Impact event

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/impact-event

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Impact event (general term for collision)
2. What is the chicxulub impact location?Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
3. How fast do space rocks hit Earth?Space rocks hit Earth at least about 11.2 kilometers per second, and many travel even faster.
4. Why do we see craters on the Moon and Mars?The Moon and Mars have many craters because they have been hit by space rocks for billions of years, leaving lasting marks.

Bolide: A very bright meteor that explodes in the atmosphere, often with a sonic boom.
Panspermia: The hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe, distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, and comets.
Kinetic Energy: The energy an object possesses due to its motion.
Near-Earth Object (NEO): A celestial body whose orbit brings it into close proximity with Earth.