Crater Creators | Exploring The Science of Impact
Craters are the result of cosmic collisions between space rocks called meteors and a moon or planet. But what variables impact the formation of craters? Will a small but fast meteor create a larger crater, or a large but slow one? Use your scientific reasoning skills to carry out an investigation using a crater model, and then design an additional test of your own to extend the experiment.
This ~30-minute activity is best for grades 3-8 and has connections to NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas PS3.A: Definitions of Energy, PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer, and PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces. There are also connections to the Crosscutting Concepts of Energy and Matter, Scale, Proportion and Quantity, Systems and System Models, and Cause and Effect, as well as the Science and Engineering Practices of Developing and Using Models, Planning and Carrying out Investigations, and Analyzing and Interpreting Data.
Required materials: Each student, pair or small group will need a pan, pie tin, or shallow dish, flour, cocoa powder, 4 small rocks or marbles of various sizes, a meter stick, a science notebook or paper, something to write with, and newspaper or tarp to cover the ground or table if you’re doing this indoors.