Sojourner Simulation in South Phoenix
M. O. Bush School
Ms. Michelle Johnson
Mrs. Helen L. Atkins-Kurtz
Table of Contents
I. Project overview
A. Background
B. Objectives
C. Procedures
D. Problems
E. Assessment Analysis
F. Recommendations
G. Conclusion
II. Lesson Plans
A. Pre-kit arrival
B. Stage 1 - Building
C. Stage 2 - Testing
D. Stage 3 - Design modification
E. Stage 4 - Testing Hypothesis
F. Stage 5 - Discovering problems
G. Stage 6 - Pulling it all together
H. Stage 7 - Conclusion
III. Samples of student's work
A. Pre-Kit arrival
B. Stage 1 - Building
C. Stage 2 - Testing
D. Stage 3 - Design Modification
E. Stage 4 - Testing Hypothesis
F. Stage 5 - Discovering problems
G. Stage 6 - Writing Samples from Red Rover
H. Stage 7 - Conclusion
IV. Appendix A - Internet sites
V. Appendix B - Samples and Pictures.
Section I: Project Overview
Background
Early in January 2000 Dr. Nancy Crocker envisioned schools in the Roosevelt School District participating in an innovative program called Red Rover. Some briefing occurred prior to the primary meeting on January 21, 2000 with a presentation by Sheri Kulm from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The references we received can be observed at http://redrover.planetary.org/brochures.html, and several Internet site addresses for additional research. These sites are listed along with many others obtained during the course of our experience in Appendix A. This was the initial meeting of the minds of Michelle Johnson and Helen L. Atkins-Kurtz. It was only due to scheduling that we would work together. We started with the class on February 1, 2000 and were planning to work on this project Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and fifteen minutes. Our Red Rover kits were ordered by the Roosevelt School District and needed inspection (in the district receiving offices) prior to release for our classroom. Consequently the actual arrival date of the Red Rover kits to our classroom was February 15, 2000.
Objectives
Our goals while undertaking the Red Rover program was to impart appropriate and necessary mathematics, science, engineering and literary skills needed to perform a sophisticated design project. Additionally, we were attempting to match National and State standards in science and mathematics. These standards are linked in Appendix a containing Internet sites.
Procedures
At the start date of February 1, 2000 we presented the students with the background to form a team that could implement every phase of designing and publishing an engineering project. The idea to mimic a scientific environment similar to NASA was presented in prior briefing by the specialists from JPL, NASA, and Arizona State University (ASU) therefore lesson 1 included position descriptions, and application submission by the students. To engage interest an additional component was introduced in the form of a geological simulation of core sampling (lesson 1a).
From the information gathered in the initial exercise the teachers created badges with appropriate symbols to depict position description. This was necessary as consultation with other members of different groups and similar jobs would be a requirement for subsequent assignments. Furthermore, when addressing problems the students and teachers would be communicating with the appropriate person(s) who could best solve the questions at hand. A sample of the badges created is in the sample section of Appendix B.
Another component was necessary at this stage of the project, an assessment methodology and tools (sample 2, Appendix B), and list of grading requirements for the students (lesson #2). The continuation of Lesson 1 was accompanied by lesson #2. At this junction the students were introduced to the request for materials or equipment, mission log, terrain design form, and rover design forms. They were asked to review these briefing materials and ask questions. We were experiencing writing difficulties at this juncture and the process of understanding requirements required an extended open-ended discovery period. During the initial class discussion discovery about trajectory paths was explored with an activity planned from the NASA teaching aids (our version was modified greatly due to young person unfriendliness and errors in calculation or typographical errors - teacher tested activity). This activity was not completed during the course of the second lesson and materials were given to Ms. Johnson for a further lesson. This planned lesson is included as lesson 2b. The lesson may not be necessary to the project as a whole but if time allows is a valuable tool for showing students how they may project a spacecraft from Earth to Mars that could contain their rover.
For following week of February 8, 2000 we had made arrangements during the prior week to obtain a full hour of computer lab time. Therefore a lesson(s) plan was created to introduce the students to the aspects of their new jobs. This would be lesson #3 (Section II). Problems during this phase-included incompatibility of Claris works program and Microsoft word (Claris works in lab, word in classroom). The other problems included unfamiliarity with Microsoft Excel, difficulty with insertion of pictures in Claris works, unfamiliarity with Paint, and difficulty accessing all web sites from firewalls. All of these obstacles were overcome through adjustments made by teachers on site. On February 10, 2000 the 'Great Egg drop' activity was introduced. The ideas formulated from this activity relate to landing a fragile object on mars (lesson #4). This activity would take the students the entire class period and needed to be continued during the next class period for arrangements with personnel to drop designs from high place in the school. The day before the next class period the kits would arrive and the students would need to organize the inventory for basic kits (Appendix B pictures). It was also apparent the students in the Communications fields needed inspiration as to the validity of their positions the demoflyer.doc file was created to stimulate their continuing interest from pictures of the 'great egg drop.'
Ms. Johnson attempted to contact Mrs. Kurtz upon the arrival of the Red Rover kits and was unsuccessful. However in anticipation of this important date an activity was predetermined and available on February 15, 2000. Dual activities were accomplished during this week as the great egg drop proceeded and the inventory was catalogued and placed in 'lure kits' by the students. Sheets were given to inventory control specialists to record number of parts. The remaining inventory was sorted and catalogued by Mrs. Kurtz over the next weekend and recorded into Microsoft Excel (see Appendix B samples and pictures). This activity paved the way for the 'cost analysis' activities of the future for our inventory control specialists.
The next class period on Thursday February 17 included further sorting of the basic kit and the final dropping of the fragile egg devices. Analysis of the fragile egg designs was performed and an inventory problem was given for homework (Appendix B samples).
For the week of February 22 we assigned advanced computer lab activities for the communications students (Lesson #5), writing homework to an engineer at NASA for a 3 day forum (Section III – sample replies to three of our students), and continued research for geology personnel. Continuing with the engineering portion of the project all students participated in a gear ratio activity on the 24th (Cover picture, Appendix B samples and Lesson #6). This activity would be a good introduction to building the rover and terrain for the following week.
Starting on February 29 the actual building of the basic rover and the terrain was implemented. (See Appendix B – pictures). The students were assigned a gear ratio problem on March 2 2000. Ms. Johnson volunteered to do activities during all 5 periods in each week. We met on March 3 and developed activities for the next week including assignments for Monday where engineers will create a data table in Excel to record straight line calibration data on Tuesday (see sample in Appendix B), continued activities on the terrain building and recording procedures, press releases by communications experts, and updated paperwork of new parts used in building the rover by the inventory control students. We believe this will help develop a deeper understanding by all of our students in the areas of mathematics and science.
Section II. Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan #1
Position Description and Applications
Credits: The Planetary Society, NASA, JPL and ASU K-12 team, teachers manual.
Objectives: Familiarize students with necessary positions for completion of a full-scale simulation of an engineering project.
Materials: Position descriptions, justification form, application form, and additional research by teacher and/or students on Internet about job requirements.
Launch: Remind the students of the worldwide excitement when the Pathfinder lander and Sojourner microrover landed on Mars in July 1997. Present the idea that the classroom will have the experience of designing, building, and operating there own Mars Rover.
Procedure: Students will read and discuss position requirements; during this phase justification for hire is required (written or verbalized). When students finalize their choices they must fill out Worksheet one 'Organizing a Mission Team.'
Lesson Plan #1a
Areology - The Study of Mars
Credits: ASU Mars K-12 Education Fall 1998 Workshop, Department of Geology.
Objectives: The students will have the opportunity to:
· Examine a simulated Martian surface core sample.
· Learn how matching it with a known sample can identify an unknown core sample.
· Discover how surface core samples can tell us about the history and make-up of Mars.
· Consume the core sample at the end of the exercise!
Launch: Explain the procedure of the Polar lander's missions in December 1999 and the scheduled activities of the Mars 2003 Athena Long Range Rover. Even though we now know this mission was not successful, we can describe the mission goals based upon the knowledge that objectives will be applicable to subsequent Mars rover missions. These include:
· Polar lander applicable activities: A robotic arm will drill down approximately 1/2 meter into layered terrain near the South Pole of Mars (= 70° latitude).
· Mars 2003 Athena LRR application: This rover will drill core samples in selected rocks for the sample return to Earth scheduled for 2005.
Materials: (Each student) needs:
· 'Fun or bite size' candy bars (Snickers, Milky Way, Mounds, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, etc).
· Two to four 3" long sections of clear plastic soda straws (difficult to find, order from a restaurant in advance).
· Paper plate, napkins, plastic knife, graph paper, and small ruler.
Procedures:
(1) Distribute one candy bar to each student (use candy at room temperature, or a bit warmer). Instruct students not to show their brand to anyone else. Ask each student to unwrap their bar and record observations about its surface: color, texture, composition, etc.
(2) Have students take a 'core sample' by carefully and steadily drilling a straw into their candy bar. Then ask them to record the number and thickness of layers, as well as the color and texture of the layers. What are the layers made of? Any repeated layers?
(3) Have the student use knives to cut candy in two so the layers can be view more easily in a cross-section. Discuss which layers were made first. How were the layers made?
(4) Have students measure the thickness and composition of layers. They can graph the results, then compare and contrast with other students' results or repeat the exercise for different types of candy bars and compare their results.
(5) They may eat the results.
Lesson Plan #2
(Insert worksheets 2,3,4,5 and assessment documents page 3 of doc Sheri gave us plus the page 3 of teaching manual for red rover)
Lesson Plan #2a
Teacher's Aide for Orbit Lesson Plan
- copies may be helpful for students.
Ellipse - Kepler, in 1602, said he believed that the orbit of Mars was oval, and then he later discovered that it was an ellipse with the sun at one focus. In fact Kepler introduced the word "focus" and published his discovery in 1609. The eccentricity of the planetary orbits is small (i.e. they are close to circles). The eccentricity of Mars is 1/11 and of the Earth is 1/60.
Orbit
Path in space described by a smaller body revolving around a second, larger body where the motion of the orbiting body is dominated by their mutual gravitational attraction.
Eccentricity
The distance of the larger body from the center of the orbit divided by the length of the orbit's semimajor axis.
Semimajor axis
The average distance of a smaller body from a larger body.
Apsis
point in the ORBIT of a smaller body where it is at its greatest or least distance from a larger body to which it is attracted. In an elliptical orbit these points are called the apocenter and pericenter; corresponding terms for elliptical orbits around the sun, the earth, and a star are, respectively, aphelion and perihelion, apogee and perigee, and apastron and periastron.
(Insert trajectory.html here)
All the planets in our solar system orbit the Sun in an ellipse. The ellipses the planets follow have the Sun as one of their foci. Here is an experiment you can do that will explain orbits a little better.
Lesson Plan #3
Launch: During initial class discussion introduce the idea that we are starting our jobs with assignments that will enable us to produce the final results desired for the project.
Procedures: Give the copies of the appropriate section below to each student based on his/her job and ask them to follow directions given. Note insertion of pictures in documentation was due to ongoing photography with a digital camera for exposure to technological process and as a method of recording procedure in the experiments.
Communications experts we need a professional flyer to distribute to the community about your work in progress. At NASA and other engineering, scientific firms that sub-contract to NASA must justify their expenses to the public. Your duties today are outlined in the steps below.
1. Put the disc with your pictures in the floppy drive (A).
2. Click on Microsoft word program, if not on the front panel click on start (lower bottom left corner) and go to programs, click on Microsoft word.
3. Place your Name in the upper right corner of the page, go to the second line and tab over to line up with your name and enter the date.
4. Hit enter twice.
5. Go to the Insert command at the top of your screen, click on this command.
6. Scroll down to the ‘picture’ command, when the arrow to the right has some new commands select ‘from file’.
7. You may have to use the blank next to the words ‘look in’ and scroll down to ‘3 ½ inch floppy (A:) and click on this to retrieve pictures.