Class Moon Activities Week 4

This week's activities centered around impact craters and the lunar regolith and how it is made.

Impact cratering

This activity fits in Science 10 Unit B: Energy Flow in Technological Systems (Science and Technology Emphasis).
Students will explain and apply concepts used in theoretical and practical measures of energy in mechanical systems. More specifically quantify kinetic energy using Ek = 1/2 mv2 and relate this concept to energy conservation in transformations as is the case with this activity. As for any modification I would have them calculate the impact velocities before beginning the activity.

Lunar regolith

This has a great fit for Science 7 Unit E: Planet Earth (Nature of Science Emphasis).
Here are some focussing questions that can be asked of the students before embarking on this unit.
Focusing Questions: What do we know about Earth—about its surface and what lies below? What evidence do we have, and how do we use this evidence in developing an understanding of Earth and its changes?
Outcomes for Science, Technology and Society (STS) and Knowledge
Students will:
2. Identify evidence for the rock cycle, and use the rock cycle concept to interpret and explain the characteristics of particular rocks
• describe local rocks and sediments, and interpret ways they may have formed
• investigate and interpret examples of weathering, erosion and sedimentation

Balloon craters

This would fit in the Science 9 Unit E: Space Exploration (Science and Technology Emphasis).
Skill Outcomes (focus on problem solving)
Initiating and Planning
Students will:
Ask questions about the relationships between and among observable variables, and plan
investigations to address those questions
• state a prediction and a hypothesis based on background information or an observed pattern of events (e.g. develop a hypothesis about the geologic history of a planet or its moon, based on recent data)Show them pictures or have them research craters.

Performing and Recording
Students will:
Conduct investigations into the relationships between and among observations, and gather and record qualitative and quantitative data
• research information relevant to a given problem
• select and integrate information from various print and electronic sources or from several parts of the same source
• organize data, using a format that is appropriate to the task or experiment

Analyzing and Interpreting
Students will:
Analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and develop and assess possible explanations
• identify new questions and problems that arise from what was learned (e.g., “How old are the planets, and how did they form?”)