Arkansas State Communication Association

Oral Communication Units and Activities

NASA MOON TRIP

Unit(s): Debate, Group Discussion

Purpose:

If used in debate, the purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how individual conclusions are often based on inadequate or incomplete data.

If used in group discussion, the link is that individual claims are open to argument because they are based on inadequate experience to interpret data.

Objective:

Students will be able to see how important group cooperation is.

Materials:

Chalkboard

Chalk

NASA Moon Exercise/ Direction Sheet for Scoring

NASA Moon Trip Exercise Answer Sheet

Pencils or pens

Procedure:

Divide the class into small groups of approximately five or six.

Give each person a copy of the NASA Moon Trip Exercise.

Give students 5 to 10 minutes to complete individual forms.

Give groups 15-20 minutes to complete the group form.

Lead students in scoring and ask each group to report the results of its scoring.

Notice that the individual scores rarely reach the rankings of the experts who compiled the correct answers.

Notice that the group scores are usually higher than the individual scores because people have an opportunity to share experience and, thus, interpret the data in a much more warranted fashion.

Discuss the results--debate checks for inadequacies in experience thus leading to more valid decision.

NASA MOON TRIP EXERCISE

You are on the crew which is scheduled to fly to and land on the lighted side of the moon. You are asked to list in order of priority the items you should take on your journey. Since space is limited, you need to take only the most important items. List the following items 1-15 with 1 being the most important and 15 being the least important.

_____Box of matches

_____Food concentrate

_____100 feet of nylon rope

_____Parachute silk

_____Portable heating unit

_____2 45 caliber pistols

_____Dehydrated milk

_____2 100 lb. oxygen tanks

_____Steller map

_____Life raft

_____Magnetic compass

_____Five gallons of water

_____Signal flares

_____First aid kit

_____Solar powered FM receiver-transmitter

NASA MOON EXERCISE: DIRECTION SHEET FOR SCORING

Score the net difference between each answer and the correct answer as indicated on the answer sheet. For example, if the answer you gave was 9 and the correct one was 12, the difference is 3, your score on that particular item.
Total these scores for your individual score.
The group recorder then totals all individual scores and divides by the number of participants to arrive at the average individual score.
The group recorder scores the net difference between the group worksheet answers and the correct answers.
Total these scores for a group score.
Compare the average individual score with the group score.

NASA MOON TRIP EXERCISE: ANSWER SHEET

Rationale	Correct number
No oxygen	15	Box of matches
Can live quite a while without food	4	Food Concentrate
For travel over rough terrain	6	100 feet of nylon rope
For carrying	8	Parachute silk
Lighted side of moon is hot	13	Portable heating unit
Some use for propulsion	11	2 45 Caliber pistols
Need H2O to work	12	Dehydrated milk
No air on moon	1	2 100 lb. oxygen tanks
Needed for navigation	3	Steller map
Some value for shelter or carrying	9	Life raft
Moon's magnetic field is different from earth's	14	Magnetic compass
You can't live long without this	2	Five gallons of water
No oxygen	10	Signal flares
Kit might be needed but needles are useless	7	First aid kit
Communication with mother ship or earth	5	Solar powered FM Receiver- transmitter

Scoring
0 - 19	Excellent
20 - 29	Good
30 - 39	Average
40 - 49	Fair
50 - Over	Poor