IMSA Excellence 2000+ Curriculum

Much of this unit is organized through the lens of an historical perspective. It is focused on humankind's developing ability to measure and calculate the scale and proportion of the Solar System. A variety of activities are offered to help the students understand that the accepted scientific view of the Solar System has changed as new understandings were achieved.

• connections among very large, very small and everyday-sized quantities through the use of scale and proportion;
• students' abilities to engage in scientific inquiry and mathematical investigations as individuals and productive team members;
• a deeper understanding of the physical laws common to the earth and other planets;
• kinesthetic appreciation of the relative distances between planets in our solar system;
• a sense of how we know what we know about our place in the universe.

The students will use direct and indirect measuring techniques in a variety of activities that will help them to develop an awareness of the vastness of space as it relates to measures encountered in daily life.

Problem solving approaches will take advantage of historical contexts and perspectives of the ancient Greeks through those used by modern day scientists.

Students' investigations will lead them to a deeper understanding of the power of scientific notation and the relationships among gravity, weight and mass.

Space Science provides the integrative context for investigations into the scope of our astronomical neighborhood. Technological advances have given us intriguing views of our nearest planetary companions. Understanding Scale and Proportion: Earth's Place in the Solar System leads students on an inquiry journey that taps students' wonder and curiosity raised by these amazing new discoveries.