imported>Stwikiadmin at 14:35, 29 April 2016

2016-04-29T14:35:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:35, 29 April 2016
Line 1:		Line 1:
	== ~~Age ==~~		{\| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; margin-left: auto; float:right"
			\| [[Astronomy]]:
			\| Comet Formation
			\|-
			\| Grade Range:
			\| [[Elementary School]], [[Middle School]], [[High School]]
			\|-
			\| Format:
			\| [[Hands-on]]
			\|}

	== ~~Format~~ ==		Although this is a "hands-on" demonstration, don't allow younger students to actually handle the comet. This is a demonstration that students can get close to and watch, and for an older audience you might let them try to make their own comets!

			== Materials ==

			* Water
			* Soil and Rock Mix
			* Soy Sauce
			* Ammonia
			* Dry Ice
			* Measuring Cup
			* Box with Plastic Lining
			* Demonstration display poster board
			* Hot plate
			* Small Bowl

	~~== Materials ==~~
	~~Water~~
	~~Soil~~
	~~Soy sauce~~
	~~Ammonia~~
	~~Dry ice~~
	~~Small blast shield~~
	~~Box with plastic lining that can be used to compress mixture~~
	~~Gloves~~
	~~Safety glasses~~
	~~Demonstration display poster board~~
	~~Hot plate~~

	== Safety Precautions ==		== Safety Precautions ==

	~~== Preparation ==~~		Please read the Cryogen Safety section of the [[Demonstration Safety]] page before performing this demonstration.

			This demonstration requires: safety glasses, gloves, small blast shield

	~~Set up blast shield to keep kids from getting their hands into the dry ice.~~

	== Demonstration ==		== Demonstration ==

	~~The demonstrator will mix together~~ the ~~ingredients that represent~~ the ~~components~~ of a ~~comet~~, ~~being careful not~~ to ~~hurt themselves or anyone else~~ with the dry ice. ~~Once~~ the ingredients ~~are mixed~~ the ~~demonstrator then compresses~~ the ~~mix together~~ to ~~form~~ a ~~sort~~ of ~~ball~~.		# Set out your ingredients around the plastic lined box. Turn the hot plate on, and set to medium. For a younger audience (k-6th), set the small blast shield in front of the box. For an older audience (7-12th), you may ask the students if they would like to assemble the comet.
			# Assemble the comet: Put about two cups of dirt in the box, and add a half cup of water to it. Add some soy sauce sparingly, and add a small amount (one capful) of ammonia to the mix. Start mixing the ingredients with one hand, and while doing so add several pieces of the dry ice to the mix with the other. Compress the mixture into a ball, and add more dry ice as needed until the ball freezes together.
	~~== What~~ to ~~Say ==~~		# After explaining to the students what the ingredients represent, move your comet from the bag into the small bowl and place it on the hot plate. As it heats up, you will see the coma, or tail, of the comet form!
			# After building the first comet, you can keep it displayed for students to look at, and add dry ice as needed to keep the ball frozen. You should consider making a new comet every two hours or so, depending on the length of the event. At the end of the event, break apart the comet and lay it out for a few days to let the dirt dry out.

	Start by asking if anyone has seen a comet. Show the pictures of various comets on the display board and point out the various features: nucleus, coma, dust tail and plasma tail. Point out in the diagram of the comet orbiting the sun that the tail is always pointing AWAY from the sun. Ask if any of the kids can explain why that is. Likely no one will know why so explain that this demo will help illustrate why that is and what comets are like in general.		== Why This Works ==

	~~Mix~~ the ~~ingredients together and~~ describe what ~~each ingredient represents~~. ~~The water~~ will ~~represent (once frozen) the ice found~~ in ~~comets, the soil represents the dark organic material~~, the soy sauce ~~represents the other complex chemicals found in comets~~, ~~the dry ice represents the frozen carbon dioxide locked into comets~~ and ~~the~~ ammonia ~~is the same~~ as ~~the ammonia found in comets~~.		''Comets'' are large rocky bodies in our solar system, and are easy to recognize because of the tail they create behind them. A term often used to describe comets is "dirty snowballs" because of what they are made of. Comets is made mostly of organic matter, represented by the dirt and rock mixture that we use, and will often also contain large amounts of iron in their core. Comets also contain trace amounts of complex molecules, represented with the soy sauce we added, and they often have ammonia frozen inside of them as well. Lastly, they have a lot of frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice, on their surface as well.
	~~After the ingredients~~ have ~~been pressed into~~ a ~~sort~~ of ~~ball~~, ~~show the comet to the kids and explain that it is similar to the nucleus of a comet~~.

