Noon Day
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Project Name:

Noon Day

URL:

http://www.k12science.org/noonday/

Project Leader:

Ihor Charischak: icharisc@stevens-tech.edu

Description:

    The purpose of this project is for students to recreate the experiment, conducted by Eratosthenes, that calculated the circumference of the earth.  The students collect the length of a meter sticks shadow at solar noon and share their results with other participants.  The students then use another schools data to calculate the circumference of the earth.
     Other than the specific dates that things are due, the website is not very organized. The website gives ideas on how to teach the unit, but there are no day by day lesson plans. Viewing and submitting the data appears to be easy and straight forward and the site does provide reference materials, discussion area and experts that can be consulted.

Fee:

None

Targeted Age:

Grades 5 - 12

Exceeds a Traditional Lesson:

    In order to do the calculations necessary to determine the circumference, the students must have the angle measurements from another location on the earth. Even though participants could potentially relocate themselves for a day or two to collect this data, it is not practical for most public school.  Collaboration eliminates this obstacles.  Since people form all over the world participate in this project, schools do not have to go great distances to collect data.

Duration:

4 weeks

Technical Needs:

Computer with Internet access and a program such as Excel®, Adobe, ClarisWorks, to view student worksheets.

Math Standards Met:

Below are the MSDE middle school math standards covered by Noon Day:

 Standard 1.0 Knowledge of Algebra, Patterns, and Functions
    B. Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Write and evaluate expressions
        2. Identify, write, solve, and apply equations and inequalities

Standard 2.0 Knowledge of Geometry
    A. Plane Geometric Figures (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Analyze the properties of plane geometric figures

Standard 3.0 Knowledge of Measurement:
    B. Measurement Tools (6th)
        1.  Measure in customary and metric units
    C. Applications in Measurement (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Estimate and apply measurement formulas (6th, 7th, 8th)
        2. Analyze measurement relationships (7th, 8th)

Standard 6.0 Knowledge of Number Relationships and Computation/Arithmetic:
    C. Number Computation (6th, 7th, 8th)
        3. Analyze ratios, proportions, and percents

Standard 7.0 Processes of Mathematics:
    A. Problem Solving (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Apply a variety of concepts, processes, and skills to solve problems
    B. Reasoning (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Justify ideas or solutions with mathematical concepts or proofs
    C. Communications (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Present mathematical ideas using words, symbols, visual displays, or technology
    D. Connections (6th, 7th, 8th)
      1. Relate or apply mathematics within the discipline, to other disciplines, and to life

Science Standards Met:

Below are the MSDE middle school science standards covered by Noon Day:

Standard 1.0 Skills and Processes:
    A. Constructing Knowledge (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Design, analyze, or carry out simple investigations and formulate appropriate conclusions based on data obtained or provided.
    B. Applying Evidence and Reasoning (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Review data from a simple experiment, summarize the data, and construct a logical argument about the cause-and-effect relationships in the                     experiment.
    C. Communicating Scientific Information (6th, 7th, 8th)
        1. Develop explanations that explicitly link data from investigations conducted, selected readings and, when appropriate, contributions from historical discoveries.

Recommended:

    Even thought the website is hard to follow, this project is worth the planning a teacher would have to do to complete this project.  Due to the heavy volume of mathematics, this project would be most appropriate for an 8th grade mathematics class.  The amount of math that is involved would not be appropriate for a science classroom since in would require a lot of instructional time to go over the mathematics.  The best situation for this project would be a math teacher and a science teacher working on this project together with a small group of students that are in need of differentiation.