Republic of the Philippines

COMMISION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

SAMAR COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
2nd Sem., A.Y. 2020-2021
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Pre-Finals
Learning Module
in
BEEDMC 402
Teaching Science in the
Elementary Grades
(Physics, Earth and Space Science)

Prepared by: Jazmin A. Rompal

College Instructress, College of Education
Samar Colleges, Inc.

Name:_______________________________________
Course & Year:________________________________
Subject Code:_________________________________
Date Submitted:_______________________________

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BEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Physics, Earth and Space Science)

REMINDERS IN USING THIS MODULE:

1. Read, understand and appreciate the lesson in this module.

2. Make sure you have read and understood your modules because you will answer the following
activities to measure your accurate understanding about the lesson.
3. Use the module with gentle and care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the modules.
4. Write your answers in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper. (BOND PAPER ONLY)
5. Please take note that your answer must be to the point and written in a clear handwriting to score high
marks.
6. Follow the instruction. Some of the activities requires specific instruction, so please follow these well.
7. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the task.
8. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
9. Return this module on or before the deadline once you are through with it.
10. If you have questions, clarifications do not hesitate to message me through messenger (Jaz Rompal).
11. Your score will be guided by using the Scoring Rubrics below.

Scoring Rubrics
10 8 6 4 2
Idea Present ideas in Present ideas in a Ideas are too Ideas are vague Answer copied at
an original consistent general. or unclear. the internet or
manner. manner. has the same
answer with
classmates
Accuracy All the answers Most of the Some of the Little of the None of the
are correct and answers are answers are answers are answer are
has a strong idea correct correct. correct. correct.
related to the
topic.
Organization The work is The work is Answers are too Work is not The answer
arranged clearly arranged rather long, or too logically content isn’t
and logically. clearly and short. arranged. related to the
logically some topic.
links words are
repeated.
Completion All of the Most of the Some of the Assigned work is Student did not
assigned work is assigned work is assigned work is incomplete. turn in the
complete complete. complete. activity.
Timeliness Activity was Activity was 1 Activity was 2 Activity was 3 Activity was 4 or
received on the day late. days late. days late. more day late.
due date.

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BEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Physics, Earth and Space Science)

MODULE 5: BEEDMC 402

Unit 5: Earth and Space Science

Lesson 1: Geology

I. OBJECTIVES:

 Explain what geology is, how it incorporates the other sciences, and how it is different from the other sciences.
 Discuss why we study Earth and what type of work geologists do.
 Define some of the properties of a mineral and explain the differences between minerals and rocks.
 Describe the nature of Earth’s interior and some of the processes that take place deep beneath our feet.
 Explain how those processes are related to plate tectonics and describe a few of the features that are
characteristic of plate boundaries.
 Use the notation for geological time, gain an appreciation for the vastness of geological time, and describe how
very slow geological processes can have enormous impacts over time.

II. DISCUSSION:

What is Geology?

In its broadest sense, geology is the study of Earth—its interior and its exterior surface, the minerals, rocks and other
materials that are around us, the processes that have resulted in the formation of those materials, the water that flows
over the surface and through the ground, the changes that have taken place over the vastness of geological time, and
the changes that we can anticipate will take place in the near future. Geology is a science, meaning that we use
deductive reasoning and scientific methods to understand geological problems. It is, arguably, the most integrated of all
of the sciences because it involves the understanding and application of all of the other sciences: physics, chemistry,
biology, mathematics, astronomy, and others. But unlike most of the other sciences, geology has an extra dimension,
that of time—deep time—billions of years of it. Geologists study the evidence that they see around them, but in most
cases, they are observing the results of processes that happened thousands, millions, and even billions of years in the
past. Those were processes that took place at incredibly slow rates—millimeters per year to centimeters per year—but
because of the amount of time available, they produced massive results. Geology is displayed on a grand scale in
mountainous regions, perhaps nowhere better than the Rocky Mountains in Canada (Figure 1.1.1). The peak on the right
is Rearguard Mountain, which is a few kilometers northeast of Mount Robson, the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies
(3,954 meters). The large glacier in the middle of the photo is the Robson Glacier. The river flowing from Robson Glacier
drains into Berg Lake in the bottom right. There are many geological features portrayed here. The sedimentary rock that
these mountains are made of formed in ocean water over 500 million years ago. A few hundred million years later, these
beds were pushed east for tens to hundreds of kilometers by tectonic plate convergence and also pushed up to
thousands of meters above sea level. Over the past two million years this area—like most of the rest of Canada—has
been repeatedly glaciated, and the erosional effects of those glaciations are obvious. The Robson Glacier is now only a
small remnant of its size during the Little Ice Age of the 15th to 18th centuries, and even a lot smaller that it was just
over a century ago in 1908. The distinctive line on the slope on the left side of both photos shows the elevation of the
edge of the glacier a few hundred years ago. Like almost all other glaciers in the world, it receded after the 18th century
because of natural climate change, is now receding even more rapidly because of human-caused climate change.

