Pi in the Sky #45

Table of Contents for #45 Pi in the Sky:

Preparation and Support

Why teach TOPS? • Welcome • Standards • Getting Ready • Overview • Photocopies

Activities and Lesson Notes

A. PI IS A CONSTANT
1. 1. What's Pi, anyway?
2. 2. Chop Circumferences into Equal Arc Lengths.
3. 3. Approximate Pi Using a Paper Plate and String.
4. 4. Make a Pi Graph.
5. 5. Calculate Earth Distances.
6. TOOLS: Millimeter Beads • Pi Graph

B. RADIANS AND DEGREES
7. 1. So What's a Radian?
8. 2. Inscribe an Equilateral Triangle.
9. 3. And What's a Pi Radian?
10. 4. Divide a Circle Into Radian Wedges.
11. 5. Calibrate a Protractor.
12. 6. No Protractors Allowed!
13. 7. Calibrate a Circle in Degrees and Radians.
14. TOOLS: Snowman • Protractor

C. COUNTING DIAMETERS
15. 1. Make a Coin-Diameter Ruler.
16. 2. Observe from the Plane of Your Table Top.
17. 3. Arrange Coins to Have the Same Apparent Size.
18. 4. Explore Angular Size Relationships Among Coins.
19. 5. Make a Ruler from Paper Plates.
20. 6. Does a Moon Ruler Correctly Scale the Real Thing?
21. 7. Gaze at a Paper Plate Moon.
22. 8. Test Your Moon Ruler on Family and Friends.
23. TOOLS: Coin Ruler • Moon Ruler • Dime Ruler

D. VISUAL ACUITY
24. 1. Test Your Visual Acuity with a 1 mm Dot.
25. 2. Test Your Visual Acuity with Other Dot Diameters.
26. 3. Compare Your Eyesight with GLAST and Hubble.
27. 4. Can You See a Dime at 100 Meters?
28. TOOL: Millimeter Dots

E. TIE YOUR KAMAL
29. 1. Make a Paper Kamal and Try It Out.
30. 2. Learn to Ride Your Kamal.
31. 3. What's Your Apparent Shoe Size?
32. 4. Knowing Height, Estimate Distance.
33. 5. Knowing Distance, Estimate Height.
34. 6. Lay Out Inner Solar System Plus Jupiter.
35. 7. Do Other Planets Have Larger Moon-Rises?
36. TOOLS: Kamal Triangle • Planets to Scale

F. LOOK FROM HERE AND THERE
37. 1. Estimate Diameter from a Distance.
38. 2. Measure Something Tall Three Ways.
39. 3. What's Parallax and How Do We Measure It?
40. 4. Step Aside and Look Again.
41. 5. How Far to Nearby Stars?
42. 6. I Beg Your Parsec.

 

Complete Master List for #45 Pi in the Sky:

Starred* items may be purchased below.

FREQUENT USE
1. ruled notebook paper
2. pencils with good erasers
3. calculators (scientific calculators are optional)
4. * paper plates, generic, 9 inch diameter
5. scissors
6. string
7. * masking tape
8. * clear tape
9. meter sticks
10. index cards

OCCASIONAL OR SINGLE USE
11. metric ruler
12. drawing compass
13. * thread
14. * straight pins
15. size-D battery, dead or alive
16. * straws
17. * hand lenses
18. coins (U.S. pennies, nickels, quarters)
19. * clay
20. dark construction paper (black, dark blue, etc.)
21. standard hole punch
22. corrugated cardboard
23. current calendar with moon phases
24. small jars or cans
25. box or grocery bag to carry stuff
26. packaging tape
27. broom
28. clip board for recording observations outside
29. mirror (optional)

Convenient Shopping:

Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses

CE Certified for solar viewing - use with book #40 The Earth Moon and Sun and #45 Pi in the Sky

Special offer for the 2012 solar eclipse on May 20th. Those west of the Mississippi should be able to view at least a partial solar eclipse. A small strip of land from Lubbock, TX to Medford, OR will be able to see a ring of fire! While supplies last, get yours today!


#1599: Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses @ $2.00 USD each

Clay - modeling

oil-based, non-drying

Sold by the 100 gram stick, about 1/4 cup, in assorted colors (our choice). One stick serves a whole classroom for TOPS applications.


