeat The patterns of another Till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves And a new dance starts. Growing in size and complexity Living things Masses of atoms DNA, protein Dancing a pattern ever more intricate Out of the cradle Onto dry land Here it is
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Standing Atoms with consciousness Matter with curiosity. Stands at the sea, wondering: I A universe of atoms An atom in the universe. Write your own poem about humans from the perspective of quantum physics. In their poems students should include at least one accurate science fact and creative observations regarding the consequence of that fact.
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For both Einstein and Feynman, the universe was an interconnected place, where nothing was really separate from anything else. But there are aspects of quantum theory that dont work in a relativistic world. Quantum electrodynamics marries quantum theory with electrodynamics and relativity.
Teaching Tips
The principles of quantum electrodynamics challenge graduate students and are elusive to anyone below that level. But your students can learn a lot about how particle physics works from debating ideas about how light and matter interact, or how the time and space paths of subatomic particles relate to their functions. You can draw parallels between the 1948 Copenhagen conference (at which Feynman was one of the youngest participants) and the 1911 Solvay Conference (at which Einstein was the youngest presenter). Students will enjoy discussing the relationship between younger and older students of any field.
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8. How many quarks are there? What are their names? There are six kinds of quarks: up, down, strange, charm, top, bottom. 9. Do quarks pair up? How? For each quark there is an antiquark; when they meet, they annihilate one another. 10. What is meant by color charge? Color charge really has nothing to do with color. It is a way that physicists describe the kind of a quark or gluon and how it behaves.
Vocabulary
Electrodynamics Fundamental particle Quantum mechanics
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the types and variety of skills that may be valuable in science: Write a Want Ad for a job for a particle physicist. List the qualifications, the rewards, and the challenges. Although answers will vary, students should realize that a high level of education (including strong preparation in mathematics and physics) would be required, as well as the abilities to be organized and to work well with teams. The job requires great patience and accuracy, and the salary will be lower than that of other professions requiring similar levels of education, such as a doctor, lawyer, and engineer.
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Th o s e R e l ative s : G a lil e o a n d A lb e rt
TEACHER EDITION
Galileo understood the basics of relativity; he realized that perspectives could be different depending on your position and your movement. Einstein took Galileos ideas one giant leap forward.
Teaching Tips
The next three chapters challenge student preconceptions with selected applications of special relativity. Therefore, this is a great time to repeat basic concepts, reinforcing them with the website listed on page 71 under Online Learning Tools. As an alternative to the frame of reference activity below, try playing a simple melody on a piano transposed in two or three different keys. Ask students, What is the same? What is different? As an example, students may find that no matter what the key, the ratio between the third and fourth step in a scale is always half of the ratio between the fourth and fifth. A scale is relative.
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Vocabulary
Speed Velocity Acceleration
Extended Reading
Ancestors of E=mc2 www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/ancestors.html Relativity Tutorial http://aether.lbl.gov/www/classes/p139/RelativityTutorial.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of frame of reference: Witnesses to a crime often have totally different views of what occurred. Imagine you are a prosecutor and explain to a jury how frame of reference matters. In their explanations, students should include an example of how two different observers might have two different perspectives.
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Einstein admitted that he stood on the shoulders of giants like Newton, but he wasnt afraid to challenge Newtons most basic assumptions. Newton wrote about an absolute space that was immovable. In Einsteins world, everything moved.
Teaching Tip
Ask students to think of a time when they were very bored and minutes seemed to tick by slowly. Then ask students to think of another example when time seemed to pass quickly. Ask students: What was the difference in the two events? Can the circumstance make time seem relative? This activity will help students open their minds to the idea of relativity.
Flash! Bang!
On Earth, light is almost instantaneous. Most students will know about the scout trick of watching for a flash of lightning and then counting the seconds until a crack of thunder is heard. Sound travels at an average of 1,125 ft./sec., though the actual speed depends on temperature, humidity, and other factors. The distance to the storm cloud can be determined by multiplying the delay (in seconds) by 1,125. Make the same experiment more precise by having students use two computer-interfaced probes, one for light and one for sound. After experimenting with the computer-interfaced probes, discuss whether light moves instantaneously and ask students the following questions (answers in bold). 1. Why does this method work? Because the speed of sound is significantly lower than the speed of light, which seems to us to be almost instantaneous 2. Does light move instantaneously? No, it is simply faster than we can count or measure without specialized tools. 3. How does the medium affect its speed? The speed is different in different media. 4. How does the medium affect its wavelength? Change in speed is different for different wavelengths, so a mixture of colors (white light) is separated as it moves from air to water, crystal, or oil. 5. Can you think of simple examples that illustrate this? Spectra in prisms, oil slicks, rainbows
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Vocabulary
Gravitation Speed of light Speed of sound Thought experiment
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of rotation, revolution, and galactic movements: Its a common insult to say, You think the world revolves around you! But, in fact, nearly everyone in Newtons time believed Earth was the center of the universe. Imagine you are debating an Aristotelian traditionalist in Newtons time. Explain all the ways in which you are moving every second of every day. (Review Hold on to Your Hat on p. 29 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.) Although answers will vary, students should demonstrate understanding of the revolution of Earth, the orbit of the planet around the Sun, the movement of the solar system in the Milky Way, and the movement of the galaxy in the universe.
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A n E v en t ? To a P h y s ic is t It s N ot a Pa rt y
TEACHER EDITION
To a physicist, an event is an occurrence at a single point in space and time. With this understanding, students can reexamine the events studied by particle physicists in accelerators such as Fermilab.
Teaching Tips
The exercise below on map projections is an analogy for non-Euclidean geometrical projections. The analogy is not exact, but it is a good, concrete example from which students can extend discussions. As students compare the distortions involved in virtually all flat representations of a round globe, they should think about the compromises that models must make. In the student materials for Chapter 43, students will be asked why the universe is represented as an oval. The answer is that it seems to represent the least distortion. But in Chapter 44, students will discover that the newest data support a flat universe. Remind students that for scientists from many different countrieslike those in the Manhattan Projectthe only common language was mathematics. New mathematics must precede new ideas. Do not assume that because students have completed several thought experiments in previous chapters, their preconceptions have disappeared. The exercise below in nonEuclidean mathematics is a way to emphasize that math is a tool of science.
600 400 200 00 200 400 600 1800 1500 1200 900 600 300 00 300 600 900 1200
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Ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. Which is closest to the actual proportions of a (round) globe? While the HammerAitoff projection is better, neither is accurate. 2. How does the shape of the surface affect the accuracy of a map? (Students may realize that accuracy isnt a very valuable term, since each map has different values.) Only a globe is accurate. 3. Is there one single correct way to draw a spherical Earth on a flat piece of paper? No. 4. Imagine that two airplanes want to fly parallel courses along different lines of latitude from east to west on Earth. Would they fly straight lines? No. The shortest distance is often different, and may loop northward. 5. How could non-Euclidean geometry like that described on page 283 help us analyze such maps? Since the surface is not flat, the lines may not be parallel in the traditional sense.
Vocabulary
Euclidean Geometry Non-Euclidean
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the various perspectives that can be shown by maps: Write an advertisement for three kinds of maps, two flat projections and a globe. Describe why each is good for a specific purpose. In their advertisements, students should promote the advantages and address the distortions inherent in each different type of map.
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As the text returns to young Einstein, who struggled to support his family by working in the patent office, the reader returns to imagining spacetime.
Teaching Tips
Ask students to use language carefully as they discuss and draw the thought experiment below. What do they mean by moving? By two events being simultaneous? Students will return to a similar thought experiment as an assessment in the next chapter. Encourage students to read about NASAs current research, which only partially verifies Einsteins theories, at http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/topics.
Vocabulary
Dimension Simultaneity Spacetime
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timely dimensions
TEACHER EDITION
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for exploring what aspects of scientific study best capture the attention of other scientists: A very important part of scientific work is attending conferences and meetings. Imagine the program of the Solvay Conference of 1911. Einstein was the youngest participant, but he was selected to give the grand finale speech. Write what might have been in the program describing what the older scientists were about to hear. Answers will vary. However, students should realize that by 1911 Einsteins ideas were intensely interesting to, if not fully accepted by, other scientists. He fascinated others in the scientific community.
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A Ma n in a R e d H at
TEACHER EDITION
To understand motion, Einstein abandoned his understanding of measurements. Neither size nor mass was constantonly time. In his mind, Einstein rode a train, then a rocket. He found that the rocket on which his mind rode got shorter and more massive as it accelerated.
Teaching Tip
The Evaluation section is a variation on the thought experiment that was introduced in the previous chapter. This time, instead of watching lightning, both the passenger on the train and the observer on the platform are juggling. Repeating the scenario helps assess student comprehension.
Tracking Acceleration
For this activity, students are urged to think like the scientists who built a linear accelerator in the 1930s, scientists who attempted to find and measure the tiniest particles in the universe. A tiny particle is made to go faster and faster by electromagnetic forces accelerated almost to the speed of light. Students draw and explain what happens to that particle (answers in bold).
As the particle accelerates it gets more massive. Ask students, Why is Einsteins theory absolutely necessary for these scientists? The original particle is so small that instruments would have difficulty tracking it, but under relativistic rules it becomes more massive.
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Extended Reading
A Pop Quiz for Einstein http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast24may_1m.htm Einsteins Big Idea: Einstein Quotes www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/wisdom.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of spacetime: Remember the train in Einsteins thought experiment? Now, instead of watching lightning, both the passenger on the train and the observer on the platform are juggling. Explain the movement of the balls. One student answer might be, To the passengers, the balls move up and down; to the observers on the platform, the balls move backward as the train moves forward.
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The paradox of the twins is probably Einsteins most famousand least understoodthought experiment.
Teaching Tips
Students can research the twin paradox on their own because it is well known and understandable; many internet sources provide descriptions. Compare student explanations in the following Time Travelers activity to the diagrams of Einsteins rocket on page 294 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension to link and integrate content.
Time Travelers
For this activity, students tell the story of the twin paradox as Einstein might have told it. Students write captions for each panel. Remind students to comment on the clock.
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Vocabulary
Inertia Paradox
Extended Reading
The Twin Paradox: Is the Symmetry of Time Dilation Paradoxical? www.phys.unsw.edu.au/einsteinlight/jw/module4_twin_paradox.htm Time Is of the Essence in Special Relativity. www.science.doe.gov/Sub/Newsroom/News_Releases/DOE-SC/2005/THE_TWIN PARADOX.htm Was Einstein Wrong About Space Travel? http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/22mar_telomeres.htm
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the twin paradox: Has Einsteins twin paradox been proved? Think about the experiments done at accelerators like Fermilab. (If youve forgotten them, review pp. 170 and 173 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension.) Write a letter to a skeptic explaining why you think Einsteins theories have been supported. Although answers might vary, students should note the importance of increased mass with increased speed.
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Re l ative Gr avit y
TEACHER EDITION
There are many myths about Isaac Newton. One involves that apple, which never did hit him on the head. Einstein thought that Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation may have been a bit mythical as well.
