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Analemma—Student Activity Kit

By: Ed Colangelo, Retired, New Jersey

Analemma Sun and Earth Classroom Activity Kit for Earth Science
analemma, sun path, figure-8
Analemma Sun and Earth Classroom Activity Kit for Earth Science
analemma, sun path, figure-8

Item #: AP6880

Price: $24.75

Analemma Sun and Earth Classroom Activity Kit for Earth science is a figure that represents the path the Sun makes in the sky in a year’s time.

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Product Details

Have you ever seen a figure-8 pattern on a globe and wondered what it was? This figure, known as an analemma, represents the path the Sun makes in the sky in a year’s time. Using this ingenious activity, your class will measure and map the Sun’s angle on an analemma graph and see the resulting figure-8 pattern of the Sun’s location throughout the class year. Using the graph, students will then be able to determine the Sun’s altitude and the Sun’s declination angle for any calendar day of the year.

Complete for 30 students working in pairs.

Specifications

Materials Included in Kit: 
Analemma graph sheet master
Equation of time chart master
Gnomon paddle
Pin, disection
Sun's altitude sheet master
Wood dowel rod, 1½" long, ¼" diameter


Correlation to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)†

Science & Engineering Practices

Asking questions and defining problems
Developing and using models
Planning and carrying out investigations
Analyzing and interpreting data
Using mathematics and computational thinking
Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Disciplinary Core Ideas

MS-ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars
MS-ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System
HS-ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns
Scale, proportion, and quantity
Systems and system models
Stability and change

Performance Expectations

MS-ESS1-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
HS-ESS1-4. Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.