Education Technology

Light and Distance

Subject Area
Science: Earth Science: Space
Level
6-8
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire™ Apps for iPad®
TI-Nspire Version
3.6

Light and Distance

Activity Overview

In this lesson, students will investigate relationships between light and distance and explore distances between objects in our solar system.

Objectives

  • Students will investigate and discover relationships between light and distance.
  • Students will use a mathematical formula to determine a celestial body’s unknown distance to the Sun.
  • Students will recognize the large distances between objects in our solar system.

Vocabulary

  • astronomical unit
  • celestial body
  • light intensity
  • inverse

About the Lesson

In this lesson, students will investigate relationships between light and distance and explore distances between objects in our solar system.

 As a result, students will:

  • Understand how to determine the distance of an object from the Sun by measuring the light intensity at the surface of the object.
  • Calculate an object’s location using the inverse square law.

 This activity was created using Lua. Learn more about Lua in TI-Nspire here.

Subject Area
Science: Earth Science: Space
Level
6-8
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire™ Apps for iPad®
TI-Nspire Version
3.6
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