9/14 Take Home test

1.  Create an artifact that uses a Web 2.0 structure to contrast the following:

• a rocky planet
• a gas planet
• a moon
• an asteroid, Oort cloud object (comet), or Kuiper belt object (plutoid)

Include a table that lists at least 10 variables and any new resources you have found.

2.  Imagine that you are traveling to an uninhabitable part of the solar system.   Describe the protective structures necessary to:

• travel there safely (you can invent up to five things that do not currently exist)
• participate in some form of extreme sport while you are there
• communicate with the Earth (for this, tell me the time lag that would exist)

3.  Use the orrery Solar Space Scope and draw a scaled drawing from the sun for the 8 planets.    To do this, consider 1 AU to be 3 centimeters.

Now, discuss how this would affect the SIZE of the planets, which are not to scale.   If you wish, you can check out 'Scaling the Solar System'  or Exploratorium

4.   Check out the discussion about Pluto as a planet in your notes.

Link 1 (great video, but just reading the transcript will tell you most of this)

New Horizons mission

Pluto is a planet
Pluto is not 

Based on these resources, describe what New Horizons will tell us, whether you think Pluto should or should not be a planet, and 4 arguments to support your view.