NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Unit: Earth and Space Science --
  Remote Sensing

  Grade Levels: 7-9

  Connection To Curriculum:
  Science, Technology
  and Geography

  Teacher Prep Time: 1 hour
  (depending on instructor's familiarity
  with landforms and availability of
  student Internet access)

  Lesson Time Needed: 1 hour

  Complexity: Basic

  Keywords: erosion, landforms, craters,
  channels, planet origin, geography,
  volcanoes, earthquakes, day, year,
  charting, compare and contrast,
  topography, physical processes

Materials:

Student Briefing and Log:
Student Worksheets
Student pages 1–4; lesson pages 9–12
One per student or student group
Satellite Images of Landforms Set:
Lesson pages 4–8 (figures 3–12) copied and laminated
One per student or student group
Earth vs. Mars Chart
Page 15
One per student or student group
Various references on Earth and Mars

Description
Remote satellite images of Earth and Mars are used to compare and contrast physical processes that occur on both planets.

Objectives
Students will:
• Identify similarities and differences between the physical processes that occur on Earth and Mars.
• Classify images of Earth and Mars by observing physical features in each image.
• Speculate about the physical features observed in each image.

Lesson Guide Earth Versus Mars Lesson [260KB PDF file]

Lesson Activities and Sequence

1. Earth vs. Mars: What similar physical processes occur on both Earth and Mars?
   In this activity, students work in pairs to compare and contrast the physical processes that may be inferred through the observation of images of both Mars and Earth. They will discuss the processes that have occurred on the Earth and the outcomes that have resulted, and transfer this knowledge to the interpretation of the processes that may have occurred on Mars.
   Keywords: physical processes, geography, planet origins, erosion, landforms, earthquakes, volcanoes, atmosphere, fluvial, canyons, channels, craters, uplilfting, downcutting


2. Earth vs. Mars: Charting the physical characteristics of both Earth and Mars
   In this activity, students work together to fill in the missing information on the comparison chart (link above, page 15). They will then use other resources to create a representation (Venn diagram, graph, powerpoint, etc.) to share with the class. This representation will show how Earth and Mars are alike and different.
   Keywords: distances, diameter, volume, orbital tile, surface temperature, day, year, charting, journal, compare and contrast

National Standards: