What evidence is there of meteor impacts on earth?
• Brainstorm possible types of evidence: craters, thin layer of sediment containing iridium • Have students map the location of meteor impacts. Meteor Impact Sites Map. Available: http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/SPACE/SolarSystem/Meteors/Craters.html Diagrams of Chicxulub Crater. Available: http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/chix/prelim.data.html Have other mass extinctions occurred? Observe the graphs shown at A Mathematical Model for Mass Extinction. Available: http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/newmme/science/extinction.html Journal Write: • Is there a pattern to when the mass extinctions occur? • Is there a relationship between size and extinction? • Why would size affect the likelihood of an organism going extinct? GT Connection: Explore the possibility that we are in a period of mass extinction now. http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html#anchor18171 Education Elements: EDUCATOR S GUIDE Exploring Meteorite Mysteries Teacher s Guide PDF document NASA http://spacelin
