KWBAT use a book to make visualizations and compare the size and distance of objects on Earth and in space.
Key Point: What objects look like to us on Earth depends on the size of an object and how far away (distance) the object is from us.
Today we’re learning about the sizes of objects in space. Put these five objects in order from what you THINK is the smallest to what you THINK is the largest - a star, the Earth, the sun, your city, Jupiter.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Star | arrow_right_alt | Smallest |
Los Angeles | arrow_right_alt | Second Smallest |
Sun | arrow_right_alt | Middle size |
Earth | arrow_right_alt | Second largest |
Jupiter | arrow_right_alt | Largest |
Today we’re also learning about the distances of objects in space. Put these four objects in order from what you THINK is the closest to us what you THINK is the furthest away from us - a star, the moon, your school, the sun.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Sun | arrow_right_alt | Closest |
KIPP Comienza | arrow_right_alt | Second Closest |
Star | arrow_right_alt | Second Farthest |
Moon | arrow_right_alt | Farthest |
DIRECTIONS: Read the sentences below. Choose Agree or Disagree
Earth is a big planet compared to other planets.
When we see stars in the sky, they look small because they are small.
The sun is smaller than Earth.
The sun is the only star in our solar system.
The stars we see are all the same distance away from Earth.
On Page 3, it says “To understand how long a beluga whale is, I need to make a picture in my head of a car.” Use the draw tool to show this.
On Page 4, it says “I see a diagram of six cars lined up to help us understand how long a blue whale is….I’m thinking of the school parking lot.” Use the draw tool to show this.
If you compare Earth to other planets in our solar system, it doesn't seem so big anymore. Is Earth a small planet or a big one? Which planets make Earth look big, and which ones make it look small? Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system, and its diameter is about 11 times bigger than Earth's. That means if you lined up 11 Earth-sized planets side by side, they would be about as wide as Jupiter
We think of the Earth as a big planet. What can you say about the size of the Earth compared to the size of Jupiter?
The Earth is what size (bigger of smaller) compared to Jupiter?
Sentence starter: The Earth is _________________ compared to Jupiter.
Jupiter really is big, right? It might seem that way, but there's something in our solar system that makes even Jupiter look small…that's right, it's the sun! The sun is so big that it makes Jupiter look small, and it makes Earth look tiny. In fact, the sun's diameter is almost 10 times the diameter of Jupiter and about 110 times the diameter of Earth.
What can you say about the size of the sun compared to the size of Jupiter or the size of the Earth?
The sun is what size (bigger of smaller) compared to Jupiter?
Sentence starter: The sun is _________________ compared to Jupiter.
The sun is the biggest object in our solar system . . . but our solar system is only a small part of the universe. What about other stars? They look like tiny specks of light in the night . . . but are they really tiny?
Arcturus is one of the brightest stars you can see in the sky on a summer night. If you lined up 25 stars the size of the sun, they would be about as wide as Arcturus, which means Arcturus is definitely big.
There are other stars that are even bigger. like the star Betelgeuse! You would have to line up 40 stars the size of Arcturus (or 1,000 stars the size of the sun) to be as wide as Betelgeuse.
Is the sun big? As the only star in our solar system, it seems big, but when you find out how big some other stars are, the sun doesn't seem so big anymore.
Our sun is a star. What can you say about the size of our sun compared to the size of other stars?
The sun is what size (bigger of smaller) compared to other stars?
Sentence starter: The sun is _________________ compared to other stars.
Is the sun near Earth, or far away? We can say the sun is far from Earth, but it is extremely close for a star. Compared to the sun, the other stars are much farther away. Besides the sun, the next closest star is called Proxima Centauri. Even if we traveled in the fastest spacecraft that has ever been launched...it would take almost 90,000 years to get to Proxima Centauri.
There is something that travels much faster than any spacecraft: light. In a year, light travels about 6 trillion miles. That is the distance astronomers call a light-year. A light-year is not a long time; it is a HUGE distance. It takes 4 years for light to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth, so we say that Proxima Centauri is 4 light-years away from Earth.
A light year measures distance or time?
How many miles are in one light year?
Criteria For Success (CFS)
Read the labels for each column
Read the numbers
What do the numbers (data) show?
Which star is closest to the Earth?
What can you say about the distance of all the other stars compared to the sun?
Sentence starter: All the other stars are ______________________
Are stars all around us, or just in one direction?
How many stars are in our solar system?
What is the name of the star(s) in our solar system?
Earth is a big planet compared to most of the other planets.
When we see stars in the sky, they look small because they are small.
The sun is smaller than Earth.
The sun is the only star in our solar system.
The stars we see are all the same distance away from Earth.
How close is it (the closest star to Earth)?