Teaching Tips
Before students think about gravitation and how it supports Einsteins vision of spacetime, they need to review what they already know about gravity. Before watching the video of toys in space (see Online Learning Tools, p. 83), allow students to play with toys that are similar to what were sent into space and then hypothesize about what happens to the toys in space. Carefully distinguish between microgravity and weightlessness, which doesnt exist for all practical purposes. The resources below list NSTAs Science Objects on traditional (Newtonian) mechanics to help students review these concepts.
Toys in Space
Gravitation is a law that is consistent throughout the universe. Thats why its so interesting to study gravitation on Earth. Students begin this activity by becoming familiar with how the following toys work in normal (Earth) gravity.
Inertia
Cars Motion
Gravity
Next, students write a hypothesis about how the toys would work in microgravitynot zero gravity, but the much lower gravity of the space shuttle. Although hypotheses will vary, students should realize that gravity will be far less. For a ball-in-cup toy, the ball will not fall into the cup; for a race car on
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relative gravity
TEACHER EDITION
a track, there will be very little friction of tires on the track. Then students watch the videos on the NASA websites listed below to learn more about how the toys work in microgravity. For each toy, students should compare their hypothesis to their observations. Answers may vary, but students should have a clear hypothesis related to the role of gravitation on the function of the toy. For example, to catch a ball the player must be able to predict its fall. It wouldnt fall in microgravity. The friction of tires (which is dependent on gravity) keeps tires on the track pictured on page 82. If the car was in microgravity, the cars inertia would send it off the track.
Vocabulary
Microgravity
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenarios as tools for assessing students understanding of gravitation: Einstein used the image of a free-falling elevator as a thought experiment. (Dont worry, modern elevators dont free-fall.) Write a few paragraphs of a horror story, describing a person falling in an old-fashioned elevator. In their answers, students should point out that an old-fashioned elevator would not have the safety features of a modern conveyance. Therefore, the passenger and the carriage would fall at the same rate. Or pretend you are a guidance counselor. You have a student who doesnt want to take academic courses like math or physics, because he or she wants to be a NASCAR driver. Convince the student that you need physics to drive a race car. In their answers, students should mention concepts such as friction, acceleration, and dynamics.
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Wa r p s in Spac e t ime
TEACHER EDITION
Einstein imagined local areas in which laws like inertia ruled as patches in a universal quilt, stitched to a background that acted like a rubber sheet. He challenged the rest of the world to imagine it too.
Teaching Tips
When doing the following activity, remind students again of the values and limitations of modeling. Make sure that the piece of rubber for this activity is quite flexible. It can also be used in an activity for Chapter 40 if it is not transparent.
Warped Images
For this activity, students build a model of how mass can warp spacetime. Students take a very pliable piece of rubber and mark parallel lines on it when it is flat. Then students place massive objects (stones or large ball bearings to modify the model) on the rubber. (Cling wrap may be used in lieu of rubber.) For an example of what the model should look like, students may want to refer to the image on p. 313 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.
Source: NASA/HONEYWELL MAX-Q DIGITAL GROUP/DANA BERRY, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/spacesci/structure/spinningbh/spinninghpix. htm.
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warps in spacetime
TEACHER EDITION
After students make the model, ask them the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What does the rubber represent? Spacetime 2. What does the stone or ball bearing represent? A great massstar or planetor singularity 3. How does the nature of parallel change? In a classical universe, parallel lines never meet. But thats not true in non-Euclidean geometry. 4. How does the heavy object move when the rubber is flat on a table? An object at rest remains at rest; an object in motion remains in motion. 5. What law of traditional physics would this represent? Inertia 6. How does the model change in Einsteins universe, when space is allowed to flex? Mass curves spacetime 7. What modification of the laws of physics does this represent? Relativity
Vocabulary
Eclipse
Extended Reading
Delano, M. F. 2005. Genius: A photobiography of Albert Einstein. Washington, DC: National Geographic. 1919 Eclipse and General Relativity www.simonsingh.net/1919_Eclipse.html Einsteins Big Idea www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein
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Warps in Spacetime
TEACHER EDITION
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the relationship between light and gravitation: To demonstrate his ideas, Einstein predicted the bending of light in an eclipse in 1919. His predictions were not exactly correct, but once he realized his error, a new understanding of his theories resulted. Describe a mistake youve made that resulted in better understanding. In their descriptions, each student should describe a specific mistake, use scientific language to explain why it was a mistake, and explain the improved understanding he or she achieved as a result.
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D o e s it C h a n ge ? O r Is It Changeless?
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. we see is what we getnot only on Earth, but in the What universe. Our ability to predict what will happen at incredible distances begins right here at home.
Teaching Tips
This chapter provides another familiar example of gravity, which helps reinforce the concept for students. In a literal and figurative sense, it is worthwhile to spiral the curriculum and the concepts. You can use the NSTA Science Objects listed below to review with students traditional Newtonian mechanics at any point in the course.
Relying on Physics
In the familiar patch of the universe that we inhabit, we rely on the constant laws of physics. To illustrate this, take your class outside to the playground and tell students to swing as high as they can (while taking safety precautions). When you return to the classroom, ask students to formulate and diagram explanations for why they dont fall off the swing. In their explanations, students should use force arrows to show inertia, centripetal force, and gravity. Students can also explore the physics of a roller coaster by watching a video of a roller coaster or using the interactive website Amusement Park Physics: Roller Coaster (see Online Learning Tools, p. 88). Again, have students carefully describe the laws of physics that keep them from falling out of the roller coaster. Students should once again use force arrows to show inertia, centripetal force, and gravity. Students can also think about a roller coaster on Saturns moon Titan. Ask students: How would the roller coaster act? How do you know? (Answer in bold.) Mass and inertia remain the same, but gravitation changes due to the mass of the Moon.
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Ask students to review Archytass speculations on the infinity of the universe (Hakim 2007, p. 323), and then pose these questions: How advanced was Archytas? What did his spear demonstrate?
Vocabulary
Infinite
Extended Reading
Archytas of Tarentum www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Archytas.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of how the laws of physics can be used to interpret our observations: Some shapes have edges; some dont. Some are real; some are imaginary. Look at this one carefully. Can it exist? Why or why not?
Students should answer that a Mobius strip is an optical illusion and cannot exist.
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Ex pa n d in g Time s
TEACHER EDITION
Intro. astronomer Willem de Sitter and Belgian Priest Dutch Georges Lematre began to speculate about, and offer mathematical evidence of, an expanding universe. Einstein disagreed with their theories, and his efforts to disprove them even resulted in an antigravitational force hypothesis. However, in 1926 American astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that our Milky Way galaxy is just one of many galaxiesall of which are moving away from one another.
Teaching Tips
Begin this lesson by reviewing the Doppler effect (with real-world experiences or by going back to the suggested sources found in Chapter 9). If there is a train crossing near your school, have students listen (at a safe distance) to the train horn. If your classroom is equipped with appropriate safety equipment, it is possible to show students the various colors of very small (<0.5 g) samples of various salts (calcium chloride, copper chloride, potassium chloride, sodium chloride) in a Bunsen burner. Safety notes: Eye protection is needed; do not bring stock bottles near fire or flame.
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Expanding Times
TEACHER EDITION
Students then draw, color, and identify the wavelengths of the spectra of light on the form provided (p. 23 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension can be used as a reference).
Ask students the following questions: 4. What are the longest wavelengths? Red 5. The shortest? Violet 6. What is the meaning of the prefix infra in infrared? Below 7. What is the meaning of ultra in ultraviolet? Higher (frequency, rather than wavelength) 8. Think back to the familiar Doppler effect; what change occurs when a train passes? The wavelength of the trains sound gets longer as it moves away. 9. If the wavelengths of these colors get longer, toward what (visible) color do they move? The wavelengths are stretched, shifting to the red. 10. Look at page 127 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension. Imagine you are observing the spectrum of hydrogen from a star that is moving away. How would it change? The wavelengths would shift toward red.
Vocabulary
Cosmological constant Lambda Redshift
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expanding times
TEACHER EDITION
Intute: Redshift www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/spaceguide/redshift.html The Sun as a Star (NSTA Science Objects) http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/science_objects.aspx
Extended Reading
A Day Without Yesterday www.catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0022.html The Expanding Universe www.aip.org/history/cosmology/ideas/expanding.htm
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of redshift: Astrophysicists have two basic scientific methods, observation and inference. Its not enough just to see and measure the universe. They must also understand it, interpreting the data and making inferences. Look at the following chart and think about what aspects of theoretical cosmology the observations in the first column imply or prove.
Observations/Measurements The light emitted from almost all galaxies shows redshift. The farther away a galaxy is, the greater the redshift. For every kiloparsec of distance of a galaxy, the speed at which the galaxy is moving increases by 50 to 100 km/s. In the most empty areas of deep space, there is still some heat (temperature).
Source: Adapted from Ceres: The Expanding Universe, http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Universe/uni1.html.
Interpretations/Inferences
In their interpretations and inferences, students should demonstrate an understanding that radiation moves through empty space and that the wavelengths of radiation from objects moving away from our galaxy increase (redshift).
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An Ex pa n d in g U n iv er s e
TEACHER EDITION
Einstein could imagine a relativistic universe and Hubble could see it. This chapter melds theory and practice, joining together two completely different scientific methods.
Teaching Tips
The web search activity suggested in the Evaluation section (p. 93) can be used either as an assessment or an independent project. Tell students to focus on websites that end in .gov, which will eliminate some of the spurious sources. For a kinesthetic model, borrow a pitching machine and place it on a rolling cart. Set the speed of the pitches, and ask a student who is a good catcher (in appropriate protective gear) to catch the balls. Then move the machine slowly away from the catcher. Ask students: How does the reaction time change? What happens as the pitcher moves slowly away? Refer to the Long = Red, Short = Blue sidebar on page 335 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension for further explanation of this activity.
Source: Dr. Nicholas Shorts Remote Sensing Tutorial, Section 20: Astronomy and Cosmology: The Description, Origin, and Development of the Universe, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect20/A1a.html.
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an expanding universe
TEACHER EDITION
Galaxies
Students should explain that the redshift and other evidence suggests an expanding universe; all galaxies are moving away from each other.
Vocabulary
Galaxy Universe
Extended Reading
NASA Science: Astrophysics http://science.hq.nasa.gov/universe/science/expanding.html The Hubble Space Telescope http://hubble.nasa.gov
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the expanding universe: Using a search engine such as Google, look for images that illustrate an expanding universe using public domain sources (primarily websites that end in .gov). Create a PowerPoint presentation of five slides that demonstrate the concept. In their PowerPoint presentations, students should include examples of galactic objects that vary in their distance from Earth.
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A Lu m in o us I n d i an
TEACHER EDITION
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar described the aging of seemingly ageless bodies. He applied quantum mechanics to observations and developed a new understanding of what is inside a star.
Teaching Tip
Most solar system models that students build are inaccurate, because when students achieve a realistic scale for the planets, they cant achieve a realistic scale for the distance between the planets (their model wouldnt fit in the classroom). That scale problem is true of the galaxy project below, as well. The disk of the Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years in diameter and about 1,000 light-years thick. If the Milky Way were reduced to the size of a basketball, the next galaxy would be about 50 m away.
