We will be looking at the art of problem solving. This will hopefully help you in Science as you move into Grade 9, but should also help in many other areas of life. As an inspiration for this, we will use "The Martian", a book and movie dedicated to the ingenuity of scientists and the ability to solve problems in order to survive.
What problems did Mark Watney have to fix? (Times are given from Netflix)
Overall problem: Mark Watney is trapped on Mars after his crew left him thinking he was dead. For a summary of this, watch the movie 0:16:38 - 0:17:37.
Problem 1: Fixing his injury. Mark has to do some self surgery using basic medical equipment. You can see what he does from 0:10:09 - 0:16:38.
Problem 2: Having enough food. Mark discusses the problem and how he solves this in the movie from 0:19:53 - 0:24:19, and the results are see 0:41:17 - 0:42:03.
Problem 3: Having enough water to grow the food. Mark discusses the problem and how he solves this in the movie from 0:24:32 - 0:28:00.
Problem 4: Making contact with Earth (sending a signal). NASA discovers how Mark plans to solve this problem in the movie from 0:42:22 - 0:44:29.
Problem 5: Communicating with Earth (sending coded messages). Mark discusses how he will code messages to solve this problem in the movie from 0:49:18 - 0:53:50.
Problem 6: Travelling long distances in the rover (battery life and keeping warm). Mark discusses how he will extend the distance the rover can travel and how he will stay warm in the movie from 0:35:14 - 0:38:35.
Problem 7: Making the ship light enough for take off. NASA explain why the ship needs to be made lighter in the movie from 1:43:14 - 1:50:16.
Problem 8: Fixing the difference between speed and height of the two spaceships. There is a big difference between the positions of the two ships. These problems are fixed in the movie from 1:56:13 - 2:09:50.
Alternatively you can choose a different movie - e.g. Apollo 13 is a good movie (but not on Netflix).