HS-ESS1-1

SCUSD NGSS Curriculum Guide ESS1.A - The Universe and Its Stars // The star called the sun is changing and will burn out over a life span of approximately 10 billion years. The sun is just one of more than 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and the Milky Way is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth //
 * 9 - 12 Grade Band **


 * HS-ESS1-1: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy in the form of radiation. ** [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.] [//Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the sun’s nuclear fusion.//]

====**Science Background for the Teacher**: Life cycle of a star. How to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth using light spectra and brightness. Basics of nuclear fusion. Energy transfer through radiation. Each element puts off its on wavelength. Know how HR diagram works. Doppler Effect. Solar weather. ====

**Key Vocabulary**: nuclear fusion, radiation, energy, solar flares, sunspot cycle, mass, luminosity


====**Possible Assessments (formative and/or summative): **==== Basic diagram of nuclear fusion.

**Key Student Activity: **
1. Observe the spectra of different elements and draw their spectral lines. 2. Nasa website and look at pictures of solar flares and sunspot. 3. Graph where certain stars fall in the Main Sequence of the HR diagram.

**Common Student Misconceptions: **
Sun is on fire.

**Things to Avoid/Correct: **
[Descriptions of imprecise language or other mistakes related to this topic that might have to be corrected at a higher grade band.]

====**Other Resources (text, video, simulations, activities, models, etc..)**: ==== Nasawavelength.org/resources

www.swpc.noaa.gov (weather prediction from solar flares)