Check out this article about 2 planets sharing the same orbit in another solar system.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20160-two-planets-found-sharing-one-orbit.html
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Contact Information
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Science Field Day
Science Field Day
Saturday, May 19th, 2018 8:30-3:00
Lakeside Middle School, 11833 Woodside Ave, Lakeside, CA 92040
| 8:00 am | Team Check In (Mrs.Allard, and parents who are helping) |
| 8:30am | Students arrive |
| 9:00 am | Events Begin |
| 2:00 pm | Tentative Start of Awards |
| 3:00 pm | Tentative ending time and Campus Clean up |
Directions from Vista Grande:
- 52 East to
- 67 East to
- Riverford Rd Exit – there will be two lanes when you get off the freeway, stay in the right one, but do not turn right. The far left lane must turn left and then left under the freeway – don’t go that way.
- Turn left onto Woodside, Woodside follows the path just south of 67
- Follow Woodside for approximately ½ mile. Lakeside Middle School will be on your right. Look for attendants to give directions on parking.
Parking can sometimes be a problem, so it is good to come early to make sure you have a spot.
Additional Information:
- Parents need to help direct students to their events and follow the schedule (I will provide before and have copies the day of the event).
- Look for our group at tables in the lunch court area of Lakeside Middle School. I will have a box with extra maps/schedules/name tags, etc.
- I will be unavailable because I am running/scoring Starry Starry Night. I will be at the awards ceremony.
- Go to your event a few minutes before the time that is posted and check in. The people running the event will instruct you what to do next.
- While in between your event(s), you may participate in the free activities. Check your schedule provided at SFD. Some events start at the beginning of the time and then only let a certain number of people into the room.
- Bring a snack to share. Look for a sign up sheet to be made up a week or two before SFD.
- Bring “beach” type chairs to use around the table (the tables aren’t as comfortable as a beach chair).
- We need parent volunteers to help check students in and out of Starry Starry Night (in 1 hour shifts).
General Science Field Day Information (for joining and participating)
- 2 teams, 16 kids on each team, 32 participating students (or less) – 2013-2014 will be one team
- Students need to complete an application
- $30 for entry fee and t-shirt
- Students will compete in 1-2 events
- Students on team will select available events through random draw of names, except for 2nd year students who may choose to repeat their event from last year.
- Most events are two students working together, 1 needs 3 partners, 1 needs 4 partners. Students may only work by themselves in special circumstances.
- Appointments available after school, see Mrs. Allard to schedule, Thursdays
- Student meetings during school hours for information and questions only, no practicing of events
- Students should not drop out after accepting a place on the team.
- Day of the event is SATURDAY, MAY 11TH
- Parent help is great!! Appreciated!! Please get involved in helping your child, their partners, or even other students! But make it fun, not a chore.
- My main objective is for students to feel part of a group, to participate in something science related, and to have fun. I do not put a lot of pressure on the kids, but do expect them to do something on their own to get ready.
- On the day of the event, plan to be there, as a team, from 8am-3pm. There will be other activities there for the kids to participate in besides the competition.
- Announcements will be made primarily by email. Please provide me with an email that you check frequently. If you do not have an email, please let me know so that I can make sure to send anything home with your child.
- Information is/will be posted at www.mattermasters.com (my science website). There is only some there right now. (you are here now!)
Solar System Project Requirements
5th graders have been working on a project on the Solar System. Click the link below to download the project page.
Here are the requirements for the project.
Or…
Solar System Project/Research
- 3-D Model of your planet or solar system object
- Planet name and where the name comes from
- Composition of the planet (what it’s made of)
- Atmosphere
- Order in the Solar System
- Distance from the Sun
- Size
- Length of time to ROTATE on its axis (“day”)
- Length of time to REVOLVE around the sun (“year”) (also called solar revolution)
- Temperature/temperature range
- How many satellites
- Rings or no rings
- What would a 100 lb person weigh on your planet?
- Acrostic Poem (name of planet/object used to create a list of statements)
Acrostic Poem Example
S – Solar System is a group, or system, of objects rotating around the sun
O – Only one star in our Solar System
L – Luna is another name for Earth’s moon
A – Asteroids circle the sun between Mars and Jupiter
R – Rust is in the dirt on Mars
S – Satellites revolve around planets (moons)
Y – Year is how long it takes for the planet to revolve around the sun
S – Saturn has the most beautiful rings
T – Tails of comets are made from the burning off of ice and dust
E – Earth is the only planet that has water
M – Mars will be the next planet we visit (probably)
Structures
Structures
Description: The purpose of this event is to test studentsʼ ability to build a strong, stable, tall and reproducible tower utilizing soda straws and T-pins. The objective of this competition is to see how much weight the completed tower can hold before collapsing.
Participants: 2
Time: 30 Minutes
**All materials will be provided at event site. No notes or measuring tools will be allowed.**
Construction Rules:
Each Team will be given: corrugated cardboard, scissors, fifty(50) Smart and Final jumbo 7 ¾” unwrapped straws and 30 medium (1½”) T-pins. No other building materials will be used.
