Overview

Grades

3+ (Ages 8+)

Time

40 minutes per lab

Unit Essential Question(s)

How can I use VEX GO to model the day/night cycle and the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky?

Unit Understandings

The following concepts will be covered throughout this Unit:

The Earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours, causing day and night.
The Sun appears to move across the sky because the Earth is rotating.
How to build a model representing the day/night cycle using VEX GO.
How to sequence behaviors in VEXcode GO to solve authentic problems.

Lab Summary

Click on the following tabs for a summary of what the students will do and learn in each lab.

Lab 1 - Day and Night

Main Focus Question: What causes day and night?

Students will discuss what they know about about the phenomenon of day and night.
Students will build a model demonstrating the day/night cycle with the VEX GO Kit, using the Switch to activate a motor.
Students will place a sticker on the model representing themselves on the surface of the Earth and make observations about what they would see as the Earth rotates.
Students will use the model to show the position of Earth's rotation on its axis during the day and during the night.
Students will physically act out the day/night cycle by standing up and rotating to the day and night positions with their model.

Lab 2 - Earth and Sun

Main Focus Question: Why does the Sun appear to move across the sky?

Students will discuss what they notice about where the Sun appears in the sky at different times of day.
Students will remove the Switch from their day/night model and add the VEX GO Eye Sensor, Battery, and Brain.
Students will code their model in VEXcode GO to show the position of the Earth's rotation on its axis during the day, and during the night, using the LED light on the Eye Sensor.
Students will follow along with their teacher to create a project in VEXcode GO that demonstrates why the Sun appears to move across the sky throughout the day.

Unit Standards

Unit Standards will be addressed in every Lab within the Unit.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

5.8C: Demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours causing the day/night cycle and the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky.

How Standard is Achieved: In the Play sections of Lab 1, students build a model of the Sun and Earth, in which they use the VEX GO Switch and a motor to cause the Earth to rotate. They place a sticker on the model representing themselves on the surface of the planet, and use this model to explain the position of the Earth's rotation relative to the Sun during the day and during the night.

In Lab 2, Play Part 1, students modify their model to include the Brain, Battery, and Eye Sensor, and use VEXcode GO to code the LED light on the Eye Sensor to act as the Sun's light, and the motor to spin the Earth in the model. In Play Part 2 of this Lab, they follow along with the teacher to begin creating a VEXcode project in which the Earth rotates 15 degrees at a time, representing one hour of each day, in order to model and explain why it appears that the Sun is moving across the sky, even though it is actually the Earth that is spinning. Once students have coded the first two hours along with the teacher, they are challenged to continue their projects to show the Earth's position at four more consecutive hours of the day.

< Return to Labs Next >