Day 2:
Your research found that the sample must have been collected from the moon! The other you researched did not bring samples back to Earth. However, something is bizarre about the sample collected. It contains a lot of iron, which is present on the moon’s surface but it also has another element that is not found typically found on the Moon’s surface. Your sample must be from a meteorite that crashed onto the moon! A) Isotopes:
Scientists have started to look at the nuclear chemistry of the unknown element in the meteorite and they need your help to determine its identity.
The table below lists some known elements in our Universe and their isotopes. Some atoms of the same element have a different number of neutrons. These different versions of an element are called isotopes. Some isotopes decay over time and turn into different elements while other isotopes are stable and do not. Scientists believe that the unknown sample is a stable isotope. It is not radioactive!
Find a list of known stable isotopes for each element listed below. Some elements have multiple isotopes while other elements only have one isotope. List all stable isotopes for each element. (9 Points) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elements_by_stability_of_isotopes Element
Atomic Number
Atomic Mass
Known Stable Isotopes
(list several, if applicable)
Aluminum (Al)
13
27Al
Nickel (Ni)
28
, 64NI,
Copper (Cu)
29
63.546
63Cu, 65Cu
Flourine (F)
19F
Titanium (Ti)
46Ti, 47Ti, 48Ti, 49Ti, 50Ti
Clue: The the unknown element in our sample has more than 2 known stable isotopes. This narrows down the options even more! You should only have three elements left. What are they? (6 Points)
1.
Copper
Titanium
B) Simple Machines
Over the years, scientists have used different tools and machines to conduct experiments and collect samples while on space missions. The Mars Curiosity is currently conducting experiments and collecting samples on Mars. Study rover and identify some of the simple machines it is using to perform its mission. Go the site below to learn about what each part of the rover does: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/ List the simple machines being used by Curiosity. With your knowledge of the 6 simple machines, specifically describe how it was used to collect data for this mission. (Add more numbers if needed) (3 Points)
1.
2.
3.
C) Magnetic Properties