Download File - Physics with Mr. Mason

P7 homework booklet
Property of ___________________
This is your P7 homework booklet. It is designed to last a whole term.
Each activity is designed to take the pressure off after Christmas when
we study P7 in class. You’re work for P7 starts at the back of your book
and heads forwards. Do not lose this booklet, it’s expensive to produce
and there are no spares!
Useful websites for P7
www.wikipedia.org/ A wiki is an open source endeavour. That means
anyone, even idiots can contribute. Be careful you aren’t reading nonsense!
As a one stop shop though, wikipedia can’t be beat.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/nightsky/observingnotes.s
html Can’t be beaten for up to date what’s in the sky info.
Best of the rest – these are all worth a quick click
http://www.glyphweb.com/esky/default.htm
http://hubblesite.org/
www.suntrek.org
www.aae.org.uk
www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk
www.eso.org/
http://www.telescope.org/
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/JTrack/Spacecraft.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/hubble/tools/telescope.html
http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/tour/82vertpano.html
www.heavens-above.com
www.astronexus.com
http://ds9.ssl.berkley.edu/viewer/flash/index/html
www.sec.noaa.gov/today.html
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/stoddard/JAVA/moonphase.html
www.mreclipse.com/Totality/TotalityCh01.html
Activity A – famous astronomers
In P7 the work of several famous historical astronomers will be of
interest to us. Choose from Galileo, Edwin Hubble or Henrietta Leavitt.
Find out and write down
 What discovery (or discoveries) they made
 When they made them (the year)
 HARDER What was the telescope they used like?
Try http://cnr2.kent.edu/~manley/astronomers.html for starters
Approximate time 45 minutes. (Spend 30 minutes finding out and 15
minutes writing down – a few sentences will do)
Activity B - telescopes
In P7 we will be interested in the construction and functioning of
different types of telescope. Write a paragraph comparing and
contrasting the Arecibo telescope
www.naic.edu/public/the_telescope.htm and the Keck telescopes (there
are two of them) www.keckobservatory.org/geninfo/about.php mention
the following...




Name
Location
Diameter of the dish (or receiving mirror/ lens)
What type of radiation it detects (Gamma, X-rays, UV, light,
Infra-red, microwaves or radio)
Approximate time 45 minutes (15 finding out for each telescope plus 15
writing your paragraph).
Activity C – detailed drawing of the Moon
In P7 we’ll be interested in how heavenly bodies appear to us on Earth.
Make a detailed drawing of the Moon. This activity will require some
planning. You’ll need to…
1. Find out when the Moon will be visible to you at a convenient time!
2. Try to pick a time when it’s roughly a ‘half-moon’ you’ll be able to
see the details on the surface better.
3. Get a picture of the full Moon to have with you when you make your
drawing. You can even trace bits!
4. Your drawing should be A4 at least and have the time, date and
viewing conditions written on the bottom.
5. Cross your fingers and hope it isn’t cloudy!
Approximate time 1 hour (30 minutes of preparation i.e. 1-3inc. and 30
minutes of actually drawing)
Activity D – Making a pinhole camera
In P7 we’ll be interested in the workings of optical devices. Telescopes
and microscope are a bit complicated to start with, so instead you’ll be
doing a Blue Peter ‘make’ of your very own pinhole camera. See
instruction sheet.
NB
1. Pinhole camera is a glorified (and misleading?) name for tube with a
hole in it!
2. You’ll need to look at something bright with it, dim objects won’t
do.
3. You should see a small upside down image? …squint a bit!
Approximate time 45 minutes (30 to make it, 10 to complain that it isn’t
working, 5 looking at bright shiny things when you’ve realised it sort of is
working and Mr. Mason was right all along!)
Activity E – Ray diagrams
In P7 we’ll need to use your KS3 knowledge of ray diagrams to extend our
understanding of telescopes. Draw a ray diagram of a periscope helping to
look over a wall. Make it a whole page big.
