Worksheet

Star Predictions at Cedar Bowl Camp

Use a camping-trip light investigation to predict apparent brightness and argue why the Sun looks brighter than other stars.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to5-ESS1-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
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1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use investigation data to predict how distance affects a light source's apparent brightness.
Students distinguish how much light a source gives off from how bright it appears.
Students argue from evidence that the Sun looks brighter than other stars because it is much closer to Earth.

How to use

Read the camping report and graph together. Have students make predictions independently, then write an argument using both model data and space evidence.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

5-ESS1-1

Argue that the sun looks brighter than other stars because it is much closer to Earth.

Preview

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Name Date

Star Predictions at Cedar Bowl Camp

Use a light model and space evidence to explain what we see.

Investigate at Camp

Read the report and graph. Use the evidence to answer the questions.

The Backpacking Group's Light Test

On a backpacking trip, a group stops at Cedar Bowl Camp. After unpacking, the campers prepare prediction cards for an evening science discussion. One card asks why the Sun looks brighter than the other stars seen from Earth. The group gathers space information and plans a safe model investigation. They use an LED lamp instead of observing the Sun directly. Do not look directly at the Sun.

Their space information says that the Sun is a star that gives off its own light. Other stars also give off their own light. Stars differ in the amount of light they produce, and some produce more light than the Sun. The Sun is about 150 million kilometers from Earth. Even the nearest other star is about 40 trillion kilometers away. A trillion is a million millions.

For their model, the campers place a light meter on a stand on level ground. Its sensor measures the light reaching it from the lamp. They leave the meter in one place and move the same lamp to marks 1 meter, 2 meters, and 4 meters away. They keep the lamp's power setting, its height, and its direction toward the sensor the same. They also keep other lighting conditions the same.

At each mark, the campers record the meter's brightness reading. A larger reading means more lamp light reaches the sensor. The graph shows their model data in the meter's brightness units. These units are useful for comparing their trials; they are not measurements of stars. The campers do not change the power setting to make the readings match. Instead, they record what happens at each distance.

Before making predictions, the group separates two questions: How much light does a source give off, and how bright does it appear from the observer's position? Their cards must also explain which parts of the lamp investigation can help them reason about stars and which parts do not represent real space.

Which pattern appears across the three trials?

A. The reading increases as the lamp moves farther away.
B. The reading stays similar as the lamp moves farther away.
C. The reading decreases as the lamp moves farther away.
D. The reading drops and then rises as the lamp moves farther away.

How many brightness units did the reading drop when the lamp moved from 1 meter to 2 meters away? brightness units

Select the two choices that describe conditions the campers kept the same to make a fair distance comparison.

The lamp's power settingThe lamp's distance from the sensorThe brightness reading on the meterThe other lighting conditions

The group adds a trial at 3 meters using the same setup. Which prediction best fits the graph?

A. A reading greater than 48 units
B. A reading between 3 and 12 units
C. A reading between 12 and 48 units
D. A reading lower than 3 units

Devin says, "The 4-meter reading proves the lamp itself produced less light." Which response best corrects this claim?

A. The meter measured light arriving at the sensor, not the lamp's total light output.
B. The meter showed the lamp's total light output, not the light reaching the sensor.
C. The group lowered the lamp's power setting before taking the 4-meter reading.
D. The group moved the sensor closer to the lamp before taking the 4-meter reading.

Connect the Model to Stars

Use the report and the model to evaluate explanations. For imagined star comparisons, assume clear viewing conditions.

A prediction card says, "The Sun looks brightest because it gives off more light than each other star." Which fact from the report challenges that explanation?

A. The Sun gives off its own light.
B. The campers used a lamp as a model.
C. The Sun's distance is measured in kilometers.
D. Some stars produce more light than the Sun.

Which explanation combines the space distances with the pattern in the lamp investigation?

A. Other stars look dimmer because their greater distance makes them produce less light.
B. The Sun looks brighter because its much shorter distance lets more of its light reach us.
C. Other stars look dimmer because they reflect sunlight instead of producing their own light.
D. The Sun looks brighter because stars at shorter distances produce more light than distant stars.

Each row describes a separate imagined pair of stars. In each pair, K and L give off equal amounts of light. Match each distance comparison to the predicted appearance from Earth.

K is closer to Earth than L.
K and L are the same distance from Earth.
K is farther from Earth than L.

A. K and L look equally bright.
B. L looks brighter than K.
C. K looks brighter than L.

Star R gives off more light than Star S. Their distances from Earth are not given. Which prediction is best supported?

A. R will look brighter because it gives off more light.
B. S will look brighter because it gives off less light.
C. Their distances are also needed to predict which looks brighter.
D. They will look equally bright because both are stars.

10.

Select the two questions that the lamp graph does not provide enough evidence to answer.

How much light does a particular distant star produce?Which tested lamp distance gave the highest reading?What reading would the meter give for the nearest other star?Was the lamp reading lower at 2 meters than at 1 meter?

Make and Defend Predictions

Apply the evidence to new situations. Finish by writing a claim supported by both the investigation and the space information.

11.

The lamp is 4 meters from the sensor. The campers shift both the lamp and sensor 1 meter to the side, keeping them 4 meters apart. The settings, direction, and other lighting stay the same. What reading should they predict?

A. About 12 units, because both objects changed position
B. About 3 units, because the distance between them stayed the same
C. About 48 units, because each object moved 1 meter
D. About 0 units, because the sensor left its first position

12.

Imagine observing the Sun from a location much farther away than Earth. The Sun gives off the same amount of light, and nothing blocks the view. What would you predict?

A. It would look brighter, while giving off the same amount of light.
B. It would look dimmer, because it would begin producing less light.
C. It would look equally bright, because its light output stayed the same.
D. It would look dimmer, while giving off the same amount of light.

13.

Write an argument explaining why the Sun looks brighter than other stars from Earth. Include a claim, a comparison of two numbers from the lamp graph, and evidence about the Sun's distance compared with other stars.