NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries

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published by the NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office
edited by Marilyn Lindstrom

This resource collection of 19 lessons explores meteorites and their effects upon impact with Earth. Developed by NASA's Astromaterials Research Center, teachers can choose from a variety of learning levels adaptable from Grades 5-12. The collection is divided into units based on key questions students may ask about meteorites: "What are they?", "Where do they come from?", and "What happens when they hit the Earth?" Lessons range in complexity from very simple introductory material to more advanced meteorite detection and planetary evolution.

Educators who complete a cost-free certification process with NASA may have use of a Meteorite Sample Disk and accompanying slide show for classroom use.

NASA's Astromaterials Research Office (ARES), is responsible for conducting fundamental research on meteorites, cosmic dust, solar wind, lunar rocks, and orbital debris.

http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Astronomy - Astronomy Education = Curricula - Fundamentals = Energy and Temperature = Gravity = Matter - Solar System = Asteroids = Comets = Meteors	- High School - Middle School - Informal Education	- Instructional Material = Activity = Curriculum = Instructor Guide/Manual = Laboratory = Lesson/Lesson Plan = Unit of Instruction - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Educators - Learners - General Publics	- text/html - application/pdf - image/jpeg	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Mirror:: http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tln…
Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
Use and reproduction of NASA images, video, and audio materials is permitted for educational or informational purposes, provided NASA is acknowledged as the source.
Keywords:: ARES, NASA research, astronomy research, cosmic debris, meteor crater, meteor impact, meteor research, meteorites, meteoroids
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created March 10, 2010 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: November 16, 2017 by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:: May 25, 2008
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (5-PS2)

Students who demonstrate understanding can: (5)

Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down. (5-PS2-1)

Earth's Place in the Universe (HS-ESS1)

Students who demonstrate understanding can: (9-12)

Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth's formation and early history. (HS-ESS1-6)

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Forces and Motion (PS2.A)

For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton's third law). (6-8)
Momentum is defined for a particular frame of reference; it is the mass times the velocity of the object. (9-12)

Types of Interactions (PS2.B)

The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth's surface pulls that object toward the planet's center. (5)
Newton's law of universal gravitation and Coulomb's law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects. (9-12)

Relationship Between Energy and Forces (PS3.C)

When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects' motions. (4)
When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object. (6-8)

The History of Planet Earth (ESS1.C)

Although active geologic processes, such as plate tectonics and erosion, have destroyed or altered most of the very early rock record on Earth, other objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and meteorites, have changed little over billions of years. Studying these objects can provide information about Earth's formation and early history. (9-12)

Crosscutting Concepts (K-12)

Cause and Effect (K-12)

Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change. (3-5)
Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural systems. (6-8)

Stability and Change (2-12)

Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. (6-8)
Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible. (9-12)

NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (K-12)

Analyzing and Interpreting Data (K-12)

Analyzing data in 6–8 builds on K–5 and progresses to extending quantitative analysis to investigations, distinguishing between correlation and causation, and basic statistical techniques of data and error analysis. (6-8)
- Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena. (6-8)
Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data. (9-12)
- Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution. (9-12)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (K-12)

Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. (3-5)
- Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. (4)
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to include constructing explanations and designing solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories. (6-8)
- Construct an explanation that includes qualitative or quantitative relationships between variables that predict phenomena. (6-8)
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories. (9-12)
- Construct an explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students' own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future. (9-12)

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information (K-12)

Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to evaluating the merit and accuracy of ideas and methods. (3-5)
- Obtain and combine information from books and/or other reliable media to explain phenomena or solutions to a design problem. (5)
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 6–8 builds on K–5 and progresses to evaluating the merit and validity of ideas and methods. (6-8)
- Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information in written text with that contained in media and visual displays to clarify claims and findings. (6-8)
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to evaluating the validity and reliability of the claims, methods, and designs. (9-12)
- Communicate scientific information (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically). (9-12)

Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking (5-12)

