Middle School Inquiry Lab on Life in the Solar System
In this lab students will research information on objects in our solar system using facts sheets and the internet.
Each inquiry lab will contain an essential question that will drive the lesson and make students think. For this lesson, the essential question is:
- If Earth had to evacuated, where would be the next place to go in our solar system? What are important characteristics in choosing our next destination?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND MATERIALS LIST:
Students will begin the lab by reading the essential question and background information. This can be done individually, as lab groups, or as a whole class. If you consider lab groups, you also might include some type of whole class formative checks before digging into the lab.
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Materials List:
- facts sheets
- internet access
PROCEDURE:
For this lab, students will work together to collaborate on what characteristics are the most important for sustaining life.
After the group finishes with their list, the students will use the facts sheets and the internet to research which planet or moon will be the next best choice in our solar system for supporting life.
Students will rank their choices and explain why they decided to choose the planets and moons in their specific order.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:
At this point in the lab, students will be checked for understanding by answering questions about their findings. Here are a few that come with the lab:
- Which characteristics are most important for sustaining life?
- List the top four criteria you will use to rank your possible planets, and why each criteria matters:
- What makes your top-ranked planet or moon so appealing for life?
- What makes your lowest-ranked planet or moon so disastrous for life?
CONCLUSION
Students will go back to the essential question and write a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to conclude the lab. Once completed, students will reflect back on their learning by answering the following questions:
- If you were to travel to a planet that is not in the habitable zone, what would you need to take with you to survive?
- If scientists found life on a moon like Europa, what would have to be special about that life form?
MODIFIED AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY VERSIONS
All of the Kesler Science inquiry labs come with three different modification levels. Each lab is differentiated using the icons below.
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
TEKS: 7.9A – Analyze the characteristics of objects in our solar system that allow life to exist, such as the proximity of the Sun, presence of water, and composition of the atmosphere.
