Cosmic Chemistry: Planetary Diversity Are We Related?

Looking for Patterns

TEACHER GUIDE In Planetary Diversity

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
From the beginning of scientific endeavor, scientists have looked for patterns in unorganized and isolated observational
data. The Genesis module, Cosmic Chemistry: An Elemental Question, focused on Mendeleev's pursuit of order from his
observations of the properties of known chemical elements. The Cosmic Chemistry: The Sun and Solar Wind module was
based on an almost universally-accepted standard solar model, which was developed as information was collected over
time.

A standard model for the solar system formation is one of the major unsolved problems of modern science. Rene Descartes
advanced ideas concerning the condensation of the sun and planets from a chaotic mass of gas and dust as early as the
1300s.

In 1755, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed that a rotating nebula, a cloud of gas and dust,
might have condensed to form the sun and planets, with the planets moving in the same direction as the
rotation of the original nebula.

The French mathematician, Pierre Simon de Laplace, extended and refined Kant's "nebular hypothesis" in
the 18th century. Laplace calculated the increase in rotation of the contracting nebula and adding the notion
that rings of material might have spun off from the nebula by centrifugal action, each ring forming a planet
moving in a nearly circular orbit.

The "Laplacian hypothesis" was generally accepted until 1900, when University of Chicago geologist T. C.
Chamberlin and astronomer F. R. Moulton, proposed that the angular momentum of material that later
formed the planets was furnished by an intruder star passing quite close to the sun. The Chamberlin-
Moulton theory was designed to explain the solar system's uniqueness in terms of a possible but highly
unlikely event.

At this time, unfortunately, no one model satisfactorily explains everything that has been observed. Neither can the
information that is currently being gathered by terrestrial and space-probe instrumentation be adequately explained by one
current model. Interpreting the overwhelming collection of data from terrestrial observation and interplanetary space probes
is proving to be a challenge for even the most dedicated planetary scientists.

Because we cannot directly observe the planetary system "up close and personal" from the Earth, many interpretations
regarding the planets based on terrestrial observations have proved to be incorrect. Most of these conclusions were the
result of fragmented data analogous to that of the blind men describing an elephant.* Our observations were also impaired,
not only by the Earth's atmospheric filter, but, in some cases, by the atmosphere of the observed planetary body.

TEACHER GUIDE GENESIS 1

 *The legend tells of blind men describing an elephant differently because they were examining
different parts of the animal without being able to "see" the whole animal. One man said the
elephant was like a tree because he was feeling its leg; another thought it was shaped like a
fan because he was touching the ear; still another, holding the tail, said the elephant resembled
a rope. Those examining the trunk, tusks and body described the elephant as a long flexible
tube, a spear, and a wall.

As is the case in many scientific endeavors, new pieces of information often do not fit, causing us to rethink not only our
organizational patterns but also our current theories and models.

The background information in "So, Mr. Holmes, What Is the Problem???" can be used, either as a student handout or for a
classroom presentation, to introduce your students to the complicated scientific problems involved in studying planetary
diversity.

Ultimately, the correct theories for the origins of the diverse objects in our solar system, including planetary atmospheres,
will be validated by their predictions of chemical and isotopic compositions relative to the average nebular composition
preserved in the surface layers of the sun. The Genesis mission is designed to provide solar abundances at the precision
required in order to test these theories. (See Figures 1 and 2 and Table 1 in the Student Text, "Solar Nebula Supermarket.")
Moreover, Genesis will test fundamental assumptions, such as whether or not solar and nebular compositions were
identical.

In the Student Activity, "Are We Related?," students will be using measurements (and results of calculations involving these
measurements) regarding the planets' physical and chemical characteristics. They will start with some of the most
universally accepted planetary data, including, for example: planetary distances from the sun, equatorial diameters,
rotational periods, masses, and average temperatures.

You will note, and should encourage your students to note, that the sources used for the data in this activity have been
referenced. These sources were chosen not only because they were published recently, but also because they incorporated
current information from space-probe instrumentation.

Students will also be working with information that is often presented as known facts when, indeed, those "facts" may be
conclusions based on limited basic data. Included in this category are properties such as planetary densities, components of
their internal structures and their atmospheric makeup. Not all of these properties can be observed directly, even those of
the Earth. They are, therefore, inferred from data that, although compelling, probably does not present the whole picture.
(See similar situation in the first activity of the Genesis module, Cosmic Chemistry: An Elemental Question.)

For this reason, there are many possible and plausible interpretations of these data. Students should be encouraged to look
for their own methods of grouping or "patterning." There are many good answers and the more variation in the patterns
found, the more interesting the feedback sessions will be as students defend their patterns in answering these questions:

1. It has been presumed that the nine planets, among other highly diverse objects of our solar system, originated from
condensation of a relatively homogeneous solar nebula.
a) What evidence do you find that supports this theory?
b) Are there any specific data given in the activity that do not appear to be explained by this theory?
c) What other information would be helpful in making your decision?

2. There was recently another effort made to remove Pluto from the list of planets and to reduce its classification to that of
a "Trans-Neptunian Object" or a minor planet. The controversy is not a new one, having been raised in 1950 and again
in 1987. What evidence do you find that either supports Pluto being classified as a planet or something other than a
planet?
Use the material in Appendix A and Appendix B to refresh and/or expand your own background in the history of planetary
science. You can also review descriptions of the planetary structure and evolutionary models. Make print copies or have
students access the electronic version of any materials that you wish.

TEACHER GUIDE GENESIS 2

NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Grades 5-8
Science As Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Understandings about scientific inquiry
Physical Science
Properties and changes of properties in matter
Motions and forces
Transfer of energy
Interactions of matter and energy
Science and Technology
Understandings about science and technology
History and Nature of Science
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of science and scientific knowledge
History of science and historical perspectives

Grades 9-12
Science As Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Understandings about scientific inquiry
Earth and Space Science
Earth in the solar system
The origin and evolutions of the Earth system
The origin and evolution of the universe
Energy in the Earth system
Geochemical cycles
Physical Science
Properties and changes of properties in matter
Motions and forces
Transfer of energy
Interactions of matter and energy
Science and Technology
Understandings about science and technology
History and Nature of Science
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of science and scientific knowledge
History of science and historical perspectives (View a full text of the National Science Education Standards.)

MATERIALS
Alternate Strategy Tip
For each student
• Copy of Student Activity, "Are We Related?" One strategy for this lesson is to
• Copy of Student Data Sheet, "Are We Related?" have the class work in groups of
• Copy of Student Text, "So, Mr. Holmes, What Is the Problem???" four. Then the teacher could
• Copy of Student Text, "Solar Nebula Supermarket" "jigsaw" the groups such that
• Copy of Appendix A, "The Solar System or Do Nine Planets a Baseball Team each of the four students in the
Make?" home group join a different expert
group that will look at two data
For each group: tables, answer the questions, and
• Newsprint or poster board and colored markers to display groupings and
then return to the home group
patterns from data
and share the information learned
and complete the poster activity.

TEACHER GUIDE GENESIS 3

Optional for the classroom:
• Rock and mineral samples, including those shown as part of the internal structures of planets—iron ores (iron oxide,
iron sulfide, iron pyrite), basalt, granite, olivine: quartz (silicon dioxide), feldspar and mica, the latter two of which are
aluminum silicates
• Periodic table

PROCEDURE
1. Before class make copies of the following handouts:
Student Activity, "Are We Related?"
Student Data Sheet, "Are We Related?"
Student Text, "So, Mr. Holmes, What Is the Problem???" (See Procedure 2 below.)
Student Text, "Solar Nebula Supermarket"
Appendix A, "The Solar System or Do Nine Planets a Baseball Team Make?"

2. Either distribute copies of "So, Mr. Holmes, What Is the Problem???" or use the information in it to "set the stage" for
this Planetary Diversity module.

3. Distribute copies of Part 1 of the Student Activity, "Are We Related?" to each student. This includes assignments #1
through #7.

4. Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Each group should designate a leader, recorder, and one or two
researchers.

5. After the team members have read the “Background Information” on the first page of the Student Activity, "Are We
Related?" have the team leaders ask the other team members whether or not they understand the assignment. If there
are questions, the team leader should ask you for clarification.

6. Post the due date for the assignment somewhere in the room and call students' attention to it. There is ample data
given in the activity to warrant a minimum of two class periods for identifying patterns or groupings and another for
designing students' displays.

7. Have copies of Part 2 of the student activity and other handouts available for the team leaders as they request them.

8. Be available to answer questions as they arise. Some of the questions that were asked during the classroom pre-tests
are found in the “Information Tips” box. It is best if you wait until students ask for this kind of information before giving it.

