planet formation

Origins: The Earth Is Born (2004) is a NOVA documentary, hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, examining the history of the earth from its infancy up to the present. Even though this is from 2004, the visuals have aged extremely well. The cg is still impressive, even by today’s standards. The clarity of Tyson’s presentation is impeccable, making it easy to understand for the students. For example, Tyson condenses the entire history of the earth into a 24-hour day, giving a timescale the kids can relate to. The documentary gives a scientific explanation for the world we see today. It also helps us see, through the eyes of science, ourselves as a species as well. This documentary would be an excellent showing for the following classes: astronomy, astrophysics, physics, geology, biology, and history. Of the 33 questions on this documentary video guide, the overwhelming majority are higher-order in nature, with only a scattering of lower-level types. The concepts discussed include planet formation, plate tectonics, magnetic fields, solar system formation and dynamics, asteroid impacts, radiocarbon dating, magnetic pole movement, the solar wind, moon origins, chemical analysis of zircons, and spectroscopy.