Prelude to Armageddon

A WebQuest for
9^th Grade Earth Science

Designed by:
Anthony Greer and Richard Catalano

Introduction | Task | Process | Web Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

It is the year 2055, the O-zone can not hold out forever so we want to start and try to explore other possibilities. To your delight you have finally achieved your dream! You have been nominated by NASA and the President of the United States to head up Team Genesis. Your team's mission over the next 10 years (if you choose to accept it), is to navigate throughout our solar system, determining if we can create sustainable life on all planets whether it be under the surface or in a space station built on the surface of the planet.

As you should be aware, in May of 1971 we attempted to look at Mars and it was found to be unsuccessful. It is up to you and your team to research and explore the planets of the solar system in order to find a planet that can sustain life.

Before you are able to leave on this mission, you and your teammates have two weeks to collaborate and submit your findings. Your team must research each planet in our solar system and find the following facts about each planet: (a table would be recommended) Composition of the atmosphere. The planets terrain (i.e.. mountainous, plains, valleys, etc.). Composition of planet (what it is made of). Distance from the sun. Number of moons each planet has in orbit. Order of planets in the Solar System. Your team's hypothesis of creating sustainable life on each planet.

NASA	Hubble Space Telescope	Life on other Planets
Jupiter	Mars	Mercury
Neptune	Pluto	Saturn

Uranus

Venus

Grades will be given to the group as a whole instead of on an individual basis, so it is important that each member of the group donates adequate time and effort. Remember, your teammates will have the opportunity to judge each and every one of you.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Team's Hypothesis for Sustainable Life on Different Planets	Hypothesis was not very well planned. No facts to support argument. Length was too not adequate.	Some thought was put into the hypothesis but is still too short. Too much speculation with little facts.	Hypothesis was well thought out. Arguments were supported with some facts and some speculation.	Hypothesis was well thought out. Arguments were supported with facts, not speculation. Defended both sides of argument. Was of adequate length.
Ability to Retrieve Facts on the Different Planets.	No facts, all speculation. No proof of where information was retrieved.	Facts were found for some planets.	Most of the information retrieved was true, with resources cited.	All facts are true, with resources cited.
Essay	Half of the required length or shorter. Too much speculation, few facts to back up your arguments.	Essay was choppy, did not flow well. Sections were too short. Some facts, but still too much speculation.	Was of required length. Flow of essay was good. Few speculations, mostly facts. Shared some interesting facts.	Paper was well thought out. Flowed well in between planets. Sections were of assigned length or longer. Interesting facts were presented to the team.
Use of Resources (i.e. Works Cited Page, Different Types of Media Used)	Had only one source. Did not follow citation guidelines.	Used two sources. Only one kind of media. Works cited page is not adequate.	Used three to four sources. Cited all sources, used different types of media.	Used five or more sources, cited all sources used. Received adequate information from each source used. Used three different types of media.
Shoebox Diagram	Did not present one or very little time and effort put into it.	Little explanations. Not very creative. Attention to detail was slim.	Well constructed, with explanations. Good attention to detail.	Attention to detail was intact. Creative, and well explained.
Peer Evaluation	Team member did not stay on task. Did not get their share of the work done.	Team member did not contribute much. Had assignments in on a timely manner.	Team member slacked at times, but overall was a key contribution to the group.	Team member contributed equally to all parts of the project. Was on task at all times, and very well presented.

Congratulations, you are well on your way to leading Team Genesis and the rest of human kind into the promised land. You are a modern day Christopher Columbus. The United States and NASA will be investing a lot of time and money into the decisions you have made to try to populate the planets you have investigated. While doing this project, you learned about the what makes up our Solar System and how each planet differs from the other. You should now feel confident about your knowledge regarding our Solar System and that if any person off the street were to come up to you and ask you a question about the Solar System, you would undoubtably be able to answer them with a wealth of knowledgable facts.