Craters on the Moon

Why are the Moon's craters such different shapes and sizes? Click here to download this activity. Around 80% of the Moon’s surface is covered in craters. The largest (on the Moon’s far side) is over 1000 km across, but there are millions of craters which are at least 1m across. We think most craters were caused by meteorites crashing into the moon in the distant past. What controlled the size and shape of these craters? We can model some of the factors by bombarding layers of sand with spherical objects such as glass marbles or ball bearings, and measuring the dimensions of the mini-craters formed.
This is one of hundreds of Earth-related activities to be found on our website. All are designed to be thought-provoking and engaging for pupils.