lesson plan

Use Google Mars to observe some real impact craters on the Martian surface.

We suggest you try the activity; 'Measuring impact craters on the Earth' first as this activity compares craters and surface features on the two planets.

The Down2Earth Meteorite Loan Box is the focal point for this activity. Students examine and draw the meteorites, with and without magnification, consider their density and compare them with Earth rocks.

In this activity you will track a meteor’s path using a technique known as triangulation which can be used to measure the direction to an object from two known locations. From this you can predict where the meteorites might be found.

There are 2 parts to this activity which should both be carried out prior to the Deep Impact mission. The aim of this activity is to learn about the specific features of craters.

The aim of this activity is to use vectors and Pythagoras’ theorem to work out the speed at which an impactor hits a comet.

The aim of this activity is to calculate the kinetic energy of an impact and to learn how the kinetic energy changes when the weight of an impactor is altered.

OverviewThis lesson aims to introduce pupils to the different effects of a meteorite impact and develop their understanding of various mitigation techniques for these events.

Investigate the factors that influence the viscosity(runniness) of treacle. How does this relate to the different shapes of volcanoes that can be found on the Earth and on Mars?

This lesson allows pupils to create impact craters in layered dry materials. Pupils can perform controlled experiments by varying the velocity or mass of crater-forming objects and observing and measuring their effects.

Aims

Students will determine the effects of wind, sandblasting and water on regolith formation and deposition on Earth. After discussing whether or not they think that lunar regolith is formed in the same way, the students will simulate regolith formation on the Moon by meteoritic bombardment.