1. Spinning out of Control
October 4, 2012

2. Objective
The student will be able to analyze rotation and revolution of the Earth in order to explain their effects on the length of a day and year.

3. Imagine you live in the middle ages.
That would be from the years
There would be no electricity, gasoline, plastics, coal, complex machines, etc.

4. Your home

5. Mr. Hong’s home

6. Your clothing

7. Your mode of transportation

8. A typical day
Your day starts when the sun rises and when the sun sets. Why?
All you know is the area that is within a few miles of your home. Why?

9. As a scientist living during the middle ages, you want to know the following:
Why is there a cycle of day and night?
Why is there a yearly cycle?
Your objective is to come up with a theory that answers the questions above.

10. Imagining your are a medieval scientist, think of the following:
Where does the earth get its light?
Where does this light go at night?
Why does the sun go up and down in the sky?
Why does the moon come and go?
Is the whole earth sunny at the same time?
Are the moon, sun, and earth moving around? If so, how?

11. Title page 25, “Days, nights, years questions”

12. On page 25, answer the following in complete sentences:
Does the earth go around the sun or the sun around the earth?
Does the earth spin on its axis?
How long does it take the earth to spin once on its axis?
How long does it take for the earth to go around the sun?
Does the sun shine on the whole earth at once or just a part of it at a time?

13. How would you shade this in?
What does the flashlight represent?
What would it be if you were on the flashlight side? The other side?

18. Animations

19. On the bottom of page 24…title the page “Rotation and Revolution Diagram”
Draw a top view of the earth revolving around the sun.
Include the following components in your drawing:
Arrows to show rotation and revolution
Indicate how long it takes earth to rotate and revolve once.
Label the rotation and the revolution.