Comet Cratering

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Make impact craters with marbles (or rocks or washers) in a container of flour. Find out what you can learn about your "comets" by the craters they make. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org. Activity write-up only, images are unavailable.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$1 - $5 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • Flour (or sand or potting soil)
  • 1 cup hot chocolate powder or cocoa
  • Large, deep container
  • Ruler
  • Small, medium and large marbles (or rocks, ping pong or golf balls)
  • 1.5 meters of string
  • Washer, small rock or other weight
  • Chair
  • Drop cloth, newspaper or other floor covering

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Solar System
      • Asteroids and Comets
  • Life Sciences
    • Ecology
      • Ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences
    • Motion and Forces
      • Momentum and Velocity
      • Projectile Motion

Informal Categories

  • Outdoor Activity

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • be mobile
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • TryScience

Rights: