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?

Diameter

Raised Rim

Floor

Wall

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

Diameter

• Measure the diameter of the crater left by the ball

• Record your results

• Drop again from a different height

• Graph your results

Diameter of Crater in Centimeters

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

Diameter inCentimeters

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!