Comet Origins

National Science Education Standards addressed:

Grades 5-8
Unifying Concepts and Process:
As a result of their activities in grades K-12, all students should develop underderstanding and abilities aligned with the following concepts and processes:
      • Evidence, models and explanation
         – Models help scientists and engineers understand how things work
         – Models are tentative schemes or structures that correspond to real objects, events, or classes of events, and             that have explanatory power

Science as Inquiry:
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
      • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
         – Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions and models using evidence
         – Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry
      • Understandings about scientific inquiry
         – Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. Some investigations involve…             making models.

Earth and Space Science:
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of
      • Earth in the Solar System
         – The Earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other planets and             their moons, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets
         – Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion.
         – Gravity is the force that keeps plants in orbit around the sun and governs the rest of the motion in the solar             system.
Science and Technology:
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of
      • Understandings about Science and Technology
         – Students should organize materials and other resources, plan their work, and make good use of group             collaboration where appropriate.

AAAS Atlas Concept Map:
Grade 6-8
The Universe: The Solar System
...Other chunks of rock mixed with ice have long, off-center orbits that carry them close to the sun, where the sun's radiation (of light and particles) boils off frozen materials from their surfaces and pushes it into a long illuminated tail