Sky Art
Using the images at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/educators/teachers_star_images.shtml or any other images from NASAs web sources, students create a mobile of galaxies. Before they begin, students determine a standard scale that everyone in the class will use for the actual galaxies. When the mobiles are done, students use the same scale to estimate how far apart the galaxies would actually have to be to represent their true distance from one another in the universe. Finally, students write an explanation of their scales and a disclaimer for the parts of the model (scale between galaxies and movement) that they cannot achieve in the classroom. One example: Earths orbit is about 3 105 km in diameter; the distance to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is about 4.2 1013 km, or more than 10,000,000 times as far.
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a luminous indian
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
Neutron star Red giant White dwarf
Extended Reading
Imagine the Universe http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html Measuring a White Dwarf Star www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_468.html Universe Resource Reel http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/UniversePromo
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of data sampling and relative size of the galaxy: In Chapter 48 youll speculate whether there is life on other planets around other stars. Before you get there, take a survey of people by asking, Do you believe there is life on other planets? When you analyze this data, divide the respondents by age and by how much background they have in astronomy. As a class, create a question or two for determining whether people have a realistic idea of how far away stars are. Keep track of all answers for each respondent. In their data reporting, students should include appropriate analysis, including averages for each subgroup that they have surveyed.
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Ex p lo sive ? A n d H ow !
TEACHER EDITION
Students may have noted the name Arthur Eddington below the image of the 1919 eclipse in the materials for Chapter 35. In Chapter 40, Eddingtons observations become part of an explosive debate among astronomers.
Teaching Tips
Students may have already used images of neutron stars or other astronomical phenomena during the web-search or mobile-building activities in the previous two chapters. If not, they should now conduct some internet research on stars. Then, after students have read Chapter 40 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension, ask them to refer back to their research material to find information on the new phenomena, neutron stars and supernovas, they have just read about. When discussing redshift, remind students that the change in frequency is apparent because the observer and the source are moving away from one another. Return to Einsteins thought experiment of the juggler on the train for a more easily understood example. Chandrasekhars contributions provide another opportunity for classes to review the international nature of science. In previous chapters there have been references to littleknown contributions from Mesoamerica, China, and other areas that are seldom covered in textbooks. The quote on ancient Hindu ideas of atomic research used for the role-play in Chapter 26 might begin a discussion of Indian science. If students are interested in learning about international contributions to science, take time to allow independent research. A web search of the nationalities of Nobel Prize winners is also valuable.
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Source: Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. www. universe.nasa.gov/gravity/research.html.
5. Tell students to stretch the rubber. What does the stretching represent? Redshift 6. How do the colors change? All wavelengths extend. 7. Ask students to imagine they are observing the light from a luminous body that is being drawn into a black hole. What effects do you expect to see? Because the luminous body has mass, it accelerates as it nears the black hole, and the light it emits will apparently redshift.
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Vocabulary
Pulsar Quasar Supernova
Extended Reading
Bankston, J. 2005. Stephen Hawking: Breaking the boundaries of time and space. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow. Hawking, S., and L. Mlodinow. 2005. A briefer history of time. New York: Bantam Books. Star Life Cycle http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/starlife_main.html The Life Cycles of Stars http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lifecycles/LC_main_p1.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the life cycle of a star: William Blakes The Tygerwhich begins, Tyger, tyger, burning bright/In the forests of the nightoffers a literary perspective on a natural phenomenon. Read his poem, and use it as inspiration for a poem of your own that describes another natural phenomenon, the explosive life cycle of a star. Record your verses on a podcast. In their poems, students should include a specific physical phenomenon and some evidence of their own creativity.
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S in g u lar B lac k H ol e s
TEACHER EDITION
The death of a star can be slow or violent, and throughout the 20th century, Robert Oppenheimer, Hartland Snyder, and John Archibald Wheeler made strides toward understanding the role a violent star death plays in the creation of a phenomenon we now know as black holes. However, it is not until late in the century that Stephen Hawking, whose mind seems to have been sharpened by his bodys struggle with Lou Gehrigs disease (ALS), proposes the theory of black holes as dynamos that can radiate energy.
Teaching Tip
An expanded version of the activity below is available from NASA at http://heasarc.gsfc. nasa.gov/docs/xte/outreach/HEG/bhm/black_hole_mass.html.
Source: High Energy Groove X-ray Binary, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/ outreach/HEG/bhm/black_hole_mass.html.
Students begin by tracing the circumference of the rim of the plastic cup on the center of each of the plates. Next, students cut out the circles theyve drawn and make a small hole in the bottom of the cup with a screw. Students pile the four plates on top of one another and put the cup (rim up) in the holes theyve created. (If the plates dont fit tightly, they can use a bit of masking tape to make a tight fit.) Next, students lightly draw a spiral from the edge of the cup to the rim of the plates. Then, they place the screw eyes in the plates following the spiral line and use masking tape to cover the points of the screws where they come through. They thread the yarn through the screw eyes (outside first), around the spiral, and end in the hole in the bottom of the cup. Make sure students leave the ball attached. The ball represents a companion star and the cup represents a black hole. The string is the accretion disk. The bottom of the cup is the event horizon. Tell students to slowly pull the yarn through the bottom of the cup.
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Ask students the following questions (answers in bold): 1. What happens to the mass of the companion star over time? It is converted to energy as it enters the black hole. Allow students time to explore with the model. 2. How is the model like a black hole? The mass of the companion star is reduced as it enters the black hole. 3. What part might represent the singularity? The bottom of the cup
Vocabulary
Black hole Singularity
Extended Reading
Bankston, J. 2005. Stephen Hawking: Breaking the boundaries of time and space. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the warping of spacetime:
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How is the illustration in the previous chapter (or the one on p. 357 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension) like the model you just made? How is it different? You may wish to consult the image from Chapter 40 of your materials as a reference. In their answers, students will probably note the physical shape but not the relationship between time or redshift. There is no analogy for redshift or changes in light or energy in the model.
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Teaching Tips
Gr avit y Wave s ?
TEACHER EDITION
For most students, the interactions described on pages 378379 may be new and may contradict very firmly held preconceptions about atoms and molecules. Models, conversation, and explorations are necessary for students to construct new information. The gravitational tutorial on pages 380381 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension can be reviewed at any point in the second half of the course and is especially relevant to connect Chapter 35 to Chapter 42.
Interactions
For this activity, students list at least two examples of each interaction (answers in bold).
Interaction Strong Illustration Carried by mesons, holds the nucleus together Examples Holds quarks and gluons together Forms protons and neutrons Electromagnetism Carried by photons Light X-rays Weak Radioactivity and nuclear fusion Curves spacetime Beta decay Radioactivity Gravity Orbit of planets Event horizon in black holes
Vocabulary
Force Interaction Strong (Interaction) Electromagnetic (Interaction) Weak (Interaction) Gravity (Interaction)
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gravity waves?
TEACHER EDITION
Extended Reading
Historic Supernovae www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/HIGHLIGHT/2000/highlight0005_e.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of supernovas: There have been a number of supernovas mentioned throughout history. Pictured is part of a record from China in 14th century BC. Research the evidence that this was a supernova. Without using information that would have been out of time or place, write a news article that describes what the discovery of a supernova might mean. In their news articles, students should include what people might have seen and how their observations might have been interpreted.
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History took on new meaning when physicists such as George Gamow began to describe the worlds beginning. Did it start with a whimperor a bang?
Teaching Tips
The models that students built for Chapter 20 should be reused in this chapter as visual aids. If students used plastic foam balls to illustrate subatomic particles, they may want to further subdivide them to illustrate baryons. Begin by reminding students of the experiment they did to support the very first chapter of this booktuning a radio. (If you still have the radio, bring it out again.) Compare the design of the Bell Labs experiments that are described in this chapter to that of the Michelson-Morley experiment on page 31 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension. Ask students to imagine the frustration of Penzias and Wilson at Bell Labs, tuning and tuning, and still finding background static. What could it mean? Finally, remind students of the various representations of the globe that they compared in the Chapter 30 activities. No single representation or model was accurate; all had advantages and disadvantages. Thats true of the representation of the universe in this section as well. The coloring exercise below encourages students to make very careful observations of the digitally produced map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Ask students to discuss the value of enhancing imaging with false digital coloration. Emphasize the sidebar on page 391 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension, which explains the theory of why dark matter is cold.
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Source: Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://wmap. gsfc.nasa.gov/media/030653/index.html.
Ask students to explain what the model tells us about the universe (answers in bold). 1. Why is the image an oval? It represents the least distortion of the data. Students will note in their research of the WMAP and BOOMERANG projects in the next chapter that the data imply a flat universe. 2. The average temperature of almost all of the universe is about 2.725K, but the operative word is about. What do the slight variations in temperature imply? The matter in the universe is not uniform. 3. Why is there an inverse relationship between temperature and density? In theory, dark matter is cold because the expansion of the universe cools it. Condensation, which releases energy, occurred so long ago that the energy it released has dissipated (see p. 391 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension). 4. What is the advantage of enhancing the data collected by instruments with false digital coloration? The coloration is not only a way to emphasize differences, but reflects the imposition of theory on the data. The physicists model is reflected in the coloration.
Vocabulary
Baryon Big bang Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of scientific methods, especially their use in attempts to refute null hypotheses: Einstein Adds a New Dimension includes many examples of experiments that didnt work the way they were intended but that provided amazing insights nevertheless. Recall the MichelsonMorley experiment. How was it similar to the work of Penzias and Wilson? How was it different? Although student answers will vary, in both cases the scientists collected data that defied current theory and forced scientists to rethink their assumptions.
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The big bang is an exciting and attractive theory. But it is still unproved. Todays scientists go beyond static to measure the siren songs of distant dark matter.
Teaching Tips
Reinforce the idea that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. Then help students understand that energy of positive and negative forms can be created in equal amounts because matter can be converted to energy, and vice versa, in nuclear reactions. You may wish to refer back to the discussion of quarks and antiquarks on page 174 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension as students grapple with this idea.
DMR
FIRAS
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BOOMERANG (Balloon Observations of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics [over the South Pole]) WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe)
Balloon
The most prevalent temperature uctuations were about three-quarters of a degree across, the value predicted for a at universe. This project was designed to determine the geometry, content, and evolution of the universe via a 13 arcminute resolution full-sky map of the temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. It veried observations of a at universe. This project conducted an all-sky survey at wavelengths ranging from 8 to 120 microns in four broadband photometric channels centered at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This project measured the amounts of water, molecular oxygen, carbon monoxide, and atomic carbon in interstellar clouds. This experiment was desisgned to investigate the anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation at 37 GHz.
Probe
Relikt Experiment
Vocabulary
Horizon distance Inflationary universe
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Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of how scientists must sometimes fight common wisdom: Paul Steinhardt and Joo Magueijo have produced alternative theories that may resolve some of the difficult contradictions in the big bang theory. Can you think of another scientist who boldly offered an unpopular variation of commonly accepted theory? How should such scientists be received by the establishment? Although student answers will vary, two good examples are Alfred Wegener and Charles Darwin.
