LIVE INTERACTIVE YOUR DESKTOP November 30, 2011 NES: Properties of Living Things: Searching for Life on Mars Presented by: Marti Phipps

Properties Of Living Things: Searching For Life On Mars Presented by Marti Phipps

Introduction Use personal definition of life to determine if life exists in three soil samples. Make observations and illustrate findings

National Standards Science as Inquiry Chemical Reactions Structure and Function in Living Systems Cells and Biological Evolution Earth’s History

Objectives Students will: Form an operational definition of life. Conduct simulated experiment with soil samples similar to the experiments on the Mars Viking Lander.

Objectives Students will: State relationships between the soil samples using their operational definition of life. Make an inference about the possibility of life on Mars based on data obtained.

NASA Connection PD/Live/SearchingForLifeOnMars/Looking_ For_Life.mov

Phoenix Mars Lander

Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterMars Odyssey

Earth

Mars (Apollo 1)

Viking on Mars

Mars Rovers Spirit and OpportunityCuriosity

Rovers Spirit/Opportunity 2004 Sojourner 1997 Curiosity 2011

Review What three types of spacecraft have gone to Mars? Can you name an Orbiter? Lander? Rover?

Let’s pause for questions from the audience.

Living?

Conditions Water Energy – Chemical – Geothermal

Conditions Water Energy – Chemical – Geothermal Bio-signatures – Carbon

Is it Alive?

Discussion Questions What are some characteristics of living things? What are some characteristics of nonliving things? How are living things different from nonliving things?

Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart Criteria:

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Adapt to its environment? Criteria: Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Adapt to its environment? Criteria: Reproduce? Criteria: Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Adapt to its environment? Criteria: Reproduce? Criteria: Grow? Criteria: Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Adapt to its environment? Criteria: Reproduce? Criteria: Grow? Criteria: Obtain and use energy? Criteria: Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Criteria: React to its environment? Criteria: Adapt to its environment? Criteria: Reproduce? Criteria: Grow? Criteria: Obtain and use energy? Criteria: Made up of cells? Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

Let’s pause for questions from the audience.

Materials Sand or sandy soil sample 3 glass vials (baby food jars or beakers for soil samples) Sugar – 5ml will be added to soil Instant active dry yeast – 5ml will be added to 50 ml of soil Alka-Seltzer tablets crushed – 1 tablet will be added to 50 ml of soil

More about Materials Hot water – enough to cover the top of the soil in all jars In regards to the hot water, make sure it is not hot enough to kill the yeast! Cups for distributing the water Enough magnifying lens so that each group can have at least one or more Copy of the student recording sheets

It’s Alive Students will take three different soil samples and look for signs of life based on their criteria.

Data Charts

Procedures Jar 1: Fill with 50 mL soil Add 5 mL sugar

Procedures Jar 2: Fill with 50 mL soil Add 5 mL instant active dry yeast and 5 mL sugar

Procedures Jar 3: Fill with 50 mL soil Add 5 mL sugar Add the powdered Alka-Seltzer

Student PowerPoint

Extensions Getting There (Navigation and Trajectory) Tricky Terrain (Investigating Planetary Soils) Lava Layering (Making and Mapping a Volcano) Mapping Mars (Geologic Sequence of Craters and River Channels) on/program/DestMars/destmars.pdf

Where is the website? NASA’s Virtual Campus ars/destmarsLes5.pdf NASAExplorerSchools

Mars for Educators foreducators/

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Fully participate in seven Live Web Seminars and complete the survey on the Virtual Campus for each and earn one CEU.complete fourteen and earn two CEUs. Live Web Seminar must be completed between July 15 - June 30. CEU eligibility will be evaluated in December and June of each year, and CEU certificates will be issued in January and July. Continuing Education Credits

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