Students investigate cratering by modeling the event by dropping rocks into flour.
The student will identify the variables that characterize a crater. The craters found on the Moon range in size from micrometers to hundreds of miles across. These craters are formed by impacts from comets or asteroids of varying sizes. Craters on the Moon will last until another impact destroys it because there is no weathering or plate tectonics on the Moon to erase the crater. Alternatively, on the Earth, there are 127 known impact craters remaining.