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E n ta n g l e me n t ? Lo c a l it y? Ar e W e Ta l kin g Sc ie n ce ?
TEACHER EDITION
While moving from the classical universe to the quantum universe, even Einsteins imagination occasionally came up short. He never achieved unified field theory. Will we?
Teaching Tip
Use the animations on the websites listed on page 111 to illustrate the content of Chapter 45 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension.
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Vocabulary
String theory Unified field theory
Extended Reading
Quantum Teleportation www.research.ibm.com/quantuminfo/teleportation
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of information science: Develop a code that depends on the orientation of letters. Send a coded message to a friend, along with information on how to decipher the code. In their coded messages, students should create an organized system that can be understood and deciphered by another student.
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S u p er S ta r s
TEACHER EDITION
Dark energy is a concept that may answer unsolved questions and provide hints about the fate of the universe. But no one knows exactly what dark energy is or how much there is. Will the universe continue to expand or begin to contract?
Teaching Tips
Begin the lesson by asking students to look at the eight-layer model of a star on the student page. Ask them to speculate about which areas are hotter, where fusion is occurring, and how the star might change over its life cycle. If time permits, the Dark Energy website from NASA (see Extended Reading) gives specific directions for building a physical model of the core of a star from a ball bearing and clay. It is also possible to model the interaction between dark matter and dark energy kinesthetically, with three groups of students. Have one group of students stand in the center of a large, open, grassy space. They represent matter. A second group of students makes a large circle around them, representing the edge of the universe; each attaches him- or herself to a student in the center with yarn. The students in the center gently pull the others toward them. Meanwhile, a third group of students who represent dark energy and who are also attached to the students in group 2 with yarn, gently pushes outward on the edges. Ask students to analyze: Whats the balance?
Inside a Star
The following activity has been modified from an activity found online at http://imagine.gsfc. nasa.gov/docs/teachers/ lessons/xray_spectra/ activity-fusion.html. Hand out large index cards with elements written on them. You will need to make the
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Source: NASAs Imagine the Universe! Fusion Reactions, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lessons/xray_spectra/activity-fusion. html.
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super stars
TEACHER EDITION
following index cards in advance. If your class does not have a strong background in chemistry, limit the exercise to those isotopes and particles highlighted in bold. 4 hydrogen-1 (1H) 13 helium-4 (4He) 4 carbon-12 (12C) 1 magnesium-24 (24Mg) 4 oxygen-16 (16O) 1 sulphur-32 (32S) 1 neon-20 (20Ne), 1 silicon-28 (28Si) 2 nickel-56 (56Ni) 2 cobalt-56 (56Co) 2 iron-56 (56Fe) 2 iron-57 (57Fe) 2 iron-58 (58Fe) 1 iron-59 (59Fe) 3 neutrons (n) 4 positrons (e+) 2 neutrinos
At the front of the room, have a separate set of color-coded cards that indicate arrows and energy. Encourage students to use a periodic table and the internet to research how helium, carbon, magnesium, oxygen, sulphur, neon, nickel, cobalt, and four different isotopes of iron could be formed in the fusion reactions inside a star. Students should note that energy is released in the formation of helium, carbon, magnesium, oxygen, sulfur, neon, and nickel, but it is required to form cobalt and iron. Have students join with other students to form equations that might happen inside a star. When students have decided on the right combinations, have them display their equations in a visible area of the room and prepare to explain them. Students should come up with the following equations: 4 (1H) ------> 4He + 2 e+ + 2 neutrinos + energy 3 (4He) ------> 12C + energy 12 C + 12C ------> 24Mg + energy 12 C + 4He ------> 16O + energy 16 O + 16O ------> 32S + energy 16 O + 4He -----> 20Ne +energy 28 Si + 7(4He) ------> 56Ni + energy 56 Ni ------> 56Co + e+ 56 Co ------> 56Fe + e+ 56 Fe + n ------> 57Fe 57 Fe + n ------> 58Fe 58 Fe + n ------> 59Fe
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Super Stars
TEACHER EDITION
Finally, enlarge or project the diagram of a red giant star pictured here and ask students to review where in the star and at what point in a stars life cycle these reactions would occur. If a protostar has enough mass, fusion of hydrogen to helium begins. When the core of such a star eventually collapses, the temperature can increase enough to fuse helium into larger atoms. Virtually all of the reactions shown on page 113 occur in red giant stars. It is important to relate the diagram to the appropriate stage in the Life Cycle of a Massive Star (p. 94) to emphasize the differences in fusion in various stages.
Continue Visualizing
Remember the ongoing chart of radiation that students created at the beginning of this book? Ask students to add sources of radiation theyve discovered since then.
Radiation Visible light Ultraviolet Infrared Radio Microwaves Particles particles radiation X-rays Instrument Eyes UV-sensitive materials Thermometer IR goggles Any radio receiver Some cell tower communications Radiation meter, some lms Radiation meter, some lms Radiation meter, some lms Radiation meter, some lms What Stops It? Anything opaque Anything opaque, some chemicals with SPV ratings Insulators Very thick concrete walls Relatively thin walls of microwave ovens Paper Water Heavy shielding (concrete) Metal shielding (lead)
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super stars
TEACHER EDITION
Vocabulary
Dark energy Dark matter
Extended Reading
Dark Energy http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/mysteries_l1/dark_energy.html Rubber Band Invoked to Explain Dark Energy www.space.com/scienceastronomy/acceleron_darkenergy_040727.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the relationship between art and science: Read Robert Frosts poem Fire and Ice, which can be found online. Find images of objects from the farthest reaches of space from NASA to illustrate the poem. Use the Picasa program (free from Google) to coordinate an oral reading with your images. In their oral readings, students should include both scientific facts and creative interpretations.
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Information theory has wide applications in many areas of sciencein and out of physics.
Teaching Tip
Students today take the abilities of computerized devices for granted. Students have as much difficulty thinking about how computer chips work as most teachers have remembering how to use a slide rule. Begin the following activity with a review of how to count in binary, which students probably learned in elementary school.
AND OR
Next, tell them to conduct an Advanced Search. Ask students: Whats the difference between At least one of the words (or) and Both of the words (and)? Then ask students to find examples of 10 different astronomical objects in the sources that theyve studied. Have students develop four different examples of Boolean searches. Examples include Milky Way and Star, Rocky and Planet, or Planet or Asteroid. Partners can share examples.
Vocabulary
Information theory
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Extended Reading
Claude Shannon www.nyu.edu/pages/linguistics/courses/v610003/shan.html
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of information science: Much of an organisms DNA doesnt make much sense to biologists; it doesnt contain a genetic code. But information scientists (mostly electrical engineers) say the patterns are predictable. What else could the nonsense DNA be telling the cell? Imagine you are the head of a team of physicists investigating mysterious DNA. Write a memo to the human resources department of your institution and explain why the biologist should work in partnership with an information scientist. Students should answer that the extra DNA appears to be responsible for controls to determine which genes will be expressed. In their memos, students should demonstrate an understanding that there are different methods used by different scientific disciplines.
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Is A n yon e O u t T h er e ?
TEACHER EDITION
The idea of alien encounters is fascinating, but hard to reconcile with our understanding of the size and power of the quantum universe.
Teaching Tip
The remoteness of space will be hard to imagine for students who have grown up with images of aliens. This is a good chapter to challenge students. Ask them: How do you know aliens exist? What facts do you have to support your opinions?
The Search
In 1961, Cornell astronomer Frank Drake developed the Drake equation (p. 442 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension), which estimated the number of civilizations in our galaxy. Since that time, a number of Earthlike planets have been discovered. Ask students, Does that mean that intelligent life is much more likely? In Chapter 39, students designed a survey that measured whether people have realistic ideas of the vastness of space and whether people believe that humans will encounter intelligent life anywhere else in the universe. Students also recorded the age of their respondents. Now its time to disaggregate the data. First, students will have to determine parameters for dividing their respondents into those with good backgrounds and those without. This will, of course, be arbitrary but its a great discussion to have. Students will have to decide whether people who have good ideas about the size of the universe are more or less likely to believe in intelligent aliens. Theyll also have to see if age makes any difference. Ask students to develop a rubric to divide respondents into those who have a good sense of distance and those who dont. Here is a sample rubric:
Respondents Believe in life on other planets Age Over 30 Under 30 Dont think theres life on other planets Over 30 Under 30 Background Knowledge Good Poor Good Poor
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Extended Reading
What Is the Drake Equation? www.setileague.org/general/drake.htm
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding that the basic laws of physics apply throughout the universe; these laws might be used to communicate:
Look at the image pictured here. Its the message that was placed on the Voyager space probe many decades ago. Write an essay explaining what it says about us and the assumptions that we make about other life-forms. Then design your own plaque for a future space probe. In their plaques, students should include symbols that would be understood without human interpretation. Because we assume that the laws of physics are consistent throughout the universe, the images of atoms and solar systems in the plate should be understandable.
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What Rutherford, Cockcroft, and Walton begansmashing atomsrequired a great input of energy. Now scientists search for the self-sustaining process that will release energy and change the world.
Teaching Tips
Role-play activities are usually very interesting to students. The type of activity below allows students to take opposing views without risking their personal beliefs or reputations. Give each student a large note card with a role on one side, and allow them to prepare notes for their presentation on the other. Teachers sometimes have a difficult time grading these activities. Before you begin, consider developing a rubric like this one with the cooperation of the class:
Trait Preparation Communication Incorporating facts Consistency Never (0) Sometimes (1) Mostly (2) Always (3)
Social worker
Science teacher
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Other roles might include owners of companies that need rare metals, owners of telecommunications satellites, developers of drugs or other products that might be produced in space, oceanographers, climatologists, or small-business owners.
Evaluation
The student page includes the following scenario as a tool for assessing students understanding of the relationship between basic and applied research: Write a letter to the editor of your local paper in the year 2020. More funding for basic research has been approved since the year 2010, and now the legislature must approve it again. Begin your letter with the following prompt: In 2010 the United States approved a significant appropriation for basic research on the nature of our universe. In the years since, weve discoveredWe should continue this program because we can discoverin the future. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks. In their letters, students should include at least one discovery that might be expected in the next 15 years and at least one that might be expected years later.
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Re f e r e n c es
TEACHER EDITION
References
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). 2006. The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins, effectiveness, and applications. Colorado Spring, CO: BSCS. Hakim, J. 2007. The story of science: Einstein adds a new dimension. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. Hawking, S. 2003. On the shoulders of giants. Philadelphia: Running Press. National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Nestle. 2003. Classic recipes. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International.
