🔭
Grade 4 Science · World 2: Star Gazers' Observatory · Level 11
Bigger, Brighter, Closer
Argue why one star looks brighter than another, using distance and size.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 11
- Why do some stars look brighter than others? Two things matter: how far away a star is, and how big it really is.
- Try it with flashlights. Two flashlights that are just alike: the closer one looks brighter.
- Now put them the same distance away. A bigger, stronger light looks brighter. Bigger stars give off more light.
- To compare two stars, find the one thing that's different. Same size? The closer one looks brighter. Same distance? The bigger one does.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:
- S4E1.b — Construct an argument on why some stars (including the Earth's sun) appear to be larger or brighter than others. (Clarification statement: Differences are limited to distance and size, not age or stage of evolution.)