Anchored Science Unit 8.4: Forces of Gravity in Solar System Motions Teacher 3 Year License

Anchored Science by Mi-STAR is a comprehensive middle school science curriculum driven by a bold vision for the future, where science isn’t just a subject but a powerful, integrated body of knowledge that equips students to tackle today’s pressing societal challenges. This curriculum harnesses the full potential of the Next Generation Science Standards, empowering students to actively engage with science and engineering practices. They’ll move beyond the classroom, using their skills to solve real-world problems, making learning both impactful and deeply relevant to their lives and the world around them.

Each unit delivers a NGSS-aligned assessment package that fully integrates tools to measure student progress and deepen their engagement with science. The Professional Learning program provides a dynamic range of flexible, ongoing opportunities, enabling teachers to not only master the unit content but also continually enhance their skills, while motivating and challenging their students.

Unit 8.4: Force of Gravity on Solar System Motions "Plotting a Cosmic Collision Course"
Unit Challenge Question: How can we identify an unknown object traveling toward Earth and determine if it will collide with Earth?

How does our solar system “work” … as a system? In this unit, students use system and system model ideas to explore the motions of the objects in the solar system. Students then learn the science concepts underlying the motions and describe how gravitational forces occur between two objects and that a large object (like the Sun or a planet) holds another object (usually much smaller, like a planet, a moon, asteroid, or human-made satellite) in its orbit. This complex interaction between system elements is built piece-by-piece throughout the middle lessons. In learning about the forces controlling the system, students also determine how solar system elements are characterized and interact with each other, as well as how the patterns observed in our solar system seem to be prevalent in the greater universe.

Included with this purchase is a 3 year license to access the Teacher Edition eBook and digital resources through our online platform, Flourish.