Use
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/physics/light_3.shtml
to help you make sure you picture has
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mirrors drawn so that you can tell which are the shiny sides
Mirrors drawn at the correct angles
Light rays and mirrors drawn with a ruler
Light rays that are reflected from mirrors at the correct angles
Light rays have arrows to show which way the light is going
6. An eye, so you can make sense of the picture
7. HARDER Also draw on the ‘normal’ of each mirror
Approximate time 45 minutes (30 spent doing the ground work and
recalling how to do each of the 7 things mentioned above, 15 doing the
drawing)
Activity F – Earth, Moon & Sun
In P7 you will need a sound knowledge of how the Earth, Moon and Sun
move in relation to each other and the phenomena these movements
cause.
You will prepare and teach a 5 minute lesson to your parents/ brother/
Auntie/ Grandpa to explain
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why do we have days?
Why do we have eclipses?
Why do we have seasons?
Why does the Moon have phases?
You will need to find or make drawings to help you (trust me, teaching is
my whole field of expertise!), think carefully about how to explain it, then
prepare to field questions too. Good luck!
Approximate time 1 hour (Spend 15 minutes making sure you recall from
KS3 why all these things happen yourself. Spend 40 minutes planning and
preparing your lesson. Spend 5 actually teaching – definitely not more
than 10 minutes, that much physics at once just isn’t normal!)
Activity G – Observe the night sky!
In P7 we’ll be discussing how the Earth’s motion (i.e. Earth spinning on its
axis, Earth spinning around the Sun, Earth being on a tilt) affects our
observations of the night sky.
This week I want you to carry out some observations of your own. No
point talking about something you’ve never done! Use bbc.observing notes
to see what is good to look at this month. It’s hard to say what to look for
in advance – different things are available to look at at different times,
dates and seasons!
Try
 Polaris (a.k.a. the Nothern Star – it’s visible throughout the
year)
 One or other of the planets
 Sirius (a.k.a the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky)
 The constellation Orion (Betelguese is red & Rigel is blue)
 Iridium flares (That’s the posh name for glints off the
international space station and other man-made objects)
Approximate time ? (Don’t spend any less than 15 minutes, something
should capture your imagination! No more than an hour, you’ll get a stiff
neck otherwise.)
Activity H – The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
In P7 we’ll be looking at the different types of star. Two scientists called
Hertzsprung and Russell made an important graph to show how the
brightness and temperature of stars were related.
You are going to make a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram from the data given
at the back of this booklet. Take note of the following
 The axes on a HR diagram are kind of backwards. Use the axes
given and be careful when plotting points!
 Most stars are ‘Main Sequence’ and will form a straight line bit
on the graph. However, there are other types of star that
appear all over the place on the graph!
 You aren’t expected to understand the graph, or know how we
know the temperature of stars, until we cover it in class.
When you’ve finished your plotting, draw rings around the types of star;
main sequence, white dwarves, supernovae, red giants and so on, on your
graph.
Approximate time 30 minutes
Activity I – ‘Life cycle’ of a star
In P7 you won’t just need to know that there are different types of star,
but also that any one star changes from ‘birth’ to ‘death’.
Stars ‘evolve’ through the following phases:
Low mass stars (e.g. the sun)
Protostar  main sequence star  Red giant  Planetary nebula  White dwarf
High mass stars (e.g. stars 20 times the mass of the Sun)
Protostar  main sequence star  Supergiant  Supernova  Neutron star (or a black
hole instead if the star was REALLY massive)
You must draw out a flowchart to show the stages in the ‘life’ of a star.
Use at least one whole page in your book. For each type of star include a
sentence to flesh out your knowledge of that type of star a bit. Try
http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/starlife_main.html for info
Approximate time 1 hour (spend 40 minutes researching the 9 types of
star and 20 minutes drawing the flowchart).
Activity J - Galaxies
In P7, we’ll learn that galaxies come in different varieties too! Luckily the
types of galaxy are fewer than the types of star. Also the types of
galaxy don’t turn into one another – phew!