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CLASSROOM COMPANION
E i n s t e i n A d d s a N e w D i m e n s i o n
STUDENT EDITION
JULIANA
TEXLEY
Arlington, Virginia
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table of contents
STUDENT EDITION
11: A Boy With Something on His Mind .................................................................................1 12: Time on Replay .................................................................................................................... 3 13: Electrifying Thoughts and Magnetic Reasoning .............................................................. 5 14: The M. and M.s of Science ................................................................................................ 7 15: Invisible Bits of Electricity ................................................................................................... 8 16: Smaller Than Atoms? Subatomic? Is This a Joke? ...........................................................10 17: Nobel Marie ..........................................................................................................................11 18: Mysterious Rays .................................................................................................................. 12 19: Making Waves ..................................................................................................................... 14 10: Five Papers ........................................................................................................................... 16 11: Seeing the (Photon) Light ..................................................................................................18 12: Molecules Move .................................................................................................................. 19 13: Getting the Picture Right ................................................................................................... 21 14: Getting Atom .....................................................................................................................23 15: Still Shooting Alpha Particles ...........................................................................................25 16: Bohr Taking Quantum Leaps ..........................................................................................26 17: An American Tracks Photons; a Frenchman Nails Matter ...........................................28 18: Whats Uncertain? Everything, Says Heisenberg ...........................................................29 19: A Cat, Quarks, and Other Quantum Critters ................................................................ 31 20: Smashing Atoms ................................................................................................................33 21: Chemistry, Charisma, and Peace .....................................................................................34 22: Energy Equals Mass Times the Square of the Speed of Light or E=mc2.......................35 23: On the Way to War (a List of Happenings) ....................................................................37 24: The Fission Vision ............................................................................................................38 25: Presidential Power ............................................................................................................... 41
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STUDENT EDITION
26: Manhattan on a Mesa .......................................................................................................43 27: Quantum Electrodynamics? Surely Youre Joking .........................................................44 28: Those Relatives: Galileo and Albert ................................................................................47 29: Relativity: Its About Time ................................................................................................48 30: An Event? To a Physicist Its Not a Party .........................................................................50 31: Timely Dimensions ...........................................................................................................52 32: A Man in a Red Hat .........................................................................................................53 33: The Paradox of the Twins .................................................................................................54 34: Relative Gravity ..................................................................................................................55 35: Warps in Spacetime ..........................................................................................................56 36: Does It Change? Or Is It Changeless? .............................................................................58 37: Expanding Times ..............................................................................................................59 38: An Expanding Universe ...................................................................................................62 39: A Luminous Indian ..........................................................................................................64 40: Explosive? And How! ........................................................................................................65 41: Singular Black Holes .........................................................................................................67 42: Gravity Waves? ...................................................................................................................69 43: A Singular BANG With a Background ..........................................................................70 44: Inflation? This Chapter Is Not About Economics! ........................................................72 45: Entanglement? Locality? Are We Talking Science? ........................................................73 46: Super Stars .........................................................................................................................75 47: A Surprising Information-Age Universe .........................................................................77 48: Is Anyone Out There? .......................................................................................................78 49: This Is the Last Chapter, but Its Not the End ...............................................................79 References ..........................................................................................................................80
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Next, explore the unseen world of radiation using a traditional AM radio with a rotating (analog) dial. AM radio waves are longer than FM waves, so reception can be affected by electromagnetic radiation, including solar flares and terrestrial storms. AM waves bounce off the D layer of the ionosphere, which is lower at night. With help from your teacher, cover the AM radio dial with a round, white sticker, and then identify an area near the bottom of the AM range where no distinct channels exist. Check this range every day at the same time for the presence of static. A simple sound meter can be used to quantify the volume. You may also want to compare the range of AM signals at night or correlate results to sunspots.
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Vocabulary
Dynamo Electromagnetic radiation
Evaluation
In school, Einstein was fascinated with statistics, a branch of mathematics about analyzing data (Hakim 2007, p. 7). Some astronomers believe that there is a correlation between sunspot frequencies and global temperatures. Look at this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration graph. Then write a short news article describing both what you see and the limitations of what you can infer.
Source: Rodney Viereck, NOAA Space Environment Center, NOAA Research, The Sun-Climate Connection (Did Sunspots Sink the Titanic?) www.research.noaa.gov/ spotlite/archive/spot_sunclimate.html.
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2 T i me o n R e p l ay
STUDENT EDITION
Explain to your family members what is happening, but dont use any words or concepts that would not have been familiar to people in 1905. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Atomic mass Element Compound Microgravity
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time on replay
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Dartmouth archaeologist Vincent H. Malmstrm found 4,000-year-old statues in Central America with a very unusual property. A compass needle is sharply attracted to their navels! The pre-Olmec people seem to have discovered magnetism some 1,500 years before the earliest evidence of Chinese compasses. Other archaeologists have found Olmec statues of frogs and turtles with magnetic snouts dating from about 3500 BC. What can be hypothesized about their function?
Photo taken by Hajor, July 2001. Released under cc.by.sa and/or GFDL.
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E l e c tr if y in g T h ough t s an d Mag n et ic R e as on in g
STUDENT EDITION
A Pile of Money
You probably have the raw materials in your pocket to replicate Alessandro Voltas electricity experiment. To begin, your class will be divided into groups. Each group needs to collect six pennies and six nickels. Your teacher will give your group 10 ml of a salt/vinegar solution in a labeled container, safety goggles, a sheet of paper towel, and forceps. Cut the paper towel into 3 cm squares. Place a nickel on the table. Wearing goggles and using the forceps, soak one of the paper towel squares in the saltwater solution and place it on top of the nickel. Add a penny on top of the paper towel, put another saltwater-soaked square of paper towel on top of that, and add another nickel. Continue alternating the coins and paper towels until all the coins are used. The pile will then be tested by your teacher who will touch one wire from the voltmeter to the top (penny) and one to the bottom (nickel). After the experiment, answer the following questions: 1. What kind of current is generated? ________________________________________________________________________
Once a base value is obtained for the battery, investigate further. 2. Does the current increase if more coins are used? ________________________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary
Ampere Battery Charge Current Volt
Evaulation
When Samuel Morse (17911872) sent an electric current from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 1844, it turned a magnet on and off (Hakim 2007, p. 26). That was the first telegram. How did longdistance communication change the world? Imagine you are a senior citizen in 1870. Write a letter to your grandchild explaining, When I was young, it took weeks to send important information across the country. Then give examples.
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4 T he M. a n d M. s of S cie n ce
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Anode Cathode Ether
Evaluation
Some of the most famous experiments have had no results. When that happens, its often hard to explain their value. Imagine you are Michelson writing a letter to one of his original sponsors, Alexander Graham Bell. Explain why the funding he provided was worth the expense even though your experiment seems to have failed.
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5 I nvi s ib l e B it s of E l e ct r icit y
STUDENT EDITION
25 20 MASS 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 GROUPS 5 6 7
1. What evidence could be used to determine the mass of the envelope itself? ________________________________________________________________________
2. Draw a horizontal line across the graph showing the mass of the envelope. Subtracting that mass, create a hypothesis about the mass of the contents. ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Electron Proton Neutron X-ray
Millikan Oil-Drop Experiment (simulation) www.xplora.org/ww/en/pub/xplora/news/latestnews/xplora_wins_grant_for_web_expe.htm More on Millikans Oil Drop Experiment (Quicktime Movie) http://chemistry.umeche.maine.edu/~amar/Millikan.html
Evaluation
You are teaching a class in which you describe your experiment on protons and electrons. A student challenges you: How do you know that the unseen units youve identified in your massing are single particles (discrete units) and not combinations of particles? Can you defend your asumptions? Write two If , then statements that describe experiments or consequences. For example, if the units of mass that were measured are single particles, then
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With an adult, carefully turn on the burner of your electric range at home. Stand back and watch the color of the burner change as it gets hot. Then let it cool, and watch the color again. On a dry evening, put some nylon and polyester clothing in the dryer at home. (Dont use fabric softener.) After 10 minutes, turn the lights off and Ground State pull out the clothes. Observe what happens when you pull the clothes apart. In a dark room, chew some Wint-o-Green Life Savers with your mouth open. Observe the candy in a mirror as you chew. Write down what these demonstrations have in common:
Excited State
Vocabulary
Kinetic energy Potential energy
Evaluation
Analogies about size are helpful for the imagination. Begin an imaginary story by writing: If I were 1/10th my size, I could; If I were 1/100th my size, I could; If I were 1/1,000th my size, I could
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7 N o be l Ma rie
STUDENT EDITION
Next, build some shielding from layers of blue cellophane. Place each of the six identical snowflakes on a piece of photosensitive paper. Leave one unshielded, put one square of blue cellophane on the second, put two squares on the third, put three squares on the fourth, and so on. What thickness of cellophane is effective? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Photography Radium Uranium wave
Evaluation
Marya Sklodowska (Marie Curie) was not allowed to enter the university in Poland because she was a female. Imagine you had to write her letter of application. Tell the provost of the university why you believe that every student should have an equal opportunity to study there.
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8 My s t e r io u s R ays
STUDENT EDITION
Using Statistics
We are exposed to natural sources of radiation every day. These sources range from very short gamma rays to long radio waves. Below are data from Princeton University with estimates of our average exposure to various sources of radiation.
Average Annual Whole Body Dose (millirem/year) 29 29 200 40 10 8 5 11
Radiation Source Cosmic rays Radioactive rocks Radon (in some basements and rocky building sites) Isotopes (K-40, C-14, etc.) in the air (mostly made in the upper atmosphere) One dental x-ray per year One chest x-ray per year Cross-country round-trip by air Consumer products (like home smoke detectors)
Source: Data adapted from Princeton University. Open Source Radiation Safety Training Module 2: Background Radiation & Other Sources of Exposure. http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/osradtraining/backgroundradiation/background.htm
Vocabulary
particles particles radiation
Evaluation
The average person receives approximately 340 millirem a year of radiation exposure. Smoking adds about 280 millirem of radiation a year to normal exposure. According to data from Princeton University, we increase our risk of cancer by about 0.05% for every 1,000 millirem of exposure. (Of
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Mysterious Rays
STUDENT EDITION
course, everyone is different. Some people have a greater capacity to repair genetic damage from radiation than others.) Develop a short public service announcement describing the dangers of this radiation. (Remember, the radiation is only one smoking-related cause of cancer. Tars and benzene in cigarette smoke can also lead to cancer.)
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9 Mak in g Wav es
STUDENT EDITION
Satellite Eyes
Satellites use cameras that can sense radiation to monitor Earths environment and human activities. Look at the following image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
Source: NOAA Satellite and Information Service, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS). www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/data/FS_km5000.gif.
1. What wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are being sensed? (Hint: Look at the patterns in the area of the ocean nearest you.) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Frequency Quantum Wavelength
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Making waves
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Imagine you witnessed a train robbery that took place in complete darkness. The police ask, How did you know if the train was coming toward you or going away from you? Write down how you would answer. If you need a hint, observe the animation of the Doppler effect at www.walter-fendt.de/ ph14e/dopplereff.htm.
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10 F i ve Pa p e r s
STUDENT EDITION
Discharge the electroscope by touching the top of the clip with your finger. Repeat the charge and discharge routine a few times, until you are sure everything is in place. After doing this, seal the top of the bottle with rubber cement and let it dry. What other ways can the electroscope be charged? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Amplitude Conductor Magnet Photoelectric effect Threshold frequency
16
10
five papers
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
A patent clerk examines descriptions of new inventions. The written applications must be clear and concise and and must distinguish one invention from all others like it. Practice writing a description of an inventiona mousetrap, or something else you invent yourself. Convince a careful patent officer that your idea is unique.
