Asteroid Impact Unit
Summary
Asteroid Impact is an 8-lesson, 450-550 minute long earth science curricular unit
where student teams are posed with the scenario that an asteroid will impact earth.
They must develop an engineering design solution that includes the location and size
of underground caverns to save the people from the un-inhabitable earth surface for
one year. Driven by this scenario, student teams:
- explore general and geological maps
- determine the area of their classroom to help determine the cavern size required
- learn about map scales
- test and classify rocks
- identify important and not-so-important rock properties for underground caverns
- choose a final location and size
The team-based unit involves extensive critical thinking, data analysis and problem solving. The unit also reinforces a number of math, reading and writing standards.
| Lessons | Time Required (min) |
|---|---|
| What's the Problem? | 45 |
| How Big? | 90 |
| Scaling a Map | 45 |
| Possible Locations | 45 |
| Rocks, Rocks, Rocks | 135 |
| Drum Roll Please | 45 |
| Tesing the Caverns (optional) | 45 |
View Samples:
Teacher's Guide SamplePresident's Memo
Student Worksheet Sample
General Map
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