Welcome to 5th Grade science !!

Below is the new Pre-Study Guide for our mini-unit on:

Astronomy 

Things I Must Know

astronomy is the study of space and everything in it

an astronomer is a scientist who studies some part of astronomy

a constellation is a group of a few stars in the Milky Way that appear as

     the outline of an object or living thing to observers on Earh

a galaxy is a group of billions of stars - the Milky Way is our home galaxy

a light year is the distance light travels through space in one year - used to

     measure distance outside the solar system

lens - a clear piece of glass or plastic curved into a certain shape, that

     changes the direction of light as the light passes through it

mirror - a shiny surface (usually coated glass) that changes the direction

     of light as the light bounces off of it - mirrors may be flat or curved

concave - a shape where the surface curves inward in the center

convex - a shape where the surface curves outward in the center

diffraction - the breaking of light into colors that make up that light, as

     the light passes through a prism ( a triangular shaped piece of glass

     or plastic)

telescope - an instrument that uses lenses or mirrors to gather and

     focus light - it makes far away objects appear closer and larger

refracting telescope - an instrument that uses lenses to gather and

     focus light

reflecting telescope - an instrument that uses mirrors to gather and

     focus light

radio telescope - an instrument that uses a satellite dish to collect

     radio waves from space

spectroscope - an instrument that breaks light into seperate colors by

     passing light through a prism

a concave lens spreads light out as the light passes through it

a convex lens brings light together as the light passes through it

a concave mirror brings light together as the light bounces off it

a convex mirror spreads light out as the light bounces off it

a flat mirror bounces light off at an angle opposite the direction the

     light came from

Things I Must Understand 

 the difference between a constellation and a galaxy

that a constellation will look differently from different places in space

that the light we see from stars and galaxies is light that has taken many

     years to reach Earth - what we are actually seeing is the way stars

     and galaxies were in the past

what the different shapes of lenses and mirrors do to light

that lenses and mirrors can work together to make better telescopes

that when a spectroscope breaks light into colors, the pattern of colors

     tells us information about what produced that light

the advantages and disadvantages of ground-based and space-based

     telescopes

Things I Must Do 

 take 3 spelling quizzes on certain groups of underlined terms

     (5 terms per quiz)

take announced quizzes on parts of facts to be learned

make a working model of a spectroscope in class (to keep !)

successfully use an interactive spectroscope web site to identify the

     color pattern given off by various materials

complete a Review Guide to use for final study and review

take a test on all knowledge and understanding

THIS PRE-STUDY GUIDE IS COMPLETE and will not be updated

     or changed until near the end of February.

spelling quizzes are scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,

   the 6th, 7th, and 8th.

definitions quiz on Thursday Feb. 9th

quiz on astronomical instruments Tuesday Feb. 14

quiz on lenses, mirrors on Wednesday Feb. 15

final test will be Wednesday 2/22