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11 S e e in g t h e ( P h oton ) L igh t
STUDENT EDITION
Polarized Light
Your teacher will give you two sheets of polarized filter (a fine plastic into which thin lines have been etched). Hold a single filter up to a window or other light source and rotate it 90. Then overlap the filters and rotate only one filter through 360. Observe the light thats transmitted. Next, use an instrument that can measure light intensity (a computer-interfaced or camera light meter) to develop a graph of the intensity of light when the difference between the two filter papers is 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, respectively. Describe what you observe. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Photon Polarized
Evaluations
Lord Rayleigh (see p. 96 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension) explained why the sky was blue. But there are times when the sky is green (just before a tornado) or even red. How can you explain the painting The Scream, by Edvard Munch? (Hint: Look at the date it was painted, 1893, and research what earthshaking events happened in the previous decade.) Today a red sunset in the Atlantic Ocean is often caused by a distant Saharan dust storm. When the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is full of dust, there are dense winds aloft out of the Eastern Atlantic. Discuss how this is related to the verse Red sky at night, sailors delight.
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12 M o le c u le s Move
STUDENT EDITION
Let your drops get a little warmer. (Most microscopes have a light or a mirror, so that will happen anyway.) How does the movement change? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Use another color of pencil to show the change in the same space above. Remember, the bits of carbon that you see are much larger than molecules but are very, very light. Their movement is caused by the movement of molecules of water around them that bump and jostle them.
Vocabulary
Brownian motion
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MOLECULES MOVE
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
If Albert Einstein could have written a letter to Robert Brown, how would he have explained the observations?
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1. When you bake, how do you know which changes are physical and which are chemical? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
2. How would you explain the cookie analogy to J. J. Thomson and Niels Bohr: This cookie is like an atom because, but it is not like an atom because? (You may want to review Thomsons image of an atom on p. 52 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension for comparison.) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Radioactive decay
Evaluation
How small is an electron? Thats a question that cant really be answered, since an electron acts more like a wave than a particle. But its sometimes useful to think of the electron as a particle about 1015 m. A carbon atom is about 1013 m in diameter. Use an analogy: If an electron were the size of a baseball, the entire carbon atom would be about the size of. (See the cathedral analogy on p. 111 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension for hints.) Research: How many carbon atoms would be found in a 1-carat diamond?
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14 G e t tin g Atom
STUDENT EDITION
Missing Pieces
Begin this activity by looking at Mendeleyevs first periodic table from 1869. Mendeleyev made many educated guesses based on his observations of chemical properties. (The tools he would have used are shown on p. 119 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.) Compare Mendeleyevs periodic table to the modern table online or on page 123 of the book to find the answers to the following questions:
Group Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Au=199 Hg=200 ?Er=178 TI=204 ?La=180 Pb=207 Th=231 TA=182 Bi=208 U=240 W=184
Os=195, IR=197, Pt=198
II
III
IV
VI
VII
VIII
B=11 Al=27.3
Nb=94 Sb=122
J=127
1. Copper, silver, and gold are in Mendeleyevs Group I but are in modern Group II (coinage metals). What characteristics might have prompted the first placement? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Based on 19th-century knowledge, what element might have fit in Group III of Mendeleyevs table under boron and aluminum? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. What element might have fit in Group VII of Mendeleyevs table under bromine? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary
Angular momentum Energy level Shell
Evaluation
Today we use isotopes of elements for vital studies. Since the 1990s, the positron emission tomography (PET) scan has been used to diagnose the functioning of important body systems. This image shows a series of PET scans of the human brain. The patient was injected with radioactive sugar and scanned for the places where it was metabolized. You be the radiologist: Compare the series to a brain diagram, and describe what parts of the brain are most active in each process.
Source: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_ notes/NNvol21N2/brains.gif.
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Vocabulary
Isotope
Evaluation
Research the NASA website above for the applications for which each of these bands are useful. Then write a short letter to your congressional representative supporting continued funding of Landsat research.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Source: Electromagnetic spectrum image from Virtual Hawaii, Hawaii Space Great Consortium, UH Hanoa, How Are Satellite Images Different From Photographs? http://landsat.gsfc.nasa. gov/education/compositor.
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4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 500 1000 1500 Pressure Millibars Air Pressure
Air pressure increases just as much as altitude increases. Air pressure decreases as altitude increases. Air pressure doubles as altitude decreases. Air pressure is always half of the altitude. Now answer the following questions: 1. What will the air pressure be if the balloon rises to 8,000 feet? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
2. Scientists often use equations to describe data like these. Which of these equations would come closest to predicting the air pressures at altitudes below 4,000 feet? Pressure = (11,000 altitude)/11 Pressure = (11,000 altitude) 11 Pressure = 11,000/altitude Pressure = 11,000 + altitude
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Vocabulary
Model
Evaluation
Scientific dating often involves measurement of radioactive carbon isotopes in a sample. On page 135 of your text, you learned that the half-life of the isotope is 5,730 years. By about 50,000 years, the amount of isotope left in a sample is normally so small that it is difficult to get accurate measurements. The graph below is a model of the decay of a different isotope, radioactive potassium. (Its often found in zircon crystals in igneous rocks.) It decays to argon, with a half-life of 1,251 million years. Imagine you are writing a proposal for a new research project. What kind of scientific question would be better answered with K-Ar dating than carbon-14 dating? Why would your results be more accurate with one method versus the other?
1/1
Amount of Parent Nuclide Remaining
Original 40K Daughter Nuclides Sample containing of original amount of parent material is 1,251 million years old.
40 Ar -------- = 1 40 K
1/2
Adapted from Dr. Nicholas Shorts Remote Sensing Tutorial, Section 2: Geological Applications I: Stratigraphy and Structure, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect2/K-Adecay.jpg.
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Crossing Borders
Science can reveal structures that are as beautiful as any artist might imagine. Research the crystal structure of any metal, like the actinide oxide pictured here, the zinc sulfide on page 145 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension, or any other metal crystal. (Ideas can be found on the Crystal Lattice Gallery website below.) Build a work of art using the crystal structure as a subunit.
Copyright 2006 Los Alamos National Security, LLC. All Rights Reserved. http://lanl.gov/ source/orgs/nmt/nmtdo/AQarchive/04summer/xray.html.
Vocabulary
X-ray crystallography
Evaluation
Louis-Victor de Broglies military responsibility was sending telegraphs. In the days when this was the only form of communication, messages had to be brief. (People paid by the word so they were concise, similar to todays instant messaging or text messaging.) Write a telegram message in less than 20 words describing Arthur Comptons discoveries.
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Number of Students
60
Number of Students
40
20 1 Trials
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Answer the following questions: 1. Did the ratio come closer to 50/50 as the number of trials increased? Why or why not? ________________________________________________________________________
2. What does this say about observations about random events? ________________________________________________________________________
3. Divide the coins into new coins (less than 10 years old) and old coins. Then calculate the percentage of heads in each group. Are coin tosses really random? Does it make a difference if the coin is old or new? Why or why not? ________________________________________________________________________
4. What other factors might affect the phenomena that we think of as random, like coin tosses?
________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Mechanics Randomness Uncertainty
Evaluation
When pollsters want to know information about an issue, they try to choose a small sample of random people who would represent the entire population. Think of a controversial question in your community. Then think of three locations that you might go to do opinion polls. Two of the locations should be nonrandom: They should be places where the people would mostly agree on one side or another about the issue. The third place should be the location where you think the opinions would be random. Write a short newspaper article about the opinions you think youd find on this issue in these locations.
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Think about the molecular structure of the salt as you try to formulate an explanation for what is happening. The ions (Na+ and Cl) are pulled apart. That takes energy. But the ions are also slightly attracted to the polar water molecules. That frees energy. 2. Which process is stronger as salt dissolves? Is the solution more or less organized than the original solid and liquid? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Go to the website Energy Exchange Associated With Dissolving Salts in the Water listed on page 32 and try the same experiment with a variety of salts, keeping the temperature the same. 3. Do they all react in the same way? If not, can you categorize the reactions? ________________________________________________________________________
Try the same experiment at a warmer temperature. 4. Can you get more salt into the water before it begins to sink because no more can dissolve? Compare other salts using the website in Energy Exchange Associated With Dissolving Salts in the Water. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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Think about the situation where a gas is dissolved in a liquid (for example, the oxygen thats dissolved in tap water). 5. When the water gets warmer, can it hold more or less oxygen? Can you explain the difference in terms of entropy? ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Entropy Solution
Evaluation
Salt is a great way to melt sidewalk ice but it kills plants. Can you propose an alternative that would work as well? Explain why you think it would work.
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20 S m a sh i n g Atoms
STUDENT EDITION
Falling Apart
This activity involves building models of the Standard Model of particle physics. Half of the class builds a model like the one pictured here, using dice relabeled with stickers. The other half of the class builds models from plastic foam balls. Before you assemble your plastic foamball atoms, you must cut your neutrons and restick them with tiny Velcro dots. You also need to color code the particles with markers and use tiny bits of clay to hold the entire nucleus together. Partner with a classmate who has built the other type of model. Explain your different models to each other and think about the advantages of both versions.
Elementary Particles
Quarks
up
charm
top
photon
down
strange
bottom
gluon
Leptons
electron neutrino
muon neutrino
tau neutrino
Z boson
electron
muon
tau
W boson
II
III
Vocabulary
Accelerator Gluon Neutrino Quark Standard Model of particle physics
Evaluation
Szilards model wasnt physical; it was mathematical. Imagine you are writing the cover sheet that he might have placed on the paper as he offered it to his doctoral adviser. Explain why you think the revolutionary approach should be considered instead of traditional models.
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Force Carriers
External Structure
Your Research
Vocabulary
Ionic bond Covalent bond
Evaluation
One of the most famous x-ray diffraction photos was the one taken of the DNA molecule by Rosalind Franklin, pictured here. Today most people are familiar with the arrangement of the molecules in DNA. Can you explain the connection between the molecule and the image? What was Franklin seeing?
Source: Talking Glossary of Genetics, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health. www.genome.gov/Pages/Hyperion/DIR/VIP/ Glossary/Illustration/Images/dna.gif.
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Energy Equals Mass Times the Square of the Speed of Light or E=mc2
STUDENT EDITION
Conservation Conundrum
Before you think about that equal sign in Einsteins equation, reconsider the idea of conservation of mass and energy in normal chemical reactions. For the following activity, you will need a water bottle filled with 30 ml of water; an Alka-Seltzer tablet; and a small, round balloon. Alka-Seltzer is made of sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. In water, the tablets react to form sodium citrate. Carefully mass each component and fill in the chart below.
