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Project: Colossal Collisions

ChallengeA very large asteroid (called Etiam) that is capable of destroying most life on Earth is headed our way. You and your team are going to work together on preventing the impending collision of Etiam with Earth. There are many different solutions to this problem—each one has its own challenges and benefits. How you decide to protect the Earth will depend on decisions that your group makes using the information and concepts you develop over the course of this project. Once your group makes a decision on what your solution to save Earth is, your group will create a video news segment that describes how you plan to prevent this impending collision.

Background Data on EtiamShape: Etiam has been described as having an irregular bone-shape.Length at longest point: 78 kmWidth at thickest point: 20 km Width at thinnest point: 12 km

Mass:6,890,000,000,000,000 or 6.89 x 1015 kg

Speed: Etiam is travelling at 103,450 km/h.This speed is relative to the Earth.

Location:Etiam is 104.7 million km from Earth and about 84 million km from the edge of the asteroid belt.

Day 1: Research historical evidence of asteroid impacts, effects, and solutions:It is largely believed that about 65 million years ago, a large asteroid collided with Earth, causing a huge explosion and a cascade of worldwide effects – the most well-known effect being the extinction of dinosaurs from our planet. Let’s take a look at some of the evidence that scientists have studied.

I. The fossil recordThe picture to the right shows layers of the Earth, containing different fossils.

1) Compare the layers above and below the red line. How are they different?

2) What do you think the red line represents?

II. Soil and fossil dataIridium, a common component of asteroids, can be found in the 65 million year old soil layer at many points around the world. You can see it to the right as the lighter-colored rock layer.

The same soil layer contains grains of quartz (a type of rock) that were deformed by high shock pressures, as would occur in a giant explosion.

The same soil layer contains enough soot to correspond to burning down all of the forests of the world. This suggests that massive fires were touched off at the time of impact.

1. What soil evidence do scientists give for an asteroid collision?

III. Analyzing Biodiversity over time

As scientists analyzed the fossil record, they took all the data they gathered on marine organisms and created the graph below. It shows the number of different kinds of marine organisms (biodiversity) over time.

1.Does the number of different kinds of marine organisms stay stable over time?

2.What do the red arrows represent?

3. What do you think are some possible causes for these dips in biodiversity?

IV. Other historical asteroid impacts and their effects

Go online and research major asteroid impacts throughout history. List some of them in the space below:

Go online and research the effects of asteroid impacts. List some of them in the space below:

V. Possible solutions for an asteroid headed towards EarthGo online and research. Then discuss with your group possible ways to prevent an asteroid from hitting the Earth. List your ideas in the space below:

Day 2 & 3: ExperimentsI. Determine how “asteroids” with different masses impact “Earth”

# pennies knocked over in each trial

Type of marble

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Trial 4

Trial 5

Average # of pennies knocked over (add 5 trials, then divide by 5)

Small

Medium

Large

1. What kind of energy does the marble have while in motion?

2. What are all the different forces acting on the pennies?

3. Where do we see Newton’s 1st law happening?

4. Where do we see Newton’s 3rd law happening?

II. Study the relationship between gravity, force, and crater size

Directions: Drop each of the 3 marbles into the tray of sand from a height of 50 cm. Measure the crater diameter (cm). Do 3 drops for each marble. Be sure to level the sand between drops.

Crater diameter (cm)

Type of marble

Drop 1

Drop 2

Drop 3

Average (add 3 drops, then divide by 3)

small

medium

large

1. Based on your data, which marble fell with the greatest force? Do your results agree with Newton’s 2nd law which states that Force = mass x acceleration?

2. What caused the marble to accelerate after you released it?

Directions: Using only the medium sized marble, drop the marble from a height of 25 cm, 75 cm, and 100 cm. Measure the crater diameter (cm). Do 3 drops at each height.

Crater diameter (cm)

Height of drop

Drop 1

Drop 2

Drop 3

Average (add 3 drops, then divide by 3)

25 cm

75 cm

100 cm

3. What do you think caused the crater diameters to be different at different heights?

III. Explore how the trajectory of an object can be affected by the gravity of other objects

The plastic sheet represents a large area in space and the marble represents an asteroid. Place the marble at the starting point, release it, and watch it roll down the plastic sheet. Record where the marble crosses the number line in the data table.

If objects in space get close to each other, the gravity of the objects will affect each other’s trajectories. Let’s explore how objects of different mass affect the trajectory of the asteroid (marble). Block #1 represents a low mass object and block #2 represents a high mass object. Place block #1 at the “X”. Place the marble at the starting point, release it, and watch it roll down the plastic sheet. Record where the marble crosses the number line at the bottom. Then repeat using block #2 at the “X” and record results.

Now let’s see what happens when 2 high mass objects are near the path of the asteroid (marble). Place block #2 at “X” and block #3 at “Y”. Place the marble at the starting point, release it, and watch it roll down the plastic sheet. Record where the marble crosses the number line at the bottom or if something else happens.

Scenario

Crossed number line at…..

No other objects nearby

Block #1 (low mass) at “X”

Block #2 (high mass) at “X”

Block #2 (high mass) at “X” and Block #3 (high mass) at “Y”

1. Describe how low mass and high mass objects can affect the trajectory of an asteroid differently.

2. Some astronomers refer to Jupiter as the “Defender of the Solar System”. What do you think that means?

Day 4: Record a video news segment

It is highly recommended that you use iMovie on your iPad to make your video. If you’re unfamiliar with iMovie, learn the basics in a YouTube video such as one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZSWD4-RekI&https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7sjT_BySf8

Submit your completed video through Schoology (only 1 person from each group need to submit).

Your news segment should:□ Explain the situation to the public

□ Propose a solution □ How does your group plan to prevent a collision between Etiam and the Earth? □ Show in a diagram and/or video (possibly use pictures/video from the 3 experiments) □ Explain the science concepts you used to help create your plan □ Why did your group decide on this strategy instead of other strategies? □ What are problems/concerns with your solution?

□ Have High Video News Segment Quality □ Includes a visual model that shows how your solution works □ Is organized logically □ Is interesting to the audience □ Practices good oral presentation skills