Take a Journey of Discovery with RXTE - Classroom Activity

Teachers Guide

Mission 1 | Mission 2 | Mission 3 | Mission 4 | Mission 5 |

What Standards Does this Unit meet?

Grade/Level: 6-12.
Middle school aged students will need more background material and more time as the subject matter may be new to them, and they may work at a slower pace than older students. These students may need more guidance to enable them to comprehend some of these newer and perhaps unfamiliar concepts.

Time Requirements: This unit was designed with a 90-minute block period class structure in mind. If your school uses 60-minute class periods, the lesson may have to be adjusted appropriately.

Mission#1

Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 180 minutes (this takes the need for an introduction to the unit into account)
High School: 90 minutes (students may complete model for homework)

Objective:

  • Construct a model of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)
  • Evaluate the completed model of the RXTE
  • Develop an understanding of RXTE's three scientific instruments, focusing on the All-Sky Monitor
  • Develop an appreciation of what real scientists go through during the construction of a satellite

Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:

The teacher should read over the whole unit.

(Please follow the Space Journey links from Mission 5)

Depending on the grade level of the class, the teacher may want to print and cut out mission badges for the class to wear. Click on each badge graphic on the Mission 1 Page to see a larger graphic of each badge. Lamination is suggested.

Rubrics for each mission are linked to the bottom of each mission page.

The teacher may want to familiarize themselves with background information on this satellite and on some basic astronomy. The teacher should read the background material that will be given to the class. (The teacher may want to bookmark this page just in case.) The material is as follows:

If the teacher wishes to read additional information here are some resources:

On RXTE:

On X-rays and X-ray Astronomy

On Black Holes and Neutron Stars

On Light Curves and Spectra

Tips for the model:

Teacher should construct the color model of the RXTE so that students can see what colors to use and how the finished model should appear.

Teachers can substitute drinking straws for the pencils that are used to hold the solar panels onto the model.

Engagement:

Warm Up

The students will need to divide their paper up into 3 columns - this is what is known as a K-W-L graphic organizer. K stands for "What You Know", W is "What You Want to Learn" and L is "What You Have Learned". Using a K-W-L graphic organizer have the students list the following at the top of each column:

  • What you know about a satellite and its components
  • What you want to learn about a satellite and its components
  • What you have learned about a satellite and its components.

Have the students fill in the first two columns at the start of class. Have them leave the third column blank. This will be completed for homework after completion of the class part of Mission 1.

Exploration:

  1. Divide the class into light-curve teams of 4 and assign each team to a computer.
  2. As a class, have the students read the Introduction Page that presents them with an important NASA bulletin.
  3. Students will click on Mission #1 to begin activity.
  4. State to the class that each team member needs to select a mission job from the list below. (Students have one minute to complete the task)
  5. Depending on the grade level, the teacher has the option, at this point, to hand out the mission badges for the students to wear.
  6. Once each student has selected a job, direct the teams to begin Mission #1, starting with the section titled Within each group:
  7. The teacher should now supervise as the class works within their groups.
  8. As homework, the students should complete the model, and then fill out the third column of the K-W-L graphic organizer by listing what they have learned about a satellite and its components.

Evaluation:

Use a rubric to evaluate the correctness of the satellite model.

Facilitate a class discussion on satellites. Were the students frustrated at having to wait for their team members to complete their jobs? Were they surprised at how long constructing the model took? Have them think about the construction of a real satellite. Why do satellites take so long to build? How important is teamwork? It takes such a long time to build a satellite because it must be designed properly to function in the extreme conditions of space. It has delicate parts and is made from expensive materials (much different than paper!). Most satellites are built by teams of people that work at different institutions - often these institutions are in different countries - there are language and cultural barriers. These are just a few of the obstacles the scientists, engineers, and technicians who design and build satellites have to overcome.

Extension Activity:

  • Have a student measure the dimensions of the XTE model. (Roughly 2 x 4 in. across the top surface) This model is _not_ to scale. But, if this model were 1/30th the size of the real XTE (which it approximately is) how large would the real satellite be? (Answer: about 6 ft. by 10 ft.)

  • Have the students take a piece of string and measure out the size of the satellite in the corner of the classroom.

Mission#2

Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 180 minutes (for students unfamiliar with line graphs)
High School: 90 minutes

Objective:

  • Collect and graph data from the All-Sky Monitor(ASM)
  • Observe and analyze light curves in order to gather data about a source

Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:

The teacher should look at the sample graphs of the black holes and neutron stars, as well as the list of data points that the students are to graph.

Engagement:

Warm Up

Have the students pull out a sheet of paper and on their own, draw a blank graphing, labeling the seven parts of a graph. The teacher will then go over the correct answers with the class.

Title: The Seven Parts of a Graph

  1. Title
  2. X-axis label
  3. Y-axis label
  4. Units of measurement, in parenthesis
  5. Origin
  6. Increments, ie. 5, 10, 15... or 10, 20, 30...
  7. Data points

Exploration:

Introduction

The students will begin with Mission 2. Have them:

  1. Read Mission #2
  2. Review the hyperlinks on black holes, neutron stars, and light curves

Explanation:

Each team will collect data from a mysterious source in the Galactic Center Region. Using this data, the team members will create a light curve. The team will also observe, analyze, and record information regarding the light curves from two black holes, CYG X-1 and LMC X-3 and two neutron stars, X1705-440 and SMC X-1.

Elaboration:

The students will:

  • Download data from the Mystery Source.
  • Print a copy of the data for each member of the team. Label this printout "Mystery Source Data Points".
  • Calculate how many data points each person must plot. There are 184 points that must be plotted. Each mission specialist will be responsible for plotting 1/4 of the points.
  • Decide which points each person will plot.
    (Here's what the graph should look like once the students plot it.)
  • Discuss with their team what should be included on the graph using the "Seven Parts of a Graph" as a guide.
  • Write on the back of the "Mystery Source Data Points" sheet the following information:
    • the title of the graph
    • the appropriate labels for both the x and y axis
    • the units of measurement
    • the origin
    • the increments

Next have them:

  • Pair up with a mission specialist on their team. Each pair of mission specialists needs a sheet of graph paper to plot the data points.
  • While one mission specialist reads the data points the other specialist will plot the data points on the graph paper. Each mission specialist should only plot his/her assigned data points.
  • Once the team has plotted all the data points, the two graphs should be taped together to create one graph.
  • Connect the points to create a smooth graph.
  • The team should review the completed light curve to ensure all seven parts of the graph have been included.
  • The team will now use the computer to view four completed light curves and answer questions about the light curves.

They will then:

  • View the light curves of two black holes, CYG X-1 and LMC X-3.
  • Print the light curves of the two black holes, CYG X-1 and LMC X-3.
  • Answer the following questions about the two light curves:
    1. What features in the light curve of the mystery source are similar to the features of the light curves of the two black holes?
    2. What features in the light curve of the mystery source are different from the features of the light curves of the two black holes?

Similarly:

  • View the light curves of two neutron stars, X1705-440 and SMC X1.
  • Print the light curves of two neutron stars, X1705-440 and SMC X1.
  • Answer the following questions about the two light curves:
    1. What features in the light curve of the mystery source are similar to the features of the light curves of the two neutron stars?
    2. What features in the light curve of the mystery source are different from the features of the light curve of the two neutron stars?

Evaluation:

Use a rubric to evaluate the correctness of the light curve graph.

Mission#3

Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 90 minutes (students complete Venn diagrams as homework)
High School: 90 minutes

Objective:

  • Interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions from the collected data of the ASM.

Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:

The answers to the Warm-up can be found largely in the RXTE background information page. The answers to what the satellite uses for power, communication, and tracking can be found in the last paragraph.

A pre-made Venn diagram is available - or you could have the students draw their own.

Engagement:

Warm Up

Have the students write a rough draft of a letter to you, the science teacher, explaining what a satellite is. Think about what a satellite uses for power, communication, and tracking. Think about what other types of instruments might be on a satellite. Also, include why they think satellites are important to society. Have them use their K-W-L graphic organizer.

Exploration:

The students will begin Mission 3. Have them:

  • Read Mission #3
  • Review hyperlinks on black holes and neutron stars

Explanation:

Teacher will lead a class discussion of the questions assigned for Mission #2. Is it easy or hard to tell if the Mystery Source is a black hole or a neutron star? Based on the students' work with the light curve of the Mystery Source, do they think it is a black hole or a neutron star. Which set of light curves does the Mystery Source most resemble? Is the class ready to make a definitive statement about the nature of the Mystery Source? Or do they feel they might need more information about the source?

Students will be given the opportunity to make any necessary changes to their answers. After the discussion, students will complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting black holes, neutron stars, and the mystery X-ray source.

Elaboration:

The students will:

  • Click here to bring up a copy of Venn digram.
  • Print a copy of Venn diagram for each member of the team.
  • Compare and contrast black holes, neutron stars, and the mystery light source.

Evaluation:

Teacher will check Venn diagram for accuracy and completeness.

Mission#4

Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 180 minutes (allows time for review of concepts)
High School: 90 minutes

Objective:

Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:

On the Mission 4 page, students will see a number below a magnifying glass in the Elaboration section. The magnifying glass represents a clue to answering a question. The number indicates the NASA bulletin question to which the clue refers.

Exploration:

The students will begin Mission 4. They will:

Explanation:

Read the following to the class:

Your light curve expert team has completed its research on the mystery source. You have visited hyperlinks, constructed a model, graphed a light curve, and compared and contrasted black holes and neutron stars. It is now time to answer the questions from the NASA bulletin. After completing all questions, your team will download a report from a group of experts responsible for analyzing the spectrum of this source. This team will share the results of their investigation of the mystery source in this report.

Elaboration:

  • Each member of the team should take out a sheet of paper to answer the questions from the NASA bulletin. They may wish to use the magnifying glass clues to help.
  • After completing questions 1 - 4, your team is now ready to read the spectrum team's report to learn their research results on the Mystery Source.
  • Read the spectrum team's report
  • After reading the report complete question 5 from the NASA bulletin.

Evaluation:

Write your report for NASA Goddard identifying the nature of the source of the X-ray emission from the Galactic Center Region. Include in your report your responses to the questions in the bulletin.

Mission#5

Estimated Time for Activity
Middle School: 90 minutes
High School: 90 minutes

Objective:

  • Use prior and acquired knowledge to verify the source of the X-ray emission

Helpful Tips for Preparation of this Lesson:

Make sure that you have QuickTime installed on all the computers that you will be using for this Mission. If you need to install it, please go to the QuickTime homepage.

You may want to try downloading the animations that are used in this mission ahead of time - this way they will be saved in your browser's cache and will be quicker to load. If you have a slow modem connection, be patient, we are adding a 2nd version of this Mission that will be more appropriate for your set-up.

Here are the pages of this mission that contain Quicktime animations:

Engagement:

Warm Up

Preparation for the Journey

Tell the class that the mysterious source we wish to visit is 4 kiloparsecs away. Have them calculate how many meters (m) is in 4 kiloparsecs (kpc).

1 kpc = 1000 pc
1 pc = 3.26 light year (ly)
1 ly = 9.46x1012 km
1 km = 1000 m

Now calculate how long (in days) it would take to travel to something 4 kpc away traveling at:

a) the speed at which the Voyager probe is traveling (17.3 km/s)

b) the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s2)

Use the fact that distance (x) is equal to velocity (v) times time (t). (x=vt) Watch your units!

Exploration:

After being given instructions, the class will proceed to the Introduction to Stage 1 and begin their journey to the black hole. They will make observations of the black hole system based on the animations that they will watch. After they "return to Earth" they will discuss their observations as a class and then go over the debriefing page.

Explanation:

Give the class the following instructions:

"In Stage 1 of your journey to observe the mysterious source you have been researching, you will launch into Earth orbit. From there you will enter Stage 2 by using your hyperdrive to arrive at our source - 4 kiloparsecs from Earth. In Stage 3 of your mission, you will observe the mysterious source and its red companion star, by zooming in closer, and then dropping a drone into the black hole itself. You will observe as the drone falls towards the black hole, writing down your observations. Then you will proceed to Stage 4, where you will watch a video of what the drone experienced. After that you will proceed to Stage 5 to be debriefed. This is when you will discuss your observations, and to learn things about the fascinating and bizarre nature of black holes."

Elaboration:

Each team as a whole will start with the link to the Introduction to Stage 1, and follow the links to the next stages. They will make observations about the black hole once it is reached. They will write these observations down. They will be discussed as a class before proceeding to the debriefing page.

National Science Standards

  1. Developing an ability and understanding to engage in partial inquiries
  2. Developing abilities in technological design
  3. Developing an understanding about science and technology

Fundamental abilities and concepts that underlie these standards:

  • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
  • Conduct a scientific investigation.
  • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
  • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
  • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
  • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
  • Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.

National Mathematical Standards

  1. Pose questions and collect, organize, and represent data to answer those questions
  2. Choose, create and utilize various graphical representations of data appropriately and effectively
  3. Interpret data using methods of exploratory data analysis
  4. Develop and evaluate inferences, predictions, and arguments that are based on data
  5. Use data to answer the questions that were posed, understand the limitations of those answers, and pose new questions that arise from the data.
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