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Geology is also about understanding the evolution of life on
Earth; about discovering resources such as water, metals and
energy; about recognizing and minimizing the environmental
implications of our use of those resources; and about learning
how to mitigate the hazards related to earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and slope failures. All of these aspects of geology, and
many more, are covered in this textbook.

Figure 1.1.1 Rearguard Mountain and Robson

Glacier in Mount Robson Provincial Park, BC. Left:
Robson Glacier in 2012. Right: Robson Glacier circa
Why Study Earth? 1908.

The simple answer to this question is that Earth is our home—our only home for the foreseeable future—and in order to
ensure that it continues to be a great place to live, we need to understand how it works. Another answer is that some of
us can’t help but study it because it’s fascinating. But there is more to it than that:

• We rely on Earth for valuable resources such as soil, water, metals, industrial minerals, and energy, and we need to
know how to find these resources and exploit them sustainably.

• We can study rocks and the fossils they contain to understand the evolution of our environment and the life within it.

• We can learn to minimize our risks from earthquakes, volcanoes, slope failures, and damaging storms.

• We can learn how and why Earth’s climate has changed naturally in the past, and use that knowledge to understand
both natural and human-caused climate change.

• We can recognize how our activities have altered the environment in many ways and the climate in increasingly
serious ways, and how to avoid more severe changes in the future.

• We can use our knowledge of Earth to understand other planets in our solar system, as well as those around distant
stars.

An example of the importance of geological studies for minimizing risks to the public is illustrated in Figure 1.2.1. This is
a slope failure that took place in January 2005 in the Riverside Drive area of North Vancouver. The steep bank beneath
the house shown gave way, and a slurry of mud and sand flowed down, destroying another house below and killing one
person. This event took place following a heavy rainfall, which is a common occurrence in southwestern B.C. in the
winter.

Figure 1.2.1 The aftermath of a deadly debris flow in the

Riverside Drive area of North Vancouver in January 2005.

The irony of the 2005 slope failure is that the District of North
Vancouver had been warned in a geological report written in
1980 that this area was prone to slope failure and that steps
should be taken to minimize the risk to residents. Very little was
done in the intervening 25 years, and the consequences of that
were deadly.

What Do Geologists Do?

Geologists are involved in a range of widely varying occupations with one thing in common: the privilege and
responsibility of studying this fascinating planet. In Canada, many geologists work in the resource industries, including
mineral exploration and mining and energy exploration and extraction. Other major areas where geologists work include
hazard assessment and mitigation (e.g., assessment of risks from slope failures, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions);
water supply planning, development, and management; waste management; and assessment of geological issues in the
forest industry, and on construction projects such as highways, tunnels, and bridges. Most geologists are employed in
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the private sector, but many works for government-funded geological organizations, such as the Geological Survey of
Canada or one of the provincial geological surveys. And of course, many geologists are involved in education at the
secondary and the post-secondary levels. Some people are attracted to geology because they like to be outdoors, and it
is true that many geological opportunities involve fieldwork in places that are as amazing to see as they are interesting
to study. But a lot of geological work is also done in offices or laboratories. Geological work tends to be varied and
challenging, and for these reasons and many others, geologists are among those who are the most satisfied with their
employment.

In Canada, most working geologists are required to be registered with an

association of professional geoscientists. This typically involves meeting specific
post-secondary educational standards and gaining 7 several years of relevant
professional experience under the supervision of a registered geoscientist.
More information can be found at Engineers and Geoscientists British
Columbia.

Figure 1.3.1 Geologists examining ash-

layer deposits at Kilauea Volcano,
Minerals and Rocks Hawaii.
The rest of this chapter is devoted to a brief overview of a few of the important aspects of physical geology, starting with
minerals and rocks. This is followed by a review of Earth’s internal structure and the processes of plate tectonics, and an
explanation of geological time.

