SPACE SUIT CHALLENGE MEDIA DAY ACTIVITY DISCUSSION GUIDE. Copy paper (20 lbs/75gsm weight)

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1 SPACE SUIT CHALLENGE MEDIA DAY ACTIVITY DISCUSSION GUIDE Campers will need the following materials for this activity. Copy paper (20 lbs/75gsm weight) Card stock (110 lb weight) Construction paper (heavy duty, 76 lbs weight) Wax paper (Reynolds Cut-Rite) Aluminum foil (Reynolds Heavy Duty; 12 in wide) Transparency film Foam sheet (2 mm thick) File folder Masking tape Duct tape Ruler Scissors Pencil Goggles PRE-MEDIA DAY (Activities) In order to make the best use of the two hours devoted to Media Day, please complete the activities listed below (1 7) before Media Day. Please do not provide details (except for those included in steps 4 and 5 below) on the Media Day activity. 1. Introduce the concept of force and motion. 2. Use a vocabulary strategy such as the Frayer model to introduce the following terms: force, motion, speed, velocity, energy, kinetic energy, and work. (The Frayer Model is a graphical organizer used for word analysis and vocabulary building. This four-square model prompts students to think about and describe the meaning of a word or concept by (1) Defining the term, (2) Describing its essential characteristics, (3) Providing examples of the idea, and (4) Offering non-examples of the idea. For more information and a template, go to 3. Group campers into teams of 5 or 6 for pre-media and media day activities. (This is an opportunity for you to let the campers take part in the team assignment.) 4. Give the teams the swatch materials, a copy of the Material Order Form (p. 5) and a copy of the Materials Properties Chart (p. 6). Tell the campers that they will make a swatch for the sleeve of a space suit on media day using these materials. Have the teams brainstorm and decide which materials they will purchase on media day and the order in which each material will be placed. The Engineering Design Process ( could be used at this time. For more information on the engineering design process, go to html. 5. Have the teams complete the Material Order Form including the Explain Your Choices. 6. Collect the order forms and return them to the teams on media day. 7. Read the Explain Your Choices and award points prior to media day. These points will be added to the Score Card on media day. Refer to page 9 for Media Day tips. 1

2 If time permits, you could do one or more of the following. 1. Discuss and/or do a lab experiment on Newton s first and second laws of motion. Four other terms would be introduced: potential energy, inertia, acceleration and mass. 2. Discuss density and do a density experiment. This will also be good time to talk about Archimedes Principle. 3. Have the campers do the Pea Shooter Meteoroids Lab located at ( 4. Show the video located at: 5. Demonstrate Newton s third law of motion. Then, ask the campers how this law is applied in space. What s the Science? We know from experience that if a moving car crashes into a parked car, both cars would be damaged. A force exerted over a distance is needed to damage the cars. Work is done when a force is exerted through a distance (W = FD). The moving car was able to do work. Therefore, a moving car will be damaged as well as a parked car because it was in motion. The kind of energy due to motion is called kinetic energy. Ask the campers to give other examples. (Possible answers: A hammer driving a nail into wood. A batter hits a baseball. Falling water) We also know from experience that the greater the speed of a moving car the greater the damage (or work done) when it hits a parked car. So we can say that the greater the speed of an object the greater its kinetic energy. Ask the campers if more damage would be done in a head-on collision between two heavy trucks or between two cars if the trucks and the cars were traveling at the same speed. Answer: There would be more damage to the trucks because the trucks have a greater mass than the cars. Therefore we can say that the greater the mass of an object, the greater its kinetic energy. Ask the campers how damages to a car or truck during a collision are reduced. Answer: Air bags, seat belts, padded steering wheel, and other materials that act as shock absorbers Key Concepts 1. Kinetic Energy can be defined as energy of motion. In other words, the energy of a moving object is called kinetic energy. 2. The kinetic energy of an object depends on the mass of the object as well as the (speed) velocity of the object. 3. Kinetic energy is closely linked with the concept of work. To give an object kinetic energy you must do work on it. 4. The greater the speed and mass of an object the greater is its kinetic energy. 5. A force causing an object to move one way is met with an equal and opposite force in the other direction. 2

