Introduction
At a very early age, children across the globe gaze with wonderment at the sighting of a rainbow in the sky. These colors of the rainbow are nature's example of a spectrum of light. This band of familiar colors is nicknamed, “ROY G. BIV,” which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet (Image 1). In this Earth and Space Science Curriculum Unit, students will deepen their understanding of how astronomers analyze the light of a star to determine its chemical composition, color, temperature, motion, luminosity, distance, and evolutionary stage. In this unit, students will see “beyond the rainbow” and enter the world of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is the technique used by astrophysicists and astrochemists to determine the characteristics of stars. The ease with which students can recollect not only the colors but more importantly, the sequence of these colors in the rainbow will enable them to engage in more complicated content material that shows how scientists unlock the mysteries of the cosmos. Students will “see the rainbow” throughout this unit as they analyze blackbody curves, categorize stars using the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, determine the motion of stars using the Doppler effect, identify the chemical composition of stars from absorption spectra and investigate the sun’s surface features as seen under different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum using satellite imagery from the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO).
Image 1: Colors of the Rainbow.
Photo Credit: Gringer, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Image 1: This band of colors represents a continuous spectrum of visible light in the electromagnetic spectrum. It also shows the sequential order of the colors in a rainbow.
This curriculum unit is designed for Earth Science students with limited exposure to Algebra. However, each activity can be modified for advanced coursework in Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Environmental Science. The curriculum unit is aligned to the standards of learning as outlined in the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Earth Science Curriculum Framework.1
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