#1150: Clay - modeling @ $1.50 USD per 100-g stick

Magnifier - hand lens

3X clear plastic hand lens

You'll find many uses for this basic tool of scientific inquiry. Very nice quality for the price. Supports #17 Light, #23 Rocks and Minerals, and #42 Focus Pocus. (One 3X hand lens is also included in each #100 Triple Magnifier Kit.)


#1040: Magnifier - hand lens @ $1.35 USD each

Paper Plates

9-inch diameter, generic white

A classic ripple edge-design, with wide application in TOPS experiments. Buy these here for convenience, or for less at your local grocery store.


#1200: Paper Plates @ $2.00 USD per pkg of 50

Straight Pins

steel, one and 1/16 inch long

Used in many TOPS experiments. Sometimes required for their magnetic properties. Don't purchase aluminum straight pins by mistake.


#1030: Straight Pins @ $3.00 USD per pkg of 150

Straws - straight

plastic, thin

Any length straw, between 0.20 and 0.25 inches in diameter is suitable. Grocery stores generally carry straws with flexible "elbows." You can use those if you cut off the bendable section before using.


#1070: Straws - straight @ $1.40 USD per bundle of 50

Tape - clear

3/4 inch x 1000 inch roll

Your standard desk tape with matte write-on surface.


#1011: Tape - clear @ $1.90 USD each

Tape - masking

3/4 inch x 60 yd roll

A handy science supply used in most TOPS modules.


#1010: Tape - masking @ $1.20 USD roll

Thread

light duty, 25 yd spool

Just plain old thread. Used in many TOPS titles, especially in Pendulums #34.


#1130: Thread @ $0.25 USD per spool

Teaching Tips for #45 Pi in the Sky:

We encourage improvisation - it's one of the main goals of our hands-on approach! You and your students might invent a simpler, sturdier or more accurate system; might ask a better question; might design a better extension. Hooray for ingenuity! When this occurs, we'd love to hear about it and share it with other educators. Please send ideas and photos to tops@canby.com.

Lesson by Lesson Objectives for #45 Pi in the Sky:

A. TO VERIFY: The diameter of a circle fits into its circumference ∏ times.
1. 1. Calculate the ratio C/D for different sized circles. Lo and behold, you always get about 3.14!
2. 2. Every circumference divides into 3.14 diameters (∏) and 6.28 radii (2∏).
4. 3. How many different ways can you show that ∏ equals about 3.14?
5. 4. Graph circumference as a function of diameter for circles large and small. What's the slope?
6. 5. How much farther does it take GLAST to orbit the Earth than for you to walk around it?

B. TO UNDERSTAND: One radius of arc subtends a central angle of 1 radian (57.3°): ∏ radii subtend ∏ radians (180°); 2∏ radii subtend 2∏ radians in a full circle.
7. 1. A paper plate, some simple measurements, a few snips.... Aha! So that's a radian!
8. 2. Lay a triangle with 60° corners on a circle. Does this match a radian angle?
9. 3. With a flexible ruler, measure 1-radius arc lengths around a circle circumference. Spot a genuine pi radian!
10. 4. Count millimeter beads to deduce that ∏ radians of arc subtend a central angle of 180°. It all adds up.
11. 5. The relationship between degrees and radians is direct and obvious. Fractional ∏ radians aren't quite so scary.
12. 6. These puzzles could be tough -- unless you recall that 1 radius of arc subtends 1 radian: that ∏ rad subtend 180°.
13. 7. This exercise is a good review of fractions. The angles are a bit weird, but everything adds up to ∏/2 rad or 90°.

C. TO GENERALIZE: Any object "n" diameters from your eye (n>5), subtends an angle of 1/n radians at your eye.
14. 1. Notice how the coin-diameter ruler measures distance in diameters and angles in radians for pennies, nickels and quarters.
15. 2. See how a penny looks half as tall when placed twice the number of penny-diameters from your eye.
16. 3. Observe how a penny, nickel and quarter appear to be the same size when placed equal coin diameters from your eye.
17. 4. Understand that any object "n" diameters from your eye subtends 1/n radians in your field of view (n>5).
18. 5. Correlate nickel diameters on your Coin Ruler with plate diameters on your Plate Ruler.
19. 6. Make a Moon Ruler. Correlate its size with our real Earth and Moon and the distance between.
20. 7. Use your knowledge of radians and subtended angles to make a paper plate equal in angular size to your paper-punch moon.
21. 8. Compare the actual size of the real moon to the psychological image we carry in our heads.

