Solar System Collisions

Please go to the web site:

Activity #1: Solar System Collisions

You will use the table to investigate how size of a body affects a collision with Earth. Using the web site, complete the table, fill in blanks below table, and then answer the questions on the next page.

Projectile Diameter

/

Result: what happens? Where?

/ Crater diameter / Energy released /

Quake***

Magnitude /

Frequency

Once every…
100cm=1m
10 m / *
100 m / **
1000m=1km
10 km
100 km

* Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs released energy = ______

**Largest nuclear weapon released energy = ______

***Largest recorded earthquake, Richter scale = ______

Activity #2: Solar System Collisions

You will use to compare the damage done and the energy released by projectiles that have the same diameter, but are made of different material. Compositions and densities are different. Define “density” before you begin. Be careful one uses meters (m) and one uses kilometers (km)

Density means….

Composition

/

Results: what happens? Where?

/

Energy released

/

Crater diameter

/

Crater depth

/

Frequency once every…

Rock
Ice
Iron

Composition

/

Results: what happens? Where?

/

Energy released

/

Crater diameter

/

Crater depth

/

Frequency once every…

Rock
Ice
Iron

Would it be worse if the Earth were hit by a comet or an asteroid? (Assume they have equal diameters.) Explain your answer.

Activity #3: Solar System Collisions

What happens if we consider the whole Earth rather than simply an impact on only land?

Complete the table and then answer the questions.

Change the Earth (land only) to simply Earth and repeat for 0.5 km diameter projectile with velocity 20 km/sec.

Composition

/

Result: what happens? Where?

/

Energy released

/

Crater diameter

/

Crater depth

/

Frequency once every…

Rock
Ice
Iron

For comparison complete for the Earth (land only), 0.5 km diameter body, velocity= 20 km/sec

Rock
Ice
Iron
  1. Go back to the website and produce the event that is most likely to occur when the whole Earth is the target. Click on the description below the image to see how your event compares to historical events that were non-impact produced. How does the devastating 2004 event compare to other historical events?
  1. Compare crater depths on land and water. Is there a difference? Explain.

Activity #4: Solar System Collisions

Collisions occur throughout the Solar System. Investigate collisions of projectiles on Jupiter and Pluto. Complete the table. Then answer the questions.

JUPITER

Composition

/

Result: what happens? Where?

/

Energy released

/

Frequency once every…

Rock
Ice
Iron

PLUTO

Composition

/

Result: what happens? Where?

/

Energy released

/

Crater diameter

/

Crater depth

/

Frequency once every…

Rock
Ice
Iron
Rock
  1. Why does the velocity change in these collisions?
  1. Why are no crater diameters given for the collisions with Jupiter?
  1. How do the crater diameters and depths for the collision between Pluto and a 1 km rocky projectile compare to a similar collision on Earth?