A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Earth and Space Sciences

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Education Product
Teachers
Grades 4–12

A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Earth and Space Sciences

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Human Resources and Education, Education Division
Office of Space Science, Solar System Exploration Division

This publication is in the public domain and is not copyrighted. You do not need permission to copy it.

November 1997
EG-1997-10-116-HQ

Project Coordinator: G. Jeffrey Taylor, Professor, Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Managing Editor: Linda M.V. Martel, Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Designer: Brooks G. Bays, Jr., Publication Services, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Acknowledgments

Teachers across the state of Hawai'i tested these activities in their classrooms. We want to thank many people from the Oklahoma State University Aerospace Education Services Program and NASA Headquarters for their helpful feedback on this material. Special thanks go to Pam Bacon and Greg Vogt for all their support and encouragement. We also thank the Challenger Center for letting us adapt part of their Marsville activity about life-support systems (the systems that keep astronauts alive) for use in this book. Money from the Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium supported the changes made for this second edition.

About the cover: Our understanding of the Moon has changed over time, as shown by the three images layered together — a map of the Moon from the 1700s, a photo of an astronaut's footprint from the Apollo 11 mission, and a NASA painting imagining what a future Moon base might look like.

Contributors to the activities in this book:
Kathy Chock (Hawai'i Department of Education), Pauline Higa (Mililani High School), Art Kimura (Future Flight Hawai'i), Forrest Luke (Leilehua High School), Linda Martel (University of Hawai'i), Dale Olive (Waiakea High School), Kevin Polk (University of Hawai'i), Randolph Scoville (Highlands Intermediate School), Liza Shigeta Kobayashi (Waiakea High School), Cheryl Shintani (Koloa Elementary School), Nancy Tashima (Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center), Jeff Taylor (University of Hawai'i), and Arlene Yoshimura (Mililani Mauka Elementary School).

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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Table of Contents

• About This Book — iii
• About the Lunar Sample Disk — iv
• About the Slide Set — v
• Activity Matrices — vi
• Teacher's Guide — The Moon: Gateway to the Solar System — 1
• Moon ABCs Fact Sheet — 17
• Rock ABCs Fact Sheet — 19
• Progress in Lunar Science Chart — 20
• Nearside of the Moon — Apollo Landing Sites — 21

Unit 1: Pre-Apollo — 23

• Resource Section for Unit 1 — 24
• Distance to the Moon — 25
• Diameter of the Moon — 29
• Reaping Rocks — 33

Unit 2: Learning From Apollo — 37

• Resource Section for Unit 2 — 38
• The Lunar Disk — 39
• Apollo Landing Sites — 43
• Regolith (loose surface material) Formation — 47
• Lunar Surface — 53
• Differentiation (how a planet's layers separate) — 57
• Impact Craters — 61
• Clay Lava Flows — 71
• Lava Layering — 77
• Lunar Landing Sites — 83
• Lunar Roving Vehicle — 87
• Moon Anomalies (unusual features) — 91

Unit 3: The Future — 99

• Resource Section for Unit 3 — 100
• Lunar Land Use — 101
• Life Support Systems — 109
• Lunar Biospheres (self-contained living environments) — 129

• Glossary — 141
• Resources for Educators — 145

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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About This Book

How long each activity takes depends on how difficult it is and how ready your students are for it. Because of this, activities might take anywhere from one class period to eight or more.

"Activity Matrices" are included to help you match each activity with the science skills and the science and math standards it supports.

The classroom activities are designed to build problem-solving skills, communication, and teamwork. Each one includes teacher pages and student worksheets that you can photocopy.

The teacher pages start with a purpose statement and background information, including answers specific to that activity. They point you to related pages in the "Teacher's Guide" section. After that come tips for preparing the activity, ideas for running it in class, suggestions for wrapping it up, and ways to extend the learning. Any word shown in bold can be found explained in the Glossary at the back of the book.

The student worksheets include a purpose statement, a list of key words, a list of materials, step-by-step instructions, questions with space for answers, and charts. Key words also appear in the Glossary. Materials for each activity are listed in the order you'll use them, and they're bolded in the instructions to help students keep track.