Information Tips
1. What does AU mean? AU stands for astronomical unit, the mean distance from the Earth to the sun, which is
149.6 million kilometers.
2. What does it mean when it says "Earth = 1"? This means that the value of that measurement for all the
other planets has been divided by the Earth's value of that measurement, forming number ratios that are easily
compared.
3. Why are the diameters of the planets labeled "of the equators"? Because most planets are not truly
spherical; they tend to be flattened at the poles.
4. What is the difference between a "mantle" and an "envelope"? Mantles have more well-defined boundaries
than envelopes.
5. Why are the Internal Structure diagrams circular if planets are not really spherical? These diagrams are
drawn to scale based on equatorial diameters. In a scale this small, the "flatness" is not significant.
6. What does "retrograde rotation" mean? It means that a planet rotates on its own axis in a direction opposite
to that of most other planets. The sun rises in the west and sets in the east. (Venus is an example of a a planet
that has retrograde rotation.)
7. What does "average" density mean? Most, if not all, planets are "layered," with each layer being made of
components of different densities. The average density of a planet is based on its total mass, determined
indirectly by the strength of its gravitational pull, divided by its total volume.
8. Define the terms, basalt, olivine, and granite. Basalt is a dark, heavy rock of volcanic origin; olivine is
(MgFe)2SiO4, a mineral constituent of igneous rocks; and granite is a hard igneous rock made of quartz (silicon
dioxide), and aluminum silicates—feldspar and mica.

TEACHER GUIDE GENESIS 4

9. Designate a location for posting the groups' patterns and grouping displays.

10. During the Part 1 follow-up session:

a) Allow time for each team to make their oral presentations. Alternate Strategy Tips
b) Ask students to make generalizations as they study individual teams' Have rock and mineral samples
findings. available for students to examine
during the time they are studying the
Ask: What made it so difficult to find groups or patterns in the data given? internal structures of the planets.

11. Distribute copies of Part 2 of the Student Activity, "Are We Related?" to Have a periodic table wall chart
each student. This includes assignments # 8 through #10, which may be available for students to note the
done on an individual or group basis. Assign a due date for the completion location of the elements present in the
of this assignment. sun and solar nebula.

12. During the follow-up session for Part 2 of this activity, ask questions Some Fun Stuff!
similar to the following: If students have difficulty remembering
a) On what basis did you make your decisions regarding: the order of the planets with respect to
1) The groupings of planets as either terrestrial and Jovian? the sun, try these mnemonic devices,
2) The validity of the solar nebular condensation theory of planetary or, have them design their own!
formation? May's Violet Eyes Make John Sit Up
3) The data given that did not appear to be explained by the Nights Pondering or
condensation theory? My Very Empty Mouth Just Swallowed
4) The reclassification of Pluto? Up Ninety Peanuts
b) What problems do you find with the condensation model? - from Larry D. Kirkpatrick, The
c) What other information would you need in order to decide whether or Physics Teacher, 30, 25 (1992).
not the condensation model is valid?
d) If your students have worked on either of the previous Genesis A Planet Rap Song, contributed by
Cosmic Chemistry modules—An Elemental Question or The Sun and Thomas Arny, can be found in the
Solar Wind—ask them how the information given in Figures 1 and 2 Physics Teacher, 30, 186 (1992).
and/or Table 1 in the student text might relate to these previous
Genesis modules.

For Further Inquiry

If you have students who are mathematically oriented, you may pose the following question as a follow-up to this activity:

Although there have been a number of theories to explain the origins of the planets, the problem of what mechanism
determined the location of planetary orbits around the sun and the location of the orbits of satellites around the planets
has not been resolved. Before Neptune and Pluto were discovered, the German astronomers Titius and Bode noted a
seeming regularity in the spacing of the planets. Note that in Data Table 2, the distances of the planets from the sun are
(x+4)
given in AU's. These numbers can also be calculated from a formula, planet's distance from sun in AU's =
10
where x is the number in a series of 0, 3, 6, 12, 24.... Note that each number, starting with 6, is twice the preceding
number. An alternate expression of this law is: planet's distance from sun in AU's = 0.4 + 0.3 x 2n,
where n = - ∞ for Mercury, 0 for Venus and is increased by 1 for each successive planet.
Use one of these Titius-Bode formulae to determine:
a) Which planets' distances do not follow this rule?
b) What solar system phenomenon is found between the inner and outer planets where the Titius-Bode rule predicts a
planet where there is none?
c) The significance, if any, of these mathematical statements regarding the location of planetary orbits around the sun?*
d) Which planets' satellites obey the Titius-Bode law?
________
Notes to instructors: Students will have to research which planets have satellites and the satellites' spatial location with
respect to the planet in order to answer question d. That information is not a part of this module.

*The answer to c) is: recent calculations show that this law reflects a coincidence rather than a general physical property.

TEACHER GUIDE GENESIS 5