Transcript Impact Craters! - Colorado Space Grant Consortium

Welcome Students!
Impact Craters!
What is a Crater?
Crater: is bowl-shaped hole that is
formed when an object hits the
surface of a planet
Some craters on Earth are created
by volcanoes
What Causes Impact Craters?
Meteorites!
Meteorite: is an object from space
that hits the surface of a planet
• usually rock or metal
Have you ever seen a shooting
star?
While still in the air, shooting stars are called meteors
Why are craters different sizes?
The size of the crater depends on:
• the size of the meteor
• the speed of the meteor
Which ones will make larger craters?
Smaller craters?
Larger
craters
Smaller
craters
What makes some go faster?
Gravity!
What are the parts of a crater?
Wall
Diameter
Floor
Raised Rim
Impact Craters on Earth
Why does the Earth look so
different from the moon?
The Earth has an atmosphere
• Meteorites burn up before they hit
• Erosion from wind and rain
No atmosphere means craters don’t
go away
The Activity
Measure height of the ball above the flour
pan
Height
Flour Pan
Gently drop, don’t throw, the ball into the
pan
Flour Pan
•
•
Carefully take the ball out of the pan
Measure the diameter of the crater left by
the ball
Diameter
Diameter of Crater in Centimeters
8.5
• Record your results
8
7.5
• Drop again from a
different height
7
6.5
6
• Graph your results
5.5
5
4.5
4
Diameter in
Centimeters
Drop 1
Drop 2
Drop 3
Drop 4
Drop 5
1. Write a Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a guess of what will happen in an
experiment
2. Drop
How do we know what the
Moon is made of?
•Probes/Astronauts
•Spectroscopy
•Core Samples
Core Sample Activity
First draw a picture of your sample and
record observations
Next take your core sample by
gently pressing your straw
through your sample
Now squeeze out your core
sample, draw a picture of it, and
write down what you observe
Cut open your sample to observe
the layers
Compare your sample to the
knowns and determine what type
of sample it is
Did you Know?
Astronauts took core samples of the moon!