The Earth is made up of varying proportions of the 90 naturally occurring elements—hydrogen, carbon, oxygen,
magnesium, silicon, iron, and so on. In most geological materials, these combine in various ways to make minerals.
Minerals will be covered in some detail in Chapter 2, but here we will briefly touch on what minerals are, and how they
are related to rocks. A mineral is a naturally occurring combination of specific elements that are arranged in a particular
repeating three-dimensional structure or lattice. 1 The mineral halite is shown
as an example in Figure 1.4.1.

In this case, atoms of sodium (Na: purple) alternate with atoms of chlorine (Cl:
green) in all three dimensions, and the angles between the bonds are all 90°.
Even in a tiny crystal, like the ones in your salt shaker, the lattices extend in all
three directions for thousands of repetitions. Halite always has this composition
and this structure.

Figure 1.4.1 The lattice structure and

composition of the mineral halite
(common table salt).

Note: Element symbols (e.g., Na and Cl) are used extensively in this book. In Appendix 1, you will find a list of the
symbols and names of the elements common in minerals and a copy of the periodic table. Please use those
resources if you are not familiar with the element symbols.

There are thousands of minerals, although only a few dozen are mentioned in this book. In nature, minerals are found in
rocks, and the vast majority of rocks are composed of at least a few different minerals. A close-up view of granite, a
common rock, is shown in Figure 1.4.2. Although a hand-sized piece of granite may have thousands of individual mineral
crystals in it, there are typically only a few different minerals, as shown here.

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Figure 1.4.2 A close-up view of the rock granite and some of the minerals that it typically contains (H = hornblende
(amphibole), Q = quartz and F = feldspar). The crystals range from about 0.1 to 3 millimetres (mm) in diameter. Most are
irregular in outline, but some are rectangular.

Rocks can form in a variety of ways. Igneous rocks form from magma (molten rock) that has either cooled slowly
underground (e.g., to produce granite) or cooled quickly at the surface after a volcanic eruption (e.g., basalt).
Sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone, form when the weathered products of other rocks accumulate at the surface and
are then buried by other sediments. Metamorphic rocks form when either igneous or sedimentary rocks are heated and
squeezed to the point where some of their minerals are unstable and new minerals form to create a different type of
rock. An example is schist.

A critical point to remember is the difference between a mineral and a rock. A mineral is a pure substance with a specific
composition and structure, while a rock is typically a mixture of several different minerals (although a few types of rock
may include only one type of mineral). Examples of minerals are feldspar, quartz, mica, halite, calcite, and amphibole.
Examples of rocks are granite, basalt, sandstone, limestone, and schist.

Fundamentals of Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is the model or theory that has been used for the past 60 years to understand and explain how the Earth
works—more specifically the origins of continents and oceans, of folded rocks and mountain ranges, of earthquakes and
volcanoes, and of continental drift. Plate tectonics is explained in some detail in Chapter 10, but is introduced here
because it includes concepts that are important to many of the topics covered in the next few chapters.

Figure 1.5.1 The components of

the interior of the Earth.

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Key to understanding plate tectonics is an understanding of Earth’s internal structure, which is illustrated in Figure 1.5.1.
Earth’s core consists mostly of iron. The outer core is hot enough for the iron to be liquid. The inner core—although
even hotter—is under so much pressure that it is solid. The mantle is made up of iron and magnesium silicate minerals.
The bulk of the mantle surrounding the outer core is solid rock, but is plastic enough to be able to flow slowly. The
outermost part of the mantle is rigid. The crust—composed mostly of granite on the continents and mostly of basalt
beneath the oceans—is also rigid. The crust and outermost rigid mantle together make up the lithosphere. The
lithosphere is divided into about 20 tectonic plates that move in different directions on Earth’s surface.

An important property of Earth (and other planets) is that the temperature increases with depth, from close to 0°C at
the surface to about 7000°C at the center of the core. In the crust, the rate of temperature increase is about 30°C every
kilometer. This is known as the geothermal gradient. Heat is continuously flowing outward from Earth’s interior, and the
transfer of heat from the core to the mantle causes convection in the mantle (Figure 1.5.2). This convection is the
primary driving force for the movement of tectonic plates. At places where convection currents in the mantle are
moving upward, new lithosphere forms (at ocean ridges), and the plates move apart (diverge). Where two plates are
converging (and the convective flow is downward), one plate will be subducted (pushed down) into the mantle beneath
the other. Many of Earth’s major earthquakes and volcanoes are associated with convergent boundaries.