3 MEDIA DAY TIPS 1. Make one copy of the Material Order Form, the Materials Properties Chart and Scorecard per team. 2. Have a materials table and a scoring table. 3. Have a central place for the teams to place unused materials and other supplies (goggles, pencils, etc.) after making their swatch. (Tote trays work well for this purpose.) 4. Assign staff/volunteers to one of the following: a. Material Managers will be responsible for giving the teams the materials they want to purchase and distribute the safety goggles, scissors, pencils and rulers. Having precut materials will go faster. Have meter sticks and rulers available for the Materials Managers. b. Monitors will walk around the room to monitor the progress of the teams and manage the line to the testing site. c. Test Assistants will help teams with the testing of their swatch. d. Scorers will determine the teams score or help teams determine their score. Have paper, pencils and calculators available for the scorers. e. Time Keeper will keep time and announce to the teams how much time is remaining. MEDIA DAY (Scenario - To be included in the ExxonMobil Rock Star Presentation) On the February 2, 1995 launch of Discovery, Dr. Bernard Harris and five other astronauts began the first flight of a new joint Russian-American Space Program. Their mission was to rendezvous with Mir, the Russian Space Station, to ensure the station was prepared to safely dock spacecraft for future missions and to deploy a satellite to gather scientific data. The mission also included testing modifications made to their space suits. It was shortly after 6:00 a.m. CST on February 9 th when Dr. Harris was lifted out of the payload bay on the robot arm to perform a 4 hour, 39 minute spacewalk. After an hour and a half, Dr. Harris had completely orbited the Earth and the temperature dropped from 93 degree Celsius (200 degrees Fahrenheit) to negative 109 degrees Celsius (negative 165 degrees Fahrenheit). It was negative 29 degrees Celsius (negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit) inside his suit! Imagine standing outside in negative 20 degrees weather without a warm coat! This spacewalk made Dr. Harris the first African American to walk in space. The data he collected during this extravehicular activity (EVA) has been used to refine and develop spacewalk techniques and systems for other shuttle and International Space Station EVAs. Dr. Harris logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles on this his second space flight. In a recent interview, Dr. Harris stated that a space suit is one of the most precious pieces of equipment an astronaut can have. Space suits are necessary. The suit protects us from the environment, which is sometimes extremely hot, or, extremely cold, Harris explained. Over the past few months, the International Space Station astronauts have noticed an increase in micrometeoroids, another hazard astronauts experience during space walks. Micrometeoroids are small pieces of rock often the size of a grain of sand. You might think that a small piece of rock the size of a grain of sand wouldn t harm an astronaut; however, often times these micrometeoroids are traveling at 40 kilometers-per-second! This is about 90,000 miles per hour or 150 times faster than a typical passenger jet. An astronaut struck by a micrometeoroid could 3

4 be severely injured. Space suits must be constructed to protect astronauts from extreme temperatures and be resistant to these impacts. In fact, there is an essential layer included in all space suits that absorbs and dissipates the kinetic energy of micrometeoroids. ILC Dover, a company that produces space suits for NASA is calling for space suits that are capable of withstanding the impact of micrometeoroids. Your team s challenge is to create a swatch for the sleeve of a space suit that will protect astronauts from the increase in micrometeoroids. MEDIA DAY (Introduction of the Activity) The Executive Camp Director or the Camp Program Director or camp designee should introduce the activity using the accompanying PowerPoint provided. Teams will need the Materials Order Form they completed in pre-media Day activities. What Happened? Ask each team to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their design. (If time is limited, have the winning team discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their design.) Materials What factors did you consider while constructing your swatch? If an astronaut wore a space suit make from your swatch on a spacewalk, would he/she be adequately protected from micrometeoroids? Why? Why not? If an astronaut wore a space suit made from your swatch on a spacewalk, would he/she be adequately protected from extreme temperatures? Why? Why not? Scientists & Teamwork On a daily basis, scientists use teamwork to come up with ideas and strategies; what were some of the ideas your team came up with and how did you strategize? Did your team create a cost-effective suit? Why or Why not? MAKE COPIES OF PAGES 7 AND 8 FOR THE CAMPERS TO USE ON MEDIA DAY Campers will need pages 5 and 6 for the pre-media Day activities. Page 9 is the scoring sheet. 4