	~~Use~~ a hot plate ~~to demonstrate~~ the ~~effect~~ of the ~~sun on the “comet”~~. ~~It should start~~ to ~~evaporate more quickly~~ and ~~create more of a coma. Explain~~ that ~~the sun is really really hot and when~~ a comet ~~gets~~ close to it, ~~it starts to heat up and evaporate~~. ~~This stuff that~~'s ~~evaporating~~ away is ~~what makes~~ the ~~long~~ tail that ~~you see in pictures~~.		We are able to find out what a comet is made of by looking at the coma of the comet. When we place our comet on the hot plate, we see the cloud of vapor coming off of the ball. This is similar to the cloud of gas and dust that we see trailing a comet as it flies close to the sun! By analyzing the tail of the comet we can find out what particles are being released, which gives us clues on what the comet is made of. A comet's tail is always pointed '''away''' from the sun, no matter what direction the comet is moving in. This is because the tail is created by the sun's ''solar wind'', which is made of high-energy particles that are flying out and away of the sun. the solar wind blasts off gas and dust from the surface of the comet, and this gas and dust are flung away from the sun, creating the tail!

	== ~~Why it is~~ ==		== Additional Information ==

	~~== Real Life Examples ==~~		* Comets and Asteroids are similar in composition, and often similar in size. The main difference between the two comes from their orbits: Comets have a large elliptical orbit, and will have tails during their perihelion, or their part of the orbit closest to the sun. Asteroids have regular orbits, and larger ones can be labeled as dwarf planets. Ceres was first labeled as an asteroid, but due to its size it was promoted to dwarf planet status.
			* This demonstration is a part of the [[Astronomy Show]].

imported>Stwikiadmin: Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."

2013-09-13T13:36:55Z

Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:36, 13 September 2013
(No difference)

imported>Stwikiadmin: Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."

2013-09-13T13:36:55Z

Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."

New page

== Age ==

== Format ==

== Materials ==
Water
Soil
Soy sauce
Ammonia
Dry ice
Small blast shield
Box with plastic lining that can be used to compress mixture
Gloves
Safety glasses
Demonstration display poster board
Hot plate

== Safety Precautions ==

== Preparation ==

Set up blast shield to keep kids from getting their hands into the dry ice.

== Demonstration ==

The demonstrator will mix together the ingredients that represent the components of a comet, being careful not to hurt themselves or anyone else with the dry ice. Once the ingredients are mixed the demonstrator then compresses the mix together to form a sort of ball.

== What to Say ==

Start by asking if anyone has seen a comet. Show the pictures of various comets on the display board and point out the various features: nucleus, coma, dust tail and plasma tail. Point out in the diagram of the comet orbiting the sun that the tail is always pointing AWAY from the sun. Ask if any of the kids can explain why that is. Likely no one will know why so explain that this demo will help illustrate why that is and what comets are like in general.

Mix the ingredients together and describe what each ingredient represents. The water will represent (once frozen) the ice found in comets, the soil represents the dark organic material, the soy sauce represents the other complex chemicals found in comets, the dry ice represents the frozen carbon dioxide locked into comets and the ammonia is the same as the ammonia found in comets.
After the ingredients have been pressed into a sort of ball, show the comet to the kids and explain that it is similar to the nucleus of a comet.

Use a hot plate to demonstrate the effect of the sun on the “comet”. It should start to evaporate more quickly and create more of a coma. Explain that the sun is really really hot and when a comet gets close to it, it starts to heat up and evaporate. This stuff that's evaporating away is what makes the long tail that you see in pictures.

== Why it is ==

== Real Life Examples ==

Making a Comet - Revision history

imported>Stwikiadmin at 14:35, 29 April 2016

imported>Stwikiadmin: Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."

imported>Stwikiadmin: Created page with "== Age == == Format == == Materials == Water Soil Soy sauce Ammonia Dry ice Small blast shield Box with plastic lining that can be used to co..."