Welcome to the Solar System Web Quest! Explore the solar system and learn about the seven planets.
You are the members of a team of four space explorers. The four members of your team each come from a different planet circling a star in far-away galaxy in the constellation Orion. The star in your solar system is soon going to explode, and you've come to a solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy in search of planets that will be suitable for the people from each of your worlds to live on.
Each of you has quite different requirements for life.
Your mission is to explore the Solar System and find which planet would
be most suitable for your people to move to. Work together to collect information
about the planets in the Solar System, and prepare a report explaining
which planets you decided to live on, giving the reasons for your choices.
Galena
You are a huge orange creature that looks somewhat like
a blimp. On your planet you float around in the atmosphere, never
landing on the ground during your entire lifetime, so you need a planet
which has a very thick atmosphere. You breathe ammonia and methane gas,
and convert hydrogen gas into food. You have a tendency to get a bad sunburn
if you get too much sun, so your planet should not be too close to the
sun.
Syrynx
You are a rather small green creature that breathes carbon
dioxide. Water is poisonous to you, but you need some sulfuric acid in
your diet. You lilke a very hot climate.
Questina
You are a purple creature with no legs or arms that lives
underwater. You need oxygen to breathe, and cannot survive great temperature
changes.
Boronio
You are a small blue creature that likes to live in great
extremes of temperature, from very hot to very cold. You require a planet
with a solid surface, because you get all your nutrition from minerals
in rocks. You are allergic to most gases, so you prefer to live on a planet
with a very thin atmosphere.
Work as a team to visit the sites below under RESOURCES and collect the information you need to decide which planet in the Solar System the people from your planet can live on. Before you start, discuss with your team what kind of place you are looking for. What kind of air do you breathe? What do you eat? What kind of temperature is suitable for you?
You should each draw a picture of your planet. What does the surface of your planet look like? What colors do you see? Are there trees? Rocks? Mountains? Craters?
You should each draw a picture of your character. Think about how you move around, what you eat and whether you might have some special limbs like legs, fins, wings or something new that doesn't exist in animals on Earth.
When you are done you will each be asked to explain
to the class which planet you chose and the reasons for your
choice. Show the class your pictures and explain why your character looks
the way you drew it.
If you are interested in finding out more about
the Solar System, or other astronomical topics, you might like to check
out the two sites below. Have fun exploring the universe!
If you have any comments or suggestions please send me email at martinj@cstone.net.
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