Astronomy 10                                                                                                                                                       Spring 2000

Worksheet #1

 

1. Let’s practice with units (dimensions) and estimation:

 

a) when you look at the Sun (through appropriate filters!), how far back in the past are you seeing it? (1 AU = 1.5x1011 m, speed of light=3x108 m/s)

 

b) if we scale up an atomic nucleus (R=10-15 m) to the size of the head of a BB (R=1mm), how big would an atom (R=10-10 m) be?

 

c) How many AU are there in a light year?

 

d) How many drops of water are there in all the oceans?

 

2. Would the constellations look the same from Neptune? From a star 10 light years away? From a star 1000 light years away?

 

3. Organize a demonstration of retrograde motion using people in the classroom.

 

4. Divide up into opposing sides, and argue the following propositions (using evidence you could gather yourself in modern times):

 

a) the Earth is spinning

 

b) the Earth is going around the Sun

 

c) the Earth is round

 

d) the stars are very far away