SC15.5.12

Science (2015) Grade(s): 5

SC15.5.12

Defend the claim that one factor determining the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is the relative distance from Earth.

Unpacked Content

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Crosscutting Concepts

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The sun and other stars are natural bodies in the sky that give off their own light.
  • The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer.
  • Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth.
  • A luminous object close to a person appears much brighter and larger than a similar object that is very far away from a person (e.g., nearby streetlights appear bigger and brighter than distant streetlights).

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify a given claim to be supported about a given phenomenon. The claim includes the idea that the apparent brightness of the sun and stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.
  • Describe the evidence, data, and/or models that support the claim, including the following:
    • The sun and other stars are natural bodies in the sky that give off their own light.
    • The apparent brightness of a variety of stars, including the sun.
    • A luminous object close to a person appears much brighter and larger than a similar object that is very far away from a person (e.g., nearby streetlights appear bigger and brighter than distant streetlights).
    • The relative distance of the sun and stars from Earth (e.g., although the sun and other stars are all far from the Earth, the stars are very much farther away; the sun is much closer to Earth than other stars).
  • Evaluate the evidence to determine whether it is relevant to supporting the claim, and sufficient to describe the relationship between apparent size and apparent brightness of the sun and other stars and their relative distances from Earth.
  • Use reasoning to connect the relevant and appropriate evidence to the claim with argumentation. Describe a chain of reasoning that includes the following:
    • Because stars are defined as natural bodies that give off their own light, the sun is a star.
    • The sun is many times larger than Earth but appears small because it is very far away.
    • Even though the sun is very far from Earth, it is much closer than other stars.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Natural objects, like the sun and stars, exist from the very small to the immensely large.

Vocabulary

  • Defend
  • Claim
  • Factor
  • Evidence
  • Apparent Brightness
  • Relative Distance
  • Sun
  • Stars
  • Earth
  • Reasoning
  • Argumentation

Aligned Learning Resources

Is the Sun the Biggest Star?
Steve Trash Science: Sun, Sun, Sunshine / Earth is Wicked Awesome
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