Mass in Grams
Stretch the mouth of the balloon to make it more flexible. After that, break the Alka-Seltzer tablet over a bit of paper and put the entire tablet into the water. Immediately put the balloon over the bottle, watch the reaction, and then feel the bottle. Answer the following questions: 1. Does the bottle get warmer or cooler? Why? ________________________________________________________________________ When the reaction is done, estimate how much volume has been added using the formula for the volume of a sphere: V=4/3r3. Then mass the total. 2. How close is the mass to the original? ________________________________________________________________________
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Energy Eq uals Mass Times the Sq uare of the Speed of Light or E=mc 2
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Conservation of energy Conservation of mass
Evaluation
Einstein wondered why the energy contained in every gram of material went unnoticed for so long. Many natural phenomena are misunderstood, and people tend to believe old wives tales or assumptions without really examining them. Think of something you know about science that many people dont believe or understand. Think of a short YouTube video that you could make to explain it to an uninformed person.
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23
On t h e Way to War (a L is t o f H ap p e n in gs )
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Digital computer
Evaluation
Draw a fishbone diagram (you may use the example as a guide) to show the events that led to the war.
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24 T h e F i s s io n Vis ion
STUDENT EDITION
Fission Simulation
With the help of your teacher, you can model nuclear fission with your class. Each student will represent a uranium atom, either U-235 (which is fissile) or U-238 (which is nonfissile). Your teacher will mimic the neutron. First, take a card from your teacher, but dont tell the other students what role youve drawn. Then, in a wide-open space arrange yourselves in a matrix; make sure you stand about 1 m from one another. As you take your places, consider how the structure youre creating compares to a crystal. Once everyone is ready, your teacher initiates the reaction by walking into the formation in a straight line and touching a student at random. If you are touched and youre a nonfissile atom, remain totally still. If you are touched and youre a fissile atom, silently count, One tomato, two tomato, three tomato, then shout, Bang, and quickly (but gently) tag all the other students within arms reach. With the help of an audio or video recorder, log the number of generations of bangs that occur until the process stops. Complete this process three times, and each time draw a new role. At the end of the three rounds, summarize your data in this chart:
# of Generations of Reactions
% Fissionable 25 50 75
1. What percentage of fissile atoms produced the longest/strongest chain reaction? ________________________________________________________________________
2. Why? ________________________________________________________________________
3. On the news you often hear the term enriched uranium. Why do scientists enrich uranium before fission can occur? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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Next, grab a calculator and look carefully at the diagram on page 217 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension. It represents a chain reaction. Note that when the first neutron hits the uranium-235, two neutrons are released in addition to the original one. In the next reaction, potentially nine neutrons are released. Complete the table showing the reaction number and number of free neutrons:
Reaction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 # Free Neutrons 3
> 1 million
4. How many reactions are required to release at least 1 million free neutrons? ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Graph the number of free neutrons in each reaction. What is the shape? ________________________________________________________________________ 6. If each reaction takes about 107 second, how long will this process take? ________________________________________________________________________ 7. In fission reactors, rods are sometimes used to slow reactions. If a rod absorbed one of every three released neutrons, how would the shape of the graph change? ________________________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary
Fission Fusion
Evaluation
Physicists love to do rough, back of the napkin estimates. These are often called Fermi Questions after Enrico Fermi. Heres a Fermi Question for you: Look at the chart below. It shows the energy needed to get from Earth to the dwarf planet Pluto, at the edge of our solar system, if we were to harness the energy of a fission reaction. Compare that to the energy available in gasoline. If we could somehow create a gasoline-powered rocket, how much fuel would we need to get to Pluto? How much mass would that represent?
Mass (g) per Molecule or Reaction 4 x 10-23 1.9 x 10-22 Energy Released per Molecule/ Reaction (eV) 2 x 107 66 # of Reactants/ Reactions Needed to Get to Pluto 3.5 x 1024
Source: Adapted from NOVA, A Trip to Pluto. www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/3213_einstein_05.html, where complete answers, explanations, and extensions can be found.
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25 p re s id e n tial powe r
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Deuterium Heavy water
Evaluation
What are the key characteristics of a scientist? One trait is curiosity. Einstein wondered about light, the universe, and yo-yos. Study a yo-yo or go to the Yo-Yo Animation website above to complete the activity. Put the loop on your finger. Why does the yo-yo move down? __________________________________________________________________________
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presidential power
STUDENT EDITION
Predict how far the yo-yo will move back up the string. __________________________________________________________________________
Then let the yo-yo fall without moving your hand. Was your prediction correct? __________________________________________________________________________
Repeat the motion. Does the yo-yo move the same amount up the string each time? __________________________________________________________________________ Write a paragraph explaining the motion of a yo-yo. (Use velocity and momentum in your explanation if you can.) Illustrate your paragraph with a picture.
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26 M a n h at ta n on a Me s a
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Below is an excerpt from a poem that Richard Feynman wrote as part of his The Value of Science address to the autumn meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, in 1955: Deep in the sea All molecules repeat The patterns of another Till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves And a new dance starts. Growing in size and complexity Living things Masses of atoms DNA, protein Dancing a pattern ever more intricate Out of the cradle Onto dry land Here it is Standing Atoms with consciousness Matter with curiosity. Stands at the sea, wondering: I A universe of atoms An atom in the universe. Write your own poem about humans from the perspective of quantum physics.
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Q u a n tu m E l e ct rodynamics? S u r e ly Yo u r e Jokin g
STUDENT EDITION
44
27
16. Which is the weakest? ________________________________________________________________________ 7. Does this surprise you? Why or why not? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 8. How many quarks are there? What are their names? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do quarks pair up? How? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 10. What is meant by color charge? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Electrodynamics Fundamental particle Quantum mechanics
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QuarkDance.Org http://pdg.lbl.gov/quarkdance The Particle Adventure http://particleadventure.org Tiny MachinesThe Feynman Lecture on Nanotechnology www.photosynthesis.com/flash/tiny-machines/video.html
Evaluation
Write a Want Ad for a job for a particle physicist. List the qualifications, the rewards, and the challenges.
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t h o se r e l at ive s : g a lil e o a nd al be rt
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Speed Velocity Acceleration
Evaluation
Witnesses to a crime often have totally different views of what occurred. Imagine you are a prosecutor and explain to a jury how frame of reference matters.
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Flash! Bang!
On Earth, light is almost instantaneous. You are probably familiar with the scout trick of watching for a flash of lightning and then counting the seconds until a crack of thunder is heard. Sound travels at an average of 1,125 ft./sec., though the actual speed depends on temperature, humidity, and other factors. The distance to the storm cloud can be determined by multiplying the delay (in seconds) by 1,125. Make the same experiment more precise by using two computer-interfaced probes, one for light and one for sound. After experimenting with the computer-interfaced probes, discuss whether light moves instantaneously and answer the following questions: 1. Why does this method work? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Does light move instantaneously? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. How does the medium affect its speed? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4. How does the medium affect its wavelength? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Can you think of a simple example that illustrates this? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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Vocabulary
Gravitation Speed of light Speed of sound Thought experiment
Evaluation
Its a common insult to say, You think the world revolves around you! But, in fact, nearly everyone in Newtons time believed Earth was the center of the universe. Imagine you are debating an Aristotelian traditionalist in Newtons time. Explain all the ways in which you are moving every second of every day. (Review Hold on to Your Hat on p. 29 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.)
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A n e v en t? to a p h y s icis t it s n ot a party
STUDENT EDITION
600 400 200 00 200 400 600 1800 1500 1200 900 600 300 00 300 600 900 1200
1. Which is closest to the actual proportions of a (round) globe? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. How does the shape of the surface affect the accuracy of a map? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is there one single correct way to draw a spherical Earth on a flat piece of paper? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4. Imagine that two airplanes want to fly parallel courses along different lines of latitude from East to West on Earth. Would they fly straight lines? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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5. How could non-Euclidean geometry like that described on page 283 help us analyze such maps? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Euclidean Geometry Non-Euclidean
Evaluation
Write an advertisement for three kinds of maps, two flat projections and a globe. Describe why each is good for a specific purpose.
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31 t i m e ly d ime n s ion s
STUDENT EDITION
Vocabulary
Dimension Simultaneity Space-time
Evaluation
A very important part of scientific work is attending conferences and meetings. Imagine the program of the Solvay Conference of 1911. Einstein was the youngest participant, but he was selected to give the grand finale speech. Write what might have been in the program describing what the older scientists were about to hear.
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32 a m a n in a r e d h at
STUDENT EDITION
Tracking Acceleration
For this activity, try to think like the scientists who built a linear accelerator in the 1930s, scientists who tried to find and measure the tiniest particles in the universe. A tiny particle is made to go faster and faster by electromagnetic forces accelerated almost to the speed of light. Draw and explain what happens to that particle.
Why is Einsteins theory absolutely necessary for these scientists? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation
Remember the train in Einsteins thought experiment? Now, instead of watching lightning, both the passenger on the train and the observer on the platform are juggling. Explain the movement of the balls.
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33 t h e pa r a d ox of t h e t win s
STUDENT EDITION
Time Travelers
Can you tell the story of the twin paradox as Einstein might have told it? Write captions for each panel below.
Vocabulary
Inertia Paradox
Evaluation
Has Einsteins twin paradox been proved? Think about the experiments done at accelerators like Fermilab. (If youve forgotten them, review pp. 170 and 173 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension.) Write a letter to a skeptic explaining why you think Einsteins theories have been supported.
54
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34 re l ativ e gr avit y
STUDENT EDITION
Toys in Space
Gravitation is a law that is consistent throughout the universe. Thats why it is so interesting to study gravitation on Earth. Begin this activity by becoming familiar with how the following toys work in normal (Earth) gravity.
Inertia
Cars Motion
Gravity
Write a hypothesis about how the toys would work in microgravitynot zero gravity, but the much lower gravity of the space shuttle. Then watch the videos on the NASA websites listed below to learn more about how the toys work in microgravity. For each toy, compare your hypothesis to your observations.
Evaluation
Einstein used the image of a free-falling elevator as a thought experiment. (Dont worry, modern elevators dont free-fall.) Write a few paragraphs of a horror story, describing a person falling in an old-fashioned elevator. Or pretend you are a guidance counselor. You have a student who does not want to take academic courses like math or physics, because he or she wants to be a NASCAR driver. Convince the student that you need physics to drive a race car.
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35 wa rp s in s pace t ime
STUDENT EDITION
Warped Images
For this activity, you will build a model of how mass can warp space-time. Take a very pliable piece of rubber and mark parallel lines on it when it is flat. Then place massive objects (stones or large ball bearings to modify the model) on the rubber. (Cling wrap may be used in lieu of rubber.) For an example of what the model should look like, refer to the image on p. 313 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension.
Source: NASA/HONEYWELL MAX-Q DIGITAL GROUP/DANA BERRY, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/spacesci/structure/spinningbh/spinninghpix.htm.
After you make the model, answer the following questions: 1. What does the rubber represent? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. What does the stone or ball bearing represent? ________________________________________________________________________ 3. How does the nature of parallel change? ________________________________________________________________________ 4. How does the heavy object move when the rubber is flat on a table? ________________________________________________________________________ 5. What law of traditional physics would this represent? ________________________________________________________________________
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warps in spacetime
STUDENT EDITION
6. How does the model change in Einsteins universe, when space is allowed to flex? ________________________________________________________________________ 7. What modification of the laws of physics does this represent? ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Eclipse
Evaluation
To demonstrate his ideas, Einstein predicted the bending of light in an eclipse in 1919. His predictions were not exactly correct, but once he realized his error, a new understanding of his theories resulted. Describe a mistake youve made that resulted in better understanding.
