LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ 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

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

ObjectivesStudents 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 Connectionhttp://nasaed.okstate.edu/nes/e-PD/

Live/SearchingForLifeOnMars/Looking_For_Life.mov

Phoenix Mars Lander

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey

Earth

Mars (Apollo 1)

Viking on Mars

Mars Rovers

Spirit and Opportunity Curiosity

Rovers

Spirit/Opportunity2004

Sojourner 1997

Curiosity2011

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:• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:

• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:

Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria:• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:

Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria:• Criteria: • Criteria:

Fundamental Criteria for Life Chart

• Criteria: React to its environment?• Criteria: Adapt to its environment?• Criteria: Reproduce?• Criteria: Grow?• Criteria: • 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

ProceduresJar 1:• Fill with 50 mL soil• Add 5 mL sugar

ProceduresJar 2:•Fill with 50 mL soil•Add 5 mL instant active dry yeast and 5 mL sugar

ProceduresJar 3:•Fill with 50 mL soil•Add 5 mL sugar•Add the powdered Alka-Seltzer

Student PowerPoint

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

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)

http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/DestMars/destmars.pdf

Where is the website?

NASA’s Virtual Campuswww.explorerschools.nasa.gov

http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ares/education/program/DestMars/destmarsLes5.pdf

NASAExplorerSchools

Mars for Educators

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/

Get Your Credit

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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Thank YouCome back to the NES Virtual

Campus, share your experience on NEON, and join us live during

one of our webinars.http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

marti.a.phipps@jpl.nasa.gov

Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar:

This web seminar contains information about programs, products, and services offered by third parties, as well as links to third-party websites. The presence of a listing or such information does not constitute an endorsement by NSTA of a

particular company or organization, or its programs, products, or services.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org

National Science Teachers AssociationDr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director

Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs

Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning

LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP

NSTA Web SeminarsPaul Tingler, Director

Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator