Chocolate Chip Meteorites

Chocolate Chip Meteorites

Science Process Skills

Comparing and measuring

Relating

Applying

Life Skills

Critical thinking

Materials

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Round toothpicks

Paper Plates

Doing the Activity

Each person needs a paper plate, one chocolate chip cookie and 2-3 round toothpicks.

Compare your cookie's appearance to those sitting beside you. Use size, shape, weight and approximate amounts of chocolate chips as criteria for comparison.

Use the toothpicks to separate the chocolate chips from the cookie.

Place the chocolate chips in one pile and the cookie parts into another.

Reflecting

Was your cookie similar to your neighbors?

After separating the chips from your cookie, is there more cookie or more chocolate chip?

Will each individual cookie have the exact same amount of chocolate chips?

Would the amount of chocolate chips affect the taste of the cookie?

Do all types of cookies contain chocolate chips? What else do they contain?

Apply
We will assume the cookie is the meteorite, the chocolate chips represent metal and the rest of the cookie is a silicate mineral.

Would all meteorites appear to be exactly the same?

Which of the three types of meteorites would your cookie be classified as?

Where would it be easier to find a cookie "meteorite"? In a forest of trees, lying in your grassy front yard or on your snow covered sidewalk?

How would a meteorite compare to an ordinary Earth rock?

What's Happening

Meteorites are rocks from space that have survived travel through the Earth's atmosphere to land on its surface. They vary in size from those large enough to make large craters when they land to those we need a microscope to see. All meteorites are pieces of material from space that give us clues to the history and origin of our solar system.

There are three major types of meteorites:
Stony meteorites are mostly silicate minerals with less than 25% metal.
Iron meteorites are mostly metal.
Stony-Iron meteorites are about half silicate minerals and half metal.

Meteorites have a dark brown or black glassy crust. This outer crust is called fusion crust and is formed as the rock is heated by friction as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.

Most meteorites are found in Antarctica, in fact more have been recovered in Antarctica than all the rest of the world combined. The obvious reason for this is the dark appearance of the meteorite on the ice but also the ice actually preserves the meteorite because they rust and weather away more slowly in the cold Antarctic temperatures

More Challenges
Search out more information about meteors, meteorites and the craters they have made. Use your library or the Internet to gather information and pictures. Put together a report or PowerPoint presentation that contains information about meteorites and pictures of them.

Internet Sites for students
Meteorites & Impact. http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html Meteorite Photo Gallery. http://www.meteorlab.com/metites.htm Natural History Museum http://www.nhm.ac.uk/mineralogy/intro/project4/

Internet Sites for educators
Requesting samples of meteorites. http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/samreq.htm Meteors & Meteorites. http://www.ticetboo.demon.co.uk/met.htm

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
University Extension

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Contact information: Vicki Speake speake@iastate.edu
Updated: August, 2001
NNST CYFERNet

	Chocolate Chip Meteorites
	Science Process Skills Comparing and measuring Relating Applying	Life Skills Critical thinking
	Materials Chocolate Chip Cookies Round toothpicks Paper Plates
	Doing the Activity Each person needs a paper plate, one chocolate chip cookie and 2-3 round toothpicks. Compare your cookie's appearance to those sitting beside you. Use size, shape, weight and approximate amounts of chocolate chips as criteria for comparison. Use the toothpicks to separate the chocolate chips from the cookie. Place the chocolate chips in one pile and the cookie parts into another.
	Reflecting Was your cookie similar to your neighbors? After separating the chips from your cookie, is there more cookie or more chocolate chip? Will each individual cookie have the exact same amount of chocolate chips? Would the amount of chocolate chips affect the taste of the cookie? Do all types of cookies contain chocolate chips? What else do they contain?
	Apply We will assume the cookie is the meteorite, the chocolate chips represent metal and the rest of the cookie is a silicate mineral. Would all meteorites appear to be exactly the same? Which of the three types of meteorites would your cookie be classified as? Where would it be easier to find a cookie "meteorite"? In a forest of trees, lying in your grassy front yard or on your snow covered sidewalk? How would a meteorite compare to an ordinary Earth rock?
	What's Happening Meteorites are rocks from space that have survived travel through the Earth's atmosphere to land on its surface. They vary in size from those large enough to make large craters when they land to those we need a microscope to see. All meteorites are pieces of material from space that give us clues to the history and origin of our solar system. There are three major types of meteorites: Stony meteorites are mostly silicate minerals with less than 25% metal. Iron meteorites are mostly metal. Stony-Iron meteorites are about half silicate minerals and half metal. Meteorites have a dark brown or black glassy crust. This outer crust is called fusion crust and is formed as the rock is heated by friction as it enters the Earth's atmosphere. Most meteorites are found in Antarctica, in fact more have been recovered in Antarctica than all the rest of the world combined. The obvious reason for this is the dark appearance of the meteorite on the ice but also the ice actually preserves the meteorite because they rust and weather away more slowly in the cold Antarctic temperatures
	More Challenges Search out more information about meteors, meteorites and the craters they have made. Use your library or the Internet to gather information and pictures. Put together a report or PowerPoint presentation that contains information about meteorites and pictures of them.
	Internet Sites for students Meteorites & Impact. http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html Meteorite Photo Gallery. http://www.meteorlab.com/metites.htm Natural History Museum http://www.nhm.ac.uk/mineralogy/intro/project4/ Internet Sites for educators Requesting samples of meteorites. http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/samreq.htm Meteors & Meteorites. http://www.ticetboo.demon.co.uk/met.htm