The Bouncing Lander

About this resource

In 1997, NASA’s Mars Pathfinder slammed into the rocky ground of Mars at about 50 km/h, wrapped in giant airbags — then bounced about 15 times, up to 15 m high. How did the cameras, computers, and rover inside survive the crash? In every collision, both objects push on each other equally — so engineers design ways to make those pushes smaller. In this one-week, 6-level Newton's Third Law Collisions Design unit for middle school science (NGSS MS-PS2-1), students investigate a real mystery, then use their evidence to crack the case.

The Bouncing Lander is part of Science Unlocked, a series of mystery-driven lesson sets. Every set opens with a real, surprising phenomenon, builds the science one level at a time, and ends with students solving the mystery in a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) write-up.

Topics: Newton's 3rd law, force and motion, claim evidence reasoning (CER), science phenomenon, review games.

What's included

• Teacher Deck (104 slides, PowerPoint). Answers are highlighted on the slides. Speaker notes tell you what to say and do, what to watch for, and how to support students or push GT students further. Prep slides and answer keys are hidden, so they skip during a slideshow.
• Interactive Student Deck (62 slides, PowerPoint + PDF). Students type in boxes, drag cards and check marks, and rate their confidence. Assign one copy per student in Google Classroom or your LMS.
• Google Slides versions of both decks. Click a button in the Google Slides Links PDF to make your own copy in Google Drive.
• Teacher Guide (28-page PDF). The standard, a week at a glance, a materials list, misconceptions to watch for, a run-of-show for every level, answer keys and sources.
• Student Printable (19-page PDF + a low-ink greyscale copy). The same tasks on paper in 12 pt type, for students without devices, sub days, or anyone who learns better with a pencil. Slide numbers match the Student Deck.
• Self-grading digital activity. SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 packages for an LMS that accepts SCORM uploads, a web package, and a single HTML file that opens in any browser. Notes, sorts, matches, tables and multiple-choice items grade themselves, and students get a copy-and-paste backup of their work. A 2-page teacher quick start is included.
• Two whole-class review games that open in any browser: a Jeopardy-style game (6 categories, 30 clues) and Trashketball, where teams answer on whiteboards and then shoot for points.
• Kahoot! and Blooket import files. 56 review questions, one file per level plus an all-levels file, with a printable answer key.
• Start Here guide, HTML & SCORM how-to guide and Terms of Use, so you know which file to open first.

The 6 levels (about one 45–50 minute class each)

1. Crash Landing on Mars. Forces are interactions between two objects, contact vs. at a distance. Key activities: Pathfinder mystery, landing timeline, 10-card sort.
2. Every Push Pushes Back. Newton’s third law: force pairs are equal and opposite. Key activities: Spring-scale Tug Test, force-pair label, match.
3. Softer Stops. Same force, different damage, making collision forces smaller. Key activities: Cushion Test (golf ball on clay), Lab Conclusion CER.
4. Design Like NASA. Criteria & constraints, how NASA tested and fixed the airbags. Key activities: Case Clues, design plan, build Version 1 egg lander.
5. Drop, Test, Improve. Fair drop test, failure points, one change, retest. Key activities: 2 m drop test of V1, fix ONE thing, retest V2.
6. Crack the Case. Stretch HS-PS2-3: momentum and stopping time (F = Δp ÷ Δt). Key activities: Defend Your Design, Stretch CER, Crack the Case CER.

Built for real classrooms

• Every level follows the same routine: "I can" targets with a confidence check, a warm-up, copy-it notes with a word bank, hands-on practice, a checkpoint students must pass to unlock the next step, and an exit ticket. A 10-item Mini Quiz wraps up the week.
• Level 1 opens with a Power-Up on the earlier-grade ideas this standard builds on (K-PS2-1, 3-PS2-1, 4-PS3-3, 3-5-ETS1-1).
• The last level includes a high school Stretch (HS-PS2-3) that every student tries and advanced students can take further.
• Hands-on lab (The Tug Test). Student materials list: 2 spring scales (0–10 N) per pair; Your data table; Goggles. Safety notes are on the slides and in the Teacher Guide.
• Support is built in: word banks, sentence starters and support notes on the slides, plus GT extensions.

Standards

• NGSS MS-PS2-1: Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects. (Kentucky 6-PS2-1 uses the same wording.)
• SEP: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions · DCI: PS2.A · CCC: Systems and System Models
• Stretch: HS-PS2-3
• CCSS connections: 6.NS.C.5, 7.EE.B.3, MP.2, RST.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.7

Try the digital activity first

• Not sure the self-grading activity will work in your LMS? Download the FREE HTML & SCORM Sample and test it with your students before you buy.

Save with a bundle

• Forces, Gravity & Magnetism (5 sets)
• Middle School Physical Science + Engineering (23 sets)
• Science Unlocked Mega Bundle (all 89 sets)

Teach next

• The Plane Pull (MS-PS2-2)
• The Magnet Express (MS-PS2-3)
• The Ball-Pit Asteroid (MS-PS2-4)
• The Floating Frog (MS-PS2-5)

More from Mystery Lab Learning

• See every Science Unlocked set, and follow to hear when new ones are added, at Mystery Lab Learning.

Good to know

• The illustrations in this resource were created with AI image tools, and AI tools helped draft the lesson text. Every slide, answer key and lab step was then fact-checked against the sources listed in the Teacher Guide and proofread.
• Kahoot!, Blooket, Jeopardy!, Google Slides and PowerPoint are trademarks of their owners. This resource is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
• License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please buy an additional license for each colleague who uses it.