Using the cardboard building platform, the team is to construct a standing tower at least 50 cm tall that is capable of holding as much weight as possible. There should be a flat area on top of the tower no smaller than 10 cm square to hold a tag board loading platform and plastic bowl.
Weights (pinto beans) will be loaded into the plastic bowl. The Plastic straws may be cut or shaped in any way.
When the tower is completed, the team will place a loading tag board and plastic bowl on top of the tower. The eventʼs organizer will load the bowl quickly and as carefully as possible with the weights. When the tower can no longer hold the weight or the bowl falls off, the loading will stop and the weights will be weighed on an electronic scale. Spectators will be allowed to watch, but no outside help will be allowed during the event.
Teams may pick up their towers after the competitions.
Scoring:
One point will be awarded for each gram of weight placed on and supported by the tower. This will include the weight of the plastic bowl.
Tie Breaker:
In the event that two or more towers tie in the amount of weight held, the tallest of the towers will be declared the winner.
Reminder:
The minimum height of the tower is 50 cm and there must be a flat area to serve as the loading platform on top. Your team will have only 30 minutes to plan, build and test their tower before loading and weighting of weights takes place.
*NOTE: Last year, some of the rules were changed. An additional element of being able to estimate the weight was added. We will need to check at the Events Fair whether there is updated information.
Mrs. Allard’s Suggestions:
Triangles are the strongest shape. Use triangles in your building.
The base to your structure should be wider than the top.
The top of your structure needs to have a flat support that will hold a plate/bowl evenly.
Practice several models, find one that seems to work well, then practice how to build that model even better/stronger.
Remember, the goal is to hold the heaviest load…not necessarily the prettiest tower.
Here are some links:
General Science Field Day Links
The link listed below is the SDCOE (San Diego County Office of Education) website for Science Field Day.
The page is the central location for all of the SFD materials and information. You can also access the specific event information through this website.
For other links, click on the links tab.
Stellarium
Here is a great program for viewing the night sky that students may be interested in playing around with. There are several of these type programs on the Internet if you do a search. The one that we have been looking at in 3rd grade, and will in 5th also, is Stellarium. It is available at Stellarium.org. It can be downloaded to Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Birth of Stars
Stars
Our sun is an average size star. Remember that each of the stars could be a “sun” for a different solar system, with planets orbiting around each of them. The sun is nothing special when thinking of all of the stars out in space. It is not the biggest, brightest, or oldest….it is only special to us because it gives US light, heat, and because it is the center of OUR solar system, and without it we would not longer exist.
Stars can be different sizes, masses, different ages, and vary in brightness.
For information on constellations, click here and download the Stellarium program.
Birth of a Star
You might wonder how a star is formed….
| A giant cloud of gas and dust exists in space. This is called a nebula. |  |
| The nebula (gas and dust) begins to gather together (collapse) and spin. This happens because of gravitational forces. |
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| As this gathering and spinning continues, it heats up and becomes a protostar. |
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| As the protostar continues to build heat, nuclear fusion begins and the star puts out light, and it contracts (pulls its gases in) and becomes stable. It is now called a “main sequence star,” which is the main part of its life cycle. Our own sun is in this stage now. While in the “main sequence stage” the star converts hydrogen to helium. |
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| After millions or billions of years, the core of the star begins to run out of hydrogen. When this happens, the star contracts (pulls in) more. The outside of the star begins to expand (grow, spread). At this point it cools and turns red. It is no longer in a “main sequence stage” but is now a red giant…having expanded to be much larger than it was before. |
 red giant – Betelgeuse compared to our Sun |
| The next stage in the life of a star depends on the mass of the star. If it is a medium star, the hydrogen continues to burn and increase in temperature until it reaches 200,000.000°C where the helium fuses (bonds together) to form carbon atoms. Then it blows out the remaining hydrogen in a ring…called a planetary nebula. |
 planetary nebula |
| When it reaches this stage, it burns a hot white light and is called a white dwarf. |
 white dwarf stars with other stars
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| Gradually, the star burns less, cools down, and emits lets light and heat. It becomes a red dwarf, and then brown dwarf. Theoretically, after all the gases are burned out, it is then a black dwarf. |
 red dwarf
Proxima Centauri – the closest star to the Sun is a red dwarf star
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| If, however, the star has a larger mass, the same process happens as above, but gravity is so strong, and fusion so great that the star begins to produce other gases, oxygen and nitrogen, and then produces iron. These are red supergiants. |
 red supergiant |
| The fusion stops and then the iron atoms start to absorb energy, The energy is released as a supernova…. |
 Before a supernova  After a supernova |
| If the mass of the star was extremely large, then the core of the star is swallowed by its own gravity, creating a black hole. Black holes are not visible except in x-ray….they suck all energy and matter into them! | 
x-ray image of a suspected black hole at the center of our galaxy, named Sagittarius |
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