NYSTCE CST MULTISUBJECT PART 3 (245)
NYSTCE CST MULTISUBJECT PART 3 (245)
Scientific Inquiry - Answer- The diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work.
Features of Scientific Inquiry - Answer- 1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions
- Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions
- Learner formulates explanations from evidence
- Learner connects explanations to scientific knowledge
- Learner communicates and justifies explanations
Steps of Scientific Inquiry - Answer- 1. Figure out the problem - use 5 senses, observe world around you
- Research - educate yourself on how to solve your problem/answer question, go to
- Hypothesis - educated guess on how to solve your problem/answer question (if ...
- Experiment
- Analyze results
- Conclusion - did you solve your problem/answer question? why/why not? what is
- Communicate your results
library/online/ask an expert, gather information
then ...)
next?
Earth-Moon-Sun Interactions - Answer- 1. Rotation and Revolution
- Moon Phases
- Eclipses
- Seasons
- Tides
- Rotation and Revolution - Answer- The moon and Earth revolve and rotate. Rotation
is when a planet or moon turns all the way around or spins on its axis one time.The axis of rotation is an imaginary line going from the north pole to the south pole.When a planet or moon travels once around an object this is considered a revolution.
On Earth, a rotation is pretty short - it happens once a day! It is the rotation that makes the sun appear to come up in the morning and set at night. On Earth, a revolution is quite a bit longer - one year!
The moon is a little different. The moon rotates once about every 27-29 days, and revolves once about every 27-29 days. So every time the moon goes around Earth it turns around one time. That is why the moon always looks the same - we only ever see one side of it!
- Moon Phases - Answer- The Moon has phases because it orbits Earth, which causes
the portion we see illuminated to change.
NYSTCE CST MULTISUBJECT PART 3 (245)
The Moon takes 27.3 days to orbit Earth, but the lunar phase cycle (from new Moon to new Moon) is 29.5 days.The Moon spends the extra 2.2 days "catching up" because Earth travels about 45 million miles around the Sun during the time the Moon completes one orbit around Earth.At the new Moon phase, the Moon is so close to the Sun in the sky that none of the side facing Earth is illuminated. In other words, the Moon is between Earth and Sun.At first quarter, the half-lit Moon is highest in the sky at sunset, then sets about six hours later.At full Moon, the Moon is behind Earth in space with respect to the Sun. As the Sun sets, the Moon rises with the side that faces Earth fully exposed to sunlight.
- Eclipses - Answer- An eclipse occurs at those times when the Moon moves into a
position of direct alignment with the Sun and the Earth.There are two basic types of eclipses - lunar and solar.
Total lunar eclipse: when the full Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth. In this case, the Sun and the Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth. If you observe a lunar eclipse (visible only at night at the time of certain full Moons), you'll see the bright lunar disk turn dark -- sometimes a coppery red color -- for as long as an hour or more.
Total solar eclipse: which occurs when the new Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth.In the narrow path of totality swept across the Earth by the Moon's complete shadow (the umbra), daytime briefly turns to an eerie darkness, and during these few precious minutes the wispy halo of the Sun - the corona -comes into view as the dark disk of the Moon totally obscures the bright Sun.Outside the path of totality, in the Moon's partial shadow (the penumbra), some portion of the Sun's bright disk remains visible.
- Seasons - Answer- The seasons are the result of the tilt of the Earth's axis. The
Earth's axis is tilted from perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic by 23.45°. This tilting is what gives us the four seasons of the year - spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter.Since the axis is tilted, different parts of the globe are oriented towards the Sun at different times of the year. Summer is warmer than winter (in each hemisphere) because the Sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle during summer than during winter and also because the days are much longer than the nights during the summer.During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the Earth at an extreme angle, and the days are very short. These effects are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis.
Solstices The solstices are days when the Sun reaches its farthest northern and southern declinations. The winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 and marks the beginning of winter (this is the shortest day of the year). The summer solstice occurs on June 21 and marks the beginning of summer (this is the longest day of the year).
NYSTCE CST MULTISUBJECT PART 3 (245)
Equinoxes Equinoxes are days in which day and night are of equal duration. The two yearly equinoxes occur when the Sun crosses the celestial equator.The vernal equinox occurs in late March (this is the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere); the autumnal equinox occurs in late September (this is the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere).
- Tides - Answer- The moon causes many of the tides in the Earth's oceans.
This is because of the gravity force between the Earth and Moon.
During full and new moons the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon combine to produce the highest tides called Spring Tides.
During quarter moons the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon oppose each other to produce the lowest tides called Neap Tides.
Factors that Influence Weather - Answer- The water cycle - sun warms the surface of Earth, water rises in form of vapor (evaporation) Vapor provides moisture that forms clouds; eventually returns to Earth in form of precipitation.
Air masses - When air hovers for a while over a surface area with uniform humidity and temperature, it takes on the characteristics of the area below. These massive volumes of air often cover thousands of miles and reach to the stratosphere. Overtime, mid- latitude cyclonic storms and global wind patterns move them to locations far from their source regions.
What happens when 2 air masses meet? The cold air pushes the hot air upwards, when going up the temperature drops and the air can't hold as much water when it is warm, so the cold water molecules condense and form clouds.
Jet stream - A jet stream is the name given to the area of air above where two air masses of different temperature converge e.g. a cold front meeting a warm front. The greater the temperature difference between the air masses, the greater the air pressure difference, and the faster the wind blows in the jet stream. This river of air has wind speeds which often exceed 100 mph, and sometimes over 200 mph. Jet streams more commonly form in the winter, when there is a greater difference between the temperature of the cold continental air masses and warm oceanic air masses.
This meandering current of high-speed wind, a jet stream is usually found around five to ten miles above Earth's surface.
It generally flows west to east, often in a non-continuous wavy fashion, with cold, Equator-ward dips and warm, Pole-ward bulges.
