NEW BLOG

WE HAVE A NEW BLOG.

YOU CAN FIND IT ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE

miamibeachhigh.dadeschools.net

Find my name and your period!

:)

Phases of the Moon

Today we took notes on the phases of the Moon. Here are a few links (I used some of them in the lecture) that might help you to better understand the phases of the Moon.

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/moon/lunar_phase1.swf

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/moon/lunar_phase2.swf

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/moon/lunar_phase3.swf

I drew up a diagram on the board that has all of the important information for this topic.

We then started to work in our workbooks on pages 76-78. We will finish the workbook assignment and perform a lab for phases of the Moon next class.

The Moon: Tides and Eclipses

Today we took the first part of the period to make corrections on the seasons lab. From what had been turned in, it seemed that the majority of you were still a bit hazy on the details of it. We reviewed the main concepts about how the seasons are formed by the Earth-Moon-Sun system, what a solstice is, etc. The grades are now in the gradebook and it seems that everyone is picking up on it a lot better.

We then started to talk about the Earth-Moon-Sun system in its relation with the tides of the ocean and eclipses. You guys took home a worksheet to complete for homework on the subject. This is the worksheet that was handed out:

Name: ______________________________________ 
Date: ___________________ 
Period: __________


The Earth-Moon-Sun System:
Orbit and Eclipses

1.      Define the following terms:

a.       Rotation:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

b.     Revolution:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

c.       Ecliptic:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

d.      Summer solstice:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

e.       Winter solstice:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

f.       Equinox:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

g.      Solar eclipse:
 __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

h.      Lunar eclipse: 
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

i.        Moon:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

j.        Neap Tide: 
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

k.      Spring Tide: 
__________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________­­______________

2.      What makes a shadow during a solar eclipse?

3.      What makes a shadow during a lunar eclipse?

4.      Draw the positions of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun during a solar eclipse.

5.      Draw an example of the Sun-Earth-Moon position where a neap tide would be observed.

6.      Draw an example of the Sun-Earth-Moon position where a spring tide would be observed.

7.      Draw the positions of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun during a lunar eclipse.

8.      Draw a diagram of the summer solstice including the Earth’s northern hemisphere and the Sun’s rays during this time..

9.      Draw a diagram of the winter solstice including the Earth’s northern hemisphere and the Sun’s rays during this time.

See you on Thursday :)

Seasons Lab

Our last class was spent doing a lab on the seasons. If you did not finish answering the questions that went along with the lab, it was to be finished for homework.

Don't forget - lab grades weigh more heavily on your overall grade than other assignments.

Here is the worksheet for the lab:

Fill out the diagram based on your observations in the lab.

Answer the following questions based on the lab performed:

1.      Do all places on Earth experience the same season at the same time?

2.      Does Earth's distance from our Sun affect seasons? Why or why not?

3.      What are the motions of Earth and our Sun that create the 24-hour day/night pattern we know on Earth? 

4.      How long does it take for Earth to go through a cycle of seasons or to go from one winter to the next? What is this period called?

5.      What changes as we go from summer to winter?

6.      What motions of our Sun and Earth can you propose that will explain these observations about the seasons on Earth?

7.      Does the direction of tilt of the Earth change? 

8.      What is the relationship between our Sun and Earth in the northern hemisphere summer?

Winter?

9.      What do you observe about the direction of incoming “solar rays” in the winter and summer?

10.  Where are the Sun's rays striking most directly in the northern hemisphere summer?

In the northern hemisphere winter? 

11.  Does distance from our Sun influence Earth's seasons? 

12.  When does the longest day of the year occur in the northern hemisphere? 

13.  What do we call it? 

14.  What is the relationship between our Sun and Earth that makes this happen?

15.  When does winter solstice occur in the northern hemisphere and what happens? 

16.  Where is our northern hemisphere axis pointing?

17.  What does equinox mean?

18.  When is the equinox?

19.  Where do the equinoxes occur in your model?

20.  What happens with our Sun's rays in the spring and fall? 

This is something like what your diagram should look like:

Which season it is in each hemisphere should also be indicated in the diagram. Don't forget - we have four seasons throughout the year.

Seasons/Tropical Storm Nicole

Today we started our section on the Sun-Earth-Moon system. We talked about the annual and daily motions of the Earth and how the Earth's tilt affects seasons. We followed it up by completing pages 73-75 in our workbooks.

The lab we were supposed to do today has been rescheduled for next class. I expect that the inclement weather had many people opting to stay home today. I hope that wherever you are that you all stay safe and that the damage from this tropical storm is minimal.

Solar System

Today we discussed the specifics of the solar system. We talked about some important people (Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Kepler) and their contributions to what we know about our solar system today. We talked about the different components of our solar system (planets, asteroids, comets) and how to classify them.

The assignment for today was to draw a geocentric and a heliocentric model of the solar system. Additionally, you were to make a T-chart to compare the different characteristics of the inner and outer planets of our solar system.

Stars

Today we talked about stars - from how they form up until how they die. We also discussed the different properties on how stars are categorized.

The assignment today was the workbook pages 317-318.

I neglected to add the vocabulary for this section in my previous post but it is as follows:

cosmology, big bang, doppler red shift, dark matter, dark energy, protostar, nuclear fusion, apparent magnitude, absolute magnitude, luminosity, solar mass, main sequence, solar system, galaxy, universe, astronomical unit