Answers - Dry Ice and Dunes

Hi everyone

Well it has been really cold over the past few mornings where I live and I was happy not to be living anywhere near the Mars North Pole ;-)

Here are the answers to the Dry Ice and Dunes on Mars post. I hope you did OK if you tried to do it. Watch out for another post coming along in the next few days....!
    
What kind of planet do we tend to think Mars is? We think of Mars as a dead planet, where all the exciting geologic activity happened millions of years ago.

What sort of planet is it actually? It's a dynamic place.
 

What is at the North Pole of Mars? Mars has a permanent ice cap made up of water ice at its North Pole.

What surrounds this feature? Sand dunes surround this feature.

What is the name of the rock found there and what is it likened to on Earth? The rock is called Basalt. It is like the rock found around Hawaiian volcanoes.

In what seasons does it get extremely cold? It gets extremely cold in Fall and Winter.

What happens to the ground when it is cold? The ground gets covered with a layer of seasonal Carbon dioxide ice (or dry ice) that's about 1 to 2 feet thick.

 

The sequence of events during Spring is described several times. List the main events in the final explanation that is given.  The dunes are ice-covered in the early spring. Some areas of the ice rupture and crack, allowing sand and dust to escape along with the escaping gas. The gas from the dry ice destabilizes the slopes, reshaping the dunes. 
 

How often does this happen? It happens every Spring.

What conclusion is offered with regard to Mars and Earth?Mars may look Earth-like but in some ways it is a very different planet.

Any questions? Send me a message using the box below.

The Dry Ice and Dunes on Mars

 Today's short post is based on a video clip I found on the NASA website. It reminded me of those TOEFL lectures about natural phenomena and is nicely presented. It is also available for download and sharing so a big thank you to NASA for that!

I haven't put any vocabulary in today as I think for Upper Intermediate and Advanced students, this should be pretty easy! Just watch the video clip and answer the questions below. For students who are a lower level in English, let me know if you would like vocabulary included in this post by sending me a message in the box below!  

When you click on the link below, you should go directly to You Tube and the correct video clip. If it doesn't work, you can find the clip on the NASA.org website by typing Dry Ice and Dunes into the search box in the website.

Dry Ice and Dunes

1. What kind of planet do we tend to think Mars is?
2. What sort of planet is it actually?
3. What is at the North Pole of Mars?
4. What surrounds this feature?
5. What is the name of the rock found there and what is it likened to on Earth?
6. In what seasons does it get extremely cold?
7. What happens to the ground when it is cold?
8. The sequence of events during Spring is described several times. List the main events in the final explanation that is given. 
9. How often does this happen?
10. What conclusion is offered with regard to Mars and Earth?

And to finish, here is a link to some amazing images from Mars courtesy of National Geographic. Mars photos

Here are the Answers to this post: Answers Dry Ice and Dunes

Hope you enjoyed the clip...Bye for now!!