Throwback from Ms. Eyer’s Library Critical Thinking Challenges: Save the Solar System

Help! An evil scientist has discovered a way to put the moon out of orbit! You have 30 minutes to save our earth and the solar system! Teamwork is important! Work must together to save our planet earth and our solar system. Answers may not always be as simple as they seem. Mrs. Levine and I are counting on you to solve all seven problems and join together as a team to discuss and solve the final digital lock that will save us ALL! Good Luck!

Challenge # 1

In your folder you will find images of all the planets.
Sort the planet images into two groups:
• Planets that are composed mostly of gas.
• Planets that are composed mostly of rock.

Put the rock planet images in order, according to their orbit around the sun to find the four digit lock code.

Challenge # 2

In your folder you will find images of all the planets.
Sort the planet images into two groups:
• Planets that are composed mostly of gas.
• Planets that are composed mostly of rock.

Put the gas planet images in order, according to their orbit around the sun to find the four digit lock code.

Challenge # 3

 

In your folder you will find four images of planets. Put the planet images in order, according to their orbit around the sun.

Use the decoder to reveal the 4 letter word. Hint: F=15

Challenge # 4

In your folder you will find the article, Earth, our constantly changing home. Read the article and then answer the questions based on the article.

  1. The earth has a 23.5 degree  □□□□ .
  2. What word means to spin on an axis?   □□□□□□
  3. Earth is one of the 8   □□□□□□□  in our solar system.

Word Bank WARNING! Only three of the words below will fill in your puzzle blanks.

tilt       

fall

Northern

planets   

rotate

  revolves

Southern

Earth

(NASA.gov, adapted by Newsela staff) https://newsela.com/articles/lib-nasa-earth-overview/id/21945/

Challenge # 5

In your folder you will find the article, Earth, our constantly changing home. Read the article and then answer the questions based on the article.

  1. There are two seasons when the sun’s rays shine almost equally on the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The seasons are spring and  □□□□.
  2. The earth moves or  □□□□□□□□ around the sun.
  3. The sun shines more directly on the  □□□□□□□□ hemisphere in June, giving us  □□□□□□  and the sun shines more directly on the southern hemisphere in January, giving us winter.

Find group #4 and together figure out the final location of the missing key.

tilt       

fall

Northern

planets   

rotate

  revolves

Southern

Earth

(NASA.gov, adapted by Newsela staff) https://newsela.com/articles/lib-nasa-earth-overview/id/21945/

Challenge # 6

 

Your lock will be opened by correctly naming the phases of the moon.

Match the phase names with the corresponding numbers and letters to discover the 3 number lock.

 

C=______ A=_______ D=_______

New Moon= 3 First Quarter Half Moon= 1 Third Quarter Half Moon= 6 Waning Crescent= 4
Waxing Crescent= 7 Waxing Gibbous= 2 Full Moon= 5  Waning Gibbous= 9

 

Challenge # 7


Using the red spy glass in your folder. Decode the secret message below to locate the key to your lock. Good Luck.

Groups #1,#2,#3,#4,#5,#6,#7


Student teams should come to a consensus on what digital combination to try.The breakout will not be successful unless all teams collaborate and agree! Enter the agreed code below! 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *