Distance Measures Worksheet
Part 1:
Distance pulse travelled in 5 seconds= _____________________
Speed of the radar pulse (s)=___________________ Length of time for pulse to return to scientist from distant object (t)=________________ Calculated distance (d)=___________________Part 2:
When the pen is closer, does it move more or less? _______________
When the pen is farther, does it move more or less? _______________
What does this say about the usefulness of parallax at different distances?
What is the farthest object (streetlight or other object) that you can see move relative to the background?_______________
How far away do you think this object is (i.e. what is your estimate of your personal infinity)? _______________________
How far is it actually (by pacing it off)?____________________
Part 3:
Actual height, person 1:____________ person 2:_________________
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Distance |
Height, person 1 |
Height, person 2 |
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Measurement 1 |
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Measurement 2 |
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Measurement 3 |
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Measurement 4 |
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Measurement 5 |
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What is the trend in the above angular height measurements?
Did the actual heights change?
Suppose that you had a friend the same height as your lab partner. If you see them on the street, can you figure out how far away they are using this method?
Would this work for galaxies?
Plot your data. Are the points random, or is there a relationship between them?
How reliable is this method for determining distances?
Suppose you used 5 different people at 5 different distances. How would this change your results? How does this relate to the astronomical situation?
Data from streetlight brightnesses:
Person 1:
Person 2:
Plot these data. Is there a trend? Is it the same as in the plot above? Why or why not?
What are your sources of error in this experiment? How do they relate to those in the astronomical context?