Print off, or draw a picture of each of the following types of galaxy
1. Spiral (barred and non-barred please)
2. Elliptical (that’s rugby ball shaped)
3. Irregular (That means blob shaped)
4. Lenticular (These are quite minor in importance, they’re lens
shaped and you don’t need a picture of one)
Try http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/galaxies/hubble.html
Also, find out the following facts about our galaxy, the Milky Way;
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How many stars are in it?
Is it spiral, elliptical or irregular?
How big is it from end to end?
How big is it from its other end to end?
How massive is it (I’m being technical here – I mean how many Kg)?
It’s enormous isn’t it?!
Approximate time 45 minutes (Spend no longer than 20 minutes printing
pictures, then 5 minutes are left per question)
Activity K – Interesting questions?
As you’ve done these homework activities, you must have thought of
plenty of questions you’d like to ask during P7. Well, here’s your chance…
Write out 5 questions about astronomy, and I’ll try to answer them for
you in the topic.
e.g.
What’s a black hole?
Why do some telescopes use radio waves, instead of light?
How can you work out how far away stars actually are?
What makes stars shine?
What makes us think there was a Big Bang anyway?
And so on. Look at http://www.newscientist.com/lastword.ns to see real
Q&A from New Scientist magazine.
Approximate time 30 minutes (10 to think them up quick-fire and 20 to
settle on your final choices)
Activity L – All about the Sun
In P7 we’ll be interested in the Sun because it’s the only star we can
study close at hand. Lots of the things we’ll learn about the Sun will apply
to other stars.
The Sun is a completely typical star.
Compile a fact file about the Sun. Include:
1. How massive is the Sun (Kg)?
2. How wide is the Sun (and how does that compare to the Earth)?
3. How far is the Sun from the Earth?
4. What is the Sun made from?
5. What is the corona?
6. What are Sun spots?
7. What are solar flares (coronal mass ejections to be posh)?
8. What type of star is the Sun (e.g. white dwarf, black hole,…)?
9. How hot is the Sun?
10. What powers the Sun (in other words where does it’s energy come
from)?
Try http://www.michielb.nl/sun/ for Sun facts.
Approximate time 45 minutes
Appendix – HR Data
Star
Aldebaran
Alpha Centauri A
Alpha Centauri B
Altair
Antares
Arcturus
Bernard's star
Beta Carinae
Beta Tauri
Betelgeuse
Canopus
Capella
Castor
Cygni A
Cygni B
Deneb
Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Indi
Formalhaut
Kapteyn's Star
Kruger 60B
Lacaille 21185
Lacaille 8760
Pollux
Procyon A
Procyon B
Regulus
Rigel
Ross 248
Ross 614A
Sirius A
Sirius B
Sun
Tau Ceti
Vega
Temperature (K) Brightness Type
3900
15.2 red giant
5750
10.6 main sequence
3900
9.2 main sequence
7750
12.8 main sequence
3300
19.5 super giant
4500
15.3 red giant
2600
1.8 main sequence
9750
15.4 main sequence
12000
17 main sequence
3200
20.5 super giant
7100
18.1 super giant
6000
15.6 red giant
9250
14.1 main sequence
3800
7.5 main sequence
3700
7 main sequence
9000
21.9 super giant
4500
8 main sequence
4250
8 main sequence
8500
13 main sequence
3400
3.8 main sequence
2500
1.6 main sequence
3000
4.5 main sequence
3200
6.2 main sequence
4650
14.2 red giant
6500
12.4 main sequence
6500
1.9 white dwarf
12000
15.6 main sequence
12250
21.8 super giant
2500
0.3 main sequence
2500
1.7 main sequence
9250
13.5 main sequence
8100
3.6 white dwarf
5750
10.1 main sequence
4750
9.3 main sequence
9750
14.5 main sequence
For a HR diagram the vertical axis is brightness and the horizontal axis is
temperature. The temperature axis must go backwards i.e. 0 on the right,
15000 on the left! Don’t ask why, I haven’t a clue… it just does.