CROSS-SPECIALIZATION

TRAINING FOR GRADES 7-10

SCIENCE TEACHERS

Session 4
Characteristics of stars
And Constellation

SCIENCE DOMAIN: Earth and Space

Prepared by:

JESSICA S. MATEO
Education Program Supervisor
National Capital Region, Division of Marikina
Objectives

At the end of 4-hours session, the participants should be able to:

1. Infer the characteristics of stars based on the characteristics of the Sun. (S9ES-
IIIg-32)
2. Infer that the arrangement of stars in a group (constellation) does not change
(S9ES-IIIh-28)
3. Observe that the position of constellations changes in the course of the night.
(S9ES-IIIi-34)
4. Discuss whether or not popular beliefs and practices with regard to
constellations and astrology have scientific basis.
5. Construct a lesson plan using 5Es model on Constellations.

Key Understandings

A. Definition of Star:
1. A natural luminous body visible in the sky especially at night
2. A self – luminous gaseous spheroidal celestial body of great mass
which produces energy by means of nuclear fusion reaction.
3. It is a glowing huge ball of gases that produce energy by nuclear
reaction.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/star

B. Characteristics of Stars
 The five characteristics used to classify stars are colors,
temperature, sizes, composition and brightness.
 A star color depends on its temperature.
 Super Giants are very large stars, and use their hydrogen very
fast and die young. They will eventually die and explode into a
supernova or nova, and may become a black hole.
 Super Giants are very bright, but cooler on the surface.
 Majority of stars are main sequence stars, like our sun. They
convert hydrogen into helium in their cores releasing a large
amount of energy.
  When a star runs out of hydrogen in its core, fusion stops and
the star increases in size up to 100 times.
 Most stars are about 73% Hydrogen, 25% Helium and 2% other
elements.
 Cooler stars redder, while the hottest stars are blue – white.
 Astronomers use an instrument called a spectrograph to
determine the elements in stars.
https://sites.google.com/a/bvsd.org/beyond-the-solar-
system/characteristics-of-stars

 The table below shows the classification of stars according to

their color and temperature.
Class Color Surface Temperature
(OC)
M Red Below 3500
K Orange 3500 - 5000
G Yellow 5000 - 6000
F Yellow - White 6000 - 7000
A White 7500 – 10,000
B Blue - White 10,000 – 25,000
0 Blue - White Above 25,000

 The Sun is a G – class yellow star. The coolest stars are red. The
hottest are bluish-white.

Photos of different stars.

http://the-mysterious-universe.blogspot.com/2011/09/sun-and-other-stars.html

C. CONSTELLATION

 A constellation is a grouping of stars that represents one of the 88

divisions of the celestial sphere as defined by the International
Astronomical Union. Many constellations are derived from old
traditional asterisms, which are star patterns within a constellation.
 An example: the Big Dipper is an asterism inside of the Ursa Major
constellation.

Materials Time Allotment

4 hours
Manila paper, Pentel Pen, Double-sided tape,
scissors, colored paper and color pen

References
Fornias, Virginia R. et al (2016). Science, Environment, Technology, and Society
SIBS Publishing House Inc.
Valdoz, Meliza P. et al (2013). Science Links Rex Printing Company Inc.
Pavico, Josefina Ma. Ferriols, Faraon, Genevieve D. et al (2013) Exploring Life
Through Science Phoenix Publishing House Inc.
Alvarez, Liza A. Angeles Dave G. Apurada, Herna L. et al (2014) Science Learner’s
Module 9 FEP Printing Corporation
“ Characteristics of Stars”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0lp0rhGRzw
“ Constellations (1)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZffhapfOgg
“ Constellations (2)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbzCA0Lgf3Y
“The Universe: The Constellations | History”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXeEAQtC75g
Procedure
Preliminary Activity (20 mins)

*Let the participants close their eyes and imagine that they are looking at the night sky
while feeling the breeze of fresh air.
* Ask:
What celestial bodies did you imagine to be looking at the night sky?

* After the participants had cited the celestial bodies they imagined looking at the night
sky, invite all the participants to stand and “Reach for the Stars” by following the action
song on the video presentation.

ACTIVITY 1

* Divide the participants into four groups. Each group will be the experts of the activities
assigned to them as follows:
EXPERT GROUPS
Activity 1 “ The Sun and Stars”
Activity 2 “Let’s Do the Dots!”
Activity 3 “The Rotating Earth”
Activity 4 “Mythology in Gemini”
Analysis (30 mins)
* Let a group representative present their output and their answers on the guide
questions of the activity. Let him/ her facilitate on the discussion of the activity assigned
to their group.

