Unit 4: Solar System

Students will know how to:

-Explain the formation of the solar system using the nebular hypothesis supported by observational evidence

-Analyze how gravity governs the motion of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets within the solar system

-Use mathematical and conceptual models to describe orbital motion, including Kepler’s laws and Newtonian gravity

-Interpret data on planetary motion to compare orbital characteristics such as period, distance, and velocity

-Compare and contrast terrestrial and gas giant planets using composition, density, and atmospheric properties

-Explain how solar system bodies formed and differentiated over time

-Analyze how space exploration and observational data have improved understanding of the solar system

Core Topics

-Solar system formation and protoplanetary disk development

-Gravitational forces and orbital motion

-Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion (conceptual and data-based application)

-Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation (qualitative and quantitative reasoning)

-Planet classification and comparative planetology

-Asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets

-Space exploration and observational astronomy

NGSS Performance Expectations

HS-ESS1-1 – Develop and use models of the solar system based on gravitational interactions and formation evidence

HS-ESS1-4 – Use data from observations of solar system objects to explain formation and evolution

HS-PS2-4 – Use Newton’s laws to explain and predict orbital motion

Essential Questions students will be able to answer:

-How did the solar system form from a rotating disk of gas and dust?

-How does gravity control the motion of objects in the solar system?

-How do Kepler’s Laws describe planetary motion, and what data supports them?

-Why do planets have different compositions and structures?

-How do orbital characteristics change with distance from the Sun?

-How do comets, asteroids, and dwarf planets differ from major planets?

-How has space exploration changed our understanding of the solar system?

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs):

-Developing and Using Models

-Analyzing and Interpreting Data

-Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

-Constructing Explanations

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs):

-Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

-Patterns

-Cause and Effect

-Systems and System Models

Demonstration of Learning

-Unit test with orbital motion and planetary data analysis

-Planet comparison using density, composition, and atmospheric data sets

-Orbital simulation labs modeling gravity and motion relationships

-Analysis of Kepler’s Laws using real or simulated planetary data

-Solar system formation modeling activity

-CER explaining how gravity shaped the structure of the solar system