Life in the Universe - Extraterrestrials
Life in the Universe Unit covers how we define life on Earth and how that life evolved/started on Earth. We then move into what possibilities of life existing in our own solar system on places life Mars, Europa, and Titan. Also covered is the chances of Earth-like planets in our own galaxy and of those planets what is the chances of finding life on them. The Drake Equation will be used to investigate the chances of intelligent life existing in the universe.
Assignments, Labs, Homework and Study Guide to Download:
Available in word doc and in PDF
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Video: shown in class and used for notes
Needle in countless haystack: ted talk video
Search for other Earth-like Planets-
Drake Equation - Video on calculating the number of planets
The search for ET - video notes
What is Life?- Lab
What is Life? -Lab
Sample B-after 2 hours....Sample A & C don't have any bubbles at this time.
The image on the right side shows what sample A, B, and C looked liked after 15 minutes....The bottom left is sample A....looks like wet sand....sample is top right, and sample C is top left. Sample C has stopped bubbling, while sample B has started to slowly add more bubbles, and is releasing a strong odor. The water has also changed color and become cloudy.
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What is Life? -Lab
What is Life-Lab
Some things to note about this lab:
All the samples look familiar. The obvious is that they all contain sand, but with closer observation, one will note that sample A contains cubic clear/white crystals among the sand grains. These cubes disappear after water is added and there is no sign of bubbles. Sample B contains round, brownish cylinders that expand and inflate over time and continue to have bubbles over several hours. This sample also contained the clear/white cubes that too have disappeared after water is added. A strong odor is detected coming from the sample too. Sample C contains large white chunks. When water is added to the sample white chunks dissolve and cause a violent bubbling reaction. So as you think which sample is alive, think about watching a reaction of baking soda and vinegar. What do you see? If you come back the next day what would you see? Now think about watching algae grow underwater. What would you see today if you saw them growing under water? Hopefully them producing bubbles of oxygen. If you came back tomorrow, what would you see? A reaction created by just chemicals will go until one of the products runs out. A reaction created by life will continue on as long as the life exists. From this, which sample do you think is alive? |