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12
Exploring the
Solar System
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Getting started
Fig. 2
A satellite orbiting
the Earth.
satellite
in orbit
relay to
satellite
relay to
consumer
microwave
signal
Earth
satellite
reciever dish
on a house
ground station
transmitting
the TV signal
Satellite
An object
that orbits a
planet, such
as the Earth,
or another
large object
in space.
Satellites may
be natural or
man-made.
Fig. 3
The arrows show
the forces acting
on a car.
acceleration
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
Decelerate
This means to
get slower.
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
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Learning Outcomes
Concepts
In completing this unit you will learn to:
Explain the effect of gravity in the
Solar System (E5)
Compare advantages and
disadvantages of different methods
of space exploration (E6)
Key Terms
The meanings of these terms can be found
in the glossary on pages 27590.
accelerate
Moon
astronaut
Newton
decelerate
orbit
electromagnetic
probe
radiation
satellite
gravitational field
shuttle
gravitational field
Soviet Union
strength
space race
gravity
telescope
lenses
weight
mass
Investigating Scientifically
S8
Success Criteria
Learning outcome E5
Here is what you might aim to achieve by
the end of this unit:
Emerging outline the movement of
bodies in the Solar System
I know what
these words
mean
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E5
S8
Fig. 4 Isaac
Newton sitting under
an apple tree, just
before the apple fell.
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support
from tree
weight
weight
Fig. 7 Everything is
pulled towards the
center of the Earth.
Earth
Gravitational
field
An area
around an
object where
its gravity
causes a force.
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Mass
The amount
of matter in
an object.
Every object
is made up
of atoms,
and each
atom has an
atomic mass.
The mass of
an object is
the total of
these atomic
masses.
non-contact force [ ]
Activity 1.1
What to do:
1. Hang the Newton meter from the clamp. A Newton meter
measures Newtons.
2. Copy and continue this table on a piece of paper. Your
table should have ten rows.
Mass (kg)
Force (N)
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1 kg
0.15 kg
100 kg
0.57 kg
What is the relationship between the mass and the force that
acts on it?
x-axis
The horizontal
axis on a graph.
y-axis
The vertical axis
on a graph.
We can calculate the force on an object from the
gravitational field strength (g) and the objects mass (m).
The force on an object due to the gravitational field is called
the weight (w) of the object.
On the surface of the Earth, g 10 N/kg.
But g is not the same everywhere. Study and complete Table 1.
Weight of
Place
Gravitational
field strength
(N/kg)
1 kg
10
10 N
1.6
3.8
274
24.9
0.5 kg
10 kg
80 kg
0.8 N
2750 N
Table 1
People have walked on the Moon. Your teacher will show you
a video of this.
Can you say how people move differently on the Moon? Can
you explain it?
Gravitational
field strength
The force that
is exerted on
every kilogram
of an object
that is in the
field. It is
normally given
the letter g. It
is measured
in Newtons
per kilogram,
N/kg.
Weight
The force
acting on an
object in a
gravitational
field, such as
the Earths
gravitational
field. It
depends on the
strength of the
gravitational
field (g) and
the mass of the
object (m).
w = mg.
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5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000
distance from the Earths surface (km)
40 000 km
1000 km
50 000 km
10 000 km
The strength of the gravitational pull between two objects
depends on:
the mass of the objects
the distance between the objects.
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E5
Imagine you could throw a ball very far. Imagine you could
throw it so far that our picture has to show the curve of the
Earth. Fig. 10 shows this.
Fig. 10 You can see
that the ball travels
further than it would if
Earth wasflat.
Now imagine you could throw the ball very fast. Whenever
the ball falls towards Earth, due to Earths gravity, the Earth
curves away from the ball. This is what happens when a
satellite orbits the Earth.
Orbit
The circular
or elliptical
path of a
planet around
the Sun, or
of a moon
or artificial
satellite
around a
planet.
