Formation of our Solar System
Topic/Concept: Formation of our Solar System
Prerequisite knowledge required: Students should have an idea of basic physical concepts of gravity, angular momentum, energy, and evaporation/condensation. Students should also have an idea about the definition for quantities like mass and density and temperature. It would be convenient, though not necessary, if students had some idea about different stellar characteristics, and the concept of a solar system
Resources required: Student should come prepared with a notebook and a writing utensil. The teacher will need a projector setup for a quick power-point presentation.
Learning Goals: Students will gain the ability to retell the solar nebula theory and how various aspects of our solar system today provide direct evidence for this formation scheme. Students will also come away with some information about the planets as well as a curiosity for extra-solar planets.
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to provide accurate answers to the following questions according to our current theory:
1. Given that our Sun is in the center of the Solar System, can you say something about what existed here before there was a Sun and Planets as we see them today?
2. How did all the planets (as well as the sun’s rotational equator) end up in roughly the same plane?
3. Why do all the planets have roughly circular orbits?
4. How did we end up with terrestrial (rocky) planets close to the sun and Jovian (gaseous) planets farther from the sun?
5. Given that we see craters on most solid surfaces in our solar system, how did they form?
6. Why do you think that all the planets show differentiation (layering of material)?
7. Can you come up with a few ways that planets can obtain moons?
And if there is time we will discuss:
1. Some general characteristics about the planets’ formation histories
2. Some information about extra-solar planetary systems
3. Specific characteristics of our Moon.
Opening Activity: The teacher should provide a power-point presentation with images of disks around stars and provide some facts about extra-solar planetary systems including how they tell us about our own history. Perhaps the teacher can also show some satellite images of our planets. The teacher should also try to gauge how well the students already know about the formation of our solar system through a few full class questions.
Concept Activity/Task: The teacher should provide a with the questions listed in the Learning Objectives sections. The students will be given time to discuss the answers to these questions. The teacher should assign a different question as a starting point for each group. Students should not be reading the answers in their text book; rather the teacher wants them to try to come up with reasonable explanations on their own based on the various physical concepts we have covered earlier. Once they feel confident with their answer they can move onto other questions if there is time. After about 10 minutes, the teacher should have each group present what they have discussed and allow the class to respond. The teacher should then give some input and then end with an accurate description of how each characteristic came to be. The teacher should anticipate the need for some lecture mixed in with the discussion after the students provide their explanations. The goal of this activity is to allow the students to be involved in the lesson throughout the entire class period; the class will formulate our solutions together
If time permits, the teacher can then go into a bit of planetary characteristics with a discussion on what is necessary for life to exist on a planet.
Checking For Understanding: Their discussion and presentation of their explanations will help the teacher gauge how well they are able to interpret these characteristics based on the physical concepts that have been discussed in previous classes. An out of class assignment will also help with this.
Assignment: The teacher shouldwill provide them with a written homework sheet reinforcing what was talked about in class. There is also the possibility of an assignment where the students must describe a planet where life could live that didn’t require the same environment as us (ie different temperature, atmospheric content, etc.) This can be a fictional planet or a body in our solar system.