Perplexing Puddles

Can life be found nearly one mile underground? Learn about the microenvironments within the Sanford Underground Research Facility and consider the likelihood of life in such extreme conditions.

Grade level

Content area

Time required

Minimum of six 55-minute sessions

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Bacterial growth from leaf

During this unit students consider what attributes define life, and then use those ideas to hypothesize what life nearly one mile underground might be like, if it exists. Students gather information about the microenvironments in Sanford Underground Research Facility and consider the likelihood of life in such extreme conditions. Students learn about extremophiles, culture an everyday biofilm, and observe the biofilm to draw conclusions about the potential for life underground. 

Perplexing Puddles-- Life Underground

Curriculum Standards

  • HS-LS2-2

    Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.

  • HS-LS2-8

    Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.