Space

Name: Demetrios

Date: Wednesday, May 24 Allotted Time: 45 Minutes

Lesson title/topic/question:
Introduction to the Gravity Well

Rationale: How does this lesson connect to the learning sequence (overall rationale, goals) and/or to
previous lessons?
How have we been impacted by the ongoing changes and relationships between earth and the rest of
the universe?
This unit is meant to stoke curiosity and sustain interest in learning about the complexities of our
universe.

First Peoples’ Principles & Connections:

Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on
reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
We will develop our understanding of our fragility and place within the planet and universe
throughout this unit.
Big Ideas:
The solar system is part of the Milky Way, which is one of billions of galaxies.
Learning Intention:
What will the students learn?
I can explain how collisions cause the creation of certain objects.
I can explain how gravity affects objects in space.
CORE Curricular Competencies (DO) Content (KNOW)
Competencies plan appropriate investigations to answer my the overall scale, structure,
I understand the questions. and age of the universe
connections make predictions about the findings of my the position, motion, and
between people inquiry components of our solar
and the natural demonstrate a sustained curiosity about a system in our galaxy
environment scientific topic or problem of personal interest

Materials:
Gravity well, marbles, graphic organizers.

Connect Pacing
How will you introduce this lesson in a manner that engages students and activates their
thinking? Activate or build background knowledge, capture interest, share learning
intention?
Explain that we will be starting a new unit in science: Space. Begin by introducing the
learning intention: I can explain how collisions cause the creation of certain objects. I can
explain how gravity affects objects in space. 2 mins
Review c-chart criteria.
Process: What steps and activities are you going to use to help students interact with new Pacing
ideas, build understanding, acquire and practice knowledge, skills and/or attitudes? In what
ways have you built in guided practice?

Hook:
Invite students to gather around the gravity well, which will be set up ahead of time.
Explain that this simulation is meant to help students understand the force of gravity and
how it helped to create everything in the universe. 5 mins

Step 1
● Have students observe the shape of space/time, ask what they notice? (flat,
smooth).
● Have a marble placed in the center, what do they notice now?
● Place an even larger marble, what do they notice now? (even greater depression).
● Ask students: What rules can we create here? (The more mass an object has, the
more it dents or warps space/time).
Step 2
● Roll a marble across space time, so that it moves in a straight line, instruct students
to notice the path that it creates (straight line).

Step 3
● Roll two marbles across space/time and ask students what they notice about the
path? (they distort each other’s own path, even though they don’t touch).
● Ask: Do we need objects to touch each other for gravity to work? (no).
● How can they affect each other if they are not touching? (they warp space around
them, so objects follow that path).
● Show on the ground, how two marbles rolling near each other would not attract - as
there is not bending of space.

Step 4
● Add a marble in the center, and another further out. Have students notice the speed
of attraction.
● Repeat with a larger mass in the center. Have students notice the difference in speed
of attraction.
● Ask students why there’s a difference in speed? What is causing it? (larger mass
creates a larger dent).

Gravity and its effects on orbits.

Step 5
● Add a large mass in the center, calling it our sun. Roll a marble in a circular path
around the sun (throw tangent to sun as far away as possible - essentially rolling it
around the outside hoop) to create a CIRCULAR orbit.
● Have students observe what they notice about the shape of the orbit (circular).
● Have them notice the speed of the marble, does it change at all (constant all the way
around).
● Make connections to our Earth having a similar orbit.

Step 6
● Repeat the process with an elliptical orbit (roll marble close to Sun, parallel to it),
asking students what they notice about its shape (elliptical).
● Is the speed constant all around?
● Make connections with comets, having similar flight paths and slowing and speeding
up as they make their orbits.

Step 7
● Explain to students that these orbits decay quickly because of friction from the
spandex, but they can visualize the process with the first few orbits, and see how
orbits will decay.
● Investigate how different orbits may have led to objects not lasting long, and falling
into the sun.

Step 8
● Ask: Have you ever wondered why objects travel in the same rotation? Throw two
different handfuls of marbles in opposing directions, watch as a small group of
marbles are left orbiting around.
● Ask: What do you notice? (early collisions created few objects rotating in the same
direction- theory of our solar system, essentially objects going the wrong way get
canceled out).

Step 9
● Model how Earth and moon attract each other by throwing large (Earth) and small
(moon) marble around the sun (weight).
● Have students notice that the moon “orbits” (moves around) the Earth marble.
● Ask: Why does the moon orbit the Earth? (Earth create a dent in space/time as well,
that attracts the moon, while the Earth and moon are both orbiting the Sun).

Step 10
● Model how humans can use this as a means for space travel. Show the Earth (large
weight) and moon (sleightly smaller weight) and have a “spacecraft” marble orbit
(throw marble between both masses, aiming towards the moon on a tangent).
● Have marble complete a figure eight around the moon and back.
 ● Show how the marble orbited the moon to have it return towards the Earth, state
this is how the Apollo missions saved on fuel, “sling shooting” astronauts back home
making a figure 8.
● Escape speed plus angle, they didn't aim head on, rather tangent angle, created
escape velocity, broke from Earth's gravity to be drawn into the moon, orbit around
and fire rockets to escape the moon's gravity, only to be pulled by Earth’s in which
they did make a “collision” course to land safely on Earth.

Step 11
● Model how the moon affects the tides. Show a large mass of large marbles, with a
layer of smaller marbles around.
● Explain, the smaller layer is the Earth’s oceans, notice how when I trace the moon
around it, the out layer of marbles move closer. This is how the tides on the Earth
works, parts of the ocean bulge closer towards the moon as it orbits around the
Earth.

Step 12
● Have Small groups of students try to create their own orbits, and share what they
notice, what works and what does, for creating different stable orbits.
● Students may explore with the gravity well.

Step 13
● Explain how with numerous sized marbles, how the densest ones come in the center
first, leaving less dense ones on the outside.
● Show how with two marbles together, it looks center and lumpy. Add more marbles,
so that it forms a circle, and show how it's more symmetrical.
● Ask: why is the Earth round and not lumpy like a comet? (gravity helps push things
into the center, the more mass the more things get crushed in a circle. Whereas a
comet has less mass and less gravity to cush things into a circle or ball).

Have students complete work sheet.

Transform: How will students apply or practice their learning? Can they show or represent
their learning in personalized ways?
Students will visually understand how gravity impacts all things in the universe.
Closure: How will you solidify the learning that has taken place and deepen the learning?
Students will complete sheet to solidify what they witnessed.

Assessment: What evidence will I gather and reflect on? How will I guide the
self-assessment, goal-setting and reflection? How will I provide ongoing feedback? How will I
support students to be resources for each other?
Students will review c-chart criteria and criteria for success so that a clear understanding of
what is required for success in this phase.
Accessibility: How will you ensure accessibility for all your students? What adaptations,
supports, resources will you use?
Activity allows students of all levels access. EA support and iPads available as needed.