5 TEAM NAME TEAM MEMBERS ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp Space Suit Challenge Material Order Form DIRECTIONS Fill out this order form, choosing at least 4 different swatch materials and tape to hold layers together on up to 3 sides. Purchase enough materials for a 14-layer swatch, which must not be smaller than 10 cm x 10 cm or larger than 15 cm x 15 cm. Your team has $ in a bank account to purchase materials for your swatch. Material (Select at least 4 swatch materials) Copy paper Cost per Unit $2.00 per sheet Amount Purchased Total Cost per Material Card stock $3.00 per sheet Wax paper $7.00 per 30 cm Construction paper $5.00 per sheet Aluminum foil $7.00 per 30 cm Transparency film $12.00 per sheet Foam sheet $15.00 per sheet File folder $3.00 per half folder Masking tape (fastener) $1.00 per 10 cm Duct tape (fastener) $3.00 per 10 cm Total EXPLAIN YOUR CHOICES Your team must present a reason why the specific swatch materials were selected for your swatch. (A minimum of one sentence per material selected.) You may write on the back of this page if more space is needed. 5

6 MATERIALS PROPERTIES CHART Use the information on the following table to decide which swatch materials to purchase and the order in which to place each swatch material. MATERIAL Transparency Film PROPERTIES Extremely lightweight Highly durable Water resistant Wax Paper Foam Flexible Water- resistant Can be used either to seal moisture in or keep moisture out Firm and durable Used to provide cushioning Can be used as an insulator Paper (Bulk is a term used to indicate volume or thickness of paper in relation to weight.) (Stiffness is the measure of force required to bend paper) Water- resistant Low bulk paper is lower in strength Can be made to be strong and durable Stiffer the paper; harder to bend Tougher the paper; harder to tear Aluminum Foil Good shock absorber Impermeable to water and oxygen Flexible; non toxic and low weight Temperature resistance from deep- freeze to oven processing Conducts heat and electricity 6

7 SPACE SUIT CHALLENGE OBJECTIVE: To make and test a durable swatch capable of withstanding the impact of a simulated micrometeoroid Your team has $ in a bank account to purchase materials for your swatch. Money will be automatically deducted from your team s account when you purchase your materials. MATERIALS: You must use at least 4 different materials from the following list in your swatch: Copy paper $2/sheet Card stock $3/sheet Construction paper $5/sheet Wax paper $7 per 30 cm Aluminum foil $7 per 30 cm Transparency film $12/sheet Foam sheet $15/sheet File folder $3/half folder Masking tape $1/10 cm strip (fastener) Duct tape $3/10 cm strip (fastener) Note: Fasteners cannot be used as one of the layers nor used to wrap the layers together. OTHER MATERIALS: Ruler Scissors Pencil Score card (page 8) SPACE SUIT CHALLENGE RULES: 1. Your team will have 20 minutes to purchase your materials and construct your space suit swatch. 2. Your swatch must have 14 layers. 3. Your swatch must be constructed of at least four different swatch materials listed above. Materials must be purchased in full increments. 4. Materials must be flat. 5. Swatch materials cannot be folded to make two layers. 6. Your swatch must not cost more than $ for materials and fasteners. 7. The finished swatch must not be smaller than 10 cm x 10 cm or larger than 15 cm x 15 cm. 8. You may enclose up to 3 sides of the swatch with tape. One side must remain open so the layers can be seen. 7

8 TESTING: SAFETY GOGGLES REQUIRED Swatches will be tested one at a time. Each team will only have one opportunity to test their swatch. The center punch of an Impact Tester will be dropped on each swatch to test its impact durability. Once your swatch has been tested, take it to the Scoring Table so that the scorers can determine your score. SCORING: Your team will start out with 100 points. For every $3.00 remaining in your bank account at the end your team will earn 1 point. For every layer the center punch punctures, you lose 5 points. Up to 5 points will be added for your reason for selecting your swatches. Up to 5 bonus points will be added if reasons included consideration for the other hazard, extreme changes in temperature. Your team will lose 10 points if you do not include a reason for your swatch choices. 8

9 SCORE CARD Fill out the table below to calculate your team s score. Good luck! Team Name 100 Points $ = 3 = + Money spent = Subtotal # of layers penetrated X 5 = - = Subtotal Total points earned for reasons selected layers (up to 5) + = Subtotal Total points earned for including temp. and hazard (up to 5) + = Subtotal Subtract 10 points if your team did not include reasons for selecting layers - = GRAND TOTAL 9