34

Lesson 34 of 84 ยท Space

Lessonโญ 30 XP๐Ÿš€ Starbase

Exploring Mars (Part 2)

๐ŸงชLab Brief #34

Exploring Mars (Part 2).

๐ŸŽฏ Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

โšก The twist

Up there, the rules of down here stop working.

๐Ÿคฏ

Mind = Blown

๐Ÿช A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.

๐Ÿ”ฎ

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?

What You'll Learn

Mars is called the Red Planet because iron oxide (rust) covers its surface. Scientists send rovers to Mars to search for evidence of past water and possible microbial life.

Key Words

  • gravity
  • light-year
  • constellation

Steps

Step 1 โ€” Read

Review the background information on Space before starting.

Step 2 โ€” Do

Time how long it takes for a shadow to move 10 cm. Use this to calculate how fast Earth is rotating.

Step 3 โ€” Observe

Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.

Step 4 โ€” Record

Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

How long does it take Earth to orbit the sun?

๐ŸŒ

Where you see this in real life

GPS, weather forecasts, and the seasons all rely on this.

๐Ÿ†

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Find a constellation in the sky. Look it up. Tell someone its story.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง

For the dinner table

โ€œIf you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?โ€

๐ŸŽฏ

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

โšกShare card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ

Checkout complete lesson on Space for 8th Grade

Get the full Space track as a printable PDF โ€” all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

View in Shop

Your Cart (0)

Your cart is empty

Browse our shop to find activities your kids will love

Exploring Mars (Part 2) โ€” Space | 8th Grade Science | LittleActivity | LittleActivity