Lesson 55 of 84 · Space
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseThe Sun's Life Cycle (Part 3)
The Sun's Life Cycle (Part 3).
🎯 Your mission
Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.
⚡ The twist
Up there, the rules of down here stop working.
Mind = Blown
🪐 A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?
What You'll Learn
The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. During solar maximum, more sunspots and solar flares occur, which can affect satellites and power grids on Earth.
Key Words
- light-year
- constellation
Materials Needed
- string
- tape
- pencil
- ruler
Safety First
- Clean up spills immediately to prevent slipping.
Steps
Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.
Build a scale model of the inner solar system using different-sized balls. Research the relative sizes and distances of the planets.
Observe what happens and describe it in detail.
Record your observations in your science journal with measurements and descriptions.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What is a nebula?
Where you see this in real life
Every sunrise and every shadow is this idea in action.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Look at the moon tonight. Notice its shape. Look again in 3 days.
For the dinner table
“If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Checkout complete lesson on Space for 8th Grade
Get the full Space track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.