Lesson Info
- 60-75 min
Alignment Documents
Technical Details
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English
Lesson Description
Why is Mars red? Explore Karijini Gorge in Australia and Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, AZ searching for clues to the environments that formed the red rocks there. Observe these rock formations at a variety of scales to gather these clues. Finally, apply understanding of red rock formation on Earth to red rock formation on Mars.
Central Question
Why is Mars red?
Instructional Objective
Interpret evidence in the rocks of Mars at a variety of scales to explain the presence of iron oxide and what it tells us about water in the ancient/present Martian environment.
Topics
Learning Outcomes
- Collect geologic evidence (make observations) at a variety of scales in present day Karijini Gorge, Oak Creek Canyon, and Mars as a basis for interpretation of their present and past environments.
- Generate the list of evidence needed to support a hypothesis as to why Mars is red (oxidized) and explain the importance for collecting this evidence on the macro to micro scale.
Prerequisites
- Periodic table
- Chemical bonds
- Compound naming conventions-
- Rock types and their formation
- Observing skills
- Claim, evidence, reasoning cycle
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