Figure 1.5.2 Depiction of the convection in the mantle and its relationship to
plate motion

Geological Time

In 1788, after many years of geological study, James Hutton, one of the great pioneers of geology, wrote the following
about the age of Earth: The result, therefore, of our present enquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning — no
prospect of an end. 1 Of course he wasn’t exactly correct, there was a beginning and there will be an end to Earth, but
what he was trying to express is that geological time is so vast that we humans, who typically live for less than a century,
have no means of appreciating how much geological time there is. Hutton didn’t even try to assign an age to Earth, but
we now know that it is approximately 4,570 million years old. Using the scientific notation for geological time, that is
4,570 Ma (for mega annum or “millions of years”) or 4.57 Ga (for giga annum or billions of years). More recent dates can
be expressed in ka (kilo annum); for example, the last cycle of glaciation ended at approximately 11.7 ka or 11,700 years
ago. This notation will be used for geological dates throughout this book.

Unfortunately, knowing how to express geological time doesn’t really help us understand or appreciate its extent. A
version of the geological time scale is included as Figure 1.6.1. Unlike time scales you’ll see in other places, or even later
in this book, this time scale is linear throughout its length, meaning that 50 Ma during the Cenozoic is the same thickness
as 50 Ma during the Hadean—in each case about the height of the “M” in Ma. The Pleistocene glacial epoch began at
about 2.6 Ma, which is equivalent to half the thickness of the thin grey line at the top of the yellow bar marked
“Cenozoic.” Most other time scales have earlier parts of Earth’s history compressed so that more detail can be shown for
the more recent parts. That makes it difficult to appreciate the extent of geological time.

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To create some context, the Phanerozoic Eon (the last 542 million years) is
named for the time during which visible (phaneros) life (zoi) is present in the
geological record. In fact, large organisms—those that leave fossils visible to
the naked eye—have existed for a little longer than that, first appearing
around 600 Ma, or a span of just over 13% of geological time. Animals have
been on land for 360 million years, or 8% of geological time. Mammals have
dominated since the demise of the dinosaurs around 65 Ma, or 1.5% of
geological time, and the genus Homo has existed since approximately 2.8 Ma,
or 0.06% (1/1,600th) of geological time. Geologists (and geology students)
need to understand geological time. That doesn’t mean memorizing the
geological time scale; instead, it means getting your mind around the concept
that although most geological processes are extremely slow, very large and
important things can happen if such processes continue for enough time. For
example, the Atlantic Ocean between Nova Scotia and northwestern Africa
has been getting wider at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters (cm) per year.
Imagine yourself taking a journey at that rate—it would be impossibly and
ridiculously slow. And yet, since it started to form at around 200 Ma (just 4%
of geological time), the Atlantic Ocean has grown to a width of over 5,000
kilometers (km)! A useful mechanism for understanding geological time is to
scale it all down into one year. The origin of the solar system and Earth at 4.57
Ga would be represented by January 1, and the present year would be
represented by the last tiny fraction of a second on New Year’s Eve. At this
scale, each day of the year represents 12.5 million years; each hour
represents about 500,000 years; each minute represents 8,694 years; and
each second represents 145 years. Some significant events in Earth’s history,
as expressed on this time scale, are summarized on Table 1.1. Figure 1.6.1 The geological time
scale.

Table 1.1 A summary of some important geological dates expressed as if all of geological time was condensed into one
year.

BEEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades

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Lesson 2: Astronomy: The Science of Cosmos

I. OBJECTIVES:

 Explain what astronomy is.

 Define and describe the different components of universe.
 Identify and discuss the tools used by astronomers.
 Discuss why we study astronomy and explain the significance of studying astronomy.

II. DISCUSSION:

Astronomy
Astronomy is the science of stars and clusters of stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies, planets, “dwarf planets” and
their satellites, asteroids and comets, interstellar gas and dust (and anything else in the Universe).
Is one of humanity's oldest sciences. Its basic activity is to study the sky and learn about what we see in the universe.
Observational astronomy is an activity that amateur observers enjoy as a hobby and pastime and was the first type of
astronomy humans did. There are millions of people in the world who stargaze regularly from their backyards or
personal observatories. Most aren't necessarily trained in the science, but simply love to watch the stars. Others are
trained but do not make their living at doing the science of astronomy. 
On the professional research side, there are more than 11,000 astronomers who are trained to do in-depth studies of
the stars and galaxies. From them and their work, we get our basic understanding of the universe. It's such an
interesting topic and raises many astronomy-related questions in people's minds about the cosmos itself, how it got
started, what's out there, and how we explore it.
When people hear the word "astronomy", they usually think of stargazing. That's actually how it got started — by people
looking at the sky and charting what they saw. "Astronomy" comes from two old Greek terms astron for "star"
and nomia for "law", or "laws of the stars". That idea actually underlies the history of  astronomy: a long road of figuring
out what objects in the sky are and what laws of nature govern them. To reach an understanding of cosmic objects,
people had to do a lot of observing. That showed them the motions of objects in the sky, and led to the first scientific
comprehension of what they might be.