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Do e s it C h an ge ? Or Is It C h a n ge l e s s ?
STUDENT EDITION
Relying on Physics
In the familiar patch of the universe that we inhabit, we rely on the constant laws of physics. To illustrate this, go outside to the playground with your class and swing as high as you can (be careful as you swing). Formulate a good explanation for why you dont fall off the swing. You can also explore the physics of a roller coaster by watching a video of a roller coaster or using the interactive website Amusement Park Physics: Roller Coaster, see Online Learning Tools. Carefully describe the laws of physics that keep you from falling out of the roller coaster. You can also think about a roller coaster on Saturns moon Titan. How would the roller coaster act? How do you know?
Vocabulary
Infinite
Evaluation
Some shapes have edges; some dont. Some are real; some are imaginary. Look at this one carefully. Can it exist? Why or why not?
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37 e x pa n d i n g t ime s
STUDENT EDITION
Draw, color, and identify the wavelengths of the spectra of light on the form provided (p. 23 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension can be used as a reference).
4. What are the longest wavelengths? ________________________________________________________________________ 5. The shortest? ________________________________________________________________________ 6. What is the meaning of the prefix infra in infrared? ________________________________________________________________________
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expanding times
STUDENT EDITION
7. What is the meaning of ultra in ultraviolet? ________________________________________________________________________ 8. Think back to the familiar Doppler effect; what change occurs when a train passes? ________________________________________________________________________ 9. If the wavelengths of these colors get longer, toward what (visible) color do they move? ________________________________________________________________________ 10. Look at page 127 in Einstein Adds a New Dimension. Imagine you are observing the spectrum of hydrogen from a star that is moving away. How would it change? ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Cosmological constant Lambda Redshift
Evaluation
Astrophysicists have two basic scientific methods, observation and inference. Its not enough just to see and measure the universe. They must also understand it, interpreting the data and making inferences. Look at the following chart and think about what aspects of theoretical cosmology the observations in the first column imply or prove.
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expanding times
STUDENT EDITION
Observations/Measurements The light emitted from almost all galaxies shows redshift. The farther away a galaxy is, the greater the redshift. For every kiloparsec of distance of a galaxy, the speed at which the galaxy is moving increases by 50 to 100 km/s. In the most empty areas of deep space, there is still some heat (temperature).
Interpretations/Inferences
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38 an e x pa n d in g un ive r s e
STUDENT EDITION
Source: Dr. Nicholas Shorts Remote Sensing Tutorial, Section 20: Astronomy and Cosmology: The Description, Origin, and Development of the Universe, NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center. http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect20/A1a.html.
Galaxies
Vocabulary
Galaxy Universe
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an expanding universe
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Using a search engine such as Google, look for images that illustrate an expanding universe using public domain sources (primarily websites that end in .gov). Create a PowerPoint presentation of five slides that demonstrate the concept.
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39 A Lu min o u s In dian
STUDENT EDITION
Sky Art
Using the images at http://spaceplace.nasa. gov/en/educators/teachers_star_images.shtml, or any other images from NASAs web sources, create a mobile of galaxies. Before you begin, determine a standard scale that everyone in the class will use for the actual galaxies. When the mobiles are done, use the same scale to estimate how far apart the galaxies would actually have to be to represent their true distance from one another in the universe. Finally, write an explanation of your scale and a disclaimer for the parts of the model (scale between galaxies and movement) that you cannot achieve in the classroom.
Vocabulary
Neutron star Red giant White dwarf
Evaluation
In Chapter 48 youll speculate whether there is life on other planets around other stars. Before you get there, take a survey of people by asking, Do you believe there is life on other planets? When you analyze this data, divide the respondents by age and by how much background they have in astronomy. As a class, create a question or two for determining whether people have a realistic idea of how far away stars are. Keep track of all answers for each respondent.
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40 E x p lo siv e? An d H ow !
STUDENT EDITION
Source: Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. www.universe.nasa.gov/gravity/research.html.
Answer the following questions: 1. How would the redshift phenomenon affect x-rays? ________________________________________________________________________
You can demonstrate the effect of a black hole on light near it using the back side of the same flexible rubber that was used in the Chapter 35 activity. Draw a spectrum of visible light with indelible markers. 2. What do the colors represent? ________________________________________________________________________ 3. What color of visible light has the longest wavelength? ________________________________________________________________________ 4. The shortest? ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Stretch the rubber. What does the stretching represent? ________________________________________________________________________
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6. How do the colors change? _________________________________________________________________________ 7. Imagine you are observing the light from a luminous body that is being drawn into a black hole. What effects do you expect to see? _________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Pulsar Quasar Supernova
Evaluation
William Blakes The Tygerwhich begins, Tyger, tyger, burning bright/In the forests of the night offers a literary perspective on a natural phenomenon. Read his poem, and use it as inspiration for a poem of your own that describes another natural phenomenon, the explosive life cycle of a star. Record your verses on a podcast.
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41 S i n g u la r Bl ack H ol e s
STUDENT EDITION
Source: High Energy Groove X-ray Binary, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/ outreach/HEG/bhm/black_hole_mass.html.
The ball represents a companion star and the cup represents a black hole. The string is the accretion disk. The bottom of the cup is the event horizon. Slowly pull the yarn through the bottom of the cup. Answer the following questions: 1. What happens to the mass of the companion star over time? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. How is the model like a black hole? ________________________________________________________________________ 3. What part might represent the singularity? ________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Black hole Singularity
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Evaluation
How is the illustration in the previous chapter (or the one on p. 357 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension) like the model you just made? How is it different? You may wish to consult the image from Chapter 40 of your materials as a reference.
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42 Gr av i t y Wave s ?
STUDENT EDITION
Interactions
What we might call forces are really interactions. For this activity, list at least two examples of each interaction.
Interaction Strong Illustration Carried by mesons, holds the nucleus together Carried by photons Examples
Electromagnetism
Weak
Gravity
Curves spacetime
Vocabulary
Force Interaction Strong (Interaction) Electromagnetic (Interaction) Weak (Interaction) Gravity (Interaction)
Evaluation
There have been a number of supernovas mentioned throughout history. Pictured is part of a record from China in 14th century BC. Research the evidence that this was a supernova. Without using information that would have been out of time or place, write a news article that describes what the discovery of a supernova might mean.
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Vocabulary
Baryon Big bang Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
Evaluation
Einstein Adds a New Dimension includes many examples of experiments that didnt work the way they were intended but that provided amazing insights nevertheless. Recall the Michelson-Morley experiment. How was it similar to the work of Penzias and Wilson? How was it different?
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Probe
A liquid heliumcooled 0.6 m Ritchey-Chrtien telescope Elliptical off-axis Cassegrain telescope Dicke-type modulation radiometer
Vocabulary
Horizon distance Inflationary universe
Evaluation
Paul Steinhardt and Joo Magueijo have produced alternative theories that may resolve some of the difficult contradictions in the big bang theory. Can you think of another scientist who boldly offered an unpopular variation of commonly accepted theory? How should such scientists be received by the establishment?
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Vocabulary
String theory Unified field theory
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Evaluation
Develop a code that depends on the orientation of letters. Send a coded message to a friend, along with information on how to decipher the code.
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46 S u p e r S ta r s
STUDENT EDITION
Inside a Star
You will receive an index card from your teacher that contains one of the following labels: hydrogen-1 (1H), helium-4 (4He), carbon-12 (12C), magnesium-24 (24Mg), oxygen-16 (16O), sulphur-32 (32S), neon20 (20Ne), silicon-28 (28Si), nickel-56 (56Ni), cobalt-56 (56Co), iron-56 (56Fe), iron-57 (57Fe), iron-58 (58Fe), iron-59 (59Fe), neutrons (n), positrons (e+), or neutrinos. (Your teacher may decide to hand out only the cards in bold.) At the front of the room, you will find a separate set of color-coded cards that indicate arrows and energy. Join with other students, use both your element cards and the color-coded cards at the front, and form equations that might happen inside a star. When youve decided on the right combinations, display your equations in a visible area of the room and prepare to explain them.
Source: NASAs Imagine the Universe! Fusion Reactions, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lessons/xray_spectra/activityfusion.html.
When you are satisfied that you have found a reaction, link it to an area of the star pictured above. In what type of star (life cycle) does this occur?
Vocabulary
Dark energy Dark matter
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super stars
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Read Robert Frosts poem Fire and Ice, which can be found online. Find images of objects from the farthest reaches of space from NASA to illustrate the poem. Use the Picasa program (free from Google) to coordinate an oral reading with your images.
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AND OR
Next conduct an Advanced Search. Think about what the difference is between At least one of the words (or) and Both of the words (and). Finally, find examples of 10 different astronomical objects in the sources that youve studied. Develop four different examples of Boolean searches. Share your examples with a partner.
Vocabulary
Information theory
Evaluation
Much of an organisms DNA doesnt make much sense to biologists; it doesnt contain a genetic code. But information scientists (mostly electrical engineers) say the patterns are predictable. What else could the nonsense DNA be telling the cell? Imagine you are the head of a team of physicists investigating mysterious DNA. Write a memo to the human resources department of your institution and explain why the biologist should work in partnership with an information scientist.
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48 I s a n yo n e out t h e r e ?
STUDENT EDITION
The Search
In 1961, Cornell astronomer Frank Drake developed the Drake equation (p. 442 of Einstein Adds a New Dimension), which estimated the number of civilizations in our galaxy. Since that time, a number of Earthlike planets have been discovered. Does that mean that intelligent life is much more likely? In Chapter 39, you designed a survey that measured whether people have realistic ideas of the vastness of space and whether they believe that humans will encounter intelligent life anywhere else in the universe. You also recorded the age of the respondents. Now its time to disaggregate the data. First, determine parameters for dividing your respondents into those with good backgrounds and those without. You will have to decide whether people who have good ideas about the size of the universe are more or less likely to believe in intelligent aliens. Youll also have to see if the age of the respondents makes any difference. Develop a rubric to divide respondents into those who have a good sense of distance and those who dont. Write a summary of your results: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation
Look at the image pictured here. Its the message that was placed on the Voyager space probe many decades ago. Write an essay explaining what it says about us and the assumptions that we make about other life-forms. Then design your own plaque for a future space probe.
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t h i s is t h e l as t ch ap t e r , but its n ot t h e e n d
STUDENT EDITION
Evaluation
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper in the year 2020. More funding for basic research has been approved since the year 2010, and now the legislature must approve it again. Begin your letter with the following prompt: In 2010 the United States approved a significant appropriation for basic research on the nature of our universe. In the years since, weve discoveredWe should continue this program because we can discoverin the future. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks.
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Re f e r e n c es
STUDENT EDITION
References
Hakim, J. 2007. The Story of Science: Einstein adds a new dimension. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. Hawking, S. 2003. On the shoulders of giants. Philadelphia: Running Press. Nestle. 2003. Classic recipes. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International.
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