Untitled Lesson

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3.1: Evaluating New
Information from Mars

Geology on Mars

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Warm-Up

5 MIN

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 1

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Investigation Notebook pg 38

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

The Evidence Gradient

20 MIN

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 2

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Chapter 3 Question

How can we decide which geologic process
formed the channel on Mars?

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

To answer our Chapter Question we will also
investigate this question:

Investigation Question:
How do scientists construct arguments?

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

In the Warm-Up, you
thought about how the
information you have so
far might be used to
support one of the
claims about the channel
on Mars.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

Multiple Choice

What evidence would most strongly support the claim that water once flowed through the channels on Mars?

• The discovery of frozen ice caps

• The presence of minerals that form in water

• The reddish color of Mars’ surface

• The thin atmosphere of Mars

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

We’ve considered images
of landforms on Earth to
see if they were similar to
the channel on Mars.
These images gave us
evidence about what
geologic process might
have formed the channel.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

Multiple Choice

How can comparing images of landforms on Earth help scientists understand the channels on Mars?

• It shows how Earth's atmosphere is similar to Mars'.

• It helps identify which processes, like water erosion, might have shaped the channels.

• It proves that Mars and Earth had the same climate in the past.

• It shows that the same life forms exist on both planets.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

In the last few lessons,
we used models to get
additional evidence about
whether flowing water or
flowing lava could have
formed the channel on
Mars.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

Multiple Choice

Why do scientists use models to study whether flowing water or flowing lava could have formed the channels on Mars?

• Models can perfectly recreate the surface of Mars.

• Models help simulate different processes, like water and lava flow, to compare their effects on landforms.

• Models show exactly what happened on Mars in the past.

• Models show exactly what happened on Mars in the past.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Let’s look at the poll
results to see your
current ideas about
which claim is best
supported by the
evidence.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Scientists deepen their understanding of
evidence by discussing it together. This is
what we will do today.

We will consider which pieces of evidence are
more convincing and which are less
convincing.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

Multiple Choice

Why is it important for scientists to discuss and evaluate evidence together?

• To decide which pieces of evidence are popular.

• To make sure everyone agrees with the same theory.

• To strengthen their arguments by identifying the most convincing evidence.

• To avoid making mistakes in their research.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

This is a tool called the
Evidence Gradient, which
will help us as we think
about how convincing the
evidence is.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

At the top, we’ll put the
most convincing
evidence.

We’ll put the least
convincing evidence at
the bottom.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

I’ll work with a partner to
model how to place
evidence on the Evidence
Gradient.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Now, you’ll consider the
evidence we gathered
from the Flowing Water
Model and the Flowing
Lava Model and discuss
how convincing each
piece of evidence is.

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 2 - Screen 1

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 2 - Screen 2

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Where should we place
Evidence Cards C and D
on the Evidence
Gradient?

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

What other ideas do you
have about what makes
evidence strong or
weak?

Activity 2 - Screen 2

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

We’ll learn a lot about
how to evaluate the
quality of evidence. You
should always consider
how believable and
accurate the source is
and whether the source
may have a bias.

Activity 2 - Screen 2

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

New Information About
the Channel on Mars

20 MIN

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Activity 3

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

NASA has shared new information with the
Universal Space Agency, and the Agency has
asked us to assess whether this new evidence
supports one of the claims about the channel
on Mars.

This is real data about Mars that was gathered
by instruments on spacecraft orbiting Mars.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

What do you observe
about the image?

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

You will examine close-up images of the area
near the channel and learn more about what
the rover found.

The image you’re about to see is the same
image of the channel we’ve been looking at,
but it is zoomed in on the area at the base of
the channel.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

You will also get some background
information that will help you make
comparisons between landforms at the base
of the channel on Mars and landforms at the
bases of channels on Earth formed by flowing
lava and flowing water.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

You’ll use this
background information
to help you make sense
of the data on Evidence
Card E.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Investigation Notebook pgs 39–40

You’ll record information
about the channels on
Mars and Earth. After
comparing the
landforms, you’ll select
which claim the evidence
best supports and
explain your thinking.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Investigation Notebook pgs 39–40

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Let’s consider Evidence Card E.

How convincing is this
new evidence in relation
to the evidence we
already placed on the
Evidence Gradient?

Activity 3

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Scientists use
background information
like this to help them
interpret evidence.

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Activity 3

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1

Do you think the new
evidence supports the
flowingwater claim or
the flowinglava claim?

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

End of Lesson

Published and Distributed by Amplify. www.amplify.com

Geology on Mars: Lesson 3.1