A note on measurements: Most activities use metric units. The main exception is when English units (like cups or pans) are used to describe everyday household items on the materials list.

This book was designed mainly for upper elementary through high school students, especially for use with the Lunar Sample Disk (described on page iv), though it can be used without it too.

This book contains:

• Information on the Lunar Sample Disk
• Activity Matrices (showing skills and standards)
• A Teacher's Guide
• Moon ABCs Fact Sheet
• Rock ABCs Fact Sheet
• Progress in Lunar Science Chart
• 17 activities
• A Resource Section for each unit
• A Glossary
• A list of NASA educational resources

The Teacher's Guide section, called "The Moon: Gateway to the Solar System" (pages 1–16), gives background information about the Moon. It tells the story of the Moon's geological history and explains how scientists piece that story together. This background reading can be useful for students too. Key facts about the Moon are summarized on the "Moon ABCs" and "Rock ABCs" pages — named that way because they cover the basics. The "Progress in Lunar Science Chart" sums up what we've learned about the Moon from 1959 to 1997.

The activities are grouped into three units: Pre-Apollo, Learning from Apollo, and The Future. These roughly match the stages of using the Lunar Sample Disk in your classroom: activities you can do before the disk arrives (Pre-Apollo), while you have it (Learning from Apollo), and after you've sent it back to NASA (The Future).

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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About the Lunar Sample Disk

Legacy of Apollo

The collection of Moon rocks and regolith (the loose, dusty material covering the Moon's surface) is a real, physical reminder of the U.S. Apollo Space Program. NASA lets schools borrow a small amount of this material from space through the Lunar Sample Loan Program.

Lunar Sample Loan Program

Six samples of rock and regolith are sealed inside a plastic disk about 15 centimeters (roughly 6 inches) across. These disks are mailed to teachers by registered mail for loan periods of one to two weeks. Along with the disk, you'll receive this book, Exploring the Moon, a set of labeled slides showing lunar images (explained more on page v), and color photos and descriptions of the six samples.

How to Schedule a Disk

Before borrowing lunar material, teachers must complete a training seminar covering security rules and proper handling — the same certification required to borrow the Meteorite Sample Disk. After that, you'll need to send a written request to a NASA Educator Resource Center at least one month before you want to borrow the disk. Contact the Educator Resource Center in your area to learn more about certification seminars and how to request a loan. (See page 146 for addresses and phone numbers.)

Ninth-grade science students from Waipahu High School, Hawai'i, examine the Lunar Sample Disk during an activity from Exploring the Moon.

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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About the Slide Set

The Collection

A set of thirty-six 35-mm slides was created to go along with the activities in this book. Each slide comes with a detailed caption. The topics include: what scientists knew about the Moon from telescopes and other observations before the Apollo missions, the Apollo missions themselves, astronaut activities on the Moon's surface, the Highlands and the Maria (two major types of lunar terrain), how the Moon formed, and exciting ideas for future Moon exploration.

How to Obtain a Copy

Getting a copy of the slides is simple. You can request them from the Central Operation of Resources for Educators (CORE) in Ohio, or from NASA Educator Resource Centers. If you can't visit the Educator Resource Center in your area, feel free to call. Addresses and phone numbers for CORE and the Educator Resource Centers are listed on page 146.

Images: Apollo 15 site, rake samples, a basalt (volcanic rock) sample

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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Activity Matrix — Science Process Skills

Activity	Unit 1: Pre-Apollo	Unit 2: Learning From Apollo	Unit 3: Future
Distance to the Moon
Diameter of the Moon
Reaping Rocks
The Lunar Disk
Apollo Landing Sites
Regolith Formation
Lunar Surface
Differentiation
Impact Craters
Clay Lava Flows
Lava Layering
Lunar Landing Sites
Lunar Roving Vehicle
Moon Anomalies
Lunar Land Use
Life Support Systems
Lunar Biosphere

Exploring the Moon — A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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Activity Matrix — Science Standards

Activity	Unit 1: Pre-Apollo	Unit 2: Learning From Apollo	Unit 3: Future
Distance to the Moon
Diameter of the Moon