Math-Sci-Guy

Just like in the many disaster movies, this laboratory activity will allow students to investigate the effects of an asteroid hitting the earth. Students will drop plastic beads onto a tray of sand, causing impact craters from two different heights. They will measure the widths and depths of these craters, then answer questions that discuss their findings and relate it to the solar system, historical events, and possible real-life effects.

In this laboratory activity, students will use foam spheres and a lamp to recreate the Earth's moon's phases. They will then draw a diagram depicting/summarizing their results. The analysis questions lead students to think about the Earth-Moon-Sun system from various perspectives, including at precise times (eclipses), and relate this back to cyclic changes. All images are created as shapes in MS Word, so their quality does not degrade when printed.