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Lunar Mountain Height

How can we determine the height of a moon mountain? A closer look on our companion.

Niveau: C

Questa attività è stata sviluppata di recente. Saremo grati per qualsiasi suggerimento su miglioramenti e correzioni. Potete contattarci all'indirizzo contact@stellarium-gornergrat.ch.

The moon is the brightest and most prominent phenomenon in our night sky. Until 500 years ago, it was thought to be a perfect sphere - until the first telescopes were invented. Suddenly, shades of mountains and craters were clearly visible and the height of the mountains could be calculated with simple mathematics. In this activity, the students can determine the mountain height either by Pythagoras' theorem or by trigonometry.

Requirements

trigonometry

Learning Objectives

The students...
  • can employ simple geometry on mountain shades .
  • can use Pythagoras' theorem on the terminator to estimate the mountain height and realize that the moon is not a perfect sphere.
  • can employ trigonometry to determine the summit height on the illuminated moon half (optional).

Learning Steps

1: Introduction

Short Description

test

Difficulty Level

2

Duration

20 minutes

Social Form

Pairs Class

2: The Method of Galileo

Short Description

Die Lernenden bestimmen die Gipfelhöhe nach der Methode nach Galileo mithilfe des Satz des Pythagoras. Dieser Lernschritt kann auch statt Lernschritt 3 durchgeführt werden.

Difficulty Level

2

Duration

30 minutes

Social Form

Pairs Class

3: The trigonometric method

Short Description

Die Lernenden bestimmen die Gipfelhöhe mithilfe der trigonometrischen Methode. Dieser Schritt kann auch statt Lernschritt 2 durchgeführt werden.

Difficulty Level

3

Duration

30 minutes

Social Form

Pairs Class

4: Creation of a map and conclusion

Short Description

Die Lernenden erstellen eine Karte mit den bestimmten Gipfelhöhen.

Difficulty Level

2

Duration

30 minutes

Social Form

Group Pairs Class

Documents for Learners

There are no teaching materials available for the English version of this activity.