Active Galaxies and the GLAST Education and Public Outreach Program

Busy educators sometimes have trouble finding ways to help their students feel the excitement of science in action.  As a part of its educational effort, the NASA Education and Public Outreach group at Sonoma State University (SSU) has put together a series of activities presentation based on the science of one of NASA’s exciting space missions: the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST).

Since many students remember and understand better when they actively engage in manipulating the concepts about which they are learning, we have included several hands-on activities to help keep their interest and reinforce their comprehension and retention of the scientific concepts covered in the presentation of the mission. We have also included information about GLAST, what kind of objects it will observe and why astronomers are interested in them. To help you determine when this project might be of most use to you in your science and/or math curriculum, we have included a matrix of the math and science standards covered. This introduction to the activities includes the answers to some frequently asked questions.

What will my students learn from these activities?

This series of activities uses active galaxies – distant galaxies with supermassive black holes in their cores – as an engagement to teach basic concepts in physical science and mathematics. The mapping of the activities to the relevant national standards is shown by the matrix on page 4, and a more detailed listing of the standards met by each activity can be found in pages 31 through 33.

How are these activities organized?

Page 5 has a general introduction to active galaxies. Depending on the age and ability of your students, you may need to tell them about this information, have them read it, or have a few advanced students put together a presentation to the rest of the class based on this introduction and other sources they may find. With this introduction, try to convey the excitement of the scientists when they first discovered interesting phenomena related to active galaxies, such as the super-massive black holes at their cores, and the high-energy jets of particles that are sometimes emitted.

Each activity has some or all of the following components to help you make it an exciting learning experience for the students:

  1. Science concepts and estimated time. (Note: time varies significantly for different age groups and levels of science understanding.)
  2. Background information specific to this activity. (See the suggestions above for possible ways to present this background information.)
  3. The “essential question” asked by the activity. Take the time to help students understand that scientists ask questions. Each activity states the essential question that this activity is designed to answer, or to help the student explore.
  4. The materials needed to complete the activity.
  5. A list of abbreviations used and possible additional notes to the teacher.
  6. The specific learning objectives of this activity.
  7. The step-by-step procedures to be followed for the most efficient and effective use of the activity.
  8. An assessment rubric for the activity. It is important that before you start an activity you have a clear understanding of what constitutes a successful activity. This assessment rubric suggests ways to evaluate your students’ work in mastering the activities’ objectives.
  9. Transfer activities: One of our goals in science is to help students see science and scientific concepts as tools to be used throughout their lives, not just as a small part of their education. Including transfer activities after the activity is completed will not only reinforce the specific objectives, but also help your students learn to apply scientific concepts to their “real lives.”
  10. Suggested extension and reflection activities. These help the student follow up the activity with comprehension exercises so that they better assimilate the information, and use the concepts they have learned to better understand phenomena in everyday life.
  11. Lesson adaptations that will help you cope with special needs students.
  12. An answer key that provides you with the answers to the questions given to the students, and that will help you evaluate the products the students may produce as a part of this activity.
  13. Student worksheets that contain the information and directions necessary for the student to complete the activities. NOTE: giving the students the work sheet without the appropriate background information and procedures will not only decrease the learning of the students, it may also cause frustration and feelings of inadequacy to master science principles.
  14. Detailed Standards list that explains how each activity meets the specific national science and mathematics standards.
  15. A glossary that briefly defines each term with which the student may be unfamiliar (these appear in bold letters the first time they are used in the activity).
  16. A list defining any acronyms used.
  17. A resource list which will help you find more information about the topics in the activities.

Who developed these activities?

