LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
November 30, 2011
NES: Properties of Living Things:Searching for Life on Mars
Presented by: Marti Phipps
Properties Of Living Things:
Searching For Life On Mars
Presented by Marti Phipps
Introduction• Use personal definition of life to
determine if life exists in three soil samples.
• Make observations and illustrate findings
National Standards• Science as Inquiry• Chemical Reactions• Structure and Function in Living
Systems• Cells and Biological Evolution• Earth’s History
ObjectivesStudents will:•Form an operational definition of life.•Conduct simulated experiment with soil samples similar to the experiments on the Mars Viking Lander.
ObjectivesStudents will:•State relationships between the soil samples using their operational definition of life.•Make an inference about the possibility of life on Mars based on data obtained.
NASA Connectionhttp://nasaed.okstate.edu/nes/e-PD/
Live/SearchingForLifeOnMars/Looking_For_Life.mov
Phoenix Mars Lander
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey
Earth
Mars (Apollo 1)
Viking on Mars
Mars Rovers
Spirit and Opportunity Curiosity
Rovers
Spirit/Opportunity2004
Sojourner 1997
Curiosity2011
Review• What three types of spacecraft have
gone to Mars?
• Can you name an Orbiter? Lander? Rover?
Let’s pause for questions from the audience.
Living?
Conditions• Water• Energy
–Chemical–Geothermal
Conditions• Water• Energy
–Chemical–Geothermal
• Bio-signatures–Carbon
Is it Alive?
Discussion Questions• What are some characteristics of
living things?• What are some characteristics of
nonliving things?• How are living things different from
nonliving things?
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria: Grow?• Criteria: • Criteria:
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria: Grow?• Criteria: Obtain and use energy? • Criteria:
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria: Grow?• Criteria: Obtain and use energy? • Criteria: Made up of cells?
Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart
Let’s pause for questions from the audience.
Materials• Sand or sandy soil sample• 3 glass vials (baby food jars or beakers
for soil samples)• Sugar – 5ml will be added to soil• Instant active dry yeast – 5ml will be
added to 50 ml of soil• Alka-Seltzer tablets crushed – 1 tablet
will be added to 50 ml of soil
More about Materials• Hot water – enough to cover the top of
the soil in all jars • In regards to the hot water, make sure it
is not hot enough to kill the yeast!• Cups for distributing the water• Enough magnifying lens so that each
group can have at least one or more• Copy of the student recording sheets
It’s Alive• Students will take three different
soil samples and look for signs of life based on their criteria.
Data Charts
ProceduresJar 1:• Fill with 50 mL soil• Add 5 mL sugar
ProceduresJar 2:•Fill with 50 mL soil•Add 5 mL instant active dry yeast and 5 mL sugar
ProceduresJar 3:•Fill with 50 mL soil•Add 5 mL sugar•Add the powdered Alka-Seltzer
Student PowerPoint
http://explorerschools.nasa.gov
Extensions• Getting There (Navigation and Trajectory)• Tricky Terrain (Investigating Planetary Soils)• Lava Layering (Making and Mapping a
Volcano)• Mapping Mars (Geologic Sequence of Craters
and River Channels)
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/DestMars/destmars.pdf
Where is the website?
NASA’s Virtual Campuswww.explorerschools.nasa.gov
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/DestMars/destmarsLes5.pdf
NASAExplorerSchools
Mars for Educators
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/
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Fully participate in seven Live Web Seminars and complete the survey on the Virtual Campus for each and earn one CEU.complete fourteen and earn two CEUs.
Live Web Seminar must be completed between July 15 - June 30.
CEU eligibility will be evaluated in December and June of each year, and CEU certificates will be issued in January and July.
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National Science Teachers AssociationDr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director
Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs
Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning
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