Next Generation Science Standards
Science literacy and critical thinking skills
Analyzing and interpreting data
Developing and using models
Three dimensional lesson summary:
Students use color-magnitude diagrams and models to analyze how the initial mass of a star determines its properties such as temperature, luminosity, fusion rate, and lifespan.
Building towards:
HS-ESS1-1 Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
HS-ESS1-3 Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models | Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system. Students use isochrones to fit data in order to determine the distance and age of a star cluster. | |
Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g.,computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims. Students use color-magnitude diagrams to compare the relative mass, temperature, fusion rate, size and lifespan of main sequence stars. They then use isochrones to analyze properties of star clusters. | ||
Disciplinary Core Idea |
Students analyze the relative mass, temperature, fusion rate, size and lifespan of main sequence stars using color-magnitude diagrams. They apply these concepts to compare properties of the Sun to other main sequence stars. | |
Nuclear fusion processes in the center of the sun release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth as radiation. Students describe how the temperature, color and luminosity of a star is determined by its initial mass and evolutionary stage (such as main sequence, giant or white dwarf). | ||
Crosscutting Concept Scale, Proportion, and Quantity | The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs. Students recognize how the initial mass of a main sequence star determines the rate of nuclear fusion and star’s characteristics. | |
Connections to Nature of Science Associated with Practices | New technologies advance scientific knowledge. Students recognize that Rubin Observatory will be able to image distant and faint stars and clusters, leading to a deeper understanding of stellar evolution. | |
Connections to Nature of Science Associated with Crosscutting Concepts Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems |
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Physics - Earth-Space Science Correlation Table
Are you working on integrating Earth-Space Science standards into your Physics class? Click on the link below and make of a copy of this Google Sheet to search by Performance Expectation (PE), Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI), or Rubin Observatory investigation.