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The answer sheet for the worksheet Craters: when big rocks hit. Each answer comes with the reason, so it can be used to mark or to go over the questions with the class.

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KS2 · Ages 7 to 11 (Years 3 to 6)Answer sheet for teachers

Answers: Craters: when big rocks hit

  1. D: It behaves almost like a liquidThe rock carries so much energy that the ground flows almost like a liquid for a moment.
  2. D: Only the drop heightIn a fair test you change just one thing, the height, and keep the marble and flour the same.
  3. B: 12 cmAdd them: 10 + 12 + 11 + 15 = 48 cm. Divide by 4 results: 48 ÷ 4 = 12 cm.
  4. C: A round hollow with a rimThe rock strikes, the ground flows, rock is thrown out and the rim pushed up, leaving a round hollow.
  5. False: the right answer is It hits faster, so it carries more energyA faster strike carries more energy, just as fast-moving space rocks blast out big craters.
  6. True (The rock was far smaller than the crater)A rock roughly 30 to 50 metres across made a crater about 1.2 kilometres wide, many times bigger.
  7. A rock many metres across (accept any answer with the same meaning)Air resistance slows small rocks, but a rock many metres across is too heavy to slow much, so it hits with huge energy.
  8. Iron pieces found around Meteor Crater (accept any answer with the same meaning)Thousands of iron pieces, called Canyon Diablo meteorites, have been found around Meteor Crater.

Task

Answers will vary. The task comes from the lesson: Make craters. Fill a deep tray with about 5 cm of flour, smooth it and sprinkle a thin layer of cocoa powder on top. Drop a marble from 50 cm, 1 m and 1.5 m, three times each, and measure each crater's width with a ruler. Record your results in a table and find the mean for each height. Does a higher drop make a bigger crater? Look for the rim and the rays of white flour thrown over the cocoa, just like real craters. Wear old clothes, and have an adult help with the dropping height.

Look for work that uses the key words correctly and gives a reason for each point.

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