NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Unit: Physical Science -- Forces
  and Motion

  Grade Levels: 4-6

  Connection To Curriculum:
  Science, Mathematics and
  Technology

  Teacher Prep Time: 45 minutes

  Lesson Time Needed: 4 hours

  Complexity: Moderate

  Keywords: Newton's Laws of
  Motion, force, friction, energy,
  momentum

Materials:

Two plastic rulers with center groove (30 cm long) or similar items for tracking the marbles, such as grooved wooden molding
Eight identical marbles
Two identical books or boards to use as ramp supports
Plastic (milkshake-size)
Potato
Tissue paper, notebook paper, handkerchiefs, rubber bands, napkins ,aluminum foil, wax paper, plastic wrap, etc.
Impact Resistance Test Stand (from Teacher Tech Brief )
One packet unflavored gelatin
Hot water
Two clear plastic cups
A spoon
A plastic straw
Steel pellets (available at sporting goods stores)
Safety goggles for you and all students
Aerogel Fact Sheet

Description
This lesson connects a series of activities to examine the physics and dangers of natural and man-made debris traveling through space.

Objectives
Students will:
• Explore the law of conservation of momentum using colliding marbles.
• Investigate how velocity and kinetic energy affect the penetration of a speeding object into a substance.
• Use gelatin to demonstrate how aerogel was utilized by the Stardust mission to capture comet material without damaging it.

Lesson Guide Space Debris Lesson [116KB PDF file]

Lesson Activities and Sequence
The "Danger: Space Debris" activities needed for this lesson may be found at the websites listed with each activity outlined below:

1. Collisions
   Students will be observing colliding marbles, which demonstrate the law of conservation of momentum. The momentum of a moving object is the product of its mass and its velocity (M = mv). If all of the marbles are identical in mass and size, a moving marble will transfer its momentum to a stationary marble when they collide. (See page 49 of guide.)
   Keywords: momentum, mass, velocity


2. Potato Astronaut -- Exploration Brief: Micrometeoroids and Space Debris
   Part 1: Students will investigate the relationship between velocity and penetration depth when a potato is struck with a plastic straw.
   Part 2: Challenge the students to design a way to protect the potato from damage caused by impacts using just the materials they brought to the classroom.
   Keywords: micrometeroids, space debris, movement


3. Aerogel-lo -- Technology For Studying Comets: Part 3 Aerogel
   This activity offers a simple approach for "experiencing" aerogel. Aerogel is an amazing feat of technology that was used by the STARDUST spacecraft to capture high-velocity interstellar dust and particles from the coma of comet Wild 2. This demonstration uses gelatin and pellets to show how STARDUST's aerogel collector captured comet particles. The gelatin is referred to as "aerogel-lo." (Aerogel fact sheet at bottom.)
   Keywords: comet, collection methods

National Standards: