Classroom activities about black holes — Quick reference guide (Chapter 1)
Black holes are one of the most extraordinary objects in the Universe, they are extremely simple and yet incredibly exotic. A black hole does not have a surface, like a planet or star, instead, it is a region of space where matter has collapsed in on itself such that the pull of gravity is so strong that, once captured, nothing — not even light — is able to escape. This is remarkable when you think about how fast light can travel (nothing can travel faster). If we could move at the speed of light we could travel around the Earth 7.5 times just in one second.
Some black holes are thought to be the result of dying (very big) stars, several to hundreds times bigger than our Sun. After formation, a black hole can continue to grow as its gravity pulls in material from the surroundings, such as gas and dust from other stars and even other black holes. Black holes can even be supermassive, with masses of over a million Suns. These supermassive black holes exist at the centres of most galaxies. One exists at the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Because of their extreme gravity, black holes create many very interesting effects. Some of these effects allow scientists to indirectly observe black holes. This is important because light can’t escape from black holes, making them invisible. Some of these effects also have important implications for their surroundings, which can influence how stars form, galaxies evolve, and even how matter is distributed throughout the Universe. The extreme gravity of a black hole also causes a phenomenon called ‘spaghettification’, which would be the unfortunate fate of a person falling into a black hole.
Because gravity is a central concept in learning about black holes; as students learn about black holes, their understanding about this important science concept will be reinforced. Moreover, black holes are an interesting topic to capture student’s attention and stimulate their curiosity and interest for science.
Here, at astroEDU, we’ve compiled a list of educational activities for you to teach black holes to students 6 years and older, from the extreme gravity of black holes, to how they are formed and how they are detected.
We will have a series of story introducing you 25 activities, and each story will provide activities that focus on a common theme about black holes. In this first story, you can find 8 activities related to how a black hole is born.
- DEATH OF A STAR AND BIRTH OF A BLACK HOLE - ALUMINUM FOIL COVERED BALLOON MODEL
Age: 6+
Learning objectives:
To understand how a black hole is formed through the collapse of a massive star.
Comments:
- Good introduction about the core of a star and how it collapses to form a black hole.
- Activity clearly shows how a black hole can be formed after core collapse by compressing an aluminium foil into a much smaller ball than originally.
- Good background explanation on mass, volume and density.
Instruction:
http://www.scienceinschool.org/2013/issue27/blackholes (Activity 1)
2. LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR — THE FIVE STAGES
Age: 8+
Learning objectives:
Learn about the basic stages in the evolution of a star. Learn about the different end products for low-mass and high mass stars.
Comments:
Often the audience may not understand the kinesthetic actions they are doing and cannot visualize what is happening to a star. Therefore, to ensure understanding, there needs to be very clear instructions and explanations for each kinesthetic activity representing each stage of a star’s life.
Instruction:
- http://www.astc.org/exhibitions/blackholes/BH_ TeacherEdGuide.pdf (Page 2–6)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/pecedib4xh2gar4/astc%20org. pdf?dl=0 (Page 2–6)
3. COLLAPSE OF A STAR — WHITE DWARFS, NEUTRON STARS, PULSARS AND BLACK HOLES
Age: 8+
Learning objectives:
To understand how the collapse of low mass and high mass stars can form white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.
Comments:
Often the audience may not understand the kinesthetic actions they are doing and cannot visualize what is happening to a star. Therefore, to ensure understanding, there needs to be very clear instruction and explanation for each kinesthetic activity representing each stage of a star’s life
Instruction:
- https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/einstein/resources/ JourneyBlackHole/JourneyBlackHoleManual.pdf (Page 6–9)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/3izytmw42aasvec/cfa%20 harvard.pdf?dl=0 (Page 6–9)
4. RARITY OF BLACK HOLE -PRODUCING STARS
Age:10+
Learning objectives:
This activity enables students to recreate the life cycles of different types of stars, illustrating the rarity of black hole producing stars.
Comments:
Activity uses different balloon colors to clearly explain that stars with different mass (and heat) will evolve differently over the same period of time.
Instruction:
- http://sciencenetlinks.com/media/filer/2014/08/29/gravity5-8.pdf (Page 25–28)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/xb272n6t4ecasha/sciencenetlinks. pdf?dl=0 (Page 25–28)
5. THE COLLAPSE OF A STAR DEMONSTRATED WITH A SHRUNKEN, FROZEN BALLOON
Age: 11+
Learning objectives:
To understand how a black hole can be formed.
Comments:
- Visualize how lower air temperature and pressure results in shrinkage, similar to what happens in collapse of a star.
- Require 30 min waiting time and a freezer.
Instruction:
https://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/24/blackhole3.html
6. SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS
Age: 11+
Learning objectives:
To understand the life cycle of a star, nuclear fusion inside a star and the role of the star’s mass in determining its fate at the end of its life. To understand what happens during core collapse and how the Universe is populated with chemical elements from a supernova explosion.
Comments:
This is a compilation of several detailed activities to explain different processes/ phenomena in a supernova explosions.
Instruction:
- https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/educators/programs/bigexplosions/ activities/SupernovaExplosions.pdf
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/fy3lcfzkgrmmmxl/imagine%20gsfc. pdf?dl=0
7. DENSITY, VOLUME AND SIZE — FACTORS THAT DETERMINE BLACK HOLE FORMATION
Age: 12+
Learning objectives:
Students conceptualize what happens when a star collapses into a black hole. Students should understand that the mass inside of a black hole is not made up of known matter, like protons, neutrons, and electrons. They will complete exercises involving exponential notation, circumference, volume, and density.
Comments:
- Conceptualize that as something gets smaller, the mass does not change so the density increases.
- Good activity for students to investigate size, mass, density and how they relate to black holes.
- Provides a good understanding of how a black hole’s mass determines the radius of its event horizon, where objects are pulled in without escape.
Instruction:
- http://fermi.sonoma.edu/teachers/blackholes/bhguide06.pdf (Page 7–9)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/efhuehea5cdasii/ Fermi%20sonoma.pdf?dl=0 (Page 7–9)
8. THE DEATH OF A STAR AND THE BIRTH OF A BLACK HOLE — DETERMINING THE RADIUS OF A BLACK HOLE’S EVENT HORIZON
Age: 15+
Learning objectives:
Students learn how a black hole is formed by understanding the implication of increasing density with decreasing size. From this activity, they should understand the major characteristics of a black hole and better understand density, mass and volume.
Comments:
- The activity relates black holes to concepts that students are more familiar with, such as volume, density, size.
- Interesting activity, using black holes as a topic in mathematics and physics lessons.
Instruction:
You can download the pdf of the entire booklet here, the e-book here and the zip-file with all needed files to make a translation here.