Throughout human history, people have "done" astronomy and eventually found that their observations of the sky gave
them clues to the passage of time. It should be no surprise that people began to to use the sky more than 15,000 years
ago. It provided handy keys for navigation and calendar-making thousands of years ago. With the invention of such tools
as the telescope, observers began to learn more about the physical characteristics of the stars and planets, which led
them to wonder about their origins. The study of the sky moved from a cultural and civic practice to the realm of science
and mathematics. 

Studying the Universe 

As you can see, astronomy turns out to be a complex subject and it requires several other scientific disciplines to help
solve the mysteries of the cosmos. To do a proper study of astronomy topics, astronomers combine aspects of
mathematics, chemistry, geology, biology, and physics. 

The science of astronomy is broken into separate sub-disciplines. For example, planetary scientists study worlds
(planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets) within our own solar system as well as those orbiting distant stars. Solar
physicists focus on the Sun and its effects on the solar system. Their work also helps forecast solar activity such as flares,
mass ejections, and sunspots.

Astrophysicists apply physics to the studies of stars and galaxies to explain exactly how they work.  Radio astronomers
use radio telescopes to study the radio frequencies given off by objects and processes in the universe. Ultraviolet, x-ray,
gamma-ray, and infrared astronomy reveals the cosmos in other wavelengths of light. Astrometry is the science of
measuring distances in space between objects. There are also mathematical astronomers who use numbers,

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calculations, computers, and statistics to explain what others observe in the cosmos. Finally, cosmologists study the
universe as a whole to help explain its origin and evolution across nearly 14 billion years of time.

Components of the Universe

The Planets
Our own solar system is an active area of study. Early observers noticed that most stars did not appear to move. But
there were objects that seemed to wander against the backdrop of stars.
Some moved slowly, others relatively quickly throughout the year. They
called these "planetes", the Greek word for "wanderers". Today, we simply
call them "planets." There are also asteroids and comets "out there", which
scientists’ study as well. 
Any of a class of rotating oblate spheroid bodies of substantial size that orbit
the Sun or other stars and shine only by the light reflected from their
primaries.

It says a planet must do three things:

1. It must orbit a star (in our cosmic neighborhood, the Sun).

2. It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a
spherical shape.
3. It must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects
of a similar size near its orbit around the Sun.

The moon

A moon is defined to be a celestial body that makes an orbit around a

planet, including the eight major planets, dwarf planets, and minor planets.
A moon may also be referred to as a natural satellite, although to
differentiate it from other astronomical bodies orbiting another body, e.g. a
planet orbiting a star, the term moon is used exclusively to make a reference
to a planet’s natural satellite.

The first moons to be discovered outside of the Earth’s moon were the
Galilean moons of Jupiter, named after astronomer and discoverer Galileo
Galilei. The moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are Jupiter’s largest
and only the first four to be revealed, as to date, the planet has 63 moons.

The Stars

Luminous globe of gas, mainly hydrogen and helium, which produces its
own heat and light by nuclear reactions. Although stars shine for a very
long time – many billions of years – they change in appearance at
different stages in their lives (they are said to have a ‘life cycle’). Stars
seen at night belong to our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The Sun is the
nearest star to Earth; other stars in the Milky Way are large distances
away (to get to the nearest would take about 4 years travelling at the
speed of light).

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The smallest mass possible for a star is about 8% that of the Sun (80 times that of Jupiter), otherwise nuclear reactions
do not occur. Objects with less than this critical mass shine only dimly, and are termed brown dwarfs.

The most massive stars known are believed to have masses more than 150 times that of the Sun. Such stars include Eta
Carinae and the Pistol star in Sagittarius, and lie at the limit of what astronomers believe on theoretical grounds to be
possible.

Origin Stars are born when nebulae (giant clouds of dust and gas) contract under the influence of gravity. These clouds
consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, with traces of other elements and dust grains. The temperature and pressure in
the cloud's core rise as the star grows smaller and denser. As the star is forming, it is surrounded by evaporating gaseous
globules (EGGs), the oldest of which was photographed in the Eta Carinae nebula in 1996 by the Hubble Space
Telescope.

At first the temperature of the star scarcely rises, as dust grains radiate away much of the heat, but as it grows denser
less of the heat generated can escape, and it gradually warms up. At about 10 million°C/18 million°F the temperature is
hot enough for a nuclear reaction to begin, and hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium nuclei; vast amounts of energy are
released, contraction stops, and the star begins to shine.

The Nebula
Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud of dust and hydrogen, helium, and other
ionised gases in space. Some of them come when a dying star (such as a
supernova) throws out gas and dust due to an explosion. There are some
nebulae (more than one nebula) that are present where new stars are
beginning to form because of which, they are sometimes also referred to as
“star nurseries”.

The term was, originally, used for diffused astronomical objects beyond the
Milky Way Galaxy. For instance, Andromeda Galaxy, which is the nearest
major galaxy to us, was once referred to as Andromeda Nebula.
Nebulae are massive in size. Some of them have a diameter of hundreds of
light years, while some are even visible to naked eye. The brightest nebula,
Orion Nebula, occupies an area twice the diameter of the moon, and it can
be viewed with our naked eye. The nearest nebula to earth is the Helix
Nebula. It is 700 light years away from Earth. Most of them are less dense
than any vacuum created on earth and a nebular cloud of the size of Earth
would have a total mass of only a few kgs.

The Sun

Sun, star around which Earth and the other components of the solar

system revolve. It is the dominant body of the system, constituting more than 99
percent of its entire mass. The Sun is the source of an enormous amount
of energy, a portion of which provides Earth with the light and heat necessary to
support life.

The Galaxy

There are billions of galaxies in the universe. There are different types, including spiral, barred spiral, and elliptical
galaxies. Our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 100,000 light years across (a light year is the distance light travels in a
year, about 9.5 trillion km/6 trillion mi; 1 trillion = 10 12), and contains at least 100 billion stars.
The galaxies are moving away from our own in all directions. The universe is thus expanding in all directions. The
evidence for this comes from examining light from the galaxies by splitting the light into a spectrum. A feature known as
the red shift appears, in which the light is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum due to an increase in wavelength
caused by the galaxies' recession.

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Spiral galaxies, such as the Milky Way, are flattened in shape, with a
central bulge of old stars surrounded by a disc of younger stars, arranged
in spiral arms like a Catherine wheel.

Barred spirals are spiral galaxies that have a straight bar of stars across
their centre, from the ends of which the spiral arms emerge. The arms of
spiral galaxies contain gas and dust from which new stars are still
forming.

Elliptical galaxies contain old stars and very little gas. They include the
most massive galaxies known, containing a trillion stars. At least some
elliptical galaxies are thought to be formed by mergers between spiral
galaxies. There are also irregular galaxies. Most galaxies occur in clusters,
containing anything from a few to thousands of members.

The Milky Way is a member of a small cluster, the Local Group. The Sun
lies in one of its spiral arms, about 27,000 light years from the centre.

Galaxies vary in size, structure, and luminosity, and, like stars, are found alone, in pairs, or in clusters. As these systems
are very remote, they appear in telescopes as hazy, nebulous objects and were first described as nebulae (see nebula).
Later, when their remoteness was understood, they were known as ‘island universes’ or ‘extragalactic nebulae’.

The Comet

Small, icy body orbiting the Sun, usually on a highly elliptical path that takes it
beyond the dwarf planet Pluto. A comet consists of a central nucleus a few
kilometers across and is made mostly of ice mixed with gas and dust. As a comet
approaches the Sun its nucleus heats up, releasing gas and dust, which form a
coma (comet head) up to 100,000 km/60,000 mi wide, around the nucleus. Gas
and dust stream away from the coma to form one or more tails, which may
extend for millions of kilometers. Some comets, such as Halley's Comet, stay
within Pluto's orbit for most of the time.

Comets are of many different types,

characterized by their orbits, their composition (the ratio of ice to dust,
and the amount of frozen volatiles other than water ice, such as methane and
carbon monoxide), and their size. Most comets approach the Sun on a
hyperbolic orbit and are seen only once; others (the periodic comets) return
regularly in elliptical orbits. Famous examples of the periodic comets are
Halley's Comet, which has a period of 76 years and is one of the largest comets
known, with a nucleus about 15 × 7 × 7 km/9 × 4 × 4 mi across, and comet
Encke, which has one of the shortest periods, at only 3.3 years.

