1. 1.7 Craters: what makes them?
January 28, 2015
There were two theories for this crater formation: either a volcano
exploded OR an asteroid smashed into Earth. What evidence would you
look for to prove or disprove either theory?

4. Aims
• Revise KS3 ideas about the solar system
• Review data and explanations for craters

5. Investigating crater impacts
• You are going to
investigate the effect on
crater size with the
height (and therefore
the speed) of impact
• INDEPENDENT
VARIABLE (x):
• DEPENDENT VARIABLE
(y):
Height / m Crater depth / m Crater radius /
m

10. For people who want an A*
• Height is really not the
interesting factor but it’s
the speed at which hits.
• You may have come across
the following equations:
• You could then plot energy
against crater size or even
you are super smart the
velocity against height.
• You decide!
velocityv
heighth
strengthfieldnalgravitatiog
massm
:
2
1 2
=
=
=
=
=
=
where
mghE
mvE
p
k

11. To do:
• Decide what factor you will investigate (radius or
depth)
• Write a statement of your hypothesis (If I increase
the height I drop the ball from, then…)
• Decide what heights you will drop the asteroid from.
• Drop the ball and record your data in a table
• Draw a graph of the data
• Write a statement of your conclusion (I found out
that the higher the ball…)
• Evaluate your experiement (To improve my results I
would…)