EARTH’S ROTATION TEKS 5.8C

STUDENT OBJECTIVE 5.8C Earth and space. The student knows that there are recognizable patterns in the natural world and among the Sun, Earth, and Moon system. The student is expected to demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours causing the day/night cycle and the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How can you show Earth rotating? What is the significance the day and night cycle? Does the Sun move across the sky?

WARM-UP QUESTIONS WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE EARTH’S ROTATION? What is the day and night cycle? Does the Sun move or the Earth?

VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY (WILL NEED TO KNOW IN 6 TH GRADE)

ROTATION What does Rotation mean? Rotation occurs when something is spinning around an axis. What are some examples of things that rotate? Tops, Ballerinas, Figure skaters, cyclones, Tornadoes, a merry-go-round, Earth How do we know that the Earth rotates? 1.Star trails- trails made with time exposure, circular paths that occur because the planet is moving and not stationary. 2.Winds curve because of the Earth’s rotation. 3.Ocean currents curve clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. 4.The movement of a pendulum. It does not actually move, it is the Earth moving that causes the pendulum to appear to change the direction of its swing.

ROTATION WHAT IS ROTATION? WHAT IS AN AXIS?

PRACTICE ROTATING STAND UP HOLD YOUR LEFT HAND UP (THUMB EXTENDED) POINT TO THE LEFT TURN, TURN, TURN THIS IS HOW THE EARTH ROTATES (Spins)

NIGHT AND DAY What causes night and day? The rotation of the Earth The side of the Earth that is facing the sun has daylight, the side of the Earth away from the sun has night. It takes 24 hours for the Earth to complete one rotation. The Earth is tilted on it’s axis at a 23.5 degree angle. The Earth’s tilt is always in the direction of the North Star. What is another name for the North Star? Polaris This tilt is what causes our days to get longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. Because of the Earth’s rotation the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. ***WRITE THIS RED SENTENCE IN YOUR JOURNAL****

PRACTICE – EXPERIENCE DAY AND NIGHT CYCLE TAPE North America (front of a person), TAPE Asia (Back of same Person) SLOWLY ROTATE (remember to use your left thumb as a guide) SHINE the FLASHLIGHT on the person (start with North America) ROTATE Where is daylight at? Where is night time at? Does it stay the same? THIS IS HOW THE EARTH EXPERIENCES DAY AND NIGHT

WEB BASED INTERACTIVE LESSON CLICK HERE FOR LESSON Study Jams As the Earth Turns Sunset and Sunrise

TODAY’S EXPERIMENT SAFETY GLASSES? GATHER YOUR MATERIALS (ONE BLUE TRAY) IN ADDITION: LABQUEST AND LIGHT PROBE WHAT CAN YOU INFER YOUR EXPERIMENT WILL BE FROM THESE MATERIALS?

SCIENTIFIC METHOD REMEMBER TO USE YOUR STEPS

PROBLEM HOW CAN I DEMONSTRATE THE EARTH ROTATES ON IT’S AXIS EVERY 24 HOURS?

HYPOTHESIS DISCUSS WITH YOUR GROUP WHAT EXPERIMENT COULD YOU PERFORM WITH THEM….. CREATE A HYPOTHESIS

TIME START AND TIME END Did you write your start time in your journal????? Remember to record date, time and any other important data as your are conducting your experiment

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PERFORM YOUR EXPERIMENT? **Hint: Ensure you use the labquest to record light samples from your flashlight and from “behind” the Earth WRITE YOUR STEPS

CONDUCT, OBSERVE AND RECORD YOUR EXPERIMENT FINDINGS CONDUCT THE EXPERIMENT OBSERVE RECORD YOUR OBSERVATIONS

CONCLUSIONS WAS YOUR HYPOTHESIS CORRECT? WHY OR WHY NOT?

QUICK CHECK: SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!!