The Search for Life: Are We Alone? || Teacher's Guide

Physical Science

Poll students' ideas about extraterrestrial life as you did in the Before Your Visit section. Then refer students to the poll taken before their visit. Have they changed their views? In what ways? Students can chart their opinions before and after their visit to the Museum.

How many worlds might sustain life? Use the Drake Equation formula to estimate the number of Earth-like worlds in the Milky Way. Visit http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/000/937mkdgp.asp for an interactive Drake Equation tool.

Compare the speed of light with the speed of sound by having students list the times they saw something before they heard it. (Possible answers include lightning and thunder, or seeing a baseball hit before hearing the crack of the bat.)

Earth and Planetary Science

Have students discuss the formation of the Earth. What factors make a world suitable for life? Where in our solar system might we look for life?

Have students discuss what they saw as they walked down the Cosmic Pathway. What scale model did they find the most interesting in the Scale of the Universe display? Have students create a "Scale of the School" in which students compare the size of different objects around the school (erasers, pets, classrooms, teachers, the entire building, etc.) to themselves. More advanced students can make models or draw scaled diagrams of their comparisons.

Life Science

To illustrate the difficulties inherent in searching for extraterrestrial life, do the following demonstration or make setups for groups of four students. Label each of three clear plastic glasses #1, #2, and #3. Into each glass, place 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoons sand. Into Glass #1 add nothing; into Glass #2 add 1 heaping teaspoon of yeast; into Glass #3 add 1 crushed antacid tablet. Ask students to make observations by touching or smelling, not tasting. Now carefully pour just enough hot water into each cup to cover each sample. Have students record their observations (#1 no activity; #2 release of bubbles after about five minutes; #3 immediate fizzing). As a class, discuss all results and conclusions. Which of these cups gave evidence for life? How could you tell? Reveal the contents of each jar. How could you show that the yeast in #2 is alive and the antacid tablet in #3 is not? For example, what does the yeast do that the antacid does not? What kinds of follow-up tests might you devise to give you the data necessary to support your answer? Compare the yeast and antacid the next day. Is there evidence of growth? Have students extrapolate to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Related Web Sites:
http://www.amnh.org/rose/mars/ch5img.html
This Web site explores the question of life on Mars.
http://www.amnh.org/rose/hope/index.htm
The Web site for the Hall of Planet Earth.
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/expeditions/blacksmokers/
This Web site chronicles the expedition by Museum scientists to collect black smoker sulfide chimneys.
http://astrobulletin.amnh.org/
Review the American Museum of Natural History's latest feature stories about astronomy.

	SPACE SHOW the search for life: are we alone?
back in the classroom synopsis come prepared! key concepts and orientation background before your visit while you're at the museum back in the classroom references credits	Physical Science Poll students' ideas about extraterrestrial life as you did in the Before Your Visit section. Then refer students to the poll taken before their visit. Have they changed their views? In what ways? Students can chart their opinions before and after their visit to the Museum. How many worlds might sustain life? Use the Drake Equation formula to estimate the number of Earth-like worlds in the Milky Way. Visit http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/000/937mkdgp.asp for an interactive Drake Equation tool. Compare the speed of light with the speed of sound by having students list the times they saw something before they heard it. (Possible answers include lightning and thunder, or seeing a baseball hit before hearing the crack of the bat.) Earth and Planetary Science Have students discuss the formation of the Earth. What factors make a world suitable for life? Where in our solar system might we look for life? Have students discuss what they saw as they walked down the Cosmic Pathway. What scale model did they find the most interesting in the Scale of the Universe display? Have students create a "Scale of the School" in which students compare the size of different objects around the school (erasers, pets, classrooms, teachers, the entire building, etc.) to themselves. More advanced students can make models or draw scaled diagrams of their comparisons. Life Science To illustrate the difficulties inherent in searching for extraterrestrial life, do the following demonstration or make setups for groups of four students. Label each of three clear plastic glasses #1, #2, and #3. Into each glass, place 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoons sand. Into Glass #1 add nothing; into Glass #2 add 1 heaping teaspoon of yeast; into Glass #3 add 1 crushed antacid tablet. Ask students to make observations by touching or smelling, not tasting. Now carefully pour just enough hot water into each cup to cover each sample. Have students record their observations (#1 no activity; #2 release of bubbles after about five minutes; #3 immediate fizzing). As a class, discuss all results and conclusions. Which of these cups gave evidence for life? How could you tell? Reveal the contents of each jar. How could you show that the yeast in #2 is alive and the antacid tablet in #3 is not? For example, what does the yeast do that the antacid does not? What kinds of follow-up tests might you devise to give you the data necessary to support your answer? Compare the yeast and antacid the next day. Is there evidence of growth? Have students extrapolate to the search for extraterrestrial life. Related Web Sites: http://www.amnh.org/rose/mars/ch5img.html This Web site explores the question of life on Mars. http://www.amnh.org/rose/hope/index.htm The Web site for the Hall of Planet Earth. http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/expeditions/blacksmokers/ This Web site chronicles the expedition by Museum scientists to collect black smoker sulfide chimneys. http://astrobulletin.amnh.org/ Review the American Museum of Natural History's latest feature stories about astronomy.
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