Week 5: Galaxies to Black Holes

Week 5: Galaxies to Black Holes 

1. What did you do in the lab today?

N/A; I was not in the lab this week. 

2. What was the big question?

How do stars and other objects in space form, change, and influence the universe?

3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?



4. Read the online textbook chapter 2: 

  • What did you learn?
    • All stars begin as clouds of gas and dust. 
    • As the stars burn through their fuel, they lose mass, resulting in a decrease in gravity and an increase in size. 
    • Super red giant stars have more mass, so they burn their fuel quickly. 
      • Once they have burned all of their fuel, they collapse and create a supernova. 
      • Once this happens, the star can form a black hole OR a compact neutron star. 
    • Meteors: 
      • The streak of light that we see when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up due to friction. 
      • They are often called shooting stars even though they are not stars. 
    • Comets: 
      • Icy bodies that orbit the sun. As they approach the sun, they heat up and release gas and dust, forming a glowing coma and tail. 
      • Their tails always point away from the sun due to solar wind. 
    • Asteroids: 
      • Rocky objects that orbit the sun
      • Found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
      • They don't have tails because they don't release gas
    • Galaxies: 
      • A collection of billions of stars and dust that are held together by gravity in space. 
      • The Milky Way
        • Our solar system
        • The center is a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 4 billion suns. 
      • There are three shapes.
        • Spiral 
        • Elliptical 
        • Irregular 
    • Black holes 
      • An area in space that has strong gravity and no light can escape
      • A supermassive star collapses in on itself, which causes a massive explosion 
  • What was most helpful? 
    • I found the universal element formation image the most helpful because I had never seen that before, and it helped me tie everything together. I found that while reading, I was able to refer back to this picture to enhance my understanding.
  • What do you need more information on?
    • I would like more information on how black holes are formed and just more about them in general. 
 5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? 
 I don't have any questions or concerns. 


          Comments

          Post a Comment

          Popular posts from this blog

          Week 8: Geology that Kids See

          Image
           Week 8: Geology that Kids See  1. What did you do in the lab today?  Today in lab, we started by discussing the Sweater Weather article with the class. Then we moved on to examine different types of sand under a microscope, trying to determine where each type came from. As a group, we decided on some sand samples, primarily those most likely from water. After this, we moved on to examining fossils under the microscope, identifying their types, and comparing them to rocks. Finally, we took a field trip to McBride Hall and looked through the museum. The point of this field trip was to show us how we can teach our students about these topics through going somewhere to learn, enhancing learning, and engagement. For example, they have a giant sloth at this museum, and Ted mentioned that it is important for students to see it in person to support their learning.  2. What was the big question?  How can rocks and fossils help us understand Earth’s history? How do weath...
          Read more

          Week 11 Blog Post

          Image
                    This week, we went to six stations in the lab, each with a different scientific phenomenon:  Coke Float : We put four cans into a bucket of water: a mini can of Coke and a mini can of diet Coke, which both floated in the water. We also put a regular can of Coke and a regular can of diet Coke into the water. The diet Coke floated, and the Coke sunk. Our group concluded that the sugar in regular Coke is denser, which causes it to sink, and since diet Coke doesn't contain sugar, it floated. We are still unsure why the Coke mini can didn't sink when the regular size did.  Baking Soda and Vinegar : When the baking soda was mixed into the bag with vinegar, a chemical reaction caused it to become bubbly and carbonated. We also noticed that gas was created as the bag filled. We do not know why this happened.  Cold Soda : When taking the soda can out of the cooler, water begins forming outside the can and causes the can to get warm. This is ...
          Read more

          Week 12 Blog Post

          Image
               Today in the lab, we learned more about the different properties of matter and discovered how these properties can vary depending on the type of matter. We tested many different objects, such as clay, wax, crayons, erasers, chalk, pennies, tin foil, and wood, to determine whether they float or sink, their mass and volume, whether they are attracted to a magnet, and whether they will conduct electricity.       I was able to relate the lab to what I already knew about matter having different properties because I already understood that some materials can float or sink and that certain metals are magnetic, but testing these properties firsthand helped reinforce that knowledge and showed me how these properties can be measured and observed in different ways.       The part about testing for magnetism and floating/sinking was clear and easy to observe, as well as measuring mass and volume. One part that was a little confusing was un...
          Read more