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Interactive Science | 99.86%- Measuring Our Sun’s Mass
| Our sun, with a mass that consumes 99.86% of everything in our solar system, is beyond enormous. But how do you actually grasp that? Simple- you draw a box. But not just any box. One whose size represents .14% of the total area of a piece of paper.
It takes a 9-step mathematical journey to get to the end, but anyone can do the steps. The activity concludes with a tie-in to gravity.
FREE Teacher Notes preview
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Teacher Notes
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►A strong set of
Teacher Notes (shown left), including:
- 6 pages of details, discussion, and information. Illustrated with images to keep you clear.
- Divided into 3 easy-to-follow sections: Materials per student, Beforehand, and Procedure.
- A 3 handy column table that 1. summarizes the 9-step mathematical procedure, 2. shows an acceptable “Answer Range” for each step, and 3. “Comments” that tell you what to watch for and suggestions on how to word the steps.
- An extension of the lesson that moves naturally into gravity, which makes for a nice carry-over for the next day.
- 3 teacher/student dialogues, based on actual classroom
discussion, which gives you a truer feel for the lesson.
- 9 Accessories- things you can choose to include to
lengthen and deepen the activity.
►A one-page
Quick Notes document that outlines the lesson. Use this to see just what the essential elements are, or if you find the regular Teacher Notes too descriptive.
►A visually-powerful 7-slide
PowerPoint (shown right) that helps you introduce the lesson, reminds students how to measure with millimeters, leads them (and you) through the 9-step mathematical procedure, displays the notes they need to write, and moves into the gravity discussion and homework assignment.
►An optional
Student Handout with the formulas already printed on it.
►8
pictures you can use to reinforce concepts.
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PowerPoint
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Yes, the math in this lesson looks scary. But the neat thing is the PowerPoint keeps things clear by revealing only 1 step at a time. That along with the intrigue of our guiding question (just how big is the sun?) will keep students interested, and give the all-important purpose to the point that they hardly even notice they're doing serious mathematics.
Interactive Science Lessons With A Math Emphasis
With all the emphasis being placed on students being able to learn and perform mathematics, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get and hold students' attention when we try to teach. They do math in every classroom now, and with that kind of competition you'd at least like to make your presentation interesting. You'll find a strong emphasis on math when you do these lessons:
The nice thing about the math in these lessons is there's a point to it, so it's not just rote and repetitive. In fact the numbers can get downright crazy, but the mystery unfolding in the lesson will keep most of your students from putting up those "fear walls" that can shut down all thinking. And in many of our other lessons we've tried to sneak in as much math as we could. Suddenly, implementing math isn't so bad, is it?
Buying Into It
What's the hardest part of any lesson? For most of us it's capturing our students’ attention. Since worksheets usually aren’t that breathtaking, we found that a different approach works better. Our lessons were designed to be interactive with your students- to provide a reason for them to listen as well as give you a centerpiece you can build on. An involved student will pay attention and take ownership in the activity, which fuels their interest even more. And that’s what causes them to "buy into it".
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