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Fig. 11 A satellite
orbits the Earth
but does not fall
towards it because
the satellite is going
very fast.
Equipment:
Some string
(about 1 meter),
an (old) tennis
ball, a length of
dowel (5cm), glue
or sticky tape, a
sharp knife
Activity 2.1
What to do:
You will need to do this activity outside!
1. Tie the string tightly around the middle of the dowel. Use
sticky tape or glue to make sure the knot doesnt slip.
2. Cut a small slit in the tennis ball, and push the dowel into
theball.
3. Hold the string tight, about halfway along, and spin it.
When it is spinning, try to keep your hand quite still. Move
it just enough to keep the ball spinning.
What is the shape of the balls path?
4. Spin the ball with the string longer.
5. Spin the ball with the string shorter.
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What do you notice about spinning the ball when the string is
short, and when the string is long?
Fig. 12 shows the diagram of the spinning ball.
V
Fig. 12
The force F on the
ball from the string
keeps it moving in a
circle at velocity V.
When the ball goes
faster, you need
more force to keep
it in the circle. If the
ball goes too slowly,
the circle collapses.
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E5
Mercury
Moon
A moon is
a natural
satellite of
a planet.
In English,
we use the
same word
as the name
of our moon.
Because its a
name, we give
it a capital
Mthe Moon!
Venus
Earth
(1 moon)
Mars
(2 moons)
Fig. 13 The Solar System is the Sun and everything that orbits the Sun. You
learned about orbits in the last section. All planets and moons in the Solar System
are in orbit.
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Jupiter
(4 large moons;
at least 63 smaller moons)
Saturn
(62 moons)
Uranus
(27 moons)
Neptune
(14 moons)
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You can see that in Fig. 13 the distances are not to scale. Also,
the planets do not really line up like this!
Think about what you have learned about gravity. Explain
how you know that the Sun must have a much larger mass
than the planets.
E6
Fig. 14 Arab
astronomers at work
in ancient times.
Reflection
Why do you think some
planets were discovered
long ago, and some
much more recently?
What do you think
people used to discover
these planets?
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a)
c)
Telescope
A device
that allows
us to look at
distant objects
in detail.
Lenses
Curved pieces
of glass used
to focus or
enlarge an
image, for
example in a
magnifying
glass.
b)
d)
Fig. 16
A magnifying glass
has a lens.
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Soviet Union
A country
that was
made up
of Russia,
Ukraine and
several other
modern
countries.
In the 1960s and 70s, the United States and the Soviet Union
competed in the space race. Each country wanted to be the
first to achieve important goals.
First man-made
satellite, 1957
Sputnik was the
worlds first artificial
satellite.
1957
1961
1962
1963
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First probe on the Moon, 1966 Luna 9 landed on the Moon and sent
back photographs from the surface.
1966
1969
1981
The space
race
The
competition
between the
United States
and the
Soviet Union
to be the first
to achieve
goals in space
exploration.
Fig. 17
A timeline showing
the space race.
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Astronaut
A person who
travels into
space.
Electro
magnetic
radiation
Energy that
is given out
and travels in
straight lines
from bodies
like the Sun.
Light is a
type of electro
magnetic
radiation.
Some radiation is harmful
and damages
human cells
which leads to
cancers.
Shuttle
A reusable
spacecraft
designed to
survive a trip
to space and
to be used
many times.
Although
the shuttles
themselves
were reused,
they were
lifted into
space by
a one-use
rocket.
Travelling in space
Travelling in space is very expensive. A rocket launched into
space needs to work against the Earths gravity, and needs
enormous amounts of fuel. When people are on board, lots of
money must be spent on safety. About 50 years ago, only the
United States and the Soviet Union could afford to have these
very ambitious space programs.
Space travel is dangerous. Only a few hundred people have
been into space, and at least 35 have died, normally during
the launch.
Space is very cold but on the return to Earth a spaceship
becomes very hot as it enters the Earths atmosphere. This
is a dangerous time for astronauts and spacecraft need to
withstand high temperatures.
