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A core learning question from the Astrobiology Learning Progressions
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7.3. How do we discover worlds around other stars?
Grades K-2 or Adult Naive Learner
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NGSS Connections for Teachers
Concept Boundaries for Scientists
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Have you ever noticed that when you get closer or further away from something hot that it really changes the temperature that you feel? For example, if you get too close to a fireplace, a heater, or a campfire, you can actually feel way too warm. But, if you move away, it starts to get cooler. The same thing happens with our Sun. It’s really warm for a planet that’s close to the Sun, but as we move further and further from the Sun, there’s less warmth from the Sun reaching the planets. This might be important when it comes to looking for alien life in the universe. When planets are really close to their stars, it’s actually too hot for liquid water on those planets. Their oceans would just boil away. But, if it’s really far from a star, then it’s so cold that liquid water freezes and makes ice. So planets that might have liquid water on their surface (like lakes and rivers and oceans), might only be in an area around their stars that “just right” for liquid water.
Disciplinary Core IdeasPS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer: Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. (4-PS3-2, 4-PS3-3) Light also transfers energy from place to place. (4-PS3-2)PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life: The energy released [from] food was once energy from the Sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water). (5-PS3-1)LS4.C: Adaptation: For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans: Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. (3-LS4-4)ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars: The Sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth. (5-ESS1-1)ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems: Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. (4-ESS2-1)Crosscutting ConceptsSystems and System Models: A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. (3-LS4-4) Patterns- Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena. (5-ESS1-2)
Big Ideas: Heat varies by the distance an object is from the heat source. The Earth has a temperature that is just right for people and other life. If Earth were closer to the Sun, liquid water would boil and evaporate. If it were too far from the Sun, liquid water would freeze. Earth’s distance from the Sun permits the liquid water necessary for life. Scientists are looking for other places that also have a temperature that is just right.Boundaries: At this level, learners focus on how the distance between a planet and its Sun affects its temperature and other characteristics.
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Grades 3-5 or Adult Emerging Learner
Storyline
NGSS Connections for Teachers
Concept Boundaries for Scientists
Resources
Have you ever noticed that when you get closer or further away from something hot that it really changes the temperature that you feel? For example, if you get too close to a fireplace, a heater, or a campfire, you can actually feel way too warm. But, if you move away, it starts to get cooler. The same thing happens with our Sun. It’s really warm for a planet that’s close to the Sun, but as we move further and further from the Sun, there’s less warmth from the Sun reaching the planets. This might be important when it comes to looking for alien life in the universe. When planets are really close to their stars, it’s actually too hot for liquid water on those planets. Their oceans would just boil away. But, if it’s really far from a star, then it’s so cold that liquid water freezes and makes ice. So planets that might have liquid water on their surface (like lakes and rivers and oceans), might only be in an area around their stars that “just right” for liquid water.It’s just like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In this story, young Goldilocks goes to eat some porridge left in the kitchen by a family of three bears. Papa Bear’s porridge was too hot and Mama Bear’s porridge was too cold, but Baby Bear’s porridge was “just right” for eating. Since this is kind of like how we …