What do these phrases mean in this article? (A dictionary and thesaurus will help!)

• got walloped by a small missile of rock
• people were busy throwing missiles in the Persian Gulf
• an asteroid
• asteroid hunter
• these mischievous missiles
• Early Warning Deep Space Network
• known impact craters
• a well-formed rim
• stripped away
• colossal titanic forces

1. What is the closest near miss of an asteroid that we know about?
2. What are some of the much bigger rocks that missed the Earth?
3. Why don't we know about many of the collisions that there have been?
4. How many asteroids do we know have hit the ground in Australia?
5. Draw on a map of Australia the craters mentioned in the article.
6. Draw to scale a side view of Wolf Creek Crater. Include an indication of the dimensions.
7. Which of the craters mentioned in the article is the most recent?
8. Why do you think Karl says it is best to appreciate these craters when you're alone?

Here are some extracts from the article. Complete the sentences by filling in the spaces.

In 1991, an asteroid missed us by 170,000 kilometres, less _______ half the distance to the Moon. That's about 2.3 hours flight time _______ the mini-asteroid, or 1.5 hours flight _______ for the Earth. It was the closest near _______ of an asteroid the Earth has ever seen. But there have _______ much bigger rocks which _______ just missed us. In March 1989 a 100 metre _______ (called 1989 FC) skimmed past at one and a _______ times the distance between the Earth _______ the Moon. In 1982 we had a near _______ from a one kilometre asteroid. But asteroids don't _______ to be big to do damage. Back in 1908, a fifty metre lump _______ in Tungusta, in Siberia. It blew _______ all the trees for 50 kilometres around and _______ the climate over the whole planet for several years.

This article has a number of sections. Each section has a main point. Write down the main point of the sections named here.

Asteroids that have nearly hit the Earth

Looking for asteroids that might hit the Earth

The asteroids that have hit in Australia, and the craters they left.

Think of all the arguments for and against this statement. (To help you, use this article and others that you can find.)

"Asteroids are the only reason we need nuclear weapons."

Use this article, the Internet and libraries to find information on one of these topics:

1. Known impact craters around the world.
2. How Earth's craters compare with the moon's.
3. The Early Warning Deep Space Network.

Use the library or the Internet to collect information about the topic. Find at least four different articles or chapters.

Write down about three ideas from each article you find.

You now have about a dozen ideas on this topic. Choose which idea is the most important, which is second-most important, and so on.

Write them in order, from most important to least important.

Write a paragraph to explain each idea.

Write down where you found the information you used. This is your "bibliography".

Be prepared to deliver your report on the date it is due!

• Meanings
• Questions
• Cloze Activity
• Summary
• Debate
• Research
• Instructions to Students
• Teachers' Guide