Scaling Galileo's Solar System - Times
This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection.
HideSummary
In this module, students calculate how long it takes for planets and moons to complete their orbits, and how fast they are going, in a scale model solar system, in which Saturn, Galileo's outermost planet, takes one day to circle around campus. Students recreate spreadsheets shown in the Powerpoint module on their own with formulas that answer various pieces of the overall question. This module is the third in a series of four on the Galilean Solar System.
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Learning Goals
- Determine orbital periods and linear and angular velocities for the planets and moons when the solar system is scaled to a given proportion.
Context for Use
This module was designed to be used in an undergraduate mathematical geology class where students are asked to look at geological questions mathematically and may spend more time on the math than on the geology.
Description and Teaching Materials
This module is one of several developed by Dr. Vacher. The module presentation can be found at http://powershow.com/view/3cdbe-OTk5M/Module_23_flash_ppt_presentation
The Powerpoint file is considered to be the student version. There is also an instructor's version that has active spreadsheets in it. There are instructions for requesting this version on the website.
Teaching Notes and Tips
These modules were developed as essentially self-paced, take-home lab assignments. Students are supposed to work through the modules, slide by slide, building their own worksheets as they go along, taking note of instructions and prompts, hints, and queries.
Students must have access to computers equipped with a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
Assessment
The easiest way to test student work on this module is to ask students to hand in a copy of their worksheets starting with a different set of input data. The module also ends with homework assignment questions.