Mathematical and computational thinking in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to extending quantitative measurements to a variety of physical properties and using computation and mathematics to analyze data and compare alternative design solutions. (5)
- Describe and graph quantities such as area and volume to address scientific questions. (5)
Mathematical and computational thinking at the 6–8 level builds on K–5 and progresses to identifying patterns in large data sets and using mathematical concepts to support explanations and arguments. (6-8)
- Use mathematical representations to describe and/or support scientific conclusions and design solutions. (6-8)
Mathematical and computational thinking at the 9–12 level builds on K–8 and progresses to using algebraic thinking and analysis, a range of linear and nonlinear functions including trigonometric functions, exponentials and logarithms, and computational tools for statistical analysis to analyze, represent, and model data. Simple computational simulations are created and used based on mathematical models of basic assumptions. (9-12)
- Use mathematical representations of phenomena to support claims. (9-12)
- Use mathematical representations of phenomena to describe explanations. (9-12)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1B. Scientific Inquiry

9-12: 1B/H3. Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence. When that is not possible, practical, or ethical, they try to observe as wide a range of natural occurrences as possible to discern patterns.

4. The Physical Setting

4A. The Universe

6-8: 4A/M4. Many chunks of rock orbit the sun. Those that meet the earth glow and disintegrate from friction as they plunge through the atmosphere—and sometimes impact the ground. Other chunks of rock mixed with ice have long, off-center orbits that carry them close to the sun, where the sun's radiation (of light and particles) boils off frozen materials from their surfaces and pushes it into a long, illuminated tail.

4B. The Earth

6-8: 4B/M3. Everything on or anywhere near the earth is pulled toward the earth's center by gravitational force.

4G. Forces of Nature

6-8: 4G/M1. Every object exerts gravitational force on every other object. The force depends on how much mass the objects have and on how far apart they are. The force is hard to detect unless at least one of the objects has a lot of mass.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

1. THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

B. Scientific Inquiry

1B (6-8) #1. Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work. Although there is no fixed set of steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence.
1B (6-8) #4. New ideas in science sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and they usually lead to new investigations.

4. THE PHYSICAL SETTING

B. The Earth

4B (6-8) #6. Climates have sometimes changed abruptly in the past as a result of changes in the earth's crust, such as volcanic eruptions or impacts of huge rocks from space. Even relatively small changes in atmospheric or ocean content can have widespread effects on climate if the change lasts long enough.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9887">Lindstrom, Marilyn, ed. NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries. Houston: NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office, May 25, 2008.</a>

AIP Format

, edited by M. Lindstrom (NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office, Houston, 2003), WWW Document, (http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm).

AJP/PRST-PER

NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries, edited by M. Lindstrom (NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office, Houston, 2003), <http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm>.

APA Format

Lindstrom, M. (Ed.). (2008, May 25). NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office: http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm

Chicago Format

Lindstrom, Marilyn, ed. NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries. Houston: NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office, May 25, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm (accessed 16 April 2024).

MLA Format

Lindstrom, Marilyn, ed. NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries. Houston: NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office, 2003. 25 May 2008. 16 Apr. 2024 <http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries}, Publisher = {NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {16 April 2024}, Month = {May 25, 2008}, Year = {2003} }

Refer Export Format

%A Marilyn Lindstrom, (ed) %T NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries %D May 25, 2008 %I NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office %C Houston %U http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D May 25, 2008 %T NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries %E Lindstrom, Marilyn %I NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office %V 2024 %N 16 April 2024 %8 May 25, 2008 %9 text/html %U http://web.archive.org/web/20140222170646/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/expmetmys.cfm

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NASA ARES Project: Exploring Meteorite Mysteries:

Is Part Of http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/

A link to the full collection of K-12 educational resources developed by NASA's Astromaterials Research Office. Topics include meteors, exploration of the moon, astrobiology (the search for life outside Earth),and planetary science.

relation by Caroline Hall

Is Simulated By Astronomy Workshop: Solar System Collisions

An interactive tool allowing users to "bombard" any planet in the solar system. Users set the diameter, velocity, and composition of the meteorite or colliding object. The program calculates crater depth and energy released upon collision.

relation by Caroline Hall

Covers the Same Topic As Astronomy Behind the Headlines: Cosmic Debris

A set of annotated links to web sites on meteor showers, meteorites, asteroids, comets, and related NASA image sets. Also features a podcast on Cosmic Debris by a noted SETI scientist.

relation by Caroline Hall

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