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The Lighthouse Beacon Distance Test

Compare beacon readings at two rocky-coast locations and use space-distance evidence to explain why the Sun looks brighter than other stars.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to5-ESS1-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

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

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use investigation data to connect greater distance with lower light readings.
Students argue that the Sun looks brighter than other stars because it is much closer to Earth.
Students distinguish apparent brightness from the amount of light a star produces.

How to use

Read the coast report and data table together, then have students cite both investigation evidence and space-distance evidence in the final argument.

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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The Lighthouse Beacon Distance Test

Use coast observations and space records to explain apparent brightness.

1. Test the beacon at two places

Read the report and data table. Use the observations to answer the questions.

A Test at Windward Point Lighthouse

Windward Point Lighthouse stands on a rocky coast. Its crew wants to make a small display about why distant lights can look dim. They use a battery-powered beacon card with the same brightness setting for every trial. A digital sensor records the light received at the sensor in brightness units. The number is a measure of how bright the beacon looks to the sensor, not a measure of all the light the beacon produces.

The crew tests the beacon on two flat places: the sheltered east deck and the open west deck. At each place, they set the beacon at marked distances of 2 meters, 4 meters, and 8 meters from the sensor. They keep the beacon setting, sensor, height, and measuring method the same. The crew takes one reading at each distance. The west deck is more exposed to wind, but no spray reaches the equipment during the test.

The crew is using the beacon as a model. A beacon is not a star, and the distances in the test are much smaller than distances in space. Still, the test can show how changing distance affects the light received by an observer. The crew will compare this pattern with astronomy records before writing its display.

What variable did the crew change from one trial to the next at each deck?