D. TO MEASURE: A weather balloon is visible up to 7,000 balloon-diameters away. At this distance it subtends 1/7000 rad or about 30 arc seconds in your field of vision.
22. 1. How many millimeters back from a 1 mm dot can you stand and still make it out? This distance divided into 1 mm is your visual acuity in radians.
23. 2. What works for a 1 mm dot works for smaller and larger test dots, too. Express radians as fractions with 1 in the numerator for maximum clarity!
24. 3. Practice converting user friendly radians back into seconds, minutes and degrees.
25. 4. Can you see a dime at 100 meters? Make a prediction, plan your experimental strategy, and report your conclusions.

E. TO DISCOVER: Any object with an apparent size of 1/D radians is D unit diameters from your eye.
26. 1. Merge 1/10 radian (5.73°) and a meter stick at a distance of 10 meters. Consider the implications!
27. 2. Practicing good posture, notice where to stand along a row of paper plates so Kamal and plate radian angles correspond.
28. 3. Practice estimating apparent angular size using the edge calibrations on your Kamal. Improvise a Kamal with your thumb and outstretched arm.
29. 4. Do this with a lab partner. Estimate her distance from you when she appears 1/10 radian tall next to your Kamal.
30. 5. Work with a lab partner as before. Estimate his height with your Kamal at a distance of 30 meters.
31. 6. Space the planets with your Kamal so the model Sun has the correct apparent size when viewed from each planet.
32. 7. Collect moon data from the library or the net. Calculate the ratio of diameter to distance for all major moons in our solar system.

F. TO COMPUTE: Take Kamal readings. Use algebra to compute an object's actual size; use parallax to compute actual distance. No need to go there!
33. 1. Take a Kamal reading. Move closer and take another reading. Solve simultaneous equations to estimate the diameter of a "remote" paper plate.
34. 2. Find something tall outside. Estimate its height with your Kamal and clever math following three different strategies.
35. 3. Watch the end of a meter stick "jump" back and forth relative to distant landmarks. Measure this parallax with your Kamal and with a ruler.
36. 4. Set up a 1-meter baseline, positioned sideways to a "remote" tree or pole. Measure its parallax with your Kamal and calculate its distance.
37. 5. Knowing the parallax shift of nearby Sirius against distant background stars, estimate how far away it is in astronomical units and light years.
38. 6. Understand how a distance of one parsec is defined. Uses this definition to calculate the distance to Sirius in parsecs.

National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996) for #45 Pi in the Sky:

TEACHING Standards

These 37 labs promote excellence in science teaching by these NSES criteria:
Teachers of science...
A: ...plan an inquiry-based science program. (p. 30)
B: ...guide and facilitate learning. (p. 32)
C: ...engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning. (p. 37)
D: ...design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science. (p. 43)

CONTENT Standards

These 37 labs contain fundamental content as defined by these NSES guidelines (p. 109).
• Represent a central event or phenomenon in the natural world.
• Represent a central scientific idea and organizing principle.
• Have rich explanatory power.
• Guide fruitful investigations.
• Apply to situations and contexts common to everyday experiences.
• Can be linked to meaningful learning experiences.
• Are developmentally appropriate for students at the grade level specified.

Unifying Concepts and Processes

NSES Framework: Systems, order, and organization • Evidence, models and explanation • Constancy, change, and measurement
Core Concepts/Processes: Objects appear as large as the angle they subtend in your field of view. Thus, you can hide the Sun with your thumb.

Science as Inquiry (content standard A)

NSES Framework: Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations. • Design and conduct a scientific investigation. • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data. • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence. • Think critically and logically to connect evidence and explanations. • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions. • Communicate scientific procedures and explanations. • Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Core Inquiries: Estimate the angular size of the moon in radians. Does it really seem that small?

Earth and Space Science (content standard D)

NSES Framework: Objects in the sky • Changes in earth and sky • Earth in the solar system
Core Content: Create simple instruments that measure the apparent angular size of distant objects. • Estimate real size and real distance as astronomers do. • Understand the geometry of subtended angles; the astronomy of apparent size.

History and Nature of Science (content standard G)

NSES Framework: Science as a human endeavor • History of science
Core Content: Ancient Arabian navigators sailed north or south until their Kamal (a rectangle of wood on a knotted string) fit perfectly between Polaris and their horizon. Then they "sailed their latitude" to home port.