The Earths atmosphere protects people on Earth from dangerous
electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. The spaceship needs
to protect astronauts from this radiation and it may limit how
long we can spend beyond the Earths atmosphere.
Far from the Earth, the Earths gravity is quite weak. This
means that our muscles dont need to work as hard and they
become weak over time. For trips far away from Earth, for
example to other planets, astronauts would need to do lots
ofspecial exercises to keep their muscles healthy.
On one-time spaceships, for example in the Apollo mission,
the outside of the spaceship was allowed to burn up. But
for the space shuttle, it was important not to damage the
spacecraft because it will be used for another mission.
Fig. 18 The shuttle was covered with insulating tiles to protect the spacecraft
and the crew inside. This silicon tile has been heated to 2200 C, but it is still safe to
touch because it conducts heat very badly.
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The silica glass tiles which cover the space shuttle are very
bad conductors of heat. How does this protect the shuttle?
In recent years, more countries have sent probes into space.
China, India and the European Union all have active space
programs, and the UAE has also launched its first satellite,
DubaiSat1.
Manned and unmanned missions
A manned mission is when men and women travel into space.
An unmanned mission uses probes controlled from Earth.
Modern probes are like robots. They can react to events.
Which of these missions were manned and which were
unmanned? You may need to use the Internet.
Manned Unmanned
Sputnik []
[]
Sputnik 2 []
[]
Luna 9
[]
[]
Manned Unmanned
Apollo 11 []
[]
Mars 2
[]
[]
DubaiSat1
[]
[]
Advantages
Probe
An unmanned
craft, often
small, which is
sent into space
or to other
planets, moons
or comets
for scientific
research. We
also send
probes deep
into the ocean.
Rover
A space
exploration
vehicle
designed to
move across
the surface of
a planet.
Disadvantages
Telescopes on Earth
Telescopes in space (like Hubble)
Probes to the Moon and the planets
Probes that travel far, and even leave the
Solar System (for example Voyager)
Manned mission
Rovers (for example on Mars)
Observation from Earth
Table 2
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5 Presentation Task
You have seen some of the discoveries we have made in space.
The USA alone has spent over $900 000 000 000 on exploring
space.
With your team, research the reasons for and against manned
space travel. Make sure you consider both sides of the discussion.
Your team task is to produce a presentation giving details of
why you support or oppose manned space exploration.
Think about these questions:
What is the purpose of exploration?
How much does a mission cost?
What are the limits to what probes and rovers can do?
What are the limits to what humans can do?
What science do we learn from the missions themselves?
What other benefits are there from space missions?
What else could we spend the money on?
Use the Internet and the library to research your answers.
You could present your work in one of these ways:
A poster
A classroom display
When you are ready, your group will present your arguments
for or against. You will listen to other groups who are arguing
the other way. Be ready to ask and answer questions!
6 Feedback
Self Assessment
Shade in the level you have achieved for each outcome in this unit.
Concept Learning
Outcome
E5
E6
Emerging
Developing
Mastery
Compare advantages
and disadvantages of
different methods of
space exploration.
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Skill Learning
Outcome
Emerging
Record observations/
data in some kind of
systematic way.
S8
Developing
Mastery
Record observations/
data in a simple table.
Construct an
appropriate and
complete table to record
observations/data.
Medals
What have been your greatest achievements during this unit? For example,
mastering a concept outcome, improving a skill or feeling proud of your
organizational abilities, team work or presentation.
What did you do well?
1.
2.
3.
Missions
What are your targets for improvement? Select two Learning Outcomes to focus
on and set yourself a target. For example, if you have reached developing, what
do you need to do next time to achieve mastery?
Learning Outcomes
Target
1.
2.
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mass, and the mass of the object that gravity pulls it towards.
Objects in the Solar System move in orbits.
Orbital movement is due to gravity.
Smaller objects orbit larger objects.
Humans can explore space from the Earth by travelling into
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