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Star Brightness & Distance

CONCEPTUAL
Science›Space Systems & Earth's History|Ages 10—11|ID: mt_ZhKuYCbXz1

Support an argument that the apparent brightness of the sun and stars is due to their relative distances from Earth, understanding the sun is a relatively close star

Mastery Evidence

  • Explain that the sun is a star, and it appears much brighter because it is much closer to Earth
  • Describe how a torch looks brighter close up and dimmer far away as an analogy
  • Argue that differences in apparent brightness of stars are mainly due to their different distances from Earth

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] explain why the sun looks so much brighter than other stars, even though many stars are actually bigger — it's because the sun is much closer to us?”

Curriculum Standards1 alignment

5-ESS1-1Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5codes only
Standard code — full text not included in this dataset.

Prerequisites2

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  • The solar system hard

    Must know the sun is a star and planets orbit it before arguing about star brightness and distance

    • Naming the Planets hard

      Describing sun, Earth, and moon as spherical bodies and planets orbiting the sun requires solar system vocabulary

    • Sun, Moon, and stars hard

      Must observe sun/moon patterns before learning about the solar system model

      • Naming the Planets hard

        Describing predictable patterns of sun, moon, and stars requires planet, star, moon, orbit vocabulary

      • Why seasons change hard

        Must observe sun/moon/star patterns before relating daylight to time of year

        • Naming the Planets soft

          Relating daylight length to time of year draws on orbit and solar system vocabulary

        • Seasonal changes soft

          Seasonal changes observation supports daylight pattern recognition

  • Why the Sun Looks Brightest soft

    Enrichment knowledge of star brightness vs distance supports formal argument about apparent brightness

    • The Sun is a star hard

      Must know the Sun is a star before understanding why it appears brighter than other stars

      • Sun, Moon & Stars hard

        Must know the Sun is a sky object before learning it is a star

        • Why seasons change soft

          Curriculum daylight/seasons observation supports exploratory Sun/Moon/stars identification

          • Naming the Planets soft

            Relating daylight length to time of year draws on orbit and solar system vocabulary

          • Seasonal changes soft

            Seasonal changes observation supports daylight pattern recognition

      • Our Solar System hard

        Must know about the solar system before learning the Sun is at its centre

        • Sun, Moon & Stars hard

          Must know the Sun and stars before learning about planets and the solar system

          • Why seasons change soft

            Curriculum daylight/seasons observation supports exploratory Sun/Moon/stars identification

            • Naming the Planets soft

              Relating daylight length to time of year draws on orbit and solar system vocabulary

            • Seasonal changes soft

              Seasonal changes observation supports daylight pattern recognition

Unlocks1