Mini-Unit:
Copernican Revolution

Performance Standard A16, Level 4

Students describe one of the basic tenets of special relativity such as time dilation, length contraction, the space-time continuum, or The Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy.

Key Concepts and Skills

• Geocentricity, heliocentricity
• Personal histories of early astronomers (i.e. Copernicus, Galileo)
• Special Relativity
• Personal history of present-day cosmologists (i.e. Einstein, Hawking)

Timeline

10 days

Abstract

By treating relativity historically in high school, it is possible to avoid falling into the trap of trying to teach (Special Relativity’s) technical and mathematical details. The main goals should be for students to see that Einstein went beyond Newton’s world view by including it as a limiting case in a more complete theory. (from Benchmarks, p. 245)

This unit starts with a debate about accepted facts and ends with a mock trial of Galileo that includes input from the present day cosmologists, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

Materials

• Access to computers and Internet
• Library resources
• Guidelines for debate (language arts book) and mock trial

Activities

Gear-up

Tell the students that is a fact that the earth is flat. Challenge them to prove that it is not. (See attached lists for historical arguments for and against). As debate slows also say that the earth doesn’t turn. Continue to stir up the debate. The students should leave the room debating each other and arrive in class the next day with a proof that the earth is round and spins.

Embedded Assessment

Listening skills, being able to validate other’s opinions, etc.

1

In cooperative groups, assign one of the following to research: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Tycho Brache, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride. Use all research avenues available, including Internet. Students should find out the personal history of the scientist as well as the major contributions to science and society.

Embedded Assessment

Research skills, use of the Internet, web page analysis, working in cooperative groups, etc.

2

Invite Elders to share beliefs and legends related to topic.

3

Have students develop a timeline, including the results of the previous research. The timeline should include names and important contributions, tracing the development of the geocentric view to the heliocentric view. In the development of the principles, it is very important that the societal context of the era be emphasized.

Embedded Assessment

Content knowledge

4

Hold a mock trial of Galileo that includes Ptolemy, Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brache, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride as witnesses. “The Copernican Revolution illustrates some of the strains that can occur between science and society when science proposes ideas that seem to violate common sense or to undermine traditional values and beliefs. This part of the story should be included but not presented as the triumph of right over wrong or of science over religion.” (from Benchmarks, p. 240

 

Expanded Sample Assessment Idea

Level of Performance

Student may be a non-participant in mock trial. Student work is largely incomplete, incorrect, shows little evidence of understanding and may contain major misconceptions.

Standards Cross-Reference
(Alaska Department of Education & Early Development Standards)

National Science Education Standards

The nuclear forces that hold the nucleus of an atom together, at nuclear distances, are usually stronger than the electric forces that would make it fly apart. Nuclear reactions convert a fraction of the mass of interacting particles into energy, and they can release much greater amounts of energy than atomic interactions. Fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller pieces. Fusion is the joining of two nuclei at extremely high temperature and pressure, and is the process responsible for the energy of the sun and other stars. (Pg. 178)

The total energy of the universe is constant. Energy can be transferred by collisions in chemical and nuclear reactions, by light waves and other radiations, and in many other ways. However, it can never be destroyed. As these transfers occur, the matter involved becomes steadily less ordered. (Pg. 180)

Occasionally, there are advances in science, and technology that have important and long-lasting effects on science and society. Examples of such advances include the following: Relativity (etc.) (Pg 204)

Benchmarks

As a young man, Albert Einstein, a German scientist, formulated the special Theory of Relativity, which brought about revolutionary changes in human understanding of nature. A decade later, he proposed the general Theory of Relativity, which, along with Newton’s work, ranks as one of the greatest human accomplishments in all of history. (Pg. 245)

Among the surprising ideas of special relativity is that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, which is the same for all observers no matter how they or the light source happen to be moving. (Pg. 245)

The special Theory of Relativity is best known for stating that any form of energy has mass, and that matter itself is a form of energy. The famous relativity equation, E = mc2, holds that the transformation of even a tiny amount of matter will release an enormous amount of other forms of energy, in that the c in the equation stands for the immense speed of light. (Pg. 245)

General relativity theory pictures Newton’s gravitational force as a distortion of space and time. (Pg. 245)

Many predictions from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity have been confirmed on both atomic and astronomical scales. , the search continues for an even more powerful theory of the architecture of the universe. (Pg. 245)

The basic idea of mathematical modeling is to find a mathematical relationship that behaves in the same ways as the objects or processes under investigation. A mathematical model may give insight about how something really works or may fit observations very well without any intuitive meaning. (Pg. 270)