The activities and the poster that describes active galaxies have been developed as part of the NASA Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Program at Sonoma State University, under the direction of Professor Lynn Cominsky.  The poster is available by request at http://glast.sonoma.edu/teachers/teachers.html

Contributors to this education unit also include Dr. Philip Plait, Lynda Williams, Sarah Silva, Michelle Curtis, Aurore Simonnet, Tim Graves, and Dr. Mary Garrett. We would also like to acknowledge input from Kara Granger and Dr. Laura Whitlock to an earlier version of the first activity, and helpful comments from Sharon Janulaw, Teena Della, Christine Royce, Dr. William Keel, Dr. Greg Madejski, Tom Arnold, Rae McEntyre, Bruce Hemp, and Tom Estill.

National Content Standards Matrix

The activities in this booklet conform to these national science and mathematics education standards. Detailed standards met by each activity are listed pages 31-33.

standards matrix

Detailed Standards For Each Activity

Activity 1: Building Perspectives with Active Galaxies

Science Standards:

Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

Students investigate their model of an AG and compare/contrast it with images of real galaxies using logic and evidence from real and constructed models.  Reflection and transfer activities give the students the opportunity to extrapolate what they have learned to everyday experiences.

Understandings about scientific inquiry

Results of scientific inquiry: by examining the model AG, the students will be able to grasp why scientists developed the unified model of active galaxies, and why there are so many different types of active galaxies.

Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science

Origin and Evolution of the Universe

Galaxies are a fundamental structure in the Universe, and the supermassive black holes in their nuclei are in turn a fundamental part of galaxies. This activity strengthens students’ understanding of the structure of galaxies.

Content Standard E: Science and Technology

Understandings about science and technology

Students see that in order to understand the wide range of astronomical objects they must use different techniques to observe them.

Students should understand that looking at the objects isn’t enough; scientists must use their imagination to understand objects they cannot see.

Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science

Science as a human endeavor

Students will understand the initial confusion of scientists about active galaxy types, and how scientists were able to make progress in understanding them.

Mathematics Standards:

Algebra: Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships
The model of the AG is constructed by using measurements and analyzed to see the relationship to the real object in space.

Geometry:

Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships
Students observe the finished models and create illustrations to show how two-dimensional representations of a three-dimensional object can change under rotation.

Apply transformations and use symmetry to analyze mathematical situations
Students examine the symmetry of the AG model at different aspect angles.

Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems
Students use their constructed AG to analyze and illustrate its appearance at different angles. The geometry of the model is critical to understanding the relationships of the different active galaxies.

Measurements: Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement
The construction of the model involves measurements to create the components. The properties (size, shape, etc.) of the actual active galaxy cores are compared to the models. The students make decisions about units and scales.

Apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas to determine measurements
The construction of the AG model involves formulae to determine, for example, the size of the torus. The students answer questions about the size and shape of the various model components

Use representations to model and interpret physical, social and mathematical phenomena
Students construct AG models and compare/contrast them with images of real galaxies.

Resources

For more information on GLAST and active galaxies, see the GLAST Education and Public Outreach web site:
http://glast.sonoma.edu

This educational unit can be found on the GLAST Education and Public Outreach web site at:
http://glast.sonoma.edu/teachers/teachers.html
For a copy of the GLAST Active Galaxies poster, and activity booklet, please contact:
materials@universe.sonoma.edu

The Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica has an interesting web page with small angle formula activities:
http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/outreach/resources/ysi94/smallangle.html

A tutorial covering the discovery of quasars and how their size can be measured using cΔt:
http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Quasars.html

Bill Keel’s Active Galaxies page:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/

Active Galaxies from University of Maryland:
http://www.astro.umd.edu/education/astro/actgal/actgal.html

Ted Bunn’s Black Hole tutorial:
http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq.html

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and EGRET:
http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

GLAST Project Site at Goddard Space Flight Center. This is the official site for GLAST Project
Management at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center:
http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/

GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT) Collaboration. The GLAST LAT is being managed by
personnel at Stanford University. This is the official site for the LAT experiment:
http://www-glast.stanford.edu/

GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM). The GBM is being managed by personnel at NASA’s Marshall
Space Flight Center. This is the official site for the GBM experiment:
http://gammaray.msfc.nasa.gov/gbm/
 

Return to Active Galaxies