Asking Questions in Biology

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 26.06.09

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Reasoning
  2. The Martian Farm: Bridging The Gap From Regolith To Soil
  3. Laying The Groundwork
  4. Know Your "dirt"
  5. Water Management
  6. The Soil Contaminants
  7. The Wonderful World Of Soil Microbes
  8. Meet The Pioneer Species
  9. The Arthropod Architect
  10. Thinking Like An Ecosystem
  11. The Big Picture
  12. Lab 1: Analyzing The Martian Fingerprint (geochemical Baseline)
  13. Lab 2: The Desalination Challenge Thru Inoculation Effect (microbial Management)
  14. Lab 3: Meet The Pioneers (building Organic Plant Matter)
  15. Lab 4: The Arthropod Architect (managing Community Dynamics / Don't Drown The Bugs)
  16. Notes
  17. Bibliography And Resource Guide
  18. Relevant Oklahoma Academic Standards For Science (oas-s) And Middle School Engineering Standards:

The Martian Farm: Building Soil from Regolith

Donavan Spotz

Published September 2026

Tools for this Unit:

Relevant Oklahoma Academic Standards For Science (oas-s) And Middle School Engineering Standards:

  1. Earth and Space Sciences (ESS)
    • 8.ESS1.3: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
      • Application: Students use raw data from the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers to identify chemical benchmarks and determine the best locations for a Martian base.
  2. Life Sciences (LS)
    • 8.LS1.5: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
      • Application: Students explain how factors such as perchlorates, reduced light (50% of Earth), and the addition of arthropods or microbes influence the success of their Martian crops.
  3. Engineering Design (ETS)
    • MS.ETS1.1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution.
      • Application: Students must define the specific boundaries for a closed-loop habitat, accounting for the logistical gear ratio of shipping mass to Mars.
    • MS.ETS1.3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each.
      • Application: Students use AI tools to compile and compare datasets from different rover sites to optimize their agricultural designs.
  4. Physical Sciences (PS)
    • 8.PS4.3: Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information.
      • Application: Examining how data from Mars is transmitted and synthesized via Artificial Intelligence to manage a remote "Human-Machine Partnership".

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