“Life on Other Worlds: The Drake Equation” by Morgan Morscher

Edited by Tim Patterson

The purpose of this activity is to teach students to apply the rules of probability to make complex estimates.
This lesson provides an introduction to probability, practices the use of probability, and finally uses these principles to answer the question: “Is there other intelligent life out there?” Students will create their own version of the Drake Equation before seeing the original.

This lesson is free to download for use in your classroom.
Click to download the lesson plan as a printable PDF or an editable Word Document.

Grade Level: 9-12
Difficulty Level: Introductory
Skills and Topics:
Astronomy, Biology, Physics, Probability, Approximations, SETI, Extraterrestrial