Abstraction (30 mins)

* Video presentation on the following:
“ Characteristics of Stars”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0lp0rhGRzw
“ Constellations (1)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZffhapfOgg
“ Constellations (2)”
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbzCA0Lgf3Y
“The Universe: The Constellations | History”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXeEAQtC75g
* Call 3 participants for the “Case Open Activity”. Make them choose a case to open and
let them answer the question on the case.

Application (30 mins)

* Let the participants construct a lesson plan using 5Es model on Stars and
Constellations. Have them refer to the Curriculum Guide in choosing their topic.

* Let a participant present his/ her output.

Closing

“ Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground”

- Theodore Roosevelt
ANNEX

ACTIVITY 1

A. What is the different between a “star” and a “sun”?

Are all of the points of light in the night sky, other than the moon, planets, and artificial
satellites, that we call stars also suns?

A star is called a "sun" if it is the center of a planetary system. A large number of

planets have been found that orbit other stars, thus making these stars officially "suns."
Chances are that a large percentage of the stars in the galaxy also have planets orbiting
them, which would make them suns as well. The number of extrasolar planets that have
been detected is increasing very rapidly, as we find new planetary systems. So, a large
number of the stars that you see are also suns. However, many objects in the night sky
are not stars. You mentioned man-made satellites, planets and the moon. From earth,
there are many other objects that we see as points of light, such as far-away galaxies, so
not every point of light is a star!

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/physics/78-the-universe/stars-and-star-
clusters/general-questions/346-what-is-the-difference-between-a-star-and-a-sun-
beginner

B. How does the sun compare to other stars?

How does the earth's sun compare to other stars and star systems?

The Sun is an average-sized star. The biggest stars are more than 100 times as
massive as the Sun, and the smallest stars are less than 1/10th as massive as the Sun.

As far as comparing to other star *systems* more than half of all stars are in
binary or other multiple star systems, in which two or more stars orbit around each
other in a single "system". There have also now been planets discovered around other
stars besides the Sun, although very few of those systems look like they could be much
like our solar system in terms of the orbits of the giant planets. But this may just be
because solar systems like ours are hard to find.

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/physics/49-our-solar-system/the-sun/general-
questions/163-how-does-the-sun-compare-to-other-stars-beginner

C. Definition of Star:
4. A natural luminous body visible in the sky especially at night
5. A self – luminous gaseous spheroidal celestial body of great mass
which produces energy by means of nuclear fusion reaction.
6. It is a glowing huge ball of gases that produce energy by nuclear
 reaction.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/star

D. Characteristics of Stars
 The five characteristics used to classify stars are colors,
temperature, sizes, composition and brightness.
 A star color depends on its temperature.
 Super Giants are very large stars, and use their hydrogen very fast
and die young. They will eventually die and explode into a
supernova or nova, and may become a black hole.
 Super Giants are very bright, but cooler on the surface.
 Majority of stars are main sequence stars, like our sun. They
convert hydrogen into helium in their cores releasing a large
amount of energy.
 When a star runs out of hydrogen in its core, fusion stops and the
star increases in size up to 100 times.
 Most stars are about 73% Hydrogen, 25% Helium and 2% other
elements.
 Cooler stars redder, while the hottest stars are blue – white.
 Astronomers use an instrument called a spectrograph to
determine the elements in stars.
https://sites.google.com/a/bvsd.org/beyond-the-solar-
system/characteristics-of-stars

 The table below shows the classification of stars according to their

color and temperature.
Class Color Surface Temperature
(OC)
M Red Below 3500
K Orange 3500 - 5000
G Yellow 5000 - 6000
F Yellow - White 6000 - 7000
A White 7500 – 10,000
B Blue - White 10,000 – 25,000
0 Blue - White Above 25,000

 The Sun is a G – class yellow star. The coolest stars are red. The
hottest are bluish-white.
 ACTIVITY SHEET
“THE SUN AND STARS”

I. OBJECTIVE/S:
 Compare the characteristics of the Sun to other stars in the universe.
II. MATERIALS:
Manila paper/Cartolina
Pentel pen
III. PROCEDURES:
Compare the characteristics of the Sun to other stars by completing the following
table:
Characteristics Sun Stars
1. Color
2. Temperature
3. Sizes
4. Composition
5. Brightness

IV. ANALYSIS:
Guide Questions:
1. What are the characteristics of stars based on the characteristics of the Sun as
the closest star in our solar system?
2. Based from your answers, how is Sun different from other stars in the
universe?
3. How is the Sun similar from stars?
4. Why do we need to study first the characteristics of the Sun before studying
other characteristics of the stars in our galaxy?
ACTIVITY 2

ACTIVITY SHEET
LET’S DO THE DOTS!

I. OBJECTIVE/S:
 Name some famous constellations.
 Draw constellations.
II. MATERIALS:
Star pattern, Pencil, Ruler

III. PROCEDURES:
1. Draw the different dot to dot pattern of constellations using the star pattern below.
2. Name the constellations in the star map using the clues on the box below.