12: Planetary Evolution
- Page ID
- 163004
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Lab Overview
Lab Goals
As a result of this lab, you should be able to:
- Predict the composition and relative mass of different planets in a solar system based on the location of their formation and data on temperature in the protoplanetary disk.
- Construct explanations for why different planets have such different masses and compositions using Condensation Theory
- Explain general trends for planetary characteristics based on condensation theory.
Equipment and Setup
This lab requires the following equipment on each table.
- Colorful Dot Stickers
- Group Graph Templates and Planetary System Data Handouts
Submission Instructions
Submit a brief lab report that includes the following sections:
Introduction
Describe the process of planetary formation. In particular, discuss what determines which materials are or are not a part of the early planetesimal formation and why planets in different regions are made of different materials.
Results
Sketches of your dot-graphs that show the relative amount of each type of material for each planet in the sample system.
Discussion
Write clear paragraphs that answer the discussion questions throughout the lab.When relevant, be sure to cite evidence from the results section and explain how that evidence supports your claims.
Conclusion
Summarize your results to explain the trends we expect to see in most planetary systems if we assume similar characteristics of the original dust cloud (eg, total abundance, relative abundance, temperature profile).
Part 1: Planetary Formation in the Planetarium
Planetary Formation
Observe the video with a focus on the following questions:
- What material do early planetesimals form from? What do they not form from?
- Where are the planetesimals bigger/smaller?
- When does hydrogen gas start to play a role?
Part 2: Estimating the Composition and Mass of a Planetary System
Temperature and Types of Materials
In your group handouts are some data on the temperature at the time of formation at the location of several planets.
- This planetary system has 8 planets (Planets A-G). Based on the temperature of each planet, decide as a group which substance(s) that planet it made up of.
- Identify a color (from the dot stickers) for each substance. Make a key.
- For each planet, place a dot of that color and arrange them vertically to make a bar chart on the group template. This represents the amount of mass and which type of material(s) that the planet is made of.
- Underneath each group, write a descriptive statement about your data. Imagine you want to communicate the content to someone who cannot see the graph.
Discussion Questions:
- Identify patterns between planetary formation location (ie, proximity to the star) and diversity of planet material.
- According to these data, which planet(s) should be the largest (most mass) and which should be the smallest (least mass)? Why?
Types of Materials + Relative Abundance
In your group handouts are some data on the temperature at the time of formation at the location of several planets.
- The Relative Abundance chart tells you how the amount of metal, rock, water, and methane/ammonia compare in the protoplanetary disk. For each type of material that each planet is made up, place dots to make a new set of vertical columns. This time, place the number of dots that matches the relative abundance (eg, if the planet is formed from water, place 5 water dots). Start with metal on the bottom and work up to lower condensation temperature substances.
- Underneath each group, write a descriptive statement about your data. Imagine you want to communicate the content to someone who cannot see the graph.
Discussion Questions:
- According to these data, which planet(s) should be the largest (most mass) and which should be the smallest (least mass)? Why?
- Generalize a pattern: Where in this solar system do the largest (most mass) and smallest (least mass) planets form? Why does this happen?
- What separates big planets from small planets? Where in space would this line separating the two groups of planets be?
Types of Materials + Total Abundance
In your group handouts are some data on the temperature at the time of formation at the location of several planets.
- The Total Abundance chart tells you how the amount of metal, rock, water, and methane/ammonia compare in the protoplanetary disk at different distances in that disk. Take the amount of dots you used previously and multiply by the total abundance value at the location of each planet. Round answers to the nearest integer.
- Underneath each group, write a descriptive statement about your data. Imagine you want to communicate the content to someone who cannot see the graph.
Discussion Questions:
- According to these data, which planet(s) should be the largest (most mass) and which should be the smallest (least mass)? Why?
- Generalize a pattern: Where in this solar system do small, medium, and large planets form? Why does this happen?
Part 3: Conclusions about Planetary Systems
Conclusion sections differ from discussion sections. A discussion is an interpretation of your specific results. Conclusions generalize to describe more than just the findings of this investigation. You started this in the second discussion question for each section, but you focused on generalizing based on the single graph. In your conclusion section, use all of your discussion claims to make a general claim about planetary systems across the universe.
Generalize a pattern: Where in any solar system should the largest (eg, most mass) planets form? Why does this happen and why do we expect this to be similar across all (or most) systems?