Dartboards and Mars: teacher key

Mark Rober, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Mark Rober built parts of a Mars mission and a dartboard that moves itself. Read what he built, what Curiosity found and how his work changed.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How long did the dartboard take Rober to build?
   • Three and a half years (answer)
   • Three days
   • Half a second
2. What did Curiosity set out to learn about Mars?
   • Whether it ever had the right conditions for microbes (answer)
   • How many moons it has
   • How far it is from the sun
3. What did the Descent Stage's jet pack do?
   • Collect dirt
   • Lower the rover to the surface (answer)
   • Take photos of Mars
4. What did CNN report in 2013?
   • Rober started Team Trees
   • Rober won a prize
   • Rober quit NASA and started Digital Dudz (answer)
5. What does the dartboard use to follow a dart?
   • Six infrared cameras and a motion-capture system (answer)
   • A single mirror
   • A sundial
6. What does Rober's failure advice say about setbacks?
   • Treat them like a lost level and try again (answer)
   • Ignore every one
   • Never start a project

Words

• rover: Mars explorer
• microbes: small life forms
• Curiosity: a Mars rover
• kits: things to build