This site provides lesson plans that aim to teach pysics using the sun as an example. The lesson plans are called: 1. position, velocity and acceleration, 2. centripetal force and the law of universal gravitation, 3. center of mass of the solar system, and 4. introduction to magnetic spectrum.
This lesson covers basic methods for finding one’s position on Earth. Latitude can be deduced from the height above the horizon of the pole star or of the noontime Sun, while longitude requires an accurate clock giving universal time. The student will understand how finding one’s local longitude requires comparing local time with universal time (UT), which may be obtained from an accurate clock, possibly calibrated by a time signal received by radio.
In this lesson covers the evolution of a volcanic island from origin to erosion. Students will be able to determine the relative ages of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, given their position in the archipelago and why these islands are so much smaller than the main islands of the Hawaiian chain. They will discover that volcanic islands form over a hot spot on the ocean floor and that islands form and erode in eight stages, so the relative age of an island or atoll can be determined based on its state of growth or erosion.
