Extra Credit Opportunities for PESS Students
Are you looking for a few extra points to increase your understanding of the science we’ve been
studying in PESS class? Or perhaps you need those extra points to improve your class grade?
Here are some possible extra credit projects for you to work on. All extra credit is an INDIVIDUAL
assignment – no group work allowed. Extra credit is due no later than Friday, December 14th and may
not exceed 5 percent of your grade.
Option 1:
Research a Space Mission – Activity 6 Investigate # 3
Research one of the space science missions listed below. Find out how astronomers are using the
electromagnetic spectrum in the mission and report out your findings in a short research paper (1-3
pages). There is a file on your teacher’s web page that explains this project in more detail. To earn extra
credit points, you must cite your resources and you must use your own words. You may write a report or
create a PowerPoint that addresses the activity. This project is due no later than Friday, December 14th.
It should be 2-3 pages in length or 7-12 slides. It will be worth 25 extra credit points.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Option 2:
Hubble-NICMOS
Cassini Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan
SIRTF
HETE-2 High Energy Transient Explorer
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Other: Check out these site for additional space missions worth researching:
http://science.nasa.gov/missions/
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/history.html
Inquiring Further Research Project
At the end of each activity in this EarthComm unit there is a section called “Inquiring Further”. It
contains ideas for research projects you can do. A copy of each of these sections is included in a file on
your teacher’s webpage. See if one of the suggestions appeals to you. If you find one, conduct some
research to address the project. To earn extra credit points, you must cite your resources and you must
use your own words. You may write a report or create a PowerPoint that addresses the activity. This
project is due no later than Friday, December 14th. It should be 2-3 pages in length or 7-12 slides. It will
be worth 25 extra credit points.
Option 3:
Additional Videos to View:
We have watched one video in THE UNIVERSE series, and there are several others worth viewing –
noted in the list below. (These specifically relate to something we have studied in class.) There is a file
on your teacher’s webpage that gives you more details about each video. See if you can find one or two
of the following that interest you then locate and watch them online. As you watch, take notes. Have
your parent/guardian verify that you watched the video by signing and dating your notes. Then write an
essay about what you learned from the video. Your essay should make a claim and support that claim
with evidence from the video. Each video is worth 15 extra credit points. Earn 5 points for your notes
and 10 points for your essay. You may not submit more than 2 videos for extra credit points for this
semester.
No. in series
No. in season
10
14
17
26
28
31
38
40
46
50
59
62
67
72
77
78
10
14
3
12
14
17
6
8
2
6
3
6
3
1
6
7
Option 4:
Web-quests
Title
"Life & Death of a Star"
"Beyond the Big Bang"
"Mysteries of the Moon"
"Cosmic Collisions"
"Nebulas"
"Gravity"
"Deadly Comets and Meteors"
"Stopping Armageddon"
"The Day the Moon Was Gone"
"10 Ways to Destroy the Earth"
"Magnetic Storm"
"Asteroid Attack"
"How the Solar System was Made"
"How Big, How Far, How Fast"
"Ride the Comet"[4]
"When Space Changed History"[5]
Original air date
August 7, 2007
September 9, 2007
December 11, 2007
March 4, 2008
April 1, 2008
April 22, 2008
December 16, 2008
January 6, 2009
August 25, 2009
September 22, 2009
August 12, 2010
September 2, 2010
November 8, 2011
April 29, 2012
June 10, 2012
June 17, 2012
We have located several web quests that relate to the material we’ve studied this semester. Each of
these web quests is located on your teacher’s web page. Check them out and see if you are interested in
either of them. Each web quest is worth 10-15 extra credit points. Print out the web-quest and hand
write the answers on a separate sheet of paper. Staple the print out to your answer sheet and turn it in.
Be sure to put your name, date, and period on the work you turn in.


Electromagnetic Spectrum Web quest [12 extra credit points]
Star Life Cycle on Line Web quest [15 extra credit points]