Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12
Subject
Mathematics, Technology, Problem Solving, Satellites
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities
Learn more about the sculpture at NASA’s Goddard Visitor Center honoring NOAA and NASA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) with a challenging Fermi problem. Named after physicist Enrico Fermi, these open-ended problems challenge students to creatively solve a problem by making assumptions, estimates, and educated guesses. These complicated problem-solving exercises help students gain confidence in thinking like an engineer or scientist. These questions can be a fun way to encourage students to work as a group and can be tailored to a variety of age levels.
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