About this Activity

This activity investigates the formation of craters. You’ll see how the size, angle, and speed of a meteorite’s impact effects the properties of craters. In addition, you and your lab group will become familiar with the terms meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite.

Preparations

Your teacher will prepare your lab materials as follows: fill one of the basins with flour about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches deep. Sprinkle a little cocoa on the surface. This will make the changes caused by the objects (meteoroids) more visible. Gather the objects you will use as your “meteoroids” (eg. marble, golf ball, ping pong ball, etc.)