WV State Standards: Science: SC.9.4.6  SC.10.4.14  AB.4.30  AB.4.31 Technology: 21C.O.9-12.1.TT10, 21C.O.9-12.2.TT3, 21C.O.9-12.3.TT2  National Standards:  Math: 1 Science: 1 Blooms Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Analysis 21st Century Skills: Creativity and Intellectual Curiosity, Problem Identification, Formulation and Solution, Thinking and Problem-Solving, Information and Media Literacy

Objective(s)

Students will follow the research plan they developed to find the caloric requirements of human beings and determine the best plant to use in their environment, the size of the environment needed to provide the required amount of calories for the crew (for the amount of time needed), and the transportation requirements of the mission.

Time Required

45-90 minutes

Pre-Requisite Skills

Use of internet for research purposes

Computer with word processing and internet access for research purposes

Computers with internet access, Student Handout 3  Research Guide

1. Review the scenario with students and remind them that today they will be conducting research in order to complete the design of their Mars environment and establish the permanent settlement on the planet.  One of the most important aspects of the research is to determine how to develop a sustainable food supply.  Students should calculate the number of calories needed, the number of calories produced by their chosen plant(s) and the amount of space needed to produce a sufficient sustainable supply.  This information will determine the size of the environment needed.  One resource that may be helpful in determining the caloric requirements for the crew has been produced by the US FDA.
2. Remind students of the tasks determined within their groups in their action plan and of acceptable computer use.
3. Allow students to complete their research. You may wish to distribute Student Handout 3 Research Guide, to give students additional guidance in this area and to help them to remain focused on specific tasks.  Encourage students to record their responses (regardless of whether or not they use the research guide) into a document using a word processing program.  Monitor student progress.
4. After the students have completed their research, call the class together as a large group and engage students in a discussion of their results.  Inform students that tomorrow they will be designing their habitat.

It may be helpful to assign roles to each student to maximize the individual contribution.  A recorder, computer operator and research director are some examples that can be used for this activity.  Advanced students may be further challenged by asking them to do an independent study on other concerns not addressed in this lesson such as waste removal and oxygen production.  Access Excellence (an online repository of biology lessons and activities) has an interactive mission simulation called Angry Red Planet.  Some students may find this site interesting as its focus is on carbon dioxide and oxygen consumption on a Mars mission similar to the one used in this lesson.

In this activity, small groups will work together to complete the research required to meet the objectives of this unit.

The research guide is optional for this activity.  You may choose to leave the research more open ended.  Students should see that a small highly productive plant would be the most useful crop. The results of their research should be recorded into an electronic document even if they are not using the research guide.  Students may also attempt to address other problems, however in interest of time, you may wish to encourage them to remain focused on the specific task of crop production.

At the end of this lesson students should have obtained all of the information requested on the research guide and have the results recorded in electronic format.