The Asteroid

Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. Although asteroids orbit the
sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.

There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the
main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Asteroids hang out in other places, too. For example, some asteroids are found in
the orbital path of planets. This means that the asteroid and the planet follow
the same path around the sun. Earth and a few other planets have asteroids like
this.

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Astronomy Tools 
Astronomers use observatories equipped with powerful telescopes that help them magnify the view of dim and distant
objects in the universe. Astronomy tools, like the armillary sphere, were used by early astronomers and new tools came
about as the study of astronomy evolved. They also use instruments called spectrographs that dissect the light from
stars, planets, galaxies, and nebulae, and reveal more details about how they work. Specialized light meters (called
photometers) help them measure the varying stellar brightness’s. Well-equipped observatories are scattered around the
planet. They also orbit high above Earth's surface, with such spacecraft as Hubble Space Telescope providing clear
images and data from space. To study distant worlds, planetary scientists send spacecraft on long-term
expeditions, Mars landers such as Curiosity, Cassini Saturn mission, and many, many others. Those probes also carry
instruments and cameras that provide data about their targets. 

Why Study Astronomy?

Looking at the stars and galaxies helps us understand how our universe came into being and how it works. For example,
knowledge of the Sun helps explain stars. Studying other stars gives insight into how the Sun works. As we study more
distant stars, we learn more about the Milky Way. Mapping our galaxy tells us about its history and what conditions
existed that helped our solar system form. Charting other galaxies as far as we can detect teaches lessons about the
larger cosmos. There is always something to learn in astronomy. Each object and event tell a tale of cosmic history.

In a very real sense, astronomy gives us a sense of our place in the universe. The late astronomer Carl Sagan put it very
succinctly when he stated, "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know
itself."

BEEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades

Lesson 3: Meteorology

I. OBJECTIVES:

 Explicate and describe what meteorology is.

 Define, explain and differentiate the different meteorological terms, concepts, and phenomena.
 Discuss the relevance of studying meteorology.

II. DISCUSSION:

Meteorology

Meteorology is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and the variations in temperature and moisture patterns that
produce different weather conditions. Some of the major subjects of study are such phenomena as precipitation (rain
and snow), thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes and typhoons.
The word meteorology derives from the Greek word meteoron, which refers to any phenomenon in the sky.
Aristotle's Meteorologica (340 B.C.) concerned all phenomena above the ground. Astronomy, including the study of
meteors, or "shooting stars," later became a separate discipline. The science of meteorology was restricted eventually to
the study of the atmosphere. Various weather phenomena are still referred to as "meteors," such as hydrometeors
(liquid or frozen water — rain, snow and snowflakes, clouds, fog), lithometeors (dry particles — sand, dust, or smoke),

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photometeors (optical phenomena — halos, mirages, rainbows, coronas), and electrometeors (electrical phenomena —
lightning, Saint Elmo's fire).
The importance of meteorological events is felt in various ways. For example, a drought results in water shortages, crop
damage, low river flow rates, and increased wildfire potential. In addition, these effects may lead to restricted river
travel, saltwater infiltration in aquifers and coastal bays, stress on various plant and animal species, population shifts,
economic hardship, and even political unrest. The critical impact of weather on human activity has led to the
development of the uncertain science of weather forecasting.

BASIC METEOROLOGICAL TERMS, CONCEPTS, AND PHENOMENA

Anomaly
 The difference of temperature or precipitation from the average or normal.
Atmosphere
 The mass of air surrounding the Earth and bound to it more or less permanently by the Earth’s
gravitational attraction.
Atmospheric Pressure (also called air pressure or barometric pressure)
 The pressure asserted by the mass of the column of air directly above any specific point. 

Aurora Borealis (also known as the northern lights)

 The luminous, radiant emission from the upper atmosphere over middle
and high latitudes, and centered around the Earth’s magnetic poles. These
silent fireworks are often seen on clear winter nights in a variety of shapes
and colors.

Barometer
 A device for measuring atmospheric pressure. (Barometric pressure: The actual pressure value indicated by a
pressure sensor.)

Blizzard
 Includes winter storm conditions of sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35
mph or more that cause major blowing or drifting of snow, reducing visibility
to less than one-quarter mile for 3 or more hours OR a typical Tuesday in
New England during the wintertime.

Circulation
 The pattern of the movement of air. General circulation is the flow of air of large, semi-permanent weather
systems, while secondary circulation is the flow of air of more temporary weather systems.
Climate
 The prevalent long-term weather conditions in a particular area. Climatic elements include precipitation,
temperature, humidity, sunshine and wind velocity and phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms. Climate
cannot be considered a satisfactory indicator of actual conditions since it is based upon a vast number of
elements taken as an average.
Cold Front

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  A narrow transition zone separating advancing colder air from retreating warmer air. The air behind a cold front
is cooler and typically drier than the air it is replacing.
Cyclone
 An area of low pressure around which winds blow counterclockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere. Also the term used for a hurricane in the Indian
Ocean and in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Dew Point
 The temperature to which air must be cooled for water vapor to condense and form fog or clouds.
Drought
 Abnormally dry weather in a region over an extended period sufficient to cause a serious hydrological (water
cycle) imbalance in the affected area. This can cause such problems as crop damage and water-supply shortage.
El Niño
 The cyclical warming of the ocean temperatures in equatorial waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean which can
result in significant changes in global weather patterns.
Evaporation
 The process of a liquid changing into a vapor or gas.

Flurries
 Light snow falling for short durations. No accumulation or just a light dusting is all that is expected.
Fog
 Water that has condensed close to ground level, producing a cloud of very small
droplets that reduces visibility to less than one km (three thousand and three
hundred feet).

Global Warming
 A theory that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing an elevation in the Earth’s
surface temperature.
Greenhouse Effect
 The overall warming of the Earth’s lower atmosphere mainly due to carbon dioxide and water vapor which
permit the sun’s rays to heat the earth, but then traps radiation (heat–energy) from escaping back into space.
Humidity
 The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
Indian Summer
 An unseasonably warm period near the middle of autumn, usually following a substantial period of cool
weather. Learn more about Indian Summers here.
Jet Stream
 Strong winds concentrated within a narrow band in the upper atmosphere. It normally refers to horizontal, high-
altitude winds. The jet stream often “steers” surface features such as front and low pressure systems.
La Niña
 A cooling of the equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean that can result in significant changes in climate in the
tropical Pacific Ocean and elsewhere around the Earth.

Tornado

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  A violent rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, pendant from a cumulonimbus cloud. A tornado
does not require the visible presence of a funnel cloud. It has a typical width of tens to hundreds of meters and a
lifespan of minutes to hours.

Warm Front
 A narrow transitions zone separating advancing warmer air from retreating cooler air. The air behind a warm
front is warmer and typically more humid than the air it is replacing.
Weather
 The state of the atmosphere at a specific time with respect to sunshine, cloudiness, humidity, rainfall,
temperature, wind, and visibility. It is the short-term variations in the atmosphere, as opposed to the long-term,
climatic changes. 
Wind
Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth.

BEEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades

III. ACTIVITIES:

Check Your Understanding!

Activity No.1:

Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. In what way is geology different from the other sciences, such as chemistry and physics?

2. How would some familiarity with biology be helpful to a geologist?

3. List three ways in which geologists can contribute to society.

4. Describe the lattice structure and elemental composition of the mineral halite.

5. In what way is a mineral different from a rock?

6. What is the main component of Earth’s core?

7. What process leads to convection in the mantle?

8. How does mantle convection contribute to plate tectonics?

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9. What are some of the processes that take place at a divergent plate boundary?

10. Why is it important to study geology?

BEEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades

Check Your Understanding!

Activity No.2:

I. Answer the following questions:

1. What is astronomy? How is astronomy different from other sciences?

2. How many stars is visible in the night sky?
3. What is the brightest star in the sky?
4. What is the difference between the star and nebula?

II. Identification:
__________ 1. It is considered as an astronomical body.
__________ 2. A ball of ice and dust with a long, glowing tail.
__________ 3. The name of galaxy we live in.
__________ 4. It is referred as a natural satellite.
__________ 5. The nearest star on earth

III. Create a diagram/illustration and explain the different components of the universe.

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 IV. Essay

1. What is the relevance of studying astronomy? Give at least 3 reasons and explain your answer.

BEEDMC 402 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades

Check Your Understanding!

Activity No.3:

Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. What is meteorology?

2. Distinguish between weather and climate.

3. What is the advantage of describing the climate of locality in terms of both average weather plus extremes in
weather?

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4. In a tabular format define and explain the different meteorological terms, concepts and phenomena.

5. What is the